PragerUFor a century Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been as unquestioned as Newton’s theory of gravity. But science never stops asking questions. Or at least it’s not supposed to. Stephen Meyer, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, takes up the challenge in this video. Are there questions about the origins of life that Darwinism can’t answer?
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It goes like this: Life started out with very simple forms and then gradually, over hundreds of millions of years, morphed into all the forms we see today. Bacteria to Beethoven. Not a straight line, of course…but that’s roughly how it went.
This was the theory proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859, and, with some modification, it has been embraced as unassailable by the science community over the last century. As evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins says, “If you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is either ignorant, stupid or insane.”
But is that right? Are there no scientific reasons to doubt the evolutionary account of life’s origins?
In November 2016, I attended a conference in London convened by some of the world’s leading evolutionary biologists. The purpose: to address growing doubts about the modern version of Darwin’s theory.
Let’s look at just two scientific reasons to doubt this theory.
First, the Cambrian Explosion. A weird and wonderful thing happened 530 million years ago: A whole bunch of major groups of animals—what scientists call the “phyla”—appeared abruptly within a geologically short window of time—about ten million years.
These novel animal forms—exhibiting proto-types of most animal body designs we see today—emerged in the fossil record without evidence of earlier ancestors.
Did you catch that? A huge number of diverse animals appeared, with no discernible antecedents.
So where did they come from?
This question really bothered Darwin. And he acknowledged that he could give it “no satisfactory answer.” Nor can scientists today.
The renowned biologist Eugene Koonin, of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, describes the abrupt appearance of the Cambrian animals and other organisms such as dinosaurs, birds, flowering plants and mammals as a pattern of “biological Big Bangs.”
So what caused all these new forms of life to arise? That question leads to a second big doubt: the DNA enigma.
In the 1950s, James Watson and Francis Crick made a startling discovery: The DNA molecule stores information as a four-character digital code. Strings of precisely sequenced chemicals inside the DNA helix store the instructions—the information—for building the crucial proteins that cells need to survive. Unless the chemical “letters” in the DNA text are sequenced properly, a protein molecule will not form. No proteins; no cells. No cells; no living organisms.
Bill Gates has said, “DNA is like a software program.” Let’s think about that for a second. For computers to run faster and perform more functions, they require new code. Well, the same is true for life: To build new forms of life, the evolutionary process would need to produce new genetic information—new code.
But this raises questions about the creative power of natural selection and mutation. Natural selection is a simple sorting process. Species keep favorable mutations that allow them to survive but eliminate bad mutations that cause their members to die out. No one doubts that natural selection is a real process and that it produces minor variations, but many biologists now doubt that it produces major innovations in biological form.
Evolution: Bacteria to Beethoven | 5 Minute VideoPragerU2019-10-21 | For a century Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution has been as unquestioned as Newton’s theory of gravity. But science never stops asking questions. Or at least it’s not supposed to. Stephen Meyer, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, takes up the challenge in this video. Are there questions about the origins of life that Darwinism can’t answer?
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Join PragerU's text list to have these videos, free merchandise giveaways and breaking announcements sent directly to your phone! optin.mobiniti.com/prageru
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It goes like this: Life started out with very simple forms and then gradually, over hundreds of millions of years, morphed into all the forms we see today. Bacteria to Beethoven. Not a straight line, of course…but that’s roughly how it went.
This was the theory proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859, and, with some modification, it has been embraced as unassailable by the science community over the last century. As evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins says, “If you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is either ignorant, stupid or insane.”
But is that right? Are there no scientific reasons to doubt the evolutionary account of life’s origins?
In November 2016, I attended a conference in London convened by some of the world’s leading evolutionary biologists. The purpose: to address growing doubts about the modern version of Darwin’s theory.
Let’s look at just two scientific reasons to doubt this theory.
First, the Cambrian Explosion. A weird and wonderful thing happened 530 million years ago: A whole bunch of major groups of animals—what scientists call the “phyla”—appeared abruptly within a geologically short window of time—about ten million years.
