Does evolution have a purpose? (Evolution)

by David Turell , Wednesday, October 22, 2014, 22:23 (3467 days ago) @ dhw


> dhw: You go on to suggest that the inventive mechanism is only capable of minor adjustments, and even these must follow guidelines laid down by God. May I ask if Nature's Wonders (like the marvellous myrmecophilous beetle's antics), which you often describe as examples of God's intricate planning, were also preprogrammed in the first cells or part of a dabble? If not, does the IM do its own planning?-Once the basic group of organs is in place and functioning to provide an efficient living organism, I can image that modified lifestyles could be developed by an IM invented by God and given God's guidelines. It is important that you understand the first step for a basically functional organism with all of its coordinating and cooperating organ systems is a giant step, when, using the Cambrian gap as the major example of super-speciation. No IM could do this on its own. It must be limited to modification without without major advances. Thus, in my favorite whale series, God works at directly making mammal whales in the ocean in eight or nine stages from land-based forms. Then an IM could make minor species modifications similar to the different types of dogs from wolves, creating a variety of whale types. 
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> dhw: You write: “God is in control of evolution. All outcomes are within his guidelines. Major issues to make advanced life possible are planned by Him.” And you have made it clear that the plans are geared to the ultimate arrival of the human brain, which may have been preprogrammed or may be the result of a dabble...... You have said that this scenario creates a dilemma for you. Question 1) What exactly is this dilemma? Question 2) How does the concept of a semi-autonomous inventive mechanism in the genome resolve your dilemma?-The dilemma has simply been an indecision on my part as to whether God could program it all of evolution from the very beginning, or had to step in and dabble when evolution wasn't following exactly the path He wanted. In other words, just how powerful is God and did He have to second-guess Himself because His powers are not perfect. The IM, as a third way, allows Him to set it up from the beginning and run on its own, with the IM substituted for the necessity of the dabble. Thus God is all powerful from the beginning with the IM scenario.