Evolution (Introduction)

by George Jelliss , Crewe, Saturday, July 25, 2009, 21:53 (5396 days ago) @ dhw

dhw writes: "Do we or do we not believe that the complexities of the original mechanism could fashion themselves spontaneously?" - I do not believe that anything can "fashion itself", in the sense of bringing itself into existence, whether spontaneously or with malice aforethought. Lifting oneself up by the bootstraps is an impossibility. The earliest replicants could be said to have come into being spontaneously (in the sense of "naturally") when all the necessary conditions and components were in place for the reactions to happen. - dhw wrote: "The theory is compatible with Theism ..." - Whether the theory of evolution is compatible with "theism" or not depends on the type of "theos" that you espouse. I would say that it rules out most gods as traditionally conceived, since we need to know how the gods themselves evolved and acquired their powers to intervene in nature.

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GPJ