FALLACY #1 -- LIVING THINGS VARY WITHOUT LIMIT

The first fallacy of evolution which we will consider is the idea that living things vary without limit. Let's look at some examples of the range of variation in living things and draw conclusions about the limits of this variation. For instance, many plants such as soybeans are grown worldwide in a range of climates. The variation in such plants spans thousands of types. This genetic variation in various soybean seeds shows up in the different colors, different bands of pigment, and different shapes of the seeds. Living things often have a wide range of variation, but as we will see, the variation always has limits.

We continue our survey of variation with other organisms. Pigs, for example, show genetic variation. They show different colors and differ in other features, yet they are all recognizable as pigs. They are all members of the same species.

Now we consider an organism with wider extremes of variation, the potato. Potatoes around the world show a vast range of variation. We probably would not recognize all of them as potatoes. Some of the types are strangely different from the common tuber, yet they are all members of the same family.

Another example of genetic variation occurs in roses. Roses are deliberately bred to bring out an extreme range of characteristics. Yet after centuries of selective breeding, with diligent efforts at producing the most extreme types of variation, roses show distinct limits in their variation just as do other living things. Roses show us that living things do not vary without limit. Indeed, the limits are very definite.

Horses show a large range of variation, and midget horses illustrate how low the range of size in horses can go. In fact, a horse is not classified as a midget unless it stands fourteen inches tall or less! Some midget horses weigh no more than 25 pounds, and they may be so small they can be kept as indoor house pets somewhat like dogs. Truly, organisms like this one show a vast range of variation, but even the midget horses are still horses.

As we pass on to other examples of variation we will see that, again, the variation might be vast in its extent, but the variation does have limits. Pumpkins, for instance, like horses, can come in very small sizes. A fully-grown miniature pumpkin is only a couple of inches wide, and can fit in the palm of a person's hand. Yet the variation has limits because the pumpkin still has the shape, color and general appearance of a pumpkin. However, as we pass on to further examples, we will find that variation can span such a wide range that in some organisms the individuals on opposite ends of the range may seem to be different species.

A case in point is the grasses. Bamboo is a member of the grass family growing many feet tall, but wheat, corn and other grains are also grasses. We usually think of these different types of grasses as different species, yet "grasses" are mentioned in Genesis 1:12 as having been created as a single group or family. As wide as the variation may be, it always has limits.

Like the grasses, members of the cabbage family also show drastic variation. The cabbage family includes many vegetables we commonly think of as being quite different, vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and broccoli. It is not unusual, for example, to serve cauliflower and broccoli as different vegetables at the same meal, yet they are all members of the cabbage family bred from the wild cliff cabbage native to Europe. Like brothers and sisters in a family, members of the cabbage family exhibit different genetic characteristics, but because people have bred cabbage varieties for a thousand years now, the variation is extreme. Yet the variation has limits.