Natural Wonders & Evolution (Evolution)

by David Turell , Saturday, September 14, 2019, 19:40 (1895 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: 'Covering time' involves the necessary consideration of supplying a food supply, which is all that I implied. You don't like a God who, in your humanized view, dilly-dallies.

dhw: You didn’t “imply” anything. You stated categorically that the interim purpose of the food supply was to cover the time he himself had, for some unknown reason, decided to take before implementing his one and only goal (us). You are right – I don’t like an interpretation of your God’s purpose (us) and actions (designing anything but us) which makes no sense.

Of course cover the time it took. You imply filling time. No. No sense to you but Adler and I and many other believers.

DAVID: Pre-programming involves a set DNA code which allows additions and subtractions as forms evolve.

dhw: According to your theory, it is not “as forms evolve”! You claim that your God had already built each addition and subtraction into the code! In my proposal, the “code” changes as intelligent cells adapt to or exploit new conditions. Much easier than your God having to work out in advance every single addition and subtraction in the history of life!

Nothing is difficult for God. Only for your humanized God.

DAVID: You keep contorting my line of reasoning. I view our reality as created by God. Therefore, everything we know about our reality is the result of God's choices and actions.

If God exists, then I agree.

dhw: At last! Let the trumpets sound. Still wearing my theist hat, I also propose that he runs evolution as far as he wants to, and what he wanted was a vast variety of life forms.

DAVID: Yes, but as a way to evolve humans.

dhw: And yet you have no idea why your God decided to spend 3.X billion years NOT designing humans but creating billions of non-human life forms etc. etc. Once more: Why is this idea of yours less humanizing than wanting a vast variety of forms, and designing an autonomous inventive mechanism to produce this variety?

God's choice is God's, and I don't question why, just accept His works as history describes.

DAVID: God can want humans without being humanized in the interpretation of His motives. Don't wonder why He made that decision: God does what God wants to do, period.

You have not answered my questions. Why is wanting a vast variety, or wanting to sacrifice control more humanizing than only wanting one species and wanting to have complete control? And why are you more qualified to say what he wants than I am?

DAVID: Free rein evolution is Darwinism!

dhw: That does not mean it can’t be true.

DAVID: I thought we agreed random mutations won't work?

dhw: We are talking about free rein, not about random mutations! You say my proposal that your God may have designed an autonomous inventive mechanism is Darwinism. If Darwinism is confined to the theory of random mutations, then my proposal is NOT Darwinism. You are playing games now.

Depends on the definition of free rein: "freedom to act and make decisions without first getting permission"

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-rein

My God does not allow that much freedom