Creation, Evolution, and Entropy

A classic argument used by creationists against microbes-to-mechanic evolution is the first law of thermodynamics, which in the simplified form states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Riding close on its heels is the second law, where energy becomes less useful. This is entropy. The second law has been modified in recent years, formerly understood as everything goes from order to disorder.

Image credit: Pixabay / skeeze

Years ago, I used the entropy argument inefficiently. Yes, our own observations and common sense tell us that things go from order to disorder. But too many Christians do not have a good working knowledge of the laws of thermodynamics and are unable to respond to critics. Of course, when tinhorns who do not understand the material resort to "Dawkins refuted this", throwing links at you, or complaining about what is not mentioned, it's time to saddle up and ride on. That's part of the problem — many evolutionists do not have a good working knowledge of thermodynamics, either. They misuse the concepts and think they've "refuted" the creationist argument. Even so, the laws support biblical creation (Gen. 1:1, Heb. 1:3a).

While there are some good arguments showing how the second law of thermodynamics is an enemy of evolution, creationists need to work on getting a more cohesive argument. Here are some things for you to ponder.

The second law of thermodynamics has long been a topic of discussion in the evolution/creation debate. What is the second law of thermodynamics? Let us start with the first law of thermodynamics—that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. While the total amount of energy is conserved, energy can be transferred and converted into different forms. We observe that in these changes, energy becomes less useful to us. To quantify this observation, physicists define a term, entropy, to describe how un-useful energy is. Thermodynamic entropy is defined by energy divided by temperature, expressed on an absolute scale. The preferred unit of energy is the Joule (J), and the preferred absolute temperature scale is Kelvin (K), so entropy is properly expressed in J/K. The second law of thermodynamics can be stated a number of different ways. The simplest form is that entropy never decreases. We normally use the letter S to represent entropy, and the Greek letter ∆ to represent a change, so mathematically we express the second law of thermodynamics as ∆S ≥ 0.

To finish reading this semi-technical article, click on "Does the Second Law of Thermodynamics Favor Evolution?". To further your education, I linked to additional material in these posts on the subject: "Evolution — It's Against the Law Part 1", "Evolution — It's Against the Law Part 2", and "Evolution — It's Against the Law Part 3". Part 3 is very interesting, but you need to be enlightened by Part 2 so you can get a good appreciation of the content.