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Jonathan Wells on Whale Evolution and a “Materialistic Creation Story”

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On a new episode of ID the Future, Discovery Institute biologists Jonathan Wells and Ray Bohlin round out a really interesting series on the challenge to Darwinism from the enigma of whale evolution.

Download the episode by clicking here:

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In the context of whales, the fossil evidence and genetic evidence alike are fatal to traditional Darwinian accounts, while gesturing to intelligent design as a more plausible alternative. Whales in current thinking may have made the transition to a fully aquatic lifestyle in as little a a million years. That is all but “overnight” in realistic evolutionary terms.

Wells compares this transition, extensive and dramatic, with the case of giraffes and the shorter-necked okapis. Separating from a common ancestor with okapis, giraffes accomplished their extended neck in perhaps 11 million years, requiring a possible 46 genetic differences relating to the neck’s elongation.

Assuming it took that long to accomplish such a a relatively modest evolutionary feat, to imagine that whales took to the sea, with the many far more dramatic innovations that assumes, in just a million years becomes all but unthinkable.

Since whales are so uncooperative in lending support to the evolutionary story, they are used instead by Darwinists as mere “illustrations” in what Jonathan Wells calls “materialistic creation story.” So much for these aquatic mammals as an icon of evolution.

Photo: Humpback whale fluke, via Wikicommons.

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David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

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