U of C Berkeley: “Natural selection is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution, along with mutation, migration, and genetic drift.”
But Natural Selection, as we shall hereafter see, is a power incessantly ready for action, and is as immeasurably superior to man’s feeble efforts, as the works of Nature are to those of Art. ~Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, chapter 3
Let’s Imagine
It was finally time for the county youth fair! For months young people throughout the region had been hard at work thinking of new ideas to test, new skills to try, and new techniques to develop the abilities they already had. They carefully packed up the results of their best work and brought them to the submissions table at the arts and crafts building.
Over the next 24 hours, judges would come through, examining each entry and considering its quality, creativity, and the amount of care and labor it would have taken to produce it.
Each young person secretly, or not so secretly, hoped to win a ribbon, perhaps even the coveted Best of Show blue rosette.
When the time came for the unveiling, the waiting crowd of entrants and their families were in for a huge shock:
“We are pleased to announce the results of our careful deliberation. After great effort and infinite attention to detail, the judges are proud to present to you the winning entries.
“These will be kept for posterity in our Hall of Progress, each with their ribbon forever affixed to declare their superior excellence.
“Every one of these pieces is a treasure, but far more important that these stunning examples of natural processes gone right are the true winners.
“I present to you the champions: our judges!”
Following this eloquent speech, the MC raises a handful of blue rosettes and walks over to the panel of judges seated with their eyes modestly but smugly downcast…
What do you think would happen next?
Can you imagine how upset and heartbroken the youth and their families would be at the realization that the honor they had worked so hard to earn was going to the judges who made nothing?
Natural Selection is real
Peppered Moths by Khaydock
If you follow the link to UC Berkeley’s page, there isn’t anything unscientific about it. Of course a creature that fits better in its environment will produce more offspring than one that has a problem. Natural selection even works on things that wouldn’t normally matter like color or leg length.
You get a certain type of environment where standing out makes you vulnerable, you get eaten first.
Pretty straight forward and, by the way, Charles Darwin wasn’t the first to realize this process has an important role in the variety of creatures we see alive today. 24 years before Darwin’s book was first published, a creationist wrote a paper describing natural selection.
Natural Selection is Just a Judge
In the same way you need a judge to figure out who will win a ribbon at the fair, natural selection is an important part of the process.
But in the created world, natural selection isn’t even as real as those judges were. It’s just the term we use to describe what automatically happens in a fallen world where not everything survives to have children.
At least those judges had to use their brains to discover the best entries at the fair. Natural selection doesn’t even know it’s happening.
Let’s Honor and Glorify the Real Champion of Creation
Thank you, Jesus, for inventing, creating, and preserving the amazing creatures we see around us today. You are the one who deserves all the credit for your brilliance and hard work!
Bonus
“Let’s not forget our other amazing winners. There’s Genetic Drift, who pushed some of the entries onto the floor and broke them before our judges got to them. There’s Gene Flow, that told different entries about the amazing secrets of other entries so they could copy them.
“And be sure to put your hands together for Mutations who came in at night, snipped, broke, and jumbled to make random entries even more artistic than they originally were!”
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8
