by Bill Nugent
Article #113
In studying the theory of evolution one is soon confronted with the concept of micro-evolution. Micro-evolution is the small observed changes in the gene pools of species of living organisms. The interbreeding of varieties of dogs to produce a new breed is an example of micro-evolution. Cattle breeders and hog breeders use the same principles.
Micro-evolution is not really evolution in the proper sense since it involves simply rearranging pre-existing genes in the gene pool. No new genetic information is added to the gene pool. The genes for the new breed of dog were in the gene pool at the start of the breeding process.
A poodle is a collection of genetic errors that accumulated in the dog gene pool. The stunted body, curly white fur and yapping bark are the result of careful inbreeding to combine the genes with these features. The short snout of the bulldog and the constant drooling of the St. Bernard are also genetic errors. These features are the result of genetic mutations that deleted base pairs from the genes. These features would most likely not be advantageous in the wild.
An HIV (AIDS) virus has over one million base pairs in the genes of its DNA. We often read of reports of new mutant strains of HIV that are resistant to various anti-viral drugs. This drug resistance comes about because of the deletion of base pairs in the DNA of the HIV virus. This deletion of base pairs changes the virus and how it reacts to the drugs. The DNA of HIV is prone to copying errors perhaps because of a lack of RNA proofreading. This again does not offer proof for evolution but is just an example of devolution. The DNA of the HIV is losing information over time. Devolution is the opposite of evolution. Devolution is evolution in reverse.
Dr. Lee Spetner, author of Not By Chance: Shattering the Modern Theory of Evolution, has said that no genetic mutation ever studied has been found to have added information to the DNA. (Even naturally occurring gene splicing simply transfers genetic info from one organism to another without a net increase in total info in the entire gene pool.) The human genome (DNA) contains over 30,000 genes that collectively consist of over a billion chemical base pairs. The deletion of even one base pair through mutation can have a profound consequence.
The deletion of one or more chemical base pairs from the DNA of a dog could, through proper interbreeding and inbreeding, result in a new breed of dog. It would be a new breed and not a new species because a new species would require a much greater change in the DNA.
The deletion of chemical base pairs from the DNA resulting in new breeds is not evolution but is DEVOLUTION. Life is not evolving upward but is devolving downward. There is an accumulation of mutations in the genes of all living things. The observed tendency of destructive mutational errors accumulating in the genes of living things serves to disprove Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwinian evolution predicts that beneficial mutations will accumulate in the genes.
This devolution or corrupting of the genetic blue prints of living things is a result of the curse that came on the world as a result of sin. God said to Adam after he fell into sin: “cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Genesis 3:17).
We thank God for His great and precious promises to us. The curse on the creation that came as a result of sin will be lifted because of the redemption brought about by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God will “>b>make all Things New” (Revelation 21:5) and He will Give us a “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). We can look forward to a time when God will repair the DNA of all living things.