Convoluted human evolution: H. naledi ; recent (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, May 12, 2017, 00:07 (2753 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: If God exists, of course he is in charge. But that does not mean he could not have opted to give organisms the freedom to do their own designing (subject to the occasional dabble), or experimented, or had new ideas as he went along.

See the whale video produced today. Only a planning mind can produce those stages of whale development.

DAVID: See this article which supports the idea that naledi is a dead end:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-evidence-of-mysterious-homo-naledi-raise...

dhw: If it is a dead end, that hardly explains why your God designed it. Experimentation does, but you rejected that.

God could very possibly have developed different forms of hominin to see which would better develop the current brain we have. You seem to keep forgetting that the evidence is God uses evolution as a way of advancing His purposes, and His method of evolution of life results in a very bushy process.

DAVID: I would remind you, as I respond to your questions and objections that I am willing to offer possibilities about God, but I'm sure you understand every guess may vary, as you note, but each revolves about the central premise that God is always in charge.

dhw: As above, he can be in charge and experiment, have new ideas, or sacrifice control, all of which you have categorically rejected. Every guess of yours varies, every guess of mine is categorically rejected, and then you come back to my guesses as if you were “willing to offer possibilities”! If you were willing to ACCEPT that certain explanations were possible, you would not have to keep tying yourself in knots.

As always I return to the same point about God: God is in charge no matter how it happened. 3.8 billion year program or dabbling remain the only possibilities. The bushiness of life may indicate a degree of experimentation.