I've decided to be obnoxious!

A couple of things to consider that explain why you find a group of fossils that all look alike, and then a gap and the another group that all look alike, related but different from the first group. # 1: Punctuated Eqilibrium: Basically life has long periods of relativly small amounts of change interspersed with perids of rapid change. Because selection is related to the environment, it is when there are major events which change the environment rapidly, that will trigger periods of rapid evolution until populations are relativly well suited to the current environments. Usually you see these rapid evolutionary period following a major extinction. #2: Fossils are "stored" in layers of the earth. The earth is not layers is a simple the deeper you dig the older you are order. Layers are constantly being deposited and eroded. So we will only have fossils in times when there is a lyer put down and another one deposited over it. Then these fossils will only exist until such time as the layer is eroded away. So as you look at a cross section of a mountain, you will see many layers, but those layers aren't a smooth look into history. Each layer will be from a relativly short time period, and then there will be a large time gap followed by another layer that was formed in relativly short time. So in addition to having relativly short periods where the more transitional species exist, there are various time periods that are not represended in the fossil record. So while time extends smoothly into the past, the fossil record is fragmented. As for your cat/dog. There was never a cat/dog, and the theory of evolution does not suggest that there was. I am actually glad to see you used the term pre-ape because it shows that you already know this. But for others reading.... The theory of evolution doesn't suggest that humans came from apes. It suggests that apes and humans came from a common ancestor. The ability to breed two animals together is a defining characteristic that helps keep their genetics closely related and evolving as a group. Dogs and Cats cant breed because they are already separated genetically enough to provide that separation. It also allows them to evolve away from eachother distinctly. You can also cause this by physically separating members of the same species which is what happend in the Galapagos islands. If you want the equivilat of a Cat/Dog, look at a Mule. A mule is the result of breeding a Horse and a Donkey. A Mule is similar to both, but it is infertile, so you can never have a mule without a horse and a donkey which shows us that horses and donkeys probably split relativly recently. And as a final example just so we know it can be done... Look at the Bassette Hound which is a rediculous animal that would never survive on its own in the wild.

I couldn't disagree with you more, though I respect your position. There is a lot more than fossil record that is evidence that evolution is true. DNA can be used to show that all life on earth is related, some more distantly than others. The bacteria in our gut and the viruses that are attacking us on a constant basis are all evolving at alarming rates. This can be explained by mutation and natural selection which is what evolution is all about. I understand that evolution is a theory and hasen't been made a law. But it takes a lot for a hypothesis to become a theory. It's the best explanation at the moment for how we have all the different species we have today. Mind you gravity was once "just a theory". By the way, when did Richard Dawkins say what you have in quotes because that doesn't sound like him ;).

Nothing to forgive, and I can't find anything "obnoxious" about this Post. I'm not religious per se, but I do believe in God. (its not The God, I take exception to, its The Organized Religion.)I find your post very interesting because I struggled with this question for a time. I found my answer by going beyond. In my mind, Human-kind did not descend from apes. I firmly believe that Humans were brought to this earth by aliens on space ships to inhabit this world. There are several instances of "chariots of fire" in the bible. I researched this for some time before coming to this conclusion.

Cool read! I look in the mirror and can't see anything that looks "fishy" to me! These days I have found myself getting tired of explaining my belief system to people. Sometimes I think that our faith is a personal thing and it's best to just keep it to ourself. Arguing is one thing that I don't like to do. I can and will get "peed" off and say what's on my mind and use whatever word hits my head to emphasise my point of view. That can cause some to "blush" at times. I'm not one for saying frig anything.

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