These novel animal forms—exhibiting proto-types of most animal body designs we see today—emerged in the fossil record without evidence of earlier ancestors.
Did you catch that? A huge number of diverse animals appeared, with no discernible antecedents.
So where did they come from?
This question really bothered Darwin. And he acknowledged that he could give it “no satisfactory answer.” Nor can scientists today.
The renowned biologist Eugene Koonin, of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, describes the abrupt appearance of the Cambrian animals and other organisms such as dinosaurs, birds, flowering plants and mammals as a pattern of “biological Big Bangs.”
So what caused all these new forms of life to arise? That question leads to a second big doubt: the DNA enigma.
In the 1950s, James Watson and Francis Crick made a startling discovery: The DNA molecule stores information as a four-character digital code. Strings of precisely sequenced chemicals inside the DNA helix store the instructions—the information—for building the crucial proteins that cells need to survive. Unless the chemical “letters” in the DNA text are sequenced properly, a protein molecule will not form. No proteins; no cells. No cells; no living organisms.
Bill Gates has said, “DNA is like a software program.” Let’s think about that for a second. For computers to run faster and perform more functions, they require new code. Well, the same is true for life: To build new forms of life, the evolutionary process would need to produce new genetic information—new code.
But this raises questions about the creative power of natural selection and mutation. Natural selection is a simple sorting process. Species keep favorable mutations that allow them to survive but eliminate bad mutations that cause their members to die out. No one doubts that natural selection is a real process and that it produces minor variations, but many biologists now doubt that it produces major innovations in biological form.
#candaceowens #shorts #relationshipGender Care Without Parents Consent: Why?PragerU2023-10-02 | @realcjpearson
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#gender #shorts #teacherWhy Immigrants Should Love Columbus DayPragerU2023-10-02 | As Columbus Day dies a slow, woke death, it might be a good idea to consider how this national holiday came about in the first place. The answer will surprise you.
Script:
As Columbus Day dies a slow, woke death, it might be a good idea to consider how this national holiday came about in the first place.
The answer might surprise you.
Ready for it?
The purpose of Columbus Day was to encourage Americans to be more accepting of immigrants—specifically Italian immigrants.
The Italian explorer, once universally regarded as a great hero, was the symbol of the holiday, not the focus of it.
Here’s the historical context.
Following a mass migration from southern Italy beginning in the 1880s, the status of Italian Americans was at an all-time low. How low was clearly illustrated by one of the single worst episodes of racial violence in American history: the mass murder and lynching of 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans in 1891.
Hatred against the Italian newcomers had been brewing for years and was openly encouraged by the leading newspapers of the day. For example, in 1882 the New York Times ran an editorial under the headline “Our Future Citizens” in which the Times’ stated, “There has never been since New York was founded so low and ignorant a class among the immigrants…as the Southern Italians...”
In 1887, the same New York Times wrote approvingly about the lynching in Mississippi of a man they referred to as “Dago Joe,” “dago” being an ethnic slur for Italians.
Anti-immigrant sentiment was especially intense in New Orleans where Italians were settling in large numbers. Local papers accused them of working for below-market wages, engaging in all manner of crimes, and being more loyal to the Pope than the President.
These seething resentments broke to the surface when the city’s police chief, David Hennessey, was assassinated in the fall of 1890.
As the chief lay dying in the street, a witness claimed to have heard him say that “dagoes” had shot him. In response, authorities rounded up hundreds of Italians, eventually charging nine of them with complicity in Hennessy’s murder.
#history #immigration #usaViolent Attack by Trans Student, Looters Ravage Philly, Senator Feinstein Passes at 90: 9/29/2023PragerU2023-09-30 | @realcjpearson
A trans-identifying biological male batters a female classmate in a brutal viral video. Philadelphia descends into total anarchy. All of America’s pandas will soon be shipped back to China. The U.S. Senate votes to restore a formal dress code after a brief stint with casual attire. And Senator Dianne Feinstein passes away at age 90.
