Darwin's Theory: Law, Fact, Theory, or Hypothesis?
by Dave Demick, M.D., (Guest Writer)

The origins debate has recently made the news through the attempted placement of disclaimer stickers in school science textbooks. These stickers warn students that evolution is only a theory, not a fact.

At the Scopes evolution trial of 1925, exactly 80 years ago this summer, one of the scientific witnesses claimed that Darwinism was not just a theory but a scientific law, as firmly established as the law of gravity. This highlights one of the big points of origins controversy — is Darwinian macroevolution a fact to be taught as truth? Is it a theory, a hypothesis, or even a scientific law? Where does it fit best?

It helps to simply go to the dictionary and look up the basic definitions of these terms. Once we have these definitions firmly in mind, the proper category for Darwinism becomes quite apparent. So, according to the Oxford English and the World Book Dictionaries, here are the definitions:
FACT — That which exists, something witnessed firsthand, a datum of experience (plural:data).
HYPOTHESIS — A tentative scientific explanation for a set of observed facts, subject to future proof (or disproof) through further observation/experimentation. The usual progression is that a hypothesis graduates to being a theory.
THEORY — A framework of scientific explanation concerning a certain phenomenon or group of phenomena, which has gained validity by showing predictive power or explaining newly observed facts.
SCIENTIFIC LAW — A regular pattern of occurrence of natural events, so regular and predictable that there are few or no exceptions. The fewer the exceptions to a law, the better established it is.
For example, the law of gravity and the second law of thermodynamics are very well established scientific laws. No exceptions to them have ever been shown. Other examples include Newton’s laws of motion, Ohm’s law of electrical resistance, Boyle’s law of gas pressure and temperature, and so on.

With these definitions in mind, let’s go back to 1859 and consider what should have happened from that point if Darwin was right. What did he predict in the Origin of Species, either directly or by implication? To sum up briefly:
• Life could arise from non-living matter
• Fossils yet-to-be-discovered would show progression from a few simple life-forms to many kinds of complex life (the Darwinian “tree of life”).
• Thousands of transitional fossils would fill the gaps between kinds.
• Higher organisms would have useless vestigial organs left over from evolution.
• Major changes in organisms could be shown after breeding for thousands of generations. Instead of these, the exact opposite has generally been found in each instance. Specifically:
• Life never comes from non-living matter.
• There is no such thing as “simple life” (even bacteria are complex beyond human technology).
• The fossil record still shows big gaps between major kinds of creatures, and abrupt emergence, with most major kinds going right back to the “Cambrian explosion” (just as the fossils showed in Darwin’s day).
• Nearly all organs once considered vestigial have now been found to be fully functional.
• Despite deliberate attempts, no Darwinian transformation has been reproduced by selective breeding or forced mutation (everything stubbornly reproduces “after its kind”).

So, is Darwinism a fact? Absolutely not, as no one has seen it. Is it a scientific law? Only in someone’s dream world. Is it even a good theory? No, for it has no predictive power, and has been continually at odds with new facts.
We have to conclude that it’s just a poor, tired old hypothesis that has been battered by real science for 145 years. This is the real truth that should be fully taught in all textbooks of biology.

The Klipspringer: Balerina of Africa
by Diane Galbraith

Klipspringers, (“klip” in Dutch means rock) are members of the antelope family. They prefer rocks and cliffs to wide open plains. They weigh approximately 22-40 pounds and stand about 3 feet high. This gray, brown and yellow-haired animal blends in beautifully with the granite boulders of the Savanna grasslands of South and East Africa.

The klipspringer walks on the tip of its hoof like a ballerina dancer. The hoof, having the consistency of hard rubber, is a cylinder about the size of a dime. It is divided into 2 parts with a pad in between that acts like a suction cup. This design gives the klipspringer ten times more gripping ability than if it had a flat hoof. Because of its strong hind legs, the klipspringer can jump 10 feet in the air and land with all 4 feet in the space of a silver dollar.

The Klipspringer’s hair is very rough like a bristle brush yet hollow. This protects the klipspringer from scrapes and bruises associated with its rocky terrain. It also provides temperature regulation. On a hot day the hollow hair stands out from the body allowing it to cool. In cold weather the hair lays back against the skin trapping body heat close to the animal.

