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Where are the Transitional Fossils?

Where are the Transitional Fossils?

A common argument leveled against the theory of evolution is that scientists have not been able to produce transitional fossils that show the change of one species into another. In this podcast, we address a common misconception about what transitional fossils actually are.
Feb 01, 2013 
Kelsey Luoma 
History of Life, Evolution - Evidence, Fossils
166
<strong>Series:</strong> The Human Fossil Record

Series: The Human Fossil Record

In this series, James Kidder provides an intriguing study on transitional fossils and the evolutionary history of modern humans. He begins by discussing the fossil record, explaining how new forms are classified. He then explains the physically distinguishing trait of humankind—bipedalism. From the discovery of Ardipithecus, the earliest known hominin, to the australopithecines, the most prolific hominin, Kidder focuses on the discovery, the anatomy, and the interpretation of these ancestral remains.
Jan 21, 2013 
James Kidder 
Human Origins, Evolution - How It Works, ID Movement, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils, Evolution - Evidence
Surveying George Murphy's Theology of the Cross

Surveying George Murphy's Theology of the Cross

If God himself is willing to die, particularly in such a gruesome way, then perhaps we should at least consider the possibility of God allowing the death of other creatures, too. But would this really be compatible with what we know of God through Scripture?
Dec 04, 2012 
Thomas Burnett 
Christ & New Creation, ID Movement, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils
3
<strong>Series:</strong> Genesis Through Ancient Eyes

Series: Genesis Through Ancient Eyes

In this talk, originally delivered at the BioLogos President's Circle meeting in October 2012, Dr. John Walton discusses the origin stories of Genesis 1-3, and why their focus on function and archetypes mean there is no Biblical narrative of material origins.
Oct 18, 2012 
John Walton 
Creation & Origins, Genesis, Ancient Cultures
<strong>Series:</strong> Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology

Series: Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology

Gregg Davidson and Ken Wolgemuth seek to remove the stumbling block of the Genesis flood in this four part series. Though many believe in an ancient world-wide flood, the evidence given does not hold up to geological scrutiny, but points rather to something regional instead. It is their hope that Christians will not walk away from faith in Christ simply because a global flood is not supported by science. Looking at natural phenomena like the Grand Canyon, salt beds, and fossil deposits, they reveal reasons for these deposits and structures while showing that their origin did not stem from a violent flood that covered the planet.
Sep 15, 2012 
Gregg Davidson, Wolgemuth, Ken 
Earth, Universe & Time, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils, The Flood
Hominids Lived Millions of Years Ago, but How Can We Tell? (Videocast)

Hominids Lived Millions of Years Ago, but How Can We Tell? (Videocast)

This BioLogos videocast addresses the age of recently discovered hominid fossils and how scientists are able to obtain those dates.
Jul 26, 2012 
Joy Walters 
Human Origins, Fossils
12
The Fossil Record

The Fossil Record

There are two opposite errors which need to be countered about the fossil record: 1) that it is so incomplete as to be of no value in interpreting patterns and trends in the history of life, and 2) that it is so good that we should expect a relatively complete record of the details of evolutionary transitions within all or most lineages.
Jul 13, 2012 
Keith Miller 
History of Life, Fossils, Evolution - Evidence
8
What scientific evidence do we have about the first humans?

What scientific evidence do we have about the first humans?

In recent decades, scientists have discovered more about the beginnings of humanity. The fossil record shows a gradual transition over 5 million years ago from chimpanzee-size creatures to hominids with larger brains who walked on two legs. Later hominids used fire and stone tools and had brains as large as modern humans. Fossils of homo sapiens in east Africa date back nearly 200,000 years. Humans developed hearths for fire, stone points for spears and arrows, and cave paintings by 30,000 years ago. By 10,000 years ago, humans had spread throughout the globe. Genetic studies support the same picture. Humans share more DNA with chimpanzees than with any other animal, suggesting that humans and chimps share a relatively recent common ancestor. Also, the same defective genes appear in both humans and chimps, at the same locations in the genome—an observation difficult to explain except by common ancestry. Genetics also tells us that the human population today descended from more than two people. Evolution happens not to individuals but to populations, and the amount of genetic diversity in the gene pool today suggests that the human population was never smaller than several thousand individuals. Yet all humans, of all races, are descended from this group. Humanity is one family.
Jul 12, 2012 
 
Human Origins, Evolution - Evidence, Fossils
Revealing God's Nature

Revealing God's Nature

In today's video, Brian McLaren discusses the value of considering Scripture in light of the cultures that surrounded them. The Biblical writers were aware of the myths of the power nations that surrounded them, but flipped their stories on their heads to reveal truth about God.
Jan 18, 2012 
Brian McLaren 
Biblical Interpretation, Ancient Cultures, Genesis
2
Beginning with the End in Mind

