Creationism v. Intelligent Design v. Evolution

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You are the one who is incorrect. There are only two elements
You are misrepresenting me and need to read more carefully. I specified that there are only two elements that are the basis of all life: carbon and hydrogen. **It remains a miniscule target.
**
You have omitted the** initial improbability**
of just two elements occurring in the precise quantities required for life Again, your source is misinforming you. Those two elements do not occur in the “precise quantities” required for life. There are millions of tons of both lying around on Earth not part of any living organism at all. How many millions of tons of hydrogen are locked up in non-living water on Earth? Billions upon billions of tons of hydrogen are tied up in stars all over the universe. How many millions of tons of carbon are locked up in non-living carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or in carbonate rocks in the Earth’s crust? Whatever source you are using its science is ludicrously bad. I strongly suggest that you find a different source which gives you some correct science to base your arguments on.

If there is so much carbon and hydrogen readily available in vast quantities why isn’t life present in every nook and cranny of the universe? An excess or insufficiency of either element would preclude the emergence of living organisms. Moreover if they are to develop they have to be present simultaneously with other elements. In addition even Stephen Hawking has admitted that the laws of science contain many fundamental numbers - like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron - which seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life. Yet according to you life must be superabundant rather than extremely rare occurrence…
Nor have you explained why matter **had to **
exist, This thread is discussing “Creationism v. Intelligent Design v. Evolution”, it is not discussing cosmology or stellar astrophysics.

Evolution is (wrongly) thought by the OP to be an alternative to Creation and Design. This implies that matter had to exist without being created. Since you favour the OP’s version of evolution the onus is on you to explain the origin of matter.
[biological processes **had to
emerge

They didn’t. I am not aware of any biological processes on the moon, the sun or in interstellar space.
The issue is life on this planet where it has emerged - and, according to you, it was inevitable.
and evolution had to
occur… Once you have a population of imperfect replicators competing for limited resources you will get evolution.

Thank you for confirming my statement that you attribute necessity to the process of evolution!
How do you justify your belief in physical necessity?
I don’t have to justify it because I have no such belief. I accept cause and effect. If the causes are in place then the effects will happen. Physical life has a physical cause, which is closely linked to chemistry. My ideas on non-physical life are very different to yours because we follow different religions.
To be precise you accept physical causality which is equivalent to accepting physical necessity because you regard it as the sole explanation of life. In your view the fact that it has occurred implies that it was inevitable given the existing laws of science. You also seem to believe that there is no alternative to the existing laws of science because you rule out the claim that they are fine tuned.
 
Cool.

Now the rest of ID denying crew?
Buffalo, can I ask what your point is in relation to the question, ‘did Adam look as God planned?’ I really don’t get what you’re point is in relation to this question. Why do you keep asking it over and over? I don’t understand what you feel a definitive answer to this question achieves.

You have been given a definitive answer to this question by more than one poster. Would it take everyone on this thread you categorize the ‘ID denying crew’ to spell out what they have already said before you will be satisfied? If they did, what in you’re opinion would that achieve? Can you give a definitive answer to this question?

Why don’t you just start you’re own poll and we not only vote, but dedicate a whole thread to the question if it’s so important.
 
Buffalo, can I ask what your point is in relation to the question, ‘did Adam look as God planned?’ I really don’t get what you’re point is in relation to this question. Why do you keep asking it over and over? I don’t understand what you feel a definitive answer to this question achieves.

You have been given a definitive answer to this question by more than one poster. Would it take everyone on this thread you categorize the ‘ID denying crew’ to spell out what they have already said before you will be satisfied? If they did, what in you’re opinion would that achieve? Can you give a definitive answer to this question?

