Page Contents:
- The Definition of Species
- Example: A Listing of Bird Species
- All People are of One Blood
- Ota Benga: The Man Who Was Caged in a Zoo
The Definition of Species
The definition of species has changed just in my lifetime. This is the previous definition of species:"If two animals can mate and produce fertile offspring then they are the same species."That definition does not work for evolutionists any more because there would not be enough species to "prove" evolution. Now, they give a new species name to every little variation in a plant or animal.
For example, all dogs are the same species, Canis familiaris. If the various breeds of dog were wild and not domesticated they would be labeled as different species. For example, Poodles, St Bernards, Great Danes, German Shepherds and Old English Sheepdogs they would all be labeled as different species because they look so different.
But, wolves and coyotes, which can both produce fertile offspring with dogs, are given many species names for minor differences. For example, according to the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) and the Red Wolf (Canis rufus) are called different species. In reality, wolves and coyotes are just another breed of dog. Please see my page Using the Dog-Kind of Animal to Disprove Evolution for more information.
Here is another example. Ornithology is the study of birds. Bird identification field guides for North America (where I live) list birds in the agreed upon evolutionary order per the American Ornithologists' Union. (See below). Ornithologists give the label "species" to very minor differences in birds. A sparrow with a different sized spot or streak on the breast or around the eye is labeled as a different species.
I'm a bird watcher. There are many different "species" of sparrows. Some are extremely difficult to tell apart and you have to see them several days in a row before you can see that extra spot or stripe on the breast or around the eye to positively identify it.
Creationists believe that God created the basic types of plants and animals, and then genetic variation went on from there. God made the basic types of birds including: hummingbird, woodpecker, parrot, pigeon, sparrow, duck, and so forth. Each type had a lot of capacity for genetic variability as we see in dogs.
Example: A Listing of Bird Species
I am a bird watcher. I have several bird identification guides. Most bird field guides arrange the birds in their supposed evolutionary order. Below is a quote from this book:
Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
Donald Stokes and Lillian Stokes
Color Tab IndexThe actual bird list of the American Ornithological Union is very long so bird books give a index of the major groups of birds, such as the list below from Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
Facing the front and back covers is the Color Tab Index to Bird Groups. This provides access to the birds by groups - heronlike birds, shorebirds, woodpeckers, sparrows, and so forth. The color tabs are a fast way to automatically turn to the right portion of the guide. In addition, this index and the Species Accounts are arranged in phylogenetic order, that is, according to their believed evolutionary relationships, thus familiarizing all users with the only order of birds generally agreed upon by scientists and birders in North America.
Species, Names, Order
All regularly occurring species within the range of the guide are included. Their scientific and common names and order are in accordance with the July 1995 supplement to the 6th edition of the American Ornithological Union Checklist of North American Birds.
This book also lists a "Quick Guide" listing the major groups of birds:
Quick Guide to the Most Common BirdsThese are all the categories of birds in North America. All of the birds in North America are in one of the groups above. All of the groups are distinct categories. However, evolution is said to be a very slow progression of gradual change from one type of animal or plant to another type of animal or plant.