Klipspringers mate for life and usually live in small family groupings. A pair will “stake out” a territory 20-125 acres in size and mark it with scent beads from glands underneath their eyes. In addition, males mark the territory with dung piles.
Klipspringers fight fiercely to protect their territory. One member is always on guard. If danger approaches, the guard emits a high, shrill sound which can be heard up to 700 feet away.

Klipspringers browse on shrubs, twigs, grasses, lichens, fruit and blossoms. They usually give birth to one “lamb” per year that is hidden for two to three months in rock crevices. They nurse only 4 times per day. At three months, they join the parents for all activities.

Our God is such an awesome Creator. The whole creation sings His praise. “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 66:2.
[Diane Galbraith and her husband, Alan, are volunteers in the AOI children’s ministry]

Stem Cell Research: Potential Promise in Pandora's Box
by Dr. Dan Korow

What is a stem cell? Embryonic stem cells are the immature building blocks that change into all the different tissue types in the body. All tissues “stem” from this original cluster of cells. Early on, these cells have not yet committed to becoming a specific cell type. However, as they begin to develop and grow, stem cells begin to differentiate, or transform, into specialized cells like heart cells, nerve cells, kidney cells, bone cells, or any of the other 200+ cell types.

The extent of this transformation can be likened to that of a newborn baby. When a baby is born, we often ask, “I wonder what this baby is going to become?” He may have the “potential” to mature or develop into a teacher, a brain surgeon, a musician, the president of the United States, etc. In the same way, stem cells have the “potential” to change into a mature cell with a specialized function.

Researchers are now able to coax one type of stem cell into a variety of different tissue cell types. For example, a particular stem cell in the body may normally become specialized as a muscle cell. Researchers might take this same stem cell and, by manipulating the chemical growth factors, transform this particular stem cell into other specialized tissue —like connective tissue, blood vessel, or nerve.

One of the hopes for stem cell research is to find cures for a variety of diseases. For example, diabetes results because the pancreas isn’t making enough of a normal substance called insulin. Without insulin, a person’s glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream runs abnormally high. Potentially, these healthy pancreatic stem cells that release insulin could be transplanted into a diseased pancreas and could cure the illness. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see insulin injections as a thing of the past?

It has been shown that adult stem cells are having proven successes that are significant. The most common example of adult stem cell therapy is bone marrow transplants, which dates back to 1968. Currently, adult stem cells have been used to treat over 50 different disease processes. There is mounting evidence that adult stem cells may be more versatile and can change into more tissue types than originally thought. As more adult stem cells are discovered they may have the ability, collectively, to transform into all the tissue types needed. This may nullify a major claim that embryonic stem advocates have used regarding the “limited potential” of adult stem cells. Keep in mind, however, that this type of research and treatment is still in its infancy.

One of the benefits from adult stem cells is a lack of tissue rejection. Since adult stem cells can come from the same individual, lifelong immuno-suppressive drugs aren’t needed. In addition, tumor formation seen in embryonic stem cell therapy doesn’t appear to be a problem with adult stem cells.

Truly, adult stem cell therapy is the only alternative worth pursuing. However, the media has largely ignored its true benefits.

Another problem is that of terminology. The word “adult” can be misleading. “Adult” stem cells can now include any source other than human embryos (2 weeks to 2 months after conception). Therefore, while researchers can obtain adult stem cells from newborn umbilical cords and the mother’s placenta, they can also obtain them from fetal abortions. Unfortunately, many advocates of adult stem cell research are unaware that the unborn baby (2 months to full term) can be lumped together with the term “adult.”

Based upon God’s Word, taking the innocent life of one group of individuals for the benefit of another is wrong. Stem cells taken from the unborn, require a living person (made in the image of God) to be killed in order to harvest these cells for the benefit of others.

Fetal abortions as well as embryonic stem cells are unacceptable sources for stem cell research and therapy. It is essential that our legislation does not include fetal abortions as an acceptable source of adult stem cell research and therapy. The unborn need our protection since they can’t voice their cries!

[Editor’s Note: Unused or unwanted embreos can be adopted. For more information, contact: Nightlight Christian Adoptions (http://www.nightlight.org/snowflakes_description.asp) or The National Embryo Donation Center (http://www.embryodonation.org/).]