turbo420 wrote:My two cents:
I am a Christian, I also believe in evolution to an extent, with one problem. If each feature of nature is created out of genetic defects that give an advantage spaced across billions of years, how did the eye form? Merely one mutation would give no advantage. More over, the eye doesn't function without nearly all of the extremely complicated pieces intact. So why would a species carry a genetic trait that gave no advantage, and why would this trait be more prominent? It is hard to swallow that something that did not give an advantage would be preferred for billions of years through breeding until all the eye was able to be formed through just the right combination of genetic defects. Also, the jump between sea creatures that were only able to tell light and dark to the eye that can find edges, contrast, color, movement, and works dependently with parts of the brain is a little hard to explain without accepting that God handles these things as he sees fit.
That is a valid, rational argument, and I commend you for thinking it out logically.
My guess is this. A mutated creature will not necessarily die unless its mutation severely impairs its ability to survive (or it gets unlucky and a shark chomps it up =D). As long as mutations are positive or not too harmful, theoretically over billions of years we could advance a lot.
Following this line of thinking, perhaps something resembling an eye formed in a creature, and slowly became functional over thousands of generations.
It certainly does present an interesting question which I can't say I have the answer to.
