Evidence for Evolution
Many people argue that there is no Evidence for Evolution, that speciation has never been observed, and that information cannot be added to a genome. I show evidence for the contrary, and, on the next page, show how Christianity survives.
DNA
Figure 1: Darwin Tree 1837
Evolution: Properly Defined
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Evolution is the change of a population of organisms over time, as they diverge to create descendent species.
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Often happens through natural selection, in which individuals with a certain beneficial trait are more likely than others to survive and reproduce, thus increasing the amount of that trait in the population.
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An individual with a harmful trait, though, would be less likely to survive and reproduce, thus decreasing the frequency of this trait.
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For example, if equal amounts of black and orange starfish are all on black rocks on the ocean floor, the black starfish will be camouflaged, and, thus, be more likely to survive and procreate, while the orange star fish will be easily seen by predators, get eaten, and, as a population, be less likely to reproduce.
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In future generations, there will be more black starfish than orange starfish.
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If some of these organisms were moved to a different location, isolated from the other members of their species, they may even become a new species over time, due to differing environments, mutations in their DNA, their isolation, etc.…
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This is the proper definition of Evolution.[1]
Example of Rapid Change
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While many Creationists would argue that Evolution takes too long, and that there isn't enough time on Earth history for it to occur, rapid changes in only a few generations, not millions of years, have been noted before.
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This has been noted in the Galapagos Island of Daphne Major, where birds’ beak sizes changed relatively quickly in response to rainy seasons and droughts, each season requiring different beak sizes.
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The birds with the wrong size died, while the ones with the correct one survived and reproduced, thus changing the phenotype, or, in this case, beak size.[2]
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This clearly showed the elements of Natural Selection at work, and showed showed the change in organisms ver time.
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Some, still, may argue that this is just adaptation, not Evolution.[3] I respond that, if two groups of the same organism get reproductively isolated, and change over time, it would make sense that eventually, they would no longer be the same species because they'd be so different.
Figure 2: Galapagos Islands Topographic Map
Figure 3: Spartinadensiflora
Observed Speciation
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S. townsendii, first collected in 1870, was the result of a natural hybridization, or fusing together, between two parents of other species (S. alterniflora and S. stricta) and subsequent chromosome doubling.
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The result was a species distinct and with increased complexity compared to its parents, which can reproduce and successfully compete with other species naturally, including its parental species.
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Another example, this time not involving fusion, was once found in Oregon.
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This species, malheurensis, diverged from a species of wire lettuce, Stephanomeria exigua ssp. Coronaria, likely through reproductive isolation through self-fertilization, called Sympatric Speciation.[4]
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Past evolution is also evident, as whales have hip bones due to having land ancestors,[5] and the fact that human’s arms are repurposed fish fins, due to our aquatic ancestors.[6]
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While this is a relatively rare event that is difficult for people to observe, it has been observed twice, which is all we need to prove that speciation occurs.
Information being Added to the Genome
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Some Creationists, such as Kenneth Ham From Answers in Genesis, say that information does not get added to the genome (the DNA we have), which is something that needs to happen for Evolution to occur.
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He, on his YouTube channel, Answers in Genesis, cites an interview with famed Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins, where he couldn't say when it had happened. [7]
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Many would wonder why he couldn't answer, as gene duplication, where a gene duplicates and changes, adds information to the genome, and has been observed.
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Human legs are an example of this, as they are from a duplication of the genes coding for arms. This is why, in many ways, Human’s arms and legs are structurally similar.[8]
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Think about it: Shoulder/hip: 3-D movement. Elbow/knee: 2-D movement. Wrist/ankle: 3-D movement. Fingers/toes: 10 of each, with nails. The bone structures of all of these limbs are also similar. This does strongly imply similarity, thus, I was lead to this conclusion.
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(Also, appreciate the irony of a Christian using Darwin and Dawkins to prove Christianity as true. God does work through mysterious ways, doesn't He)?
