Peppered Moths Yet Again - Creation Moments

1 Timothy 6:20

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:”

I became a government school science teacher in 1983. One syllabus that I was handed for teaching a basic biology unit to a class of 12-year-olds illustrated the supposed truth of evolution by referring to peppered moths. Naturally, I informed the other teacher that Kettlewell’s famous experiments have been invalidated, as the famous photographs of the moths were taken by gluing dead specimens to tree trunks.

A recent study by scientists at Exeter University was published and a popular science website headlined its report with: “Moth study confirms Darwin’s theory of evolution”. One of the scientists said, “This is one of the most iconic examples of evolution, used in biology textbooks around the world, yet fiercely attacked by creationists seeking to discredit evolution.”

If there is anyone not up to speed with this issue, let me explain that the original experiment was designed to show that light peppered moths would be spotted on dark polluted backgrounds in Birmingham, England, by predatory birds, who would eat them, leading to a greater population of dark moths. As industrial pollution decreased, it was the dark moths who became visible and vulnerable.

If this scenario is shown to be true, it is of no problem to creationists because it does not and never has confirmed evolution. For one, moths changing into moths is not evolution, and for another, the process is clearly reversible. What creationists rightly pointed out is that fraud was originally used to obtain the result that the original experimenter desired.

Prayer: We pray, Heavenly Father, that we will come before You, speaking with honesty and integrity, as good witnesses should. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Sexton, C. (2018), Moth study confirms Darwin’s theory of evolution, < https://www.earth.com/news/moths-darwins-theory-evolution/ >, accessed 1/31/2019. Image: Both moths separately licensed as CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Combined image produced by author.