Seabirds - Loons, Grebes, Shearwaters, Pelicans, Cormorants
Heronlike Birds - Bitterns, Herons, Egrets, Ibises
Swans, Geese, Ducks - Whistling-Ducks, Swans, Geese, Ducks
Hawklike Birds-Osprey, Kites, Eagles, Hawks, Falcons
Chickenlike Birds - Pheasant, Grouse, Turkey, Quail
Marsh Birds - Rails, Gallinule, Moorhen, Coot, plus Cranes
Shorebirds - Plovers, Stilt. Avocet, Sandpipers, Dowitchers, Phalaropes
Gull-like Birds -Jaegers, Gulls, Terns, Skimmer, plus Alcids
Pigeonlike Birds - Pigeon, Doves
Owls and Other Nocturnal Birds - Owls, Nighthawks, Whip-poor-will
Swift, Hummingbirds -Swift, Hummingbirds, plus Kingfishers
Woodpeckers - Woodpeckers, Sapsucker, Flicker
Flycatchers - Flycatchers, Phoebes, Kingbirds
Shrikes, Vireos - Shrikes, Vireos
Jays, Crows - Jays, Crows, Ravens
Swallows - Martin, Swallows
Chickadees, Nuthatches, Wrens - Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, Wrens
Thrushes, Mimics - Bluebird, Thrushes, Robin, Catbird, Mockingbird, Thrashers
Warblers - Warblers, Parula, Redstart, Ovenbird, Waterthrushes, Chat
Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Buntings-Tanagers, Cardinal, Grosbeaks, Buntings
Sparrows - Towhees, Sparrows Junco, Longspurs
Blackbirds, Orioles - Blackbirds, Grackles, Cowbirds; Orioles
Finches - Finches Crossbills, Redpolls, Goldfinches
And yet even just among birds there is not a gradual change between species. For instance, hummingbirds and woodpeckers are like no other birds. They are very specialized. There is a large gap between hummingbirds and all other birds and there is a large gap between woodpeckers and all other birds.
There is not evidence of a gradual progression of minute changes from or to either of them from or to any other bird either in the fossil record or in live birds.
What the examination of the different groups of birds does show is that woodpeckers, hummingbirds and all other birds are separate and distinct groups. What the examination of birds shows is that birds were created by God.
All People are of One Blood
Where Did the Races Come From? There are no "races". We are all the same "race" because we are all related. We just look different, that is all.Biblical Creationists (like me) believe that all people on earth came from two people created by God, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had every possible gene that we see now. All of the original gene pool was just these two people. They had all the different genes for hair color, eye color, height, skin tone. One child got one group of genes and another child got another group of genes. Adam and Eve could have had children who were light skinned, dark skinned and everything in between because they were carriers of all possible genes.
There was an incident at the Tower of Babel when God gave people many different languages. As the people scattered to populate the earth they divided into isolated populations with the other people who spoke the same languages. The original created people, had the genetic capability to have lots of different traits for different eye color, hair color, skin color, height, build, hair texture, facial features, etc.
As they settled into the different isolated areas, differences started to appear, some communities had gotten more of certain genes than others. The more time went by, the more different people looked. Some were dark skinned with dark hair; some were light skinned with light hair, etc. According to Biblical creationists, all people on earth are family.
We see this type of thing all over the world with dogs, roses, birds, fish etc. Plants and animals are bred for certain characteristics, including size and color. For instance, breeds of dogs are made by isolating a population and allowing the dogs only with certain desired characteristics to mate.
The original kinds of dogs, like wolves, coyotes, dingoes, look different because they all live in different places, like breeds of dogs. These original wild dogs that God made had the genetic capability to have lots of different traits for different sizes, color of fur, ear shape, tail shape, etc. Nothing new is added when people make a different type of dog. It's just differently combining the genes that are already there.
But, when you intentionally breed certain dogs with certain traits together, you can gradually change what the dogs look like. This doesn't take very long. A dog can have puppies when it is less than a year old. So a lot of generations of dogs can happen in a short period of time. This is how all breeds of dogs have been developed. If all dogs were let out of their yards and allowed to mate with each other in just a short period of time the puppies would be getting close to what wild dogs, wolves and coyotes, look like.
Ota Benga: The Man Who Was Caged in a Zoo
In 1904 a 23 year old man named Ota Benga was captured in the Belgian Congo with the intent to put him on display as a missing link. Ota Benga was a black man, a Pygmy. You can read the true story of Ota Benga, and what he went through, in this book:
Ota Benga: The Pygmy in the Zoo
Phillips Verner Bradford
Ota was mistreated and captured and put in a zoo only because of the belief in evolution. This happened over one hundred years ago. At the time the reasoning was that if man has evolved from ape like creatures then it is only natural to assume that some races are more evolved others. Since apes have dark skin, it was assumed at the time that the darker the skin the less evolved. Here's an online article about Ota Benga:
Ota Benga: The man who was put on display in the zoo!
