Torah and Science - 2 - Evolution & the Origins of Life

Rabbi Efraim Palvanov

Do Torah teachings and scientific findings really contradict, or can they be reconciled? In Part 2, we explore the controversial (and sensitive) topics of evolution and the origins of life. We look at some of the evidence for and against evolution, before concluding with one possible way of reconciling ancient Torah wisdom with modern science.

Topics discussed include natural selection and artificial selection, the "primordial soup", the fossil record, microevolution and macroevolution. We also address the classic problem of the seemingly repetitive creations of Adam in the first two chapters of Genesis. We explore the views of great biologists like Carl Woese, Francis Crick, Joshua Lederberg, and Francis Collins, including the notion of theistic evolution.

Links to things mentioned in the video:

The Jewish scientists who discovered antibiotics: https://www.jewoftheweek.net/2015/10/07/jews-of-the-week-waksman-and-schatz/

The improbable calculations behind the origins of life: https://www.aish.com/ci/sam/64069232.html

The OZY article on Jeremy England, "the next Darwin": https://www.ozy.com/the-new-and-the-next/the-man-who-may-one-up-darwin/39217/

The previous video where we discuss science, numerology, and the fine-tuned universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k3Qe_3svE8

*Please note that the quote "If you equate the probability of the birth of a bacteria cell to chance assembly of its atoms, eternity will not suffice to produce one...” is actually from Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Christian de Duve, not from Stephen Jay Gould!

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