This glossary is meant to provide definitions to many commonly (and uncommonly) used terms in the Creation v. Evolution Debate. Please note that this resource is far from complete, so if you have a term that you want to be included, or believe that one of the definitions provided is inaccurate, please contact us from the home page. Thank you, we hope you find this resource helpful!
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Z.
1. Zoology-The study of animals, see "Biology"
Y.
1. Young Earth Creationism-Division of Creationism that believes in a universe that is about 6000 years old, see "creationism"
X.
W.
1. Worldview-A specific “Lens” through which a person views everything, a philosophy of life. For instance, Creation and Evolution as defined here are opposing worldviews
V.
1. Vertebrate-An organism that possesses a backbone, see "Invertebrate"
U.
1. Uniformitarianism-The theory that the earth’s geological features have been shaped by natural processes still observed today over eons and eons of time, as in "the present is the key to the past," see “Catastrophism”
T.
1. Tectonic-Relating to the study of the Earth's crust and the momentous processes therein, see "Geology"
2. Theistic Evolution-The belief that God created the universe and life via evolutionary/uniformitarianist processes that are observed by science
3. Theism-The belief that a deity exists, see "Atheism"
4. Theology-The study of God and religion, specifically the Christian religion, see “Gospel (The)”
5. Theory-A reliable hypothesis that has stood up to generations of data, and proven consistent (or been modified in order to make it consistent), see “Science,” “Hypothesis,” and “Scientific Law”
6. Trace Fossil-A fossilized remnant of the activity of an ancient organism (such as fossilized footprints, see "Fossil"
7. Transcendence-Existence or experience beyond the physical level, see "Metaphysics"
S.
1. Science-An endeavor dedicated to the accumulation and classification of observable facts, and forming views based on these observable facts, see “Hypothesis,” “Theory,” and “Scientific Law”
2. Scientific Law-A theory that has proven consistent with the evidence in practically every observed case, and is usually very reliable, see “Science,” “Hypothesis,” and “Theory”
3. Spontaneous Generation-The ancient hypothesis that life springs naturally from the surroundings, see “Abiogenesis”
R.
Radiometric Dating-A method of dating (usually) geological samples by determining the relative portions of a specific radioactive isotope within the sample, see "Carbon Dating"
Q.
P.
1. Paleontology-The study of fossils and extinct life forms, see "Fossil"
2. Permineralization-A process of fossilization (and petrification) in which an internal cast of an organism is created by mineral-rich groundwater by filling spaces within organic tissue
3. Petrification-A process of fossilization during which the organic tissues and materials of a once-living organism are replaced with minerals, see "Fossilization" and "Permineralization"
4. Philosophy-the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, ultimately the search for truth
5. Plesiosaur-A classification of reptilian marine creatures that are said to have gone extinct millions of years ago. They are often mistakenly called dinosaurs, see “Dinosaur,” and “Pterosaur”
6. Progressive Adaptation-see “Macroevolution”
7. Pseudoscience-Activities and outlooks that are labeled as science, but are considered by the one using the term to fall into some different discipline, such as theology
8. Pterosaur-A classification of reptilian flying creatures that are said to have gone extinct millions of years ago. They are often mistakenly called dinosaurs, see “Dinosaur,” and “Plesiosaur”
O.
1. Occam's Razor-The concept of placing belief in the hypothesis with the lowest number of assumptions
2. Old Earth Creationism-Division of Creationism that involves a usually non-literal interpretation of genesis, and belief in a universe that is many billions of years old, see "Theistic Evolution"
3. Origins-Encompassing term for the beginnings of the cosmos and life
N.
1. Naturalism-The belief that all features of life and of the origins of the universe came about by natural processes without reference to a deity etc., see “Intelligent Design”
M.
1. Macroevolution-The theory that a specific type of organism, with acquired traits due to mutations and natural selection etc. accumulated over eons of time can change (evolve) into a completely different kind of organism, see “Evolution” and “Microevolution”
2. Metaphysics-The branch of philosophy that deals with the fundamental nature of reality
3. Microevolution-The Theory that types of organisms can acquire traits over time, but that these traits do not change the organisms into different types of organisms (typically not changing their classification outside of the fundamental genus), see “Macroevolution”
L.
K.
J.
I.
1. Ice Age-The/A period in history where the earth was colder than usual
2. Intelligent Design-A theory that holds that features of life and of the origins of the universe are best explained by an intelligent cause for them, not an undirected process. Intelligent design differs from Young Earth Creationism in that it stresses empirical evidence
3. Invertebrate-An animal that does not possess a backbone, see "Vertebrate"
H.
1. Humanism-Belief that mankind is "the measure of all things" attaching primary importance to human and natural matters, rather than divine and supernatural matters, see "Naturalism"
2. Hypothesis-An educated guess/constructed outcome that is attempted to be proved scientifically, and must be modified or discarded when evidence that disagrees with it is discovered, see “Theory” and “Scientific Law”
G.
1. Genesis-The first book of the Bible which contains the account of creation, see “Creationism”
2. Geologic Column-The Uniformitarianist paradigm for the alignment of geologic strata (layers) into an organized “column.” The lower the strata, the older it is said to be, see “Uniformitarianism”
3. Geology-The study of earth's physical structure and features, such as rocks, see "Geologic Column"
4. Global Warming-The hypothesis that the earth is getting warmer, especially that this warming is due to human influence, see “Climate Change”
5. Gospel (The)-The message that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and that all who trust in him will be granted forgiveness for all of their sins, and have eternal life. The Gospel is the basic doctrine of Christianity