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#border #immigration #usaDennis Prager Receives a Letter from RFKPragerU2023-09-29 | Watch this full episode of Fireside Chat 308 on PragerU.com with RFK, Jr.
#rfkjr #politics #americaFireside Chat Ep. 308 — Dennis Prager and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.PragerU2023-09-28 | Watch the full episode: 👉 https://l.prageru.com/46732sb
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. joins Dennis for a special discussion about the medical establishment, the CIA, climate change, and more. From hot-button topics and “crazy conspiracy theories” to issues on war, government, and culture, Dennis seeks clarity over agreement as he asks RFK, Jr. thoughtful questions to find out where he stands.
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Find Alexis Wilkins Music on all streaming platforms
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#bonds #money #investing1,000 Missing Children This Year in Ohio: We Need AnswersPragerU2023-09-28 | @XAVIAER
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#politics #usa #shortsGuy Changes His Mind On Minimum WagePragerU2023-09-27 | @aldobuttazzoni, @PragerUManontheStreet
Watch more 'Man on the Street' on PragerU.com
#income #manonthestreet #workHow Much Should Fast Food Workers Make?PragerU2023-09-27 | How much is too much when it comes to minimum wage? California is on track to pay fast food workers as much as $20 per hour. @aldobuttazzoni hits the streets of Hollywood to find out if people really understand the consequences of raising the minimum wage for businesses, employees, and consumers.
#manonthestreet #money #socialismAre People Lacking a Sense of Purpose?PragerU2023-09-27 | @PragerUStoriesofUs
Find Alexis Wilkins on all music platforms
#shorts #americaUNBELIEVABLE Moment Caught on Camera!PragerU2023-09-26 | @XAVIAER
#shorts #question #wowWhy Does More Money Equal Less Results in Public Schools?PragerU2023-09-26 | @realtalkwithmarissa
Watch the full episode of 'Real Talk' on PragerU.com
#shorts #education #moneyPro-America Song: Country Back by Alexis WilkinsPragerU2023-09-26 | Watch the latest episode of 'Stories of Us' on PragerU.com
#country #musician #singerAlexis Wilkins: I Found My Voice in My Love for AmericaPragerU2023-09-26 | Country music singer Alexis Wilkins writes and performs songs based in truth and patriotism. In a society plagued with instant gratification, Alexis aspires to serve as a guiding light for the younger generation, embracing the timeless values that unite us all as Americans.
We’re excited to announce that Alexis—with all her passion, patriotism, and talent—is joining the PragerU team.
#america #shortdocumentary #countryAre men better than women at some things?PragerU2023-09-25 | @aldobuttazzoni
#manonthestreet #shorts #genderDrag Show for Kids?PragerU2023-09-25 | @XAVIAER
@PragerUKids
#lgbt #gender #parentsWho Wouldnt Want $1,000 a Month?PragerU2023-09-25 | @aldobuttazzoni
Watch the full 5 minute video on PragerU.com
#ubi #money #socialismAndrew Johnson: The President Who Wasn’t LincolnPragerU2023-09-25 | Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. To take the reins of power at this tumultuous moment required a man of compassion, discernment, and discipline. Was Lincoln’s vice president, Andrew Johnson, that man? Allen Guelzo of Princeton University has the answer.
It was April 1865. The Civil War was finally over. An exhausted, bloodied nation breathed a deep sigh of relief…
Then, suddenly, shockingly, President Abraham Lincoln was dead, felled by an assassin’s bullet while watching a play.
To take the reins of power at this tumultuous moment required a great man, a man of compassion, discernment, and discipline. Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s vice president, was not that man.
This is not to say he didn’t have virtues. He did. He just didn’t have the stuff it took to meet the moment.
Born into abject poverty on December 29, 1808, Johnson was apprenticed — “sold” would be more accurate — to a tailor at the age of 10. Legally bound to serve until he was 21, he ran away after five years. He eventually settled in Greeneville, Tennessee, where he set up his own tailor’s shop and prospered.
