Evolution and humans: all over Africa (Evolution)

by dhw, Friday, October 06, 2017, 13:31 (2603 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Stupidly refers to the possibility of strange, unneeded forms. As for purpose, having humans with consciousness who could relate to Him through faith, because He is hidden. Life has its wonders but none of them, except us, recognize Him.

dhw: I don’t know what “strange, unneeded forms” you’re talking about. One might ask “unneeded for what?” The only answer from your hypothesis would be unneeded for the production of the human brain. And your inability to find any connection between the vast variety of “weird” forms and the brain makes your anthropocentric hypothesis all the more unlikely. In any case, why are they weird and stupid if produced by themselves, but not weird and stupid if produced by your God?
As for the purpose, we now have him producing all these weird and stupid creatures in order to keep life going until he can produce a being whose faith he can test. What sort of relationship can one have with a being that remains hidden? And what do you think he will get out of this faith? Sorry if I’ve misunderstood you, but I just can’t follow any of this.

DAVID: Your confusion comes from trying to define God from total logic. Can't do it. I started from a discovery that the only explanation for the complexity of the universe and life was a designing mind. What that mind presents is what it produces, but it is hidden. We see the works, but not the source. As for purpose, one must look at the pinnacle of what is produced and that is the human brain, which can then recognize that a designer must have done all we see. To me that is a full circle. The rest is guessing. Religions make up all sorts of stuff and are of no help. As you know that is my teleology in a nutshell. The key is realizing a designer is needed.

I understand perfectly well why you believe there is a designer. And I understand perfectly well why you think the human brain is the most complex organ that evolution has produced so far (although you do not believe it is the source of our extraordinary level of consciousness). What I do not understand is why your teleology is confined to the production of the human brain. Eight stages of whale, froggy poison, weaverbird’s nests, wasps laying eggs in spiders, and today’s toxin-eating snakes – all specially designed by your God to keep life going for the sake of the human brain? But I am NOT trying to define God from total logic. I am trying to find logic in your interpretation of how your God thinks and works. If your interpretation defies logic, we must face the possibility that it is wrong.