“Windows To Spirituality”
Teleological Argument The teleological argument or physico-theological argument, also known as the argument from design, or intelligent design argument is an argument for the existence of God or, more generally, for an intelligent creator based on perceived evidence of “intelligent design” in the natural world. The earliest recorded versions of this argument are associated with Socrates in ancient...
Intelligent Design And Science The relationship between intelligent design and science has been a contentious one. Intelligent design (ID) is presented by its proponents as science and claims to offer an alternative to evolution. The Discovery Institute, a politically conservative think tank and the leading proponent of intelligent design, launched a campaign entitled...
Timeline Of Intelligent Design This timeline of intelligent design outlines the major events in the development of intelligent design as presented and promoted by the intelligent design movement. See also: Darwinism and Evolution Creationism Main article: Creationism 1920s: Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy – in an upsurge of fundamentalist religious fervor, anti-evolutionary sentiment stopped U.S. public schools from teaching evolution, through state laws such as...
Acceptance of Evolution by Religious Groups This article covers the acceptance of evolution by religious groups. Although biological evolution has been vocally opposed by some religious groups, many other groups accept the scientific position, sometimes with additions to allow for theological considerations. The positions of such groups are described by terms including...
Microevolution Microevolution is the change in allele frequencies that occurs over time within a population. This change is due to four different processes: mutation, selection (natural and artificial), gene flow and genetic drift. This change happens over a relatively short (in evolutionary terms) amount of time compared to the changes termed macroevolution which is where greater differences in the population occur....
Macroevolution Macroevolution is evolution on a scale at or above the level of species, in contrast with microevolution, which refers to smaller evolutionary changes of allele frequencies within a species or population. Macroevolution and microevolution describe fundamentally identical processes on different scales. The process of speciation may fall within the purview of either, depending on the forces thought...
Mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extra chromosomal DNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, mitosis, and meiosis or other types of damage to DNA (such as pyrimidine dimers that may be caused by exposure to radiation or...
Alternatives To Evolution By Natural Selection Alternatives to evolution by natural selection, also described as non-Darwinian mechanisms of evolution, have been proposed by scholars investigating biology since classical times to explain signs of evolution and the relatedness of different groups of living things. The alternatives in question do not encompass religious...
Reaction To Darwin’s Theory This article covers the reaction to Darwin’s Theory. The immediate reactions to On the Origin of Species, the book in which Charles Darwin described evolution by natural selection, included international debate, though the heat of controversy was less than that over earlier works such as Vestiges of Creation. Darwin monitored...
Who Is Charles Darwin? Charles Robert Darwin, (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted, and considered...
Social Effects Of Evolutionary Theory The social effects of evolutionary theory have been considerable. As the scientific explanation of life’s diversity has developed, it has often displaced alternative, sometimes very widely held, explanations. Because the theory of evolution includes an explanation of humanity’s origins, it has had a profound impact on...
The Order In The Universe And Creation According To The Torah This article covers the relationship between the order in the universe and creation according to the Torah. The Creation of the Heavens and the Earth In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was...
Neo-Darwinism Neo-Darwinism is generally used to describe any integration of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection with Gregor Mendel’s theory of genetics. It mostly refers to evolutionary theory from either 1895 (for the combinations of Darwin’s and Weismann’s theories of evolution) or 1942 (the “modern synthesis“), though it can mean any new Darwinian- and Mendelian-based theory...
Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism The evolutionary argument against naturalism (EAAN) is a philosophical argument asserting a problem with believing both evolution and philosophical naturalism simultaneously. The argument was first proposed by Alvin Plantinga in 1993 and “raises issues of interest to epistemologists, philosophers of mind, evolutionary biologists, and philosophers of religion”....
Genesis Flood Narrative The Genesis flood narrative is a flood myth found in the Tanakh (chapters 6–9 in the Book of Genesis). The story tells of God’s decision to return the Earth to its pre-creation state of watery chaos and then remake it in a reversal of creation. The narrative...
The Quran And Scientific Discoveries This article explores the Quran and scientific discoveries. There are many more verses in the Quran that are related to what we now call scientific facts. The existence of such verses indicates that man’s seeking of knowledge is a portion of Divine Mercy graciously bestowed...
Chinese Creation Myths Chinese creation myths are symbolic narratives about the origins of the universe, earth, and life. In Chinese mythology, the term “cosmogonic myth” or “origin myth” is more accurate than “creation myth“, since very few stories involve a creator deity or divine will. Chinese creation myths fundamentally differ from monotheistic traditions with one authorized version,...
What Is Superstition? Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or Supernatural: for example, if it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a positive belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices...
Uniformitarianism Uniformitarianism, also known as the Doctrine of Uniformity, refers to the invariance in the principles underpinning science, such as the constancy of causality, or causation, throughout time, but it has also been used to describe invariance of physical laws through time and space. Though an unprovable postulate that cannot be verified using the scientific method, uniformitarianism has been...
Holism Holism (from holos “all, whole, entire”) is the idea that systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic) and their properties should be viewed as wholes, not just as a collection of parts. The term holism was coined by Jan Smuts. Alfred Adler considered holism as a concept that represents all...