Why don’t you just start you’re own poll and we not only vote, but dedicate a whole thread to the question if it’s so important.
The question is really important. Think about the question in relation to the whole conversation. God is omniscient, so of course He knew what Adam would look like. As you saw most have no problem with that. What separates the wheat from the chaff is - did Adam look as God planned? That gets right to the heart of the matter. And as you saw some said definitively yes (ID’ers). The TE’s have a real issue answering it straight up. (although I give Al credit for his response). The materialists - well…
 
The question is really important. Think about the question in relation to the whole conversation. God is omniscient, so of course He knew what Adam would look like. As you saw most have no problem with that. What separates the wheat from the chaff is - did Adam look as God planned? That gets right to the heart of the matter. And as you saw some said definitively yes (ID’ers). The TE’s have a real issue answering it straight up. (although I give Al credit for his response). The materialists - well…
Yeah, but I still don’t get it. Why do you think it is a really important question, and how does the answer sort the wheat from the chaff?
 
You are misrepresenting me and need to read more carefully. I specified that there are only two elements that are the basis of all life: carbon and hydrogen.
Your source is incorrect. I am not aware of any lifeform that is made solely of carbon and hydrogen. You need to add nitrogen and oxygen to the mix at the very least. My biochemistry does not stretch much further than that so it is possible that other elements are required as well.
If there is so much carbon and hydrogen readily available in vast quantities why isn’t life present in every nook and cranny of the universe?
How do you propose to use the millions of tons of hydrogen present in the Sun at temperatures of thousands of degrees Centigrade to make life? You really need to think about the basic science behind the questions you are asking. Are you picking them up from some creationist website? Wherever they are coming from they show a lack of necessary scientific background.

Intergalactic space may contain one or two molecules of hydrogen per cubic kilometre. That adds up to a great deal of hydrogen, but it does not mean that life will form in intergalactic space.
An excess or insufficiency of either element would preclude the emergence of living organisms.
Why? I can see that a complete absence of one element would prevent life forming. If all required elements are present then, assuming life begins, they will be used up until the available supplies of the least common element are exhausted. At that point the remaining amounts of the other elements will just be lying around.

If I have six eggs, three pounds of dried fruit and fifty pounds of flour but I need three eggs, half a pound of flour and four ounces of dried fruit to make a cake does that mean I can’t make any cakes because I have the wrong proportions? No. I make two cakes, using up all my eggs, and I have some dried fruit and a great deal of flour left lying around. I don’t need to have the exact proportions of everything before I start.

Could you really not think this out for yourself? It is hardly difficult. Please don’t just copy stuff from the web. Think about it first; you know there there is a lot of complete rubbish written on the web.
Moreover if they are to develop they have to be present simultaneously with other elements.
Elements are formed in stars, which is astrophysics, not the subject of this thread. You are drifting off the subject. If you want to discuss astrophysics and stellar neucleosynthesis then I suggest you start a new thread.
Evolution is (wrongly) thought by the OP to be an alternative to Creation and Design. This implies that matter had to exist without being created. Since you favour the OP’s version of evolution the onus is on you to explain the origin of matter.
Darwin’s book is called “On the Origin of Species”. It is not called “On the Origin of the Elements and of Species”. Chemistry does not explain the origin of the elements, neither does evolution. Science works in part by breaking down large problems like, “where did everything come from,” into smaller problems: “where did the elements come from”, “where did chemical compounds come from” and “where did species come from”.
The issue is life on this planet where it has emerged - and, according to you, it was inevitable.
Where have I said it was inevitable? It happened, obviously we are here. I do not think it was inevitable.
Thank you for confirming my statement that you attribute necessity to the process of evolution!
Given the required causes then the effect is inevitable. The causes of evolution do not obtain everywhere. They are not present on the moon for example, hence there is no evolution on the moon. The causes are present on Earth so there is evolution on the Earth. Cause and effect.
To be precise you accept physical causality which is equivalent to accepting physical necessity because you regard it as the sole explanation of life.
Please do not tell me what I think. If you read the top right of my posts you will see that I am Buddhist. Life is not solely material. Evolution refers to the material components of life.

rossum
 
Your source is incorrect. I am not aware of any lifeform that is made solely of carbon and hydrogen. You need to add nitrogen and oxygen to the mix at the very least. My biochemistry does not stretch much further than that so it is possible that other elements are required as well.
Phosphorus and magenesium are required at the very least as well, even though it has recently been shown that some bacteria can be completely switched to arsenic instead of phosphorus (but arsenic, normally a vicious poison, is a homologous element, just much heavier than phosphorus).

