Does evolution describe the origin of life like creationism does?

Answer 1

Does Evolution describe the origin of life?

Abiogenesis is the proper term for life coming from non-life. Evolution requires the existence of a self-replicating form to work. The development of such a form from previously non-replicating matter is outside of the scope of evolution. Therefore abiogenesis is outside of the purview of evolution.

While, as of yet, we do not know exactly how the abiogenesis event occurred, the evidence points to the fact that simple nucleotides were already bonding to each other around the time that the first self-replicating thing came into existence. The difference between these nucleotides and the self-replicating molecule would be slight. There would be no cell membrane or anything more than RNA copying itself. Due to interference from the outside, copying probably occurred with a lower rate of fidelity, leading to higher chances of random mutations. While many of those mutations may have negative or neutral, a sufficient minority would be positive. However, even so, it took over 2 billion years from the first form of recorded life to the first preserved multicellular organism. Compare this to the 100 million years required to jump from the first amphibians to the first reptiles. The time and the higher rate of mutations due to interference is what allows for the vast intracellular changes that would be necessary to produce much more complex forms of life.

Answer 2

No. the theory of evolution and creationism come from two different realms. Creationism is a religious belief based on faith in the complete absence of proof. The scientific theory of evolution is supported by evidence from different areas of science from Paleontology to Biology and genetics. That research is ongoing. Scientific theories are not wrapped up neatly like stories from mythology written by ancients to explain the unexplainable. We've learned a lot since then.

Answer 3

As of the present date, Evolution does not and cannot explain the origin of life itself, since that violates the proven fact that life is not known to come from non-living things. There is, of course, speculation, but: "The concept of abiogenesis is not science. It's fantasy" (J.L. Wile, Ph.D.).

See also these links:

Is there evidence against Evolution

God's wisdom seen in His creations

More about God's wisdom

The facts

Discovering Creation

Understanding Creation

Answer 4

NO. Evolution does not deal with the origin of life, but rather its diversity. The origin of life is called abiogenesis.

If we mapped Creationism onto science, Creationism would actually be seeking to answer five completely different scientific questions:

(1) How did the universe form? -- This is a question of cosmology and relates back to the scientific Big Bang Theory.

(2) How did this solar system form out of the universe? -- This is also a question of cosmology and astrophysics. It is a discussion of gravity and other forces that interact with mass seated within a vacuum.

(3) How did the Earth come to have the physical appearance that it does, like land and oceans? -- This is a question about geology and natural history and fits into scientific models about rock formation, plate tectonics, and ocean salinity.

(4) How did life originate on Earth? -- There is currently no accepted scientific model for this. There are current experiments on this and they fall into the general category of abiogenesis.

(5) What is responsible for the vast diversity of life on Earth? -- This is the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. The Theory of Evolution requires a pre-existent lifeform that is tested by the natural environment.

Evolution concerns (5), but not (4), which is what this question is asking about.