Get Involved

Receive the Newsletter

Enjoying our resources? Receive our monthly newsletter and more from BioLogos, tailored to your interests!

Join Now

Donate to BioLogos!

Help us equip Christians to explore and proclaim a passionate faith in today’s scientific age!

Give Now


BioLogos Voices is a speakers bureau featuring top scholars and communicators in the BioLogos community. Book a speaker for your next event!

Learn More
See All Events


Join the online community! We welcome you to be a part of the growing group of people who are seeing science as the study of God’s creation while upholding the authority of the Bible!

Join Now
About BioLogos

About Us

Our Mission
Our History
What We Believe
Annual Reports
Endorsements


What We Do

BioLogos Conferences
Resource Centers
Events
BioLogos Voices (Speaker’s Bureau)
Language of God Podcast
INTEGRATE Curriculum


Our Team

Staff
Board of Directors
Advisory Council
Francis Collins
Careers

ForumsGive
https://biologos.org/resources/how-evolution-works-part-2/
Browse Common Questions

Biblical Interpretation

How should we interpret the Genesis flood account?

How long are the days of Genesis 1?

How should we interpret the Bible?

See All
Christianity & Science

What is Evolutionary Creation?

Should We Trust Science?

How is BioLogos different from Evolutionism, Intelligent Design, and Creationism?

Are science and Christianity at war?

See All
Scientific Evidence

What does the fossil record show?

What is the genetic evidence for human evolution?

Does the Cambrian Explosion pose a challenge to evolution?

See All
God's Relationship to Creation

Why should Christians care for creation?

What do “fine-tuning” and the “multiverse” say about God?

What created God?

See All
Human Origins

Did death occur before the Fall?

How could humans have evolved and still be in the “Image of God”?

Were Adam and Eve historical figures?

See All
Browse Resources

Get Started

Use the links below to browse content carefully curated for BioLogos beginners.

Common Questions
Resource Centers
BioLogos Basics Videos
BioLogos Podcast
Impact Stories
Recommended Books


Featured Authors
Francis CollinsFrancis Collins
Deborah HaarsmaDeborah Haarsma
N.T. WrightN.T. Wright
Praveen SethupathyPraveen Sethupathy

BioLogos Resource Centers

K-12 Educators Resource Center
Pastors Resource Center
Youth Ministry Resource Center
Campus Ministry Resource Center
Small Groups Resource Center


By Type

Common Questions
Articles
Series
Videos
Podcast Episodes
Audio
Books
Impact Stories

What are you looking for?

  • Forums
  • Give

 
Video

How Evolution Works, Part 2

Published on August 16, 2015
  • Evolution
  • Evolutionary Creation
  • Fossils

This is the seventh video in a series of short videos to help introduce topics for those new to the Christianity and science conversation. See entire series.

Watch in Theater Mode

Most critics of evolution accept microevolution but are skeptical of macroevolution—the claim that small changes can add up to big changes over long stretches of time. While the particulars of the mechanisms for such change are not all fully understood, there is very little disagreement among biologists that we now have powerful models of macroevolutionary transitions. These models make testable predictions and are continuously being refined by new evidence.

Whales provide a clear example of macroevolution. They are superficially similar to fish, but are, in fact, mammals! Darwin himself wondered whether whales had evolved from mammals on land, but he had no real empirical evidence for such a claim. Now we have impressive evidence.

In 1978 a 49 million year old skull was discovered that belonged to a land-dwelling wolf-like creature whose inner ear structure was curiously similar to that of modern whales. This led to a search for transitional forms, and very quickly a series of fossils spanning about ten million years was found that showed clear signs of increasing adaptation to life in water. The spine and legs were modified to allow for more efficient modes of swimming; nostrils moved toward the top of the skull, later becoming a blow hole; and hind legs eventually shrank to where they could no longer support the animals on land.

Many more fossils fit into this picture of whale evolution—more than 1000 specimens have been discovered in the Valley of Whales in what is now Egyptian desert. Remember these are not necessarily direct ancestors of whales today. That’s not how evolution works. More likely is that these represent related species that were evolving over millions of years. And taken together, they form an impressive picture of significant change in this lineage of mammals. This picture is not the result of wishful thinking or driven by unwarranted assumptions. It has emerged as the result of careful observation of evidence, which leads to the formation of hypotheses; these make predictions of future finds and are tested by observable evidence which is open to the scrutiny of others.

At BioLogos we see this interconnectedness of life as a testimony to God’s creativity. He worked through simple natural processes to fashion dinosaurs and daisies, weevils and warthogs, and human beings in his own image. He could have snapped his fingers to do this instantaneously, but both scripture and the natural world reveal that God delights in working through processes to accomplish his will. Evidence from the fossil record and also in the distribution and comparison of species supports the claim that he worked through evolution. And today we find even more persuasive evidence in genetics.


Related Videos

Francis Collins, founder of BioLogos
1. What is BioLogos?
2. Is God the Creator?
3. What about the Bible?
4. How did God create the ingredients for life?
5. How Old is the Earth?
What is evolution?
6. How Evolution Works, Part 1
8. What is Genetics?
What Happens to Christian Theology if Evolution is True?
9. What Happens to Christian Theology if Evolution is True?
10. What's the Point?
See all videos 

01/06

Related Resources

If you enjoyed this resource, we recommend you check out one of the following:

All Resources
  • two whale tails sticking out of the water
    Article
    By Ryan Bebej 

    Defending the Tale of the Whale

    Is the story of whale evolution in trouble? An expert walks through recent claims.

