Did life evolve from common ancestors?
Yes. The evidence for that is overwhelming, from the commonality of DNA, to the fact that several different lines of evidence give us the same family tree as was first noted by Linneaus (a creationist, no less) Would you like to learn about some of it?
Consider, except for dinosaurs in their large, lizard-like, non-feathered forms
I don’t know of any lizard-like dinosaurs. Although we are not, as you suggest, descendants of dinosaurs, we are more closely related to dinosaurs than either of us is related to lizards.
and a few other cases, ALL of our common ancestors are still with us, from microbes to more complex life forms.
Hmm… no. The vast majority of them are extinct. Far more species are extinct than are alive today.
I contend that the reason for this is the gravity, atmosphere and composition of planet earth.
Is this a scientific hypothesis, with evidence, or just a personal religious idea?
If some evolution occurred, and there is evidence for some, they were guided into their current niches.
Darwin called it “natural selection.” We can still see it working.
There is some evidence for evolution but it was not random as described in textbooks.
Someone’s had a little fun with you on that. Darwin’s great discovery was that it wasn’t random.
It appears mutations, genetic drift and environmental pressures were not sufficient to cause the large scale changes noted.
Would you like to see some of the evidence that confirms that these were indeed the causes?
The concept of life not arising spontaneously from non-living organic material is well established.
You’ve confused abiogenesis with evolution, again, Ed.
I have read the various theories for abiogenesis and none are convincing.
How would you know? Do you actually understand biochemistry well enough to say?
Catholics have been told by Pope Benedict that there is some evidence for evolution.
If by that you mean he said that common descent is “virtually certain”, then yes, he did say that.
When evolution, as described in textbooks, tells the reader that the theory is the best explanation of how we got here in purely mechanistic terms,
Which textbook said that, Ed? Give me a checkable lead. I review biology textbooks from time to time, and I’ve never seen that one.
Our only purpose is to reproduce successfully.
They were messing with you on that one too, Ed. Science doesn’t (and can’t) say what our purpose is. You won’t find that in a science textbook.
I think you could go a long way in resolving this by answering Sideline’s questions, not by ignoring them.
