more on epigenetics (Evolution)

by dhw, Monday, August 13, 2012, 16:32 (4484 days ago) @ BBella

Dhw: "If you practise music for six hours a day [...] your brain will show recognizable changes both in large scale anatomy and genetically. [...] But the puzzle is that some of these changes can be passed on to offspring, and the effect ... although it eventually disappears after three to four generations ... can have profound consequences." -BBELLA: When I read the above passage I thought of the scripture in the Bible that says God visits (passes down?) the sins of the fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation. Altho this verse mainly speaks of the negative traits or sins, I thought it interesting the similarities in meaning.
I the Lord...visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:5; cf. Numbers 14:18)-Not quite the response I'd expected, especially as it always seemed to me grossly unfair of the Lord to punish me for the sins of my great grandfather! -All the same, I'll use your biblical reference as a pretext to sum up the various theories as to how we got here:-1) God made each species separately.
2) God made a mechanism that was capable of evolving into all the species that have ever existed (possibly with some occasional twiddling by himself).
3) Chance made a mechanism that was capable of evolving into all the species that have ever existed,-2) and 3) must follow the same process of evolution, and so for those who actually believe that evolution happened, the question is how the process worked. I am very uneasy with Darwin's chance mutations plus natural selection as an explanation for all the complex organs and organisms we know of. I find it far more convincing to attribute the growth in complexity to an innate form of intelligence that enables cells to combine and interact creatively with one another. At a time when environmental conditions were undergoing huge changes, worldwide and also locally, cells might have combined to enable existing creatures not only to adapt but also to invent new organs that would be of benefit. "Convergence" might also explain why similar creatures evolved in different areas of the planet when similar environmental changes took place. Adaptations and innovations would survive if those changes were lasting. That's why I'm querying the current thesis that epigenetic changes fizzle out. We can't compare the environment of today with that of the distant past. What I'm suggesting would explain not only the so-called gaps in the fossil record (because there wouldn't be gaps ... the changes were swift and already functional) but also the sudden bursts of new species (the Cambrian Explosion), which may have coincided with a fundamental change in the atmosphere. I would very much like to know what might be the scientific objections to this evolutionary scenario (= Nos. 2 and 3) ... which would be the same with or without God.