The Cambrian explosion has been called the most spectacular event in the history of life, for in a moment of geological time complex animals first appeared on earth fully formed, without evidence of any evolutionary ancestors.
Of the Cambrian explosion, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould says, "The fossil record had caused Darwin more grief than joy. Nothing distressed him more than the Cambrian explosion." Charles Darwin realized that the fossil evidence did not support his theory of gradual, step-by-step evolutionary development. He had envisioned the evolution of life through a multitude of small, undirected steps. He hoped that future generations of scientists would make the discoveries necessary to validate his ideas.
Today, after more than 150 years of exploration, fossil evidence of slow, incremental biological change has yet to be excavated. Instead, we find a picture of the rapid appearance of fully developed, complex organisms during the outset of the Cambrian geological era. Early in the Cambrian period compound eyes, articulated limbs, sophisticated sensory organs, and skeletons burst into existence seemingly out of nowhere. This remarkable explosion of life is best explained by the existence of a transcendent intelligence. Where are the missing transitional forms that Darwin's theory requires? Can any undirected evolutionary process explain the origins of animals?
The Cambrian explosion was actually an explosion of biological information: assembly instructions in DNA and embryonic blueprints that directed the development of the first complex organisms that embody almost all the major animal body plans that exist today. The Cambrian explosion, Darwin's dilemma, delivers information that points unmistakably to foresight, purpose, and intelligent design.
Of the Cambrian explosion, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould says, "The fossil record had caused Darwin more grief than joy. Nothing distressed him more than the Cambrian explosion." Charles Darwin realized that the fossil evidence did not support his theory of gradual, step-by-step evolutionary development. He had envisioned the evolution of life through a multitude of small, undirected steps. He hoped that future generations of scientists would make the discoveries necessary to validate his ideas.
Today, after more than 150 years of exploration, fossil evidence of slow, incremental biological change has yet to be excavated. Instead, we find a picture of the rapid appearance of fully developed, complex organisms during the outset of the Cambrian geological era. Early in the Cambrian period compound eyes, articulated limbs, sophisticated sensory organs, and skeletons burst into existence seemingly out of nowhere. This remarkable explosion of life is best explained by the existence of a transcendent intelligence. Where are the missing transitional forms that Darwin's theory requires? Can any undirected evolutionary process explain the origins of animals?
The Cambrian explosion was actually an explosion of biological information: assembly instructions in DNA and embryonic blueprints that directed the development of the first complex organisms that embody almost all the major animal body plans that exist today. The Cambrian explosion, Darwin's dilemma, delivers information that points unmistakably to foresight, purpose, and intelligent design.
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