THE THEORIES // Evolution complex, creation simple

DATE                  09/23/91
NEWSPAPER             THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SECTION               METRO
EDITION               MORNING
PAGE                  b07
STORY LENGTH          8 INCHES
HEADLINE              THE THEORIES // Evolution complex, creation simple
BYLINE/CREDIT         Dan Froomkin:The Orange County Register
SUBJECT TERMS         RELIGION:SCIENCE:EDUCATION:CA
 
     Evolution is a difficult concept to grasp. It's hard to imagine
  that mankind evolved from apelike creatures, much less a one-celled
  organism that spontaneously emerged from steaming, nutrient-rich
  seas about 3.5 billion years ago.
     Creation science, on the other hand, is simpler to understand
  and uses as its source one book: the Bible.
     The new California guideline for science education minces no
  words in saying that evolution should be taught as a legitimate
  scientific theory; in fact, the unifying theory of biology.
     The theory of evolution states that from that first one-celled
  organism, increasingly varied and complex organisms developed
  through such processes as genetic mutation.
     Througout the ages, an ever-changing and unforgiving environment
  killed the weaker members of each species -- and sometimes killed
  entire species -- in favor of better-suited ones.
     Scientists say evidence supporting the theory of evolution
  includes fossil records, the existence of similar structures in
  different animals, and the fact that all living things share
  similar biochemistry.
     In contrast, creation science suggests that there is scientific
  evidence that, as the Bible says, God created the world much as it
  is today, in about a week, about 6,000 years ago.
     Creationists believe that man, animals and even fossils first
  appeared in more or less their current form.