Beginning with the End in Mind

In today's video, Oxford physicist Ard Louis discusses the famous debate between renowned evolutionary biologists Stephen Jay Gould and Simon Conway Morris over the idea of evolutionary convergence.
Dec 15, 2011 
Ard Louis 
Design, Evolution - How It Works, Randomness, Fossils
32
Evidences for Evolution, Part 2b: The Whales’ Tale

Evidences for Evolution, Part 2b: The Whales’ Tale

If evolution is true, whales are related to the even-toed hoofed mammals, and there should be transitional fossil forms dating from about 45 to 50 million years ago.
Nov 27, 2011 
David Kerk 
History of Life, Evolution - Evidence, Fossils
20
Seeing the Flood Story Through an Ancient Israelite Lens

Seeing the Flood Story Through an Ancient Israelite Lens

Pete Shaw highlights the story of Noah to explore how the story would have been understood in ancient times and from there he goes on to explore how we might consider it today.
Nov 12, 2011 
Pete Shaw 
Biblical Interpretation, Sermons, The Flood, Ancient Cultures
2
New Limbs from Old Fins, Part 2: Comparative Anatomy

New Limbs from Old Fins, Part 2: Comparative Anatomy

Critics of evolution sometimes portray the theory as an untestable historical conjecture, depicting it as fundamentally different from experimental science in the lab. But the hunt for the earliest tetrapods was an effort to test a hypothesis that had generated a prediction.
Sep 16, 2011 
Stephen Matheson 
History of Life, Evolution - Evidence, Fossils
35
<strong>Series:</strong> From the Dust

Series: From the Dust

In this series, Ryan Pettey offers several clips from his powerful documentary "From the Dust". This feature-length film is divided up into various sections, each of which wrestles with the difficult problems that arise when reconciling Scripture with the theory of evolution. A light of hope dawns on the science-faith conversation, however, as scientists and theologians engage in honest dialogue about tough issues such as the interpretation of Genesis, the nature of the Fall, and the idea of random design. Their profound insights are sure to enlighten all minds, raise deeper questions, and provoke new thought.
Jul 06, 2011 
Ryan Pettey 
Biblical Interpretation, Young Earth Creationism, Genesis, Ancient Cultures
<strong>Series:</strong> Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible

Series: Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible

In this six part series, Brian Godawa takes a closer look at cosmography and its relationship to the Bible. After defining cosmography as a theory that describes features of the heavens and the earth, he relates how his own views about the universe have shifted. He then continues to talk about the Mesopotamian cosmography that is so consistently reflected in Scripture. This view of the universe includes aspects such as the firmament, the pillars, the underworld, the heavens above, the watery abyss. He then explains how one understands these concepts in terms of modern scientific thought.
May 30, 2011 
Brian Godawa 
Creation & Origins, Ancient Cultures
The Cambrian 'Explosion', Transitional Forms, and the Tree of Life

The Cambrian 'Explosion', Transitional Forms, and the Tree of Life

Geologist Keith Miller examines the "Cambrian Explosion", a period of rapid evolutionary diversification approximately 575 million years ago, and whether it poses a challenge to evolutionary theory.
May 02, 2011 
Keith Miller 
History of Life, Fossils
Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution

Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution

Professor Denis Lamoureux presents the theory of evolutionary creation, which claims that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe and life through an ordained, sustained, and design-reflecting evolutionary process. The view of origins, says Lamoureux, fully embraces both the religious beliefs of biblical Christianity and the scientific theories of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution.
Apr 25, 2011 
Denis Lamoureux 
Creation & Origins, Genesis, Ancient Cultures
The Biblical Creation in its Ancient Near Eastern Context

The Biblical Creation in its Ancient Near Eastern Context

"As a Christian and a biblical scholar, I care both about Scripture as truth and about the ongoing scholarly conversation regarding the composition of the Hebrew Scriptures. And so, when I was asked to speak on the story of creation in Genesis 1, I welcomed the opportunity to give my thoughts on the interaction between this text and its ancient Near Eastern context."
Apr 25, 2011 
Joseph Lam 
Creation & Origins, Genesis, Ancient Cultures
Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible

Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible

Brian Godawa looks at several aspects of ancient cosmography (descriptions of the universe) that also appear in the Bible, and what these aspects of the text mean for our understanding of Scripture.
Apr 25, 2011 
Brian Godawa 
Creation & Origins, Ancient Cultures
Biblical Creation and Storytelling: Cosmogony, Combat and Covenant

Biblical Creation and Storytelling: Cosmogony, Combat and Covenant

The literary conventions employed in Genesis chapter 1 mark it out, not as a scientific document describing material origins, but as a theological polemic against surrounding ancient Near Eastern pagan religions. Creation language here and elsewhere in Scripture is not about establishing scientific origins of material substance and structure but about covenantal establishment and worldview.
Apr 25, 2011 
Brian Godawa 
Creation & Origins, Ancient Cultures
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