Excellent answers to Tonyrey in your post. I agree, he needs to work on his knowledge of science and stop getting his info from creationist websites.

By the way, I think life on Earth was inevitable. I think life is inevitable on myriads of planets in the universe, and the universe must be teeming with life. Howwever, most of it will remain microbial life, since for higher life forms particularly sheltered conditions – like on our Earth – must exist, which will be rare. And rational life will only exist where God decides to provide rational souls – an immaterial soul obviously cannot be gained by evolution.
 
Excellent answers to Tonyrey in your post. I agree, he needs to work on his knowledge of science and stop getting his info from creationist websites.
Since Tonyrey is in the UK, he/she has probably gone to bed. I have this question however. Which creationist site are you talking about? Or is this merely an accusation that you now promote as fact because it meets your needs?
By the way, I think life on Earth was inevitable. I think life is inevitable on myriads of planets in the universe, and the universe must be teeming with life. Howwever, most of it will remain microbial life, since for higher life forms particularly sheltered conditions – like on our Earth – must exist, which will be rare.
  1. If the universe is teeming with life, then certainly Earth on which life is “inevitable” should have more life than one (or as recently possibly maybe discovered, perhaps 2) trees of life. Earth with all its advantages should be absolutely teeming with hundreds, or thousands or billions of independently originated trees of life, with more popping up every day. But it’s not happening.
  2. You also insist on repeating, “Since it has been demonstrated that all living organisms on earth are genetically related, it is virtually certain that all living organisms have descended from this first organism.” Assuming that the evidence actually points to this, how do you reconcile this item with item 1 above? A universe teeming with life, but Earth only gets one lousy tree? And Earth had roughly 1/2 the entire age of the universe to make it happen?
  3. You seem to be saying that the origin of life on Earth was inevitable, but only actually occurred once in billions of years. How does science answer that? Where is the other life? (Note: speculating about life elsewhere in the universe is lots of fun, I do it myself, but there is obviously no evidence to support it, only wishful thinking).
 
By the way, I think life on Earth was inevitable. I think life is inevitable on myriads of planets in the universe, and the universe must be teeming with life. Howwever, most of it will remain microbial life, since for higher life forms particularly sheltered conditions – like on our Earth – must exist, which will be rare. And rational life will only exist where God decides to provide rational souls – an immaterial soul obviously cannot be gained by evolution.
Yes - I tend to agree with the views espoused by Fr George Coyne and others where God created a universe with the potential for life and let that life evolve by itself allowing the dynamism present in the universe to participate in creation itself.

I do not believe that humans are designed by God to have two eyes and one nose etc. (or that evolution was designed to output humans) - that would tend to be refuted by the argument from poor design.
 
Since Tonyrey is in the UK, he/she has probably gone to bed. I have this question however. Which creationist site are you talking about? Or is this merely an accusation that you now promote as fact because it meets your needs?
You’re right, I pulled the trigger too hastily on that one, which wasn’t fair.

As for your question about how many times life originated, I’ll answer tomorrow. Have a good night.

Al
 
Yes - I tend to agree with the views espoused by Fr George Coyne and others where God created a universe with the potential for life and let that life evolve by itself allowing the dynamism present in the universe to participate in creation itself.

I do not believe that humans are designed by God to have two eyes and one nose etc. (or that evolution was designed to output humans) - that would tend to be refuted by the argument from poor design.
But to say that God didn’t intend us to have 2 eyes and 1 nose would tend to be refuted by the argument that God actually knew what he was doing.

Just out of curiosity, do you like Teilhard de Chardin as well?
 
But to say that God didn’t intend us to have 2 eyes and 1 nose would tend to be refuted by the argument that God actually knew what he was doing.
Perhaps God could predict that evolution would result in humans as one of the outcomes?
 
But to say that God didn’t intend us to have 2 eyes and 1 nose would tend to be refuted by the argument that God actually knew what he was doing.

Just out of curiosity, do you like Teilhard de Chardin as well?
I don’t understand why some people think that evolution = 'God didn’t know what He was doing, or had no idea what was going to happen.

