Secular Science and the Fossil Record

QUESTION: Secular Science and the Fossil Record

ANSWER:

The final plank on which the theory of evolution rests is the claim that the fossil record provides an accurate historical account of the process of transmutation of the species, or macroevolution. “Evolution is a fact,” says Sagan, “amply demonstrated by the fossil record.”¹ The fossil record is the only means available to the scientist to observe steps in the evolutionary process.

Secular Science – The Fossil Evidence is Missing
In Darwin’s day, the actual evidence was missing. There was no fossil evidence that any of the major divisions of nature (fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals) had been crossed. But without convincing evidence from fossils, the theory of evolution would have no basis for grounding itself in the scientific method and would be left in the realm of faith. The problem is, as demonstrated in the Christian Biology section, the needed “transitional” fossils are systematically missing.

Notes:

Rendered with permission from the book,Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews(Rev. 2^nd ed), David Noebel, Summit Press, 2006. Compliments of John Stonestreet, David Noebel, and the Christian Worldview Ministry at Summit Ministries. All rights reserved in the original.

¹ Carl Sagan, The Dragons of Eden (New York, NY: Random House, 1977), 6.