Evolution

"Life is perfected through generation"

The dynamics of evolution are quite simple, and undeniable:

Creatures that have the ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment pass on their genetic codes and behavioral tendencies to their offspring.

Creatures that do not have the ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment die, leave no offspring, and their genetic codes and behavioral tendencies disappear from the earth. 

The modern human mind may view this as brutal, and even unfair, but time has proven this design. It is neither good, nor bad, fair, nor unfair, it is simply what worked. It has kept the ecosystem of Earth in balance no matter how dramatic the changes in earthly environments have been. Specific species may evolve and thrive in one environment, only to perish as a result of a dramatic change in that environment enabling other species to rise and thrive in the new environment.

The modern debate over evolution between scientists, and religious theologians is centered around the Source of this brilliant design. How did this magnificent universe with its living Earth come into being, and how long did it take to produce it? Scientists base their beliefs on centuries of objective mental study of the physical universe. Most religious theologians base their beliefs on the common interpretation of the ancient text of the Bible. The argument is about the Source of matter, and how much time it took to produce the physical universe. Scientists believe that matter mysteriously appeared from "nothing" and the universe evolved slowly over billions of years. Bible theologians believe the entire universe was created in 6 days by an ingenious Entity known as "God", based on the first few chapters of the Bible that were written in the deserts of the Middle East approximately 3,500 years ago by an exiled Egyptian prince of Hebrew ancestry.

Rather than argue the differences between these two opinions, let's consider the common elements they both share:

The first chapter of the Bible states that the Earth "was without form" until the third day, and the Sun wasn't formed until the fourth day. Mankind has always measured the length of a day as the time it takes for the Sun to come up in the east, set in the west, and come up again in the east (24 hours). Modern science has shown us that this is the time it takes the Earth to make one revolution on it's axis, information that was not available to the authors of the Bible. From the first few verses of the Bible we can truthfully assert that the time involved in the first "days" of Creation was not measured in the same way mankind measures a day. Based on this fact it is not unreasonable to believe that the first "day" described in the Bible could very possibly have been billions of years in our modern measure of time.

A person of faith, or a person of science could appreciate the brilliance of Creation at a whole new level believing that during this first, immeasurable cosmic day The Etherial Intelligence of "God" designed matter, with the dynamics of evolution coded into it at the sub-atomic level, and willed matter into existence knowing that this incomprehensibly brilliant design would produce myriads of life forms over time through which "God" could experience, and perfect His magnificent Creation.

The question that needs to be asked is:

"Does intelligence require matter?"