In 1834, he was elected mayor of Greeneville. From there, he climbed steadily up the political ladder; the state legislature in 1835, the US Congress in 1843, Governor in 1853, and the Senate in 1857. He was still serving as U.S. Senator for Tennessee in 1861 when the Civil War broke out.
Although Johnson was a Democrat and a slaveowner himself, when Tennessee left the Union to join the break-away Confederacy and defend legalized slavery, Johnson denounced his state’s secession on the floor of the Senate.
“I will not give up this Government,” he thundered in December 1860. “No; I intend to stand by it, and I entreat every man throughout the nation who is a patriot…to come forward, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved.”
After Union military forces occupied large parts of Tennessee in 1862, Lincoln tagged Johnson as the state’s provisional military governor. It was a shrewd move on the president’s part: it demonstrated to Southerners and Democrats that they were welcomed as full partners with Lincoln’s Republican party in restoring the Union.
Johnson himself joined hands with Lincoln’s policies by freeing his own slaves in 1863.
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#shorts #biology #mentalhealthJoe Rogan Addresses School Agenda ConcernsPragerU2023-09-22 | @realtalkwithmarissa
Sign our petition to get PragerU in schools on PragerU.com
#school #education #joeroganDecline in Masculinity: A Troubling Outcome #shortsPragerU2023-09-22 | Watch the full episode of Fireside Chat 307 on PragerU.com
#masculinity #feminism #genderBrand Demonetized, School Says Whites Have No Culture, Protesters Identify as Dogs: 9/22/2023PragerU2023-09-22 | A California school teaches that white people have no culture. Russell Brand is demonetized by YouTube over anonymous sexual assault allegations. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch steps down from Fox and News Corp. And hundreds of protestors flood a street in Germany to march for the right to identify as dogs.
#news #mediaFireside Chat Ep. 307 — What Does God Care About Most?PragerU2023-09-21 | Does God want us to have correct theology, perform rituals, participate in worship, or is there something else that’s more important in God’s eyes? Dennis has a theory about what God values above all else and provides six reasons why he came to this conclusion. Read Dennis’s entire argument in his column, “What Does God Most Care About?”
#god #faith #religionPragerU Now In Montana Schools!PragerU2023-09-21 | Montana! @PragerU is honored to serve students in Montana now! Our @PragerUKids in schools initiative is making it into states across America. Sign our Petition to get PragerU in more schools across America: https://l.prageru.com/3tasQov
#education #teacher #schoolWe Need More Good Teachers!PragerU2023-09-21 | @realtalkwithmarissa
#jubilee #prageru #teacherAgendas Impact the Stability of the American School SystemPragerU2023-09-21 | @realtalkwithmarissa
Watch the full episode of 'Real Talk' on PragerU.com
#schools #education #shortsHappy Monday!PragerU2023-09-21 | CA leaders wage war on parents with lawsuit against parental notification efforts. And, Media Matters watches every PragerU Kids video! Jill Simonian breaks it all down. Subscribe to PragerUkids.com to stay informed, active and get everything you need for your children's education!Why Are American Values Declining?PragerU2023-09-20 | @realtalkwithmarissa
Watch the full episode on PragerU.com
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#lgbt #gender #biologyFormer L.A. County Superintendent on Why America’s Education is TankingPragerU2023-09-20 | California used to be a world leader in academic achievement. Today, a majority of its public school students are unable to read or do math at grade level. Former superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education Dr. Arturo Delgado sits with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to explain that education started failing when the government replaced family and faith as the engine of society.
