Theoretical origin of life; new earliest? (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, October 01, 2017, 13:33 (2610 days ago) @ David Turell

QUOTE: “'The emerging picture from the ancient-rock record is that life was everywhere,” Vickie Bennett from Australian National University, tells The Atlantic. “As far back as the rock record extends—that is, as far back as we can look for direct evidence of early life, we are finding it. Earth has been a biotic, life-sustaining planet since close to its beginning.'” (David's bold)

DAVID's comment: My bold certainly supports the idea that God saw to it that the Earth could nourish life from near its very beginning.

dhw: Your bold does no such thing! It merely supports the idea that Earth has been a biotic, life-sustaining planet since close to its beginning!

DAVID: When you add up all the unusual characteristics of the Earth, compared to other planets, we are very special. It is easy to see God's work.

I agree that our planet and all forms of life are very special, but the article is not about all the unusual characteristics, and it says nothing about God’s work. It only suggests that “life was everywhere” and it began earlier than was originally thought. Your comment is no more linked to the article than an atheist saying that “life was everywhere” and may have started earlier than we thought, which supports the idea that chance did it. One should not pretend that a purely scientific observation offers support for either theism or atheism. For all you know, the researchers themselves might be atheists!