Origin of Life: early land life (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Saturday, August 03, 2013, 23:55 (4131 days ago) @ dhw

TONY: No explanation at all, and that was my original point. If the neo-evolutionary theory were correct, then in the 3.3byn between vegetable life first appearing and the Cambrian explosion, we should have seen much more diversity and complexity in the plant life than we do, instead of it all appearing in a geological instant and diverging wildly over the span of a few hundred million years.
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> DHW: I've offered you several possible evolutionary scenarios. A change in the atmosphere conducive to diversity and complexity, or a link with the animal "explosion", which may have required new ways of plants "propagating, defending themselves, attracting pollinators". All speculation, but I can't see why this negates evolutionary theory. On the other hand, for those who see God's guiding hand at work in all of creation, there ought to be some kind of theory as to why he didn't bother with plant diversity till after the Cambrian.-
For those of us that see God's handiwork, yes, the data does in fact fit the theory. Plant's came first in the realm of visible living specimens. Why? As I said back when I first joined the site, they were the most economical way to prepare the planet for animal life. As for why they were not more diverse in the beginning, I suspect it is because a) there was no need for them to be, b) it would have taken time for the resources such as soil to build up to sufficient levels to support larger forms, so it would have been pointless to create something that was unsustainable. -From the beginning, my take has been that it was done in stages, and that it was absolutely critical that each stage ran its course in order to pave the way for the next stage. While you will likely (and have) assert that God should have just *poofed* it into existence all fully formed and ready to go, I counter that he is not wasteful (as evidenced by creation itself in all of its efficient, conservative, and recycling glory) and therefore would have started slowly, patiently making each step and not making another until the time was right for him to do so with the least expenditure of energy in a manner that would enable a self sustaining ecosystem. -To use a cooking analogy, if you put the turkey in the oven without turning it on, set the temp wrong, take it out too early or too late, don't prepare it properly, or tend it properly, you end up with a terrible dinner. It will either be toxic, tasteless, or inedible. If you start the sides too early, or too late, or do not follow the recipe for each one (making sure you have all the ingredients before you start) you will ruin the dishes and/ore the entire meal. Each step has to be done 'just so' and in its own time in order to produce a truly wonderful meal. -We live in a 'just so' universe. A charmed existence that by all rights should simply not be possible. When I eat a wonderful meal, I know there was a cook paying exquisite attention to it while it was being prepared. When I live this exquisite life, I can not help but understand that it too was just as meticulously prepared.

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.