Persuasive Speech: Evolution vs Creation

Question

Good morning (my time), folks. I m a pro evolution. I have a speech to deliver. I just want to ask you folks for some advices on what are some of the evidence(if possible) or arguments that I can use to support my Evolution's side.

Thanks all

Answer 1

There is a lot of great information at www.talkorigins.com.  You could mention specific examples from many different fields of science, from genetic similarities (sequence homology, endogenous retroviruses) to structural similarities (the bones in the limbs of current animals, traceable back through the fossil record) to the classic evidence in the fossil record.  

On top of this, evolution has been observed in the lab (see the links below)!  Normally, E. coli can't use citrate as a food source.  After growing in the presence of citrate for thousands of generations, the E. coli developed a biochemical method for breaking down citrate!

Finally, I've found that most Creationist arguments are based on a logical fallacy called the False Dichotomy.  Basically, the argument relies on the false assumption that there can ONLY be either Creation OR Evolution.  They completely neglect a third (or fourth, fifth, etc) possibility.  True, we don't have any idea what that third possibility is, but in science, conclusions are never "either, or."  There's always the possibility of another explanation completely out of left field (it's what makes science really exciting).

In other words, many Creationists believe that by poking holes in Evolution, they are making an argument FOR Creation.  If your opponent does this, you can call them out for using a false dichotomy and that evidence *against* Evolution isn't evidence *for* Creationism (possibly invalidating many of their points).  Likewise, you have to be careful of using the fallacy yourself - arguments against Creationism aren't the same as arguments for Evolution.

Answer 2

Use this:

"And on the 9th day, after having rest-eth on the 7th day, and after creating American Football the 8th, he created-eth Evolution... on the 9th."

Answer 3

Start with Darwin and work from there. You want to emphasize the science aspect which is based on observation, hypothesis, and testings.

Answer 4

There's no evidence for Biblical Creationism.  The only source for crediting the god of Abraham with Creation is Moses -- and Moses did not tolerate criticism;  Moses killed everyone who disagreed with him except Aaron (check out your Old Testament).

Anyway:

Selective breeding demonstrates our ability to make populations with different alleles from the "wild" population.  In other words, the mini-dachshund is not a gray wolf any more.  Corn is not its teosinte ancestor.

We've observed speciation events in the lab and in nature.  True-breeding triticale is not any of its ancestors.  You can look up speciation.

Biogeography:  There are no kangaroo fossils on continents other than Australia, but there are some on Australia, including fossils of extinct species of kangaroo.  The best explanation is that kangaroos evolved in Australia.

Molecular cladistics:  Our hemoglobin is similar to that of the other extant great apes, and less similar to that of mammals that are less "related" to us.  The best explanation is that our lineage split off from the lineages of other modern mammals, and split off more recently from the lineage that led to chimps than from the lineage that led to the house mouse.

etc.  Check out talkorigins.org for more.

Answer 5

The single biggest piece of evidence is an independent confirmation.

Anatomists began figuring out the relationships between various organisms by comparing modern and fossil organisms.  From this, they constructed the phylogenetic tree.  When molecular sequencing became available, they could evaluate the relatedness of organisms based on non-structural genes such as digestive enzymes.  The degree of concordance was astoundingly high.

This said, evolution is an observable process.  Of recent discoveries, E. coli, grown on a medium with a nutrient they normally cannot utilize developed the capacity by mutation.

Conversely, when scientists set out to prove Biblical Creation, they utterly failed.