@realtalkwithmarissaFuture Prediction or Playbook?PragerU2023-09-20 | @realtalkwithmarissa
Watch the full episode of 'Real Talk' on PragerU.com
#communism #america #shortsHappiness Is A Moral ObligationPragerU2023-09-20 | @turningpointusa w/ Dennis Prager
#happiness #happy #mentalhealthMichael Knowles Discusses The Scarlet Letter with Julie HartmanPragerU2023-09-19 | @MichaelKnowles & @juliehartman
Watch the latest episode of 'The Book Club' on PragerU.com
#book #bookclub #shortsTeachers Cannot Be Fired for Poor PerformancePragerU2023-09-19 | #teacher #education #schools
@PragerUKidsReal Evil Isnt Taught In SchoolsPragerU2023-09-19 | Watch the full episode of 'Fireside Chat' Ep. 306 on PragerU.com
#history #shorts #educationCA leaders wage war on parents with lawsuit against parental notification effortsPragerU2023-09-19 | CA leaders wage war on parents with lawsuit against parental notification efforts. And, Media Matters watches every PragerU Kids video! Jill Simonian breaks it all down. Subscribe to PragerUkids.com to stay informed, active and get everything you need for your children's education!The Book Club: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne with Julie HartmanPragerU2023-09-19 | What if your sins were on display for all the world to see? Michael Knowles is joined by Julie Hartman to discuss The Scarlet Letter, which tells the story of a young woman who is shunned by her community after bearing an illegitimate child. What can we learn from this American classic about society’s response to immorality, the complexities of love and passion, guilt, shame, hypocrisy, and repentance?
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#marriage #family #moneyBiologist Explains Gender FactsPragerU2023-09-18 | Watch the latest 5 minute video 'Sex Is Binary' on PragerU.com
#gender #shorts #biologySex Is BinaryPragerU2023-09-18 | Are sex categories—male and female—real, immutable, and binary? Or are they “social constructs”? Colin Wright, Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has the answer.
Do you know the truth about transgender ideology and "gender-affirming care"? Take the quiz and sign the petition to protect kids from harmful ideology. 👉 https://l.prageru.com/3s9t12U
This video was made possible by a generous donation from Joseph U. Oswald.
Script:
Asked to define the word “woman” during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2022, Judge Ketanji Jackson famously demurred, saying “I’m not a biologist.”
Well, I am a biologist, and I’m here to help.
To that end, let me rephrase the question to Judge Jackson: are sex categories in humans—male and female—real, immutable, and binary, or are they merely “social constructs”?
Answer: real (that’s just the way it is and we all know it), immutable (it can’t be changed), and binary (there are only two sexes, not three or four or fifty-seven).
This is true throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. An organism’s sex is defined by the type of gamete (sperm or ova) it can or would produce. Males have the function of producing sperm, or small gametes; and females, ova, or large ones. There is no third gamete type. There are only two.
Therefore, sex is binary. This shouldn’t be controversial. It’s just basic biology.
Every one of us is the result of a male and female (our biological mom and dad) successfully reproducing. Sorry to make you think about that. Without the existence of males and females, I wouldn’t be here right now, and neither would you. Our species would have gone extinct long ago.
Many “gender” activists, however, falsely assert that sex cannot be binary and must be viewed as a “spectrum” because a very small number of people have genitalia that appear ambiguous or mixed, phenomena known as intersex conditions. These idealogues claim the existence of such conditions renders the categories “male” and “female” meaningless.
But intersex conditions don’t undermine the sex binary at all because sex ambiguity is not a third sex. The existence of very rare borderline cases no more raises questions about everyone else’s sex than the existence of dawn and dusk casts doubt on the existence of day and night.
Our society isn’t experiencing a sudden dramatic surge in people born with ambiguous genitalia. We are experiencing a dramatic surge in people who are unambiguously one sex claiming to “identify” as the opposite sex or as something other than male or female altogether.
Gender ideology seeks to portray sex as so incomprehensibly complex and multivariable that our traditional practice of classifying people as either male or female is grossly outdated and should be abandoned for a revolutionary concept of “gender identity.”
#education #gender #biologyCash Course: What Is an Economy?PragerU2023-09-18 | From eating at your favorite restaurant to starting your own business, we’re all entangled in the complex web of an economy. This episode of Cash Course teaches young people about different types of economies, how consumers and producers depend on one another for goods and services, and what they can do to participate in the economy to help our communities and country thrive.