Professor Richard Hodgson, Professor of Astronomy at Dordt College, recently defended evolution in a debate with Dr. Duane Gish of The Institute for Creation Research. The debate took place before several hundred students at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, on April 10, 1987 Professor Hodgson concluded his lecture with the following remarks (as transcribed from a tape of the debate):

“Do animals, for example, have a common ancestor? Do all taxonomic phyla and kingdoms go back to a single ancestral line? These are good questions, and they are not easily answered. On the basis of presently available scientific evidence, I think we cannot be totally sure. The study of the earliest mammals and birds, too, for that matter, show strong reptilian skeletal structures, indicating a highly likely reptile ancestry.

“Again, a transition of fish to lung fish to amphibians does, to some extent, seem to be in evidence in the discovery of some species that have been found.

“Furthermore, if we look at the history of earth rocks, and some micro–fossils go back more than three billion years, we are confronted with the fact that the simpler kingdoms . . . occurred before the more complex forms of life. So there seem to be gradual divergence over time int9 more and more complex life forms. The earliest life forms were exceedingly simple and did not even have nucleated cells. More. recent life forms have been, of course, multi-celled, with some very complicated organs that are involved.

“So to summarize the point, I would like to say the following: The case for evolution, I believe, is a good one on the basis of available scientific evidence. The possibility, however, of divine creation of some basic life forms, particularly of higher taxonomic levels, over widely spaced intervals of time, not just a few thousand years now, is a possibility which cannot be ruled out on the basis of present scientific observational evidence. And, so, I think, that is about where we really have to leave it. I think that there are some things that strongly suggest evolution as an explanation for a lot of the varieties of life that we find. Whether it will explain everything, of course, will remain somewhat for the future to discover!”

Professor Hodgson is a minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian church.