We thank you Father for your many gifts.
We've touched on various scientific theories and practices over the past years, but as in other areas those involved often don't agree. The whole concept of evolution as taught in school is an amalgamation of various conflicting theories. It's a bit like saying the Himalayas are flat at an altitude of 7543m.
This was brought about at a recent species monitoring seminar that I attended. He the difference between Zoology and Ecology was brought to the forefront. My son found a very rare species of Bumblebee, one that hasn't been recorded in the county before. The aim behind the seminar was promoting best practice for upland hay meadow management, to enhance the habitat for wildlife. But with this potential new species being found the sighting had to be confirmed.
Here's where the problems start to arise. While the external appearance shows every sign that it was what it looked like, according to Zoologists the only definite way to tell is to dissect it and look at its internal organs. The lack of black hairs on its back (the usual distinguishing feature between it and its nearest relatives) may be the result of a natural aberration.
This poses the following questions: (a) just now specific does a feature have to be in order to classify things and
(b) is it really that important if it leads to death?
Species are defined as living organisms that have features which fall within a fixed range. For example a specific species of bee can have a tongue length from 9 to 18 mm or it may have a specific range for a specific colour (when does red become orange?) These are known as genetic tolerances. Genetic Science has shown that creatures which go beyond their genetic tolerance end up sterile and unable to reproduce.
If scientists find that creatures in one area have tongues in a range of 9 to 12 mm and creatures in another have tongues in a range of 15 to 18 mm then they may decide to split the classification into different species. This happened not too long ago with Pipistrelle bats. There are now the Brown Pipistrelle and the Bandit Pipistrelle. The difference in this case being facial markings and the frequency that the bat calls at. It's this mathematical subdivision of feature measurements that formed the basis behind Charles Darwin's work.
Ecology, on the other hand, is the study of relationships between plants and animals and their environment. From an ecologist's point of view, having a bee there that is doing its job (pollinating flowers and producing future generations of bees) is more important than knowing if its internal organs are circular or elliptical. Following this argument means that no one will be able to classify everything until everything on earth is dead! Scientists aren't one happy family.
From God's point of view, He created life. He created animals to reproduce 'after their kind'. Cattle are to produce cattle. God never said Belted Galloways are to produce Belted Galloways and Dairy Shorthorn are to produce Dairy Shorthorn. It's only man's desire to classify things that leads to the concept of species in the first place. Sometimes if we look too closely at the small detail we lose sight of the big picture.
God created life to show His power and glory and His love for us. To look after His creation was why He created Adam in the first place and it's up to us to continue that work.