This is going to be a really long blog folks.   But I promise not to fill it with short citations of outdated articles, based on theories, and in some cases, bias.  It's just too easy to find articles that support both sides, and I'm not going to put you through the task of learning or assuming the credibility of their authors. Debating credibility is an argument in itself, which takes away from the issue at hand.   What I am going to try is to compare religion and science, while trying to determine the criteria of proof for either side.  


Our interpretation of our surroundings vary with time.   With science, change comes from knowledge.  In religion, change comes from political agenda.  Both sources of answers have seen corruption, they have been deeply intertwined within our history, and most importantly, have varied greatly as time goes on.   We used to believe the world was flat, and that the universe revolved around our planet.    We used to believe that children born with deformities were the creation of Satan, but more recently believe that they are still God's children, only with a different life "planned" for them by God.  To this day, there are billions (not millions) of people practicing a religion that praises the physically deformed as symbols of divine power. 


Personally, I don't care where I came from.  I have wholeheartedly accepted the basic fact that I will not learn everything, to the degree where I will be absolutely comfortable in my knowledge.   I instead find comfort knowing that I am here, I was born, live, and will one day die like every other living being.  Wherever this world, and all that's in it, came from, I appreciate it.  I'm amazed by it's beauty, it's horror, but it's origin will never change that for me.   Knowing that this earth is my home is all I need to be motivated to care for it, love it, and want the best for it.   I really wish that was enough for every human to live by, but it's not.  The reason why is what interests me the most in this debate.


Our quest for knowledge is solely responsible for our species survival and overall success.   With our brains we have taken over this world, or at least have more control over it than any other species.  We haven't conquered it all, but we are adapting, learning, and overcoming our obstacles.   It takes time for our understanding of this world to grow.  We didn't always have vaccines for all of the illnesses we have now, we didn't always know how to build skyscrapers, grow or transport food, or even harvest all of the resources we now use on a daily basis.   We have evolved as a species, just as all species experience changes and obstacles and either adapt to them, or die from them.    Charles Darwin used many examples of adaptation to introduce the theory of evolution.    He basically said that since changes and variations within species, and families of species occur; with time it is possible for one species to adapt and change so much that it may scientifically be classed as another species.  Once we developed the ability to discover DNA, it's purpose, and the ability to measure it, we have since gone on to find many similarities in different species, that look and act nothing alike, which goes on to support the evolution theory.  


While some (on both sides) draw conclusion from the information available, others need conclusive proof.    I accept the need for proof, as it's in our nature, and because our brains are our species number one survival tool.   But let's keep that in mind.  Let's also consider the fact that other species are not looking in microscopes, or building places of worship.   They don't have to understand the world in order to exist in it, like we do.  Unless answering this question will push our species in a positive direction - it's irrelevant, but it's still in our nature to ask, and that's the only reason I'm writing, and you're reading this blog right now.If we had shells like turtles, we'd be sitting in ponds right now.  If we had claws, and could chase down a deer, we wouldn't have made guns, nor had the mental capacity to engineer them.  I hope you're getting what I'm trying to explain here. 


The problem is, some people need a miracle to believe in god, just like they need a scientific outlier to put their faith in the evolutionary process.  Those people will either eventually draw conclusions on their own, end up disappointed, or learn to accept ignorance.   As of right now we do not have the ability to beckon god to our earthly existence, and get him to explain all there is to know.  We also do not have the ability to force or imitate evolution, in the sense that we take one species and change it into another.   However, in lieu of our best efforts on each side,  we are getting much closer to the later, than we are to the prior.  Evolution, although unwitnessed by our kind, is proving to be more likely than what we can prove in the answers found in most religious text.   We have debunked many of our previous theories regarding divine intervention, along with misguided scientific theories.   We know that cavities in our teeth are not caused by parasitic worms, like we used to.   We know that our political leaders are not demi-gods with divine powers, like we used to believe.   The world is not flat, nor positioned in the center of the universe.    


Change is absolutely definite.  No matter who you are, or what else you believe, and you know this as fact.  This fact supports evolutionists far more significantly than it does for creationists.  We've never seen one species turn into another, but we also haven't seen a new species appear out of thin air either.   Now you may say, "Everything that is, always was".   This is both true and false.  Thanks to science we have learned that all of the matter that exists always was, however it has never stayed the same.  We have dated fossils that we have discovered, giving us the ability to confidently say that all of the Earth's species were not always there, but instead came to be at different times.  We have observed distance galaxies in different states of formation.   We know that stars explode when they use up all of their fuel and self-destruct, and that the matter contained within is spread out, and gravity forms it into new planets and suns.   We also know that all of this takes billions and billions of years!  Something we will never be able to observe from start to finish in any one lifetime.   


Sometimes we have to rely on probability, because saying that evolution is fake because you've never seen it, is like saying dinosaurs never existed because there isn't any in your backyard right now.   But, as frustrating as it is, there are people right now who believe Satan put fossils in the earth, for us to find, so we'll think that god isn't real.   


Another example is the "Donkey + Horse = Mule" debate.   In this argument creationists say that although Mules are a different species, they are unable to reproduce with other mules, so it doesn't meet the "evolution" criteria.   Some even see that as proof of creationism, meaning that only God's intended creatures, that were always here, are able to sustain a population.  An evolutionist would say that Donkeys and Horses are still not as evolved away from each other, as species, to prevent reproduction between the two, but far enough away to produce infertile offspring.  Kind of how different dog breeds can be combined, but you can't breed a dog with a cat.  It all depends on how similar their DNA is. 
Regardless if you were to apply the same scrutiny to religious belief, you would find even less to go by.There's no proof that Jesus walked on water.   There's hardly any proof to say he actually walked on solid ground for fuck's sake!   The only real proof that God exists, is our lack of any other explanation... the rest is all human interpretation of how and why god intervenes in our life, if at all.   And that's why I hate it when people say that "God blessed them" because they survived a risky surgery, or something along those lines.   Meanwhile, if it wasn't for the hard work and dedication of the surgeons, or the fortune of being alive now, in this moment of our technological advancement, they would have simply died, like many before them.

But like I said.  I don't care where we came from, although I will attribute the existence of our species to evolution, based on the information we have at this time.   I know that the only reason people want to know if there's a god, is for their own selfish well-being.  For example, if there's a god, there's probably a heaven and hell, and rules to abide by in order to determine where you'll spend eternity.   I refuse to waste my time worshipping a god that may not exist, or may not agree with my methods.  I would much rather be good for the benefit of other people, animals, and the world we live in.  It's instantly rewarding that way, and I don't have any doubts about the impact my actions have.  It's comforting this way. 
Besides, who are we to say what a species is?  It's almost as bad as claiming to know what God wants from us.  All living things have many similarities to each other, and how we categorize the differences are only our ways of understanding, and it only helps us.   The theory of evolution, and all theories like it, should be free to expand.  Free from those who feel threatened by change, and want to continue to stick to their existing beliefs, and the feeling of comfort and self-righteousness they get from it.