http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=870
Not Making Progress
| by | Kyle Butt, M.Div. |
One sure way to let something ruin is simply to do nothing to take care of it. Everyone knows that a brand new car left untouched in a driveway for twenty years will not look better at the end of that period of time. No one would claim that a toy truck left in the sand box by a three-year-old is going to look newer after six months of weathering. If your room is dirty, do you think that it will clean itself if you leave it alone for three months? Of course you don’t! Neglecting your room will only give it more time to collect dust.
Every time we see things wearing down over time, we are witnessing a scientific law. What is a scientific law? A scientific law is a principle in nature that is true in every observable case. Whether the measurements come from the sunny islands of Hawaii or the ice-covered tundra of the Arctic, a scientific law is the same for all places. But one thing we must remember about scientific laws is that scientists do not make the laws, they only observe them and label them.
Also, we need to understand the difference between a scientific law and a theory. While a law is something that is observable in every known case, a theory is something that someone thinks might be true and that is supported by at least some scientific evidence. Over the years, many false theories have had to be thrown out because they did not agree with the scientific laws of nature. If a theory goes against a scientific law, then the theory is not correct and must be discarded.
THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
So, what scientific law do we observe when we see things wearing out
over time? We are seeing the Second Law of Thermodynamics in action.
Even though this law may sound complicated, it really is not difficult
to understand. Thermodynamics is just a long word used to discuss the
way that matter and energy behave in nature. Stated simply, the Second
Law of Thermodynamics says that matter and energy are moving toward a
less usable, more disorderly state called “entropy.” The late Isaac
Asimov, a famous evolutionist, wrote about the Second Law: “Another way
of stating the Second Law, then, is: ‘The universe is constantly getting
more disorderly.’ ” For instance, when a person puts gasoline into a
vehicle, the energy in that gasoline is usable, but after the gasoline
burns, much of the energy escapes into the atmosphere and cannot be used
again.
EVOLUTION IS AGAINST THE LAW
The Second Law of Thermodynamics presents a serious problem for the theory of evolution, because the theory
of evolution cannot be true if the Second Law of Thermodynamics is
true. George Gaylord Simpson was one of the most famous evolutionists of
his day. Listen to him describe the theory of evolution: “Evolution is a
fully natural process…by which all living things, past or present, have
since developed, divergently and progressively.” He explained that the
theory of evolution is supposed to be a process by which things develop progressively.
According to the theory, things started out very simple and, over a
very long period of time, became increasingly more complex. For
instance, a single-celled amoeba supposedly developed into a
100-trillion-celled human over billions of years.But when the theory of evolution is placed beside the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the two do not agree. Things in this Universe do not get progressively better over time; they get progressively worse (entropy). Every year, we humans burn resources that can never be replaced. Cars wear out, bodies get old and wrinkly, and buildings deteriorate. If a huge pile of old scrap wood lays in a grassy yard, will it be turned into a nice house if left alone for hundreds of years? Of course not! In fact, anyone who has done his or her homework on the Second Law knows that if things continue as they are, at some point in the future (although it may be many millions of years away) there will be no more usable energy.
This Universe is digressive, not progressive, and that goes directly against the theory of evolution. Creation, on the other hand, falls in line perfectly with the Second Law. In the beginning, God created everything to be very good, but since that time things have deteriorated.