Dr. Charles Jackson
There is often confusion about the term “Natural Selection” and also about the concept of “luck.”
“Luck” is certainly a more philosophical matter, and mostly—hey—up for grabs on what it actually … is.
But natural selection is really an interaction of the biological world, responding to the total ecology of the environment in which organisms find themselves.
Let’s see if we can at least begin by clearing up at little bit of just what natural selection … is not.
Natural selection is simply the loss of genetic information through generations in response to environmental pressures. Through natural selection individuals with certain characteristics that allow them to survive do so and produce offspring with the same ‘survival’ genes had by their parents. In time certain genes are lost from the population. However, no genes are ever created (which is the claim of the evolutionary theory; i.e., MACRO evolution).
Natural selection or ‘MICRO evolution’ is an observable scientific fact and does not in any way take away from the sovereignty of God. Traits that increase survival of organisms in a particular environment will be ‘selected’ for and those that do not help survival rates will be lost.
No new genetic information is ever gained.
God created Adam and Eve with a huge amount of genetic variability. Natural selection explains how we have so many breeds of people with different physical characteristics in different areas of the world when in fact humans started from just only one man and one woman. Consider that people in areas with lots of sunshine have darker skin tones, and those from less intense sun regions have lighter tones. Please re-read what Dr. Dewitt has to say about this and the role and limitations of natural selection in the natural world.
Luck is just a way for us to describe “being in the right place at the right time” or ‘”in the wrong place at the wrong time.” We know that nothing happens unless God wills it but we don’t always know God’s will. So a penguin that happens to be at a location where a predator was hunting will get eaten independent of whether he had the optimum collection of genetic traits for survival or not.
Keep on discussing. Just, keep it real is all I ask—don’t get lost on this philosophical / doctrinal long and winding road! Doc J
You may also view a trailer for the movie “Genesis: Paradise Lost” where your teacher DrJ is interviewed on the topic of Natural Selection at:
https://www.facebook.com/TheGenesisMovie/videos/2048905505123267/
https://www.facebook.com/TheGenesisMovie/videos/2048905505123267/
This article makes some very important points. It carefully distinguishes between natural selection and mere random chance happenings. It shows how natural selection is incapable of driving evolution. And it shows how God is in control of all the natural processes. Of course, internal mechanisms in organisms also play a role, but we don’t need to be afraid of these concepts just because evolutionists use them. Thank you, Dr. Jackson, for your cogent treatment of these weighty principles.