Understand the differences between creationism and evolutionism

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Creationism and evolutionism are two theories that seek to explain the creation and evolution of life and the Universe.

Creationism is based on the holy books of monotheistic religions: such as the Torah (Judaism), the Bible (Christianity) and the Koran (Islam). It argues that life and the Universe were created by a supernatural being, an omnipotent and benevolent God.

Evolutionism, on the other hand, is based on Darwin's concept of natural selection, in which living beings evolved and adapted until reaching the point they are today.

Evolutionism claims that life on Earth emerged from a universal common ancestor about 3.8 billion years ago. It is a "theory" in the scientific sense of the word, which means that it is supported by evidence and accepted as fact by Science.

The idea of creationism is based on accounts considered sacred and on faith, not evidence.

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creationism	Evolutionism
Definition	Creationism is the belief that life, the Earth and the Universe are the creation of a supernatural being called God	Evolutionism holds that evolution is the process by which different types of living organisms developed and diversified during Earth's history.
Content	Religious	Scientific
main base	The Bible, specifically the book of Genesis	Book "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin
Evolution	Beings were created the way they are today	Beings have evolved to the stage they are in today
have evidence	No	Yes

Main claims of creationism

Some of the statements most accepted by supporters of creationism are:

The existence of a creator God;
The world was made in a period of six days;
The world is only a few thousand years old;
God specially intervened to create life forms on earth, without using former and extinct forms of life to do so;
The natural science view of the age of the world and the origin of current life forms is mistaken.

The creationist theory is shared by the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, polytheistic religions such as Hinduism also have their mythical account of the creation of the universe.

Theistic Evolutionism

There are currents that try to reconcile the creationist vision with the evolutionist one. One of these is theistic evolutionism, which advocates:

There is a creator God;
The biblical account must be regarded as allegorical;
The world developed over a longer period of time than six days;
The world is much more than a few thousand years old;
God used former and extinct life forms to produce the life forms we see today;
The majority view in the natural sciences about the age of the world and the origin of current life forms is correct.

Atheistic Evolutionism

For their part, those who are atheists seek to defend another point of view. There are those who defend atheistic evolutionism and the following theses:

There is no God, or at least we have no reason to believe that there is;
The world developed over a longer period of time than six days;
The world is about 4.5 billion years old;
The life forms we see today arose from earlier, extinct forms of life.
The point of view in the natural sciences about the age of the world and the origin of current life forms is correct.

How does species evolve?

Evolutionary theory holds that living organisms that do not adapt to the environment cannot survive.

Genetic variations are introduced into species through random DNA mutations, which manifest themselves in the physical characteristics of living organisms. Then, organisms whose characteristics are best suited to the environment survive and reproduce, passing their mutated DNA on to subsequent generations.

As surviving organisms reproduce, and this process repeats itself over several generations, the species becomes better able to survive its surroundings. This process is called evolution.

types of evolution

A divergent evolution Occurs when a species splits into two species. For example, they may have separated geographically and adapted differently to survive their environments.

A parallel evolution, on the other hand, occurs when two or more species develop similar traits, such as the emergence of wings to survive in the same environment.

Lastly, the convergent evolution occurs when two or more species develop similar traits but in different environments.

Evidence of evolutionism

The evolution is based on evidence from fossil records, in the similarities between life forms, in the geographic distribution and in the registered alterations in the species.

Since the 1920s, for example, hundreds of fossils of creatures in the intermediate stages between primates and humans have been found. Fossil records, in general, suggest that multicellular organisms only appeared after unicellular ones and that complex animals were preceded by simpler ones.

Evolution through creationism

There are many versions of the creationist theory. Young Earth Creationism and Gap Creationism believe that humanity was created by God, who already made them the way they are today.

On the other hand, progressive creationism believes that humanity was created directly by God, based on primate anatomy.

Meanwhile, Intelligent Design and Theistic Evolution include a variety of beliefs based on the idea that divine intervention led to something that would be the evolution of the species.

Criticism of creationist theories

To be called scientific, a research method must be based on empirical and measurable evidence, subject to specific principles of reasoning. This means that scientific hypotheses must be testable.

Critics of creationism argue that this theory is unprovable. That is, the existence of God cannot be proved. After all, scientific studies have disproved many elements of creationism, including the age of the Earth, its geological history, and the relationships of living organisms.

Anthropology, geology, and planetary science all reveal that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, disproving creationist claims that the Earth was created around 6,000 years ago.

Criticism of evolutionary theories

In turn, many creationists argue that evolution is a "theory" and not a fact and therefore should be taught as such.

However, this is based on a misunderstanding of the use of the term “theory”. Scientifically, theory does not mean “possibility”, but rather “a scientifically acceptable general principle to explain phenomena”.

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