Darwin's Finches

Darwin & the Galapagos Islands

Friends, I am a bird lover so I found Kerby's commentary below very interesting. I also find it interesting that theories and philosophies of evolution, communism, socialism, fascism, nazism, atheism and other isms came into being around the same time - approximately 1840.
Alan
Kerby Anderson wrote the following article.
Open just about any biology textbook and you will see pictures of what are knownas Darwin’s Finches. They appear in textbooks for two reasons. First, Charles Darwin got inspiration for his theory of evolution when he observed them on the Galapagos Islands. Second, they are used to “prove” evolution since there are various beak sizes on the birds.
In my book “A Biblical Point of View on Intelligent Design” I point-out that the diversity of these finches really doesn’t prove evolution. One scientific study found that during a period of drought, the average beak size increased slightly. The reason cited for this is that during dry periods, most available seeds are larger and tougher to crack than at other times. So, finches with larger beaks do better under conditions of drought.
I spent an afternoon looking at specimens of Darwin’s Finches in graduate school at Yale University and I should point-out that changes in beak thickness are minimal. Moreover, the changes seem to be cyclical. When rains return, original size seeds reappear and the average beak size returns to normal.
This is not evolution. It is an interesting cyclical pattern in natural history. It shows selection pressure in nature. But it’s not evolution!
If this is evolution occurring, then we should be seeing macro changes that would allow these finches to evolve into another species. But this cyclical pattern shows just the opposite. Minor changes in beak size and thickness actually allow them to remain finches under changing environmental conditions. It does not show them evolving into other types of birds.
The story is a bit more complex than I can describe in a two-minute commentary, but you get the idea. You can find pictures of Darwin’s Finches in nearly every biology textbook in the country. And guess where in the textbook you find them? In the evolution section. There’s one problem: they don’t show evolution! I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.