Page 51 - The Origin of Life and the Universe - International Conference 2016

The Origin of Life and the Universe

within snails. More recently, red and eastern wolves, which are geographically,
phenotypically, and behaviorally distinct canids have been examined at a
genomic level. These canids are actually protected as endangered species
in the US and in Canada. But at the genomic level, what they’ve discovered
is that these different species are really just genetic hybrids of coyotes and
grey wolves.
This new data is actually threatening their protected classification
and status as endangered species and it highlights the species problem in
regard to evolution. Much like selective breeding in dogs, wolves, coyotes
seem to be the result of variations over time within an ongoing species-ra-
diation event. No doubt populations are now isolated certainly by behavioral
and geographic constraints, but the various "species" may not actually be
isolated in the sense that they can no longer cross breed. So recent
research also shows a connection of species within an ecological web. But
yet even these examples, contrary to what papers claim, has no significance
to macroevolution the change in a particular species into a different kind
or different taxonomical classification.
And even if we, like the North American wolf study shows choose to
call species something entirely different like wolves, coyotes or dogs it
doesn’t mean that one kind, a canid is giving rise to something other than
a canid. Finches remained finches, snails remained snails, plants, flies and
wasps although they’re changing and co-adapting together, remained
plants, flies and wasps.
Finally, if we consider the speciation in the context of humanity and
what we believe as Christians, that there was a primordial human pair
Adam and Eve, that were created in God’s image according to Torah: In
His image, He created them male and female. If you believe the scientific
data that dates mitochondrial Eve, and Y-chromosomal Adam to one
hundred and fifty thousand years ago, then all of the diversity that we see
in the human population today, results from an ongoing speciation event
in humanity. Consider the differences of the major races and ethnicities.
Compare some of the island groups of Australia to Asia or Middle Eastern
or European or Native American people. Or consider a dwarf and compare
it to an extremely tall human being. Nevertheless, no matter our diversity
is, we are all human. We are all homo sapien sapiens.

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