Evolution and Logic

1 Peter 3:15

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

The use of logic is sometimes claimed by the apologists of evolution. Yet, the logic often used by evolutionists is unsound. A sound logical argument is one that “follows”. For example, take these two premises and conclusion (known as a syllogism):

  1. If it is raining, the streets are wet.
  2. It is raining.
  3. The streets are wet.

That is logically sound. But, if we say:

  1. If it is raining, the streets are wet.
  2. The streets are wet.
  3. Therefore it is raining.

This is unsound because there could be other reasons why the streets are wet.

Now, evolutionists argue like this:

  1. If evolution were true, we would expect to find similar structures in organisms.
  2. We find similar structures in organisms.
  3. Therefore, evolution is true.

This is a logically unsound syllogism. There could be alternative reasons why animals’ structures have similarities. For example, they could have been made by a common designer. The Washington State Science Standards say:

Using the fossil record and anatomical and/or molecular (DNA) similarities as evidence, formulate a logical argument for biological evolution as an explanation for the development of a representative species (e.g., birds, horses, elephants, whales).

Yet, the use of any of these to “prove” evolution is unsound. It makes more sense to understand that God made these animal similarities, as they face similar conditions. The Bible provides the worldview with which better to interpret the evidence that we observe.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Prayer: Father, thank You that we can understand this world so much better when we start by honoring and respecting Your word. Amen.

Ref: Lisle, J., Discerning Truth, (Master Books). Image: license:  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.