Creation biology is an attempt to study biology from a creationary perspective. According to its proponents, it is a synthesis of science and religion, as it attempts to draw from both sources in developing its ideas.
Creation biology is based on the idea that God created all life on the planet as described in the Genesis account of Creation, in a finite number of discrete created kinds or baramin. Creation biologists assert that while these forms of life were given the ability to vary a great deal and even undergo speciation, these kinds cannot arise spontaneously, cannot interbreed, and cannot increase in complexity.
As such, creation biology differs from mainstream biology mainly in its rejection of macroevolution and universal common descent. Since creation biology is concerned almost exclusively with the origins of living things, creation biologists accept much of mainstream biology with regard to physiology, the structure of the cell, the genomic basis of life, microevolution, and speciation.
Creation organizations advocating a number of ideas ranging from Young Earth Creationism to Intelligent Design have proposed a number of ideas, which differ significantly from evolutionary biology.
- Biogenesis, that is, the idea that life can only come from life, and cannot arise from non-life. This runs contrary to naturalistic theories of abiogenesis.
- Teleology, that is, the idea that God designed life with intricate and interconnected components for a purpose, and then determined that they were "good." This runs contrary to the empirical model of modern science which claims that there is no empirically observed instance of supernatural influences in nature..
- Created kinds or Baraminology, that is, the idea that life was originally created in a finite number of discrete "kinds" or "baramin", and that while these kinds had the ability to vary significantly within their kind, one kind cannot interbreed with another kind, and new kinds cannot arise spontaneously. This runs contrary to the theory of universal common ancestry, that is, that all life on the planet is related via macroevolution.
- Irreducible complexity, that is, the claim made by Michael Behe that there exists systems in life that are composed of interdependent components where the absence of one would cause the entire system to fail. Creation biologists claim that these systems are essentially interdependent, and it is therefore more reasonable to believe they were designed and assembled together for a purpose. They also claim that the theory of biological evolution cannot convincingly explain how these parts evolved as part of a viable living system.
- Specified complexity, that is, the claim made by William Dembski that genetic information is "complex specified information" (CSI), that natural processes can reduce and change CSI, but can never increase it, and that it is therefore more reasonable to infer that such information was created through the intervention of an intelligent designer rather than being the sole product of evolutionary processes. This runs contrary to the idea that all biological features are the result of evolution.
External links
Sources
Sarfati, Jonathon. Refuting Compromise, Master Books, 2004.