Figure 4:
Common Objections
Argument from Irreducible Complexity: Michael Behe, a Biochemist and professor at Lehigh University, is a large proponent of this. He describes blood clotting, which is an exceedingly complex concept that has more than 20 related and distinct biochemical pathways involved. The removal of even one of these reactions would cause the whole system to collapse, thus, he argues, they must be put into place by a designer at the same time.[9]
My Response: I respond that Biochemical pathways such as this have evolved from other, less complex pathways, many of which had entirely different functions.
Example: In an organism that did not need blood clotting, such as a microbe, which humans evolved from,[10] there was a simple biochemical pathway involving several proteins which produced a certain chemical as a product. Another protein gene in another, independent, pathway duplicated and mutated, though, and interfered with the pathway in question by reacting with the product, making a different product. This would make the biochemical pathway more complex, because of the addition of the protein, and change the function, as the chemical produced would be different, educing a different biological effect in the organism. If, over billions of years of evolution, many of these pathways undergo these changes, and interact with each other, observed effects, or phenotypes, such as blood clotting can be observed.
Commonly Observed in Evolution: For example, the eye has multiple repurposed genes that previously had functions not related to seeing,[11] and the ear bones, which help us hear, were originally reptile jaws.[12]
What This Means for Christianity
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Evolution is almost certainly a correct theory.
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Change over time has been observed, speciation has been observed at least twice, and information often gets added to the genome to fulfill core bodily functions.
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In addition, common objections have been refuted.
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Therefore, if one wants to be a Catholic, or any type of Christian, he or she must be able to reconcile Evolution's truth with the Word of God.
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Denial of Evolution can't continue, because, no matter the resistance, the truth always prevails, and Evolution is the truth.
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Thus, a way Evolution and Christianity can stand together must be found.
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The Good News: This can be done. To do it, though, we turn to Catholicism's most respected scholar in a modern, scientific light. How Christianity fits in
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We can also interpret Genesis correctly using the context from the time it was written. What Genesis 1 is About
Figure 5: The Bible and Darwin
Bibliography for This page
[1] Losos, Johnathan. “What is Evolution?” The Princeton Guide to Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400848065-003.
[2] Grant, Rosemary, and Peter Grant. “Evolution of Character Displacement in Darwin’s Finches.” Science, vol. 313, no. 5784, 14 July 2006, https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1126/science.1128374.
[3] Abbott, Joel. “Darwinism Is Dead. You Just Don’t Realize It Yet.” Not the Bee, 8 July 2022, notthebee.com/article/ding-dong-Darwins-dead.
[4]Callaghan, Catherine A. “Instances of observed speciation.” The American Biology Teacher, vol. 49, no. 1, 1 Jan. 1987, pp. 34–36, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4448413
[5] Bergman, Jerry R. “Whale Evolution: A Whale of a Tale.” Creation Research Society Quarterly, vol. 49, no. 2, 2012. 3, https://doi.org/https://crsq.creationresearch.org/id/eprint/1126.
[6] Bergman, Jerry. “The Human Hand: Perfectly Designed.” Creation Research Society Quarterly, vol. 50, 2013.
[7] “Richard Dawkins Can’t Answer This Question.” Answers in Genesis, 27 Feb. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HLI5KLTKqEM. Accessed 6 Sept. 2025.
[8] Young, Nathan M., et al. “Development and the evolvability of human limbs.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 107, no. 8, 23 Feb. 2010, pp. 3400–3405, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911856107.
[9] Byrne, Patrick H. “quaestio disputata evolution, randomness, and Divine Purpose: A reply to Cardinal schönborn.” Theological Studies, vol. 67, no. 3, Sept. 2006, pp. 653–665, https://doi.org/10.1177/004056390606700308.
[10] Offner, Susan. “A universal phylogenetic tree.” The American Biology Teacher, vol. 63, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2001, pp. 164–170, https://doi.org/10.2307/4451071.
[11] Taylor, John S., and Jeroen Raes. “Duplication and divergence: The evolution of new genes and old ideas.” Annual Review of Genetics, vol. 38, no. 1, 1 Dec. 2004, pp. 615–643, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.genet.38.072902.092831.
[12] Meng, Jin. “The journey from jaw to ear.” Biologist, vol. 50, no. 4, 2003.