Hey Des, just wanted to answer some of your questions about how evolution is studied. Hopefully you will start to understand how science is actually practiced.
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Because Evolution is not proven to be an absolute fact by science,it must take some faith to believe it.
Not one theory, including evolution, is taken on faith nor accepted as being 100% proven. Some theories are trusted for their accurate track record, but if data ever came out that falsified the theory, then that theory would be thrown out. For instance, Newton's laws of motion are actually incorrect and have been thrown out as describing all of the data. The theory of relativity actually is a better model to fit all of the data. However, for slow velocities Newton's laws are still close enough and are still used in most circumstances.
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Can you observe evolution taking place? Reproducing is not the same thing.
Yes we can. We have observed bacteria that adapt to new environments, such as the nylon bug, and we also see populations splitting into two new species. Evolution has been observed, and observed evolution is a fact. The theory of evolution extends what we have observed into the fossils we see in the geologic column. The theory is that natural mechanisms that guide the adaptation and speciation of organisms today were the same mechanisms that diversified life millions of years ago. The theory of evolution is an extension of observed facts we see today.
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Can you test evolution? Can you test evolution and draw your conclusions from these tests that it's a known fact?
Like I said before, no theory is proven to be a fact. Only observations are facts, the model that tries to explain the facts are theories. And yes, evolution can be tested, or rather the model of evolution can be tested. Here is a sample of a few broad tests that evolution has passed:
1. The genetic differences between two species is in direct relationship to the span of time since commmon ancestory. That is, the farther back in time that the two species shared a common ancestor, as seen in the fossil record, the greater the dissimilarity between their genetic sequences. Evolution passes this test.
2. Phylogeny should be related to the age of fossils. That is, the evolutionary tree built from differences in body shape should be reflected in the ages of the fossils. The body shape tree is made independently of the age, but the two still match up. This test shows how the fossils are laid down according to evolutionary mechanisms, or the inheritance of morphology and adaptation of new morphology. Combine this with the genetic data above and you have three independent variables that all come to the same conclusion, evolution probably happened.
3. ERVs. ERV is an acronym for endogenous retroviral insertions. Very rarely, a virus will not kill the cell that it infects. When this happens, the virus leaves an imprint in the host's genome. The chances of two organisms having the same exact insertion in the same exact spot in their genome is astronomical. However, we find that humans and chimps share ERVs that are too similar to have happened by chance. The only way to explain this is that humans and chimps branched from the same parent species. In this way, the insertion only had to happen once, instead of happening in the same exact way in two different species.
These are just a few tests that evolution has been put under, and has passed. Maybe you could give us an example of how to test for a young earth and created species?
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Can you verify evolution? Is it repeatable? Can you repeat evolution?
Any of the 3 tests above can be repeated with any fossil, any living species, or any phylogenetic tree. The DNA sequences and fossil shape are repeatable observations that anyone has access to. However, we can't go back in time and observe it first hand. In this way, evolutionary investigation is much like an episode of CSI, looking for evidence that should be there if the crime were committed. Forensic science within criminology shares quite a few parallels with evolutionary science.
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All of us observe life each day.Where is the life that is evolving?
Every time an organism reproduces. Each new organism (with perhaps the exception of clonal species) holds a unique DNA sequence that has never been seen before. Even you have DNA mutations that neither your father or mother had. Each new generation is a new step in an evolutionary walk. However, it takes quite a few steps/generations before we can decipher where that walk is leading. It is kind of like looking at your TV screen up close to where you are know longer able to see the big picture. It is only after multiple generations and lots of measurements that we begin to see the larger picture.
I hope all of this helps, as it seems you are becoming intrigued by our little corner of the internet. As I and many others have said before, you can be a evolutionary scientist and a christian. I grew up in a church and was influenced by creationist teachings. However, the evidence for evolution was so overwhelmingly huge that I could no longer deny it. Through all of this, I never questioned the existence of God because of my scientific understanding of nature, nor did nature seize to be a wonderment that fascinates me till this day. All I can say is good luck, and keep your ears/eyes/mind open and take the attitude that admitting you may be wrong is a step towards increasing your knowledge.
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