  • an orange depiction of a branching tree
    Blog Post
    By M. Elizabeth Barnes 

    Evolution Education On the Rise

    The tide is beginning to turn: A new study shows that teaching evolution is becoming more common in high school, as teachers are spending more time teaching evolution and less time teaching creationism as an alternative.

  • person in yellow beanie and gray hoodie covering face with hands
    Personal Story
    By David Goodman 

    Don’t Be Afraid to Look

    A physician and dad finally takes the time to examine his beliefs and questions about evolution and the Bible, finding they are worth the journey.

  • silhouette of person standing on rock in water looking at sunset
    Podcast Episode
    Featuring guest Denis Lamoureux 

    Denis Lamoureux | God Meets Us Where We Are

    Denis tells the story of atheism to young earth creationism to evolutionary creationism and how it was the bible that led him there.

  • yellow bird on branch singing
    Podcast Episode
    Featuring guest David Lahti 

    David Lahti | Nature, Culture & Evolution

    Jim and David talk about cultural evolution and how the ideas interplay with the current landscape of faith and science in the United States.

  • cancer cells
    Article
    By Sy Garte 

    Purpose, Evolution, and Self-Replication

    While natural selection is a very powerful mechanism in evolution, paying more attention to the nature of biological self-replication, we can see hints of the origin of purpose in life.

  • two whale tails sticking out of the water
    Article
    By Ryan Bebej 

    Defending the Tale of the Whale

    Is the story of whale evolution in trouble? An expert walks through recent claims.

  • an orange depiction of a branching tree
    Blog Post
    By M. Elizabeth Barnes 

    Evolution Education On the Rise

    The tide is beginning to turn: A new study shows that teaching evolution is becoming more common in high school, as teachers are spending more time teaching evolution and less time teaching creationism as an alternative.

  • person in yellow beanie and gray hoodie covering face with hands
    Personal Story
    By David Goodman 

    Don’t Be Afraid to Look

    A physician and dad finally takes the time to examine his beliefs and questions about evolution and the Bible, finding they are worth the journey.

  • silhouette of person standing on rock in water looking at sunset
    Podcast Episode
    Featuring guest Denis Lamoureux 

    Denis Lamoureux | God Meets Us Where We Are

    Denis tells the story of atheism to young earth creationism to evolutionary creationism and how it was the bible that led him there.

  • yellow bird on branch singing
    Podcast Episode
    Featuring guest David Lahti 

    David Lahti | Nature, Culture & Evolution

    Jim and David talk about cultural evolution and how the ideas interplay with the current landscape of faith and science in the United States.

  • cancer cells
    Article
    By Sy Garte 

    Purpose, Evolution, and Self-Replication

    While natural selection is a very powerful mechanism in evolution, paying more attention to the nature of biological self-replication, we can see hints of the origin of purpose in life.

  • two whale tails sticking out of the water
    Article
    By Ryan Bebej 

    Defending the Tale of the Whale

    Is the story of whale evolution in trouble? An expert walks through recent claims.

  • an orange depiction of a branching tree
    Blog Post
    By M. Elizabeth Barnes 

    Evolution Education On the Rise

    The tide is beginning to turn: A new study shows that teaching evolution is becoming more common in high school, as teachers are spending more time teaching evolution and less time teaching creationism as an alternative.

  • person in yellow beanie and gray hoodie covering face with hands
    Personal Story
    By David Goodman 

    Don’t Be Afraid to Look

    A physician and dad finally takes the time to examine his beliefs and questions about evolution and the Bible, finding they are worth the journey.

  • Common Questions

    Resources

    Christianity and Science
    Scientific Evidence
    Biblical Interpretation
    God’s Relationship to Creation
    Human Origins

    Getting Started
    Common Questions
    Resource Centers
    BioLogos Basics Videos
    Language of God Podcast
    Impact Stories
    Recommended Books

    By Type
    Common Questions
    Articles
    Series
    Videos
    Podcast Episodes
    Audio
    Books
    Impact Stories

    By Topic
    Bible
    Science
    Theology & Philosophy
    Church & Culture
    The Creation Conversation

    Resources by Audience
    Pastors
    K-12 Educators
    Small Groups
    Youth Ministry
    Campus Ministry

    Get BioLogos Resources


    © BioLogos 2019  Terms of Use   Privacy   Contact Us   RSS

    About Us

    Our Mission
    Our History
    What We Believe
    Annual Reports
    Endorsements

    Get Involved

    Open Forum
    Homeschool Forum
    Attend an Event
    Donate

    What We Do

    BioLogos Conferences
    Resource Centers
    Events
    BioLogos Voices (Speaker’s Bureau)
    Language of God Podcast
    INTEGRATE Curriculum

    Social Media

    BioLogos on Instagram BioLogos on YouTube BioLogos on Twitter BioLogos on Facebook

    It looks like your cart is empty!

    Subtotal: $0.00

    Sign up or log in to continue checkoutBrowse All Units