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Line 2: − + − + − In the study of biological species, the facts include fossils and measurements of these fossils. The location of a fossil is an example of a + − fact (using the scientific meaning of the word fact). In species that rapidly reproduce, for example [[fruit flies]], the process of evolutionary change has been observed in the laboratory.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Dobzhansky T, Pavlovsky O |title=Experimentally created incipient species of Drosophila |journal=Nature |volume=230 |issue=5292 |pages=289–92 |year=1971 |pmid=5549403 |doi=10.1038/230289a0}}</ref> The observation of fruit fly populations changing character is also an example of a fact, using the scientific meaning of the word fact. So evolution is a fact, at least using the scientific meaning of the word fact. These facts require an explanation, just as the observations of gravity did. − In biology, there have been many attempts to explain these observations over the years. [[Lamarckism]], [[Transmutationism]] and [[Orthogenesis]] were all non-Darwinian theories that attempted to explain the observations of species and fossils and other evidence. However, the '''Theory of Evolution''' is the explanation for all relevant observations regarding the development of life, based on a model that explains all the available data and observations. Thus, evolution is not only a fact but also a theory, just as gravity is both a fact and a theory.+ − − {| class="wikitable" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 − |- − !style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |Gravity!!style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |Evolution − |- − |Things falling is an observation of the pull of bodies towards each other.||Fruit flies changing generation to generation is an observation of generational organism change. − |- − |Bodies pulling towards each other is called gravity.||Organisms changing generation to generation is called evolution. − |- − |Gravity is a fact.||Evolution is a fact. − |- − !style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |An explanation for the facts of gravity.!!style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |An explanation for the facts of evolution. − |- − |[[Aristotle]] and [[Galileo]] created explanations of the ''fact'' of gravity. These are now obsolete explanations. ||[[Lamarckism]], [[Transmutationism]] and [[Orthogenesis]] were created as explanations of the fact of evolution. These are now discredited explanations. − |- − |[[Isaac Newton|Newton's]] explanation of gravity is approximately correct but required refinement.||[[Charles Darwin|Darwin's]] explanation of evolution is approximately correct, but required refinement. − |- − |[[Einstein]]'s explanation is a refinement of Newton's explanation of gravity. Einstein's explanation is currently the most accepted explanation of the fact of gravity. || The [[modern evolutionary synthesis]] is a refinement of Darwin's explanation of evolution. This modern synthesis is currently the most accepted explanation of the fact of evolution. − |- − |Einstein's explanation of the fact of gravity is called ''The General theory of relativity''. ||The explanation of the fact of evolution provided by the modern synthesis is the latest and most widely accepted ''Theory of Evolution''. − |- − !style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |Gravity is a fact and a theory.!!style="background:#d0e5f5;color:black" |Evolution is a fact and a theory. − |}
Undo revision 480853 by Godisawesome (Talk)
:Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, NASB)
:Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, NASB)
==Scientific terminology applied to evolution==
==The Practicality of Christian "Faith"==
The terms fact and theory can be applied to evolution, just as they are to gravity.<ref name=Moran/> Misuse and misunderstanding of how those terms are applied to evolution have been used to construct arguments disputing the validity of evolution.
The verb for the word "faith" in Greek is πιστεύω (pisteuo), which is translated most often as "believe" in English. Having faith, believing, trusting, or having confidence are all things that imply much more than a simple head knowledge about something, and more specifically God himself. For example, it is possible for one to acknowledge God's existence and know it as a fact deduced from logical arguments, and yet still not make God a practical faith, belief, trust, or confidence in their life. Faith, then, is a trusting action taken based on knowledge.
Often times the example of a chair is given to illustrate the practicality of biblical faith. When you sit down in a chair (and perhaps you are now, while reading this article), do you generally worry whether that chair will hold you up? Usually, one will never think about the chair, and take it for granted. Another way to think of that same illustration is a person who sits on the edge of their seat, because they are nervous about the chair. They are not sitting back and resting in the chair, but tensed and ready just in case it turns out that the chair becomes untrustworthy and falls over.
This is what it means to have biblical faith in God. It means a knowledge of God and who he is in his character and actions, and resting in that knowledge from day to day.
==Faith and Knowledge==
==Faith and Knowledge==