system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: The Theory of Evolution

I'm a creationist, due in part because I was raised that way, my entire family is that way, and I'm from the Bible belt. Add all of those together and you have a God fearin', Bible totin', fried food lovin' southerner. 

In my school they didn't teach evolution. As a matter of fact, I really hadn't heard enough about it to give it much thought until I was in college. Granted, I'd *heard* of Evolution, but I wasn't *taught* Evolution. I've read around quite a bit on the internet, but I still can't grasp why anyone would believe such a thing. I *really* want to understand. 

How does life begin with simple cells and morph into humans, turtles, plants, snakes, dinosaurs, etc and all of these different creatures? Where did those first cells come from? Please, reddit, explain it like I'm a 5 year old!

Note: I know it is somewhat ironic that a guy who believes everything was created by a God we can't see, feel, touch, and have no evidence of his existence thinks that Evolution is crazy. I get it, so let's try and leave all the religious stuff out if we can.
gpt
Well, props to you for being open-minded enough to calmly ask the question.

First, evolution is not abiogenesis (which is what attempts to explain the beginnings of life). Evolution just describes natural selection. Here's how it works:

1. Genetic anomalies and other factors cause a change in an organism, that propagates to its offspring.
2. If that anomaly is advantageous, that organism has a better chance of survival...so it does. That trait then becomes more common.
3. Lather, rinse, repeat. That's it.

It's a very simple concept and we see it in practice everyday, as well as over long periods of time. We have to give out flu shots every year because the virus mutates and evolves. We see species die out because they didn't adapt well enough to their environment. We see them gradually change into other species as their advantages become more pronounced.

And finally, it's not a matter of belief. Evolution is a scientific theory on par with gravity, light, magnetism, and many other concepts. If there were sufficient evidence to disprove it, it would no longer be a theory. You can either *accept* the evidence for it or reject it, but to *scientifically* reject the evidence, you need a reason to do so.