The Genesis account records how God fashioned woman from a rib. Therefore, even it you interpret this passage of scripture literally, there was a process involved. The Genesis account in conjunction with other passages of scripture infers not that Adam was created in an instant, but there was a process involved. In the Gospels, there were times Jesus cured the sick instantly. There he times he didn’t; for example when he put clay on the blind mans’ eyes. This does not infer that on that occasion Jesus did not have the power to cure the man instantly, or wasn’t sure if it would work. It means he chose that method. (We could discuss forever the theological implications but that belongs on another thread)

Science is entitled to explore biological processes. It is the nature of science to establish empirical evidence in relation to biological processes. If these findings challenge literal interpretations of Genesis, maybe we should look at the Genesis account again rather than reject scientific findings that contradict literal interpretations; particularly if author never intended it to be taken literally.

Accepting the findings of science in relation to evolution does not mean believing God didn’t know what He was doing, or didn’t know what was going to happen. Certainly atheists are happy to interpret evolutionary theories as alternatives to creation and challenge us with this thinking, which is why we need a better defense for our faith than literal interpretations of Genesis.
 
Do you deny that making a cell wall is progress towards making a living cell?

rossum
What happened to the probability play you have been pushing?
Have you finally seen how improbable life occurring on its own actually is?

As to progress…progress to where?
Show me the target.
Tell me what it looks like.
Tell me what this end product is.
What process built it, what chemicals were used, who is going to do it…and when.

How can you claim progress somewhere when you do not know where exactly the target is?
 
I did show that there are points where your statement is false. Time alone will not show me all the surface of the Earth.

rossum
I see.
You are pulling words out of their proper context again in only quoting a single part of a response and leaving the meaning behind.

Par for your course, deception.
 
What happened to the probability play you have been pushing?
It is still there, but since you are not giving me any numbers beyond 1:1 it is not likely to progress much further. How many different RNA sequences make life? How many different RNA sequences do not make life? Go to those ID labs and do some research; they are probably empty at the moment as nobody else seems to be using them for anything.
Have you finally seen how improbable life occurring on its own actually is?
We have one observed example, the the post-probability of life in that one example is 100%. If you have some better numbers then show us what you have.
As to progress…progress to where?
Progress from “I do not have a cell wall” to “I have a cell wall”. All living bacteria have a cell wall. ID cannot show the ID designer making a cell wall. Abiogenesis can show chemistry making a basic cell wall. That is progress.

Can you show me a living bacterium without a lipid bilayer cell wall? Can you show me an ID experiment showing the ID designer making a lipid bilayer cell wall?

Abiogenesis is making progress.
Show me the target.
A very primitive proto-bacterium with a lipid bilayer cell wall, RNA and ribozymes.
Tell me what it looks like.
A small and very simple copy of parts of a modern bacterium with no DNA, its function being performed by RNA and no enzymes, their functions being performed by ribozymes.
Tell me what this end product is.
A very simple proto-bacterium.
What process built it,
Chemistry.
what chemicals were used,
Lipids, purines, pyrimidines and a few other simpler chemicals. Phosphates seem to heve been important.
who is going to do it…and when.
Unlike Harold Camping, I am not going to put a name or a date on future achievements. A lot of different people are working in this area, as you can see from the various authors of the scientific papers I have linked to.
How can you claim progress somewhere when you do not know where exactly the target is?
We know enough about the general area of the target to narrow down our search and as we progress we can narrow the search area even further. Science is well used to dealing with incomplete information. It works to fill in the gaps as it progresses.

Where is your equivalent ID research? Is all the ID research time devoted to finding new questions to ask real scientists, with none of their time devoted to actual positive ID research?

Where is your evidence of the ID designer making a lipid bilayer? Where is the evidence of your ID designer making purines? Where is the evidence of your ID designer making pyrimidines?

It is very obvious from your failure to answer any of my questions about progress made in ID research that there is no actual ID research for you to talk about. You are trying to hide that lack by asking me question, which I can answer because science has a lot of answers to give. ID cannot give any answers because it has nothing. ID is not science, it merely plays one on the internet.

rossum
 
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