They do evolve. Mutation is just one part of evolution. Viruses also undergo natural selection, which is another component.
From Dictionary.com:
mutate [myoo-teyt]
Examples Word Origin
verb (used with object), mutated, mutating.
1.to change; alter.
2. to change by umlaut.
verb (used without object), mutated, mutating.
3.to change; undergo mutation.
evolve [ih-volv] Examples Word Origin
verb (used with object), evolved, evolving.
1. to develop gradually: to evolve a scheme.
2. to give off or emit, as odors or vapors. verb (used without object), evolved, evolving.
3. to come forth gradually into being; develop; undergo evolution: The whole idea evolved from a casual remark.
4. Biology. to develop by a process of evolution to a different adaptive state or condition: The human species evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal.
Seems pretty close to me.
“No, they do not evolve. They mutate. Big difference.”
Actually, mutation is how they evolve. You, me, all of us have DNA correcting machinery in our cells that is there to correct the myriad DNA mutations that occur each and every day in our bodies. Not all mutations are repaired, and if you compare a person’s DNA at birth to their DNA at age 60, you will find changes in their genetic code. Most of these changes are innocuous, or silent, and thus don’t kill us. Some, however, are not benign, and are one of the reasons that cancer kills so many of us.
I am very sensitive to each person’s personal experience of God, and I know there is a God more than I know that I fortunately have two hands. That said, I think God is so incredibly beyond anything we can imagine in our smallness, that no one person can understand or even come anywhere close to knowing all that God is.
I think we are all mostly on the same side here. My view is to agree entirely that evolution doesn’t in any way preclude God - or creation. Science, to me, is one path of discovery of God, and one way to catch just a glimpse of the complexity and wonder of God. To really know God, all I need to do is look at the innocence of a child, and the beauty that surrounds us. To know that God grants us free will, all I need to do is look at the evil and hurt in the world.