Universal Common Descent

Universal common descent is the hypothesis that all living, terrestrial organisms are genealogically related. All existing species originated gradually by reproductive processes on a geological timescale, and each modern organism is the genetic descendant of one original species.

If the UniversalCommonDescent hypothesis is correct, we would expect find:

• an increasingly divergent fossil record which tends towards the lifeforms we have today
• genetic similarity between closely related life with possible artifacts of descent
• evidence of human ancestors which have increasingly human-like characteristics

All three of these points have strong supportive evidence in multiple fields.

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However, some creationists have adapted their views, due to the increasing evidence of transitional fossils:

• reptile-birds
• reptile-mammals
• ape-humans
• legged whales
• legged seacows

Creation did not necessarily occur immediately. Assuming a gradual old-earth creation, bacteria could have been first created, and then diverged the genetics, with algae, plants, etc. developing in an increasingly divergent tree structure, perhaps as the skill of the creator increased.

For example, if initially no transitional fossils between reptile and mammal are found, it would be possible to argue that is proof of direct intervention. If transitional fossils of this nature are then found, the argument can be that the creation of the mammal was initially done based on how the reptiles were created, similar to the concept of code-reuse.

With this argument, evidence such as junk DNA that humans have (but do not use), which chimpanzees have as functional DNA is just a result of reuse by the creator.

This argument is fairly weak, as it is indistinguishable (scientifically) from UniversalCommonDescent. A much better argument would be that a creator created a basic replicating lifeform, with the ability to evolve into the lifeforms we have today. This requires a much more skillful creator.

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It is usual for creationists to perform QuoteMining in debates about details in the fossil record, genetic structure, and anthropology. For example, StephenJayGould has written much about PunctuatedEquilibrium. In his writings, he has not the slightest doubts about the validity of MacroEvolution?, however disagrees with certain details of some others opinions on the subject. Most creationists will take a sentence or paragraph which sound good (unless the surrounding text is read), and use it to show how people who are not even creationists disagree with, or appear to have evidence against the DogmaOfEvolution?.

It should be noted that this is not usually done maliciously.

See QuotingNotThinking.