David's theory of evolution (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, October 21, 2019, 17:44 (1858 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: Yes, they are alternative theistic explanations of the course and purpose of evolution, and you agree that they are logical. When I challenge your own guess, you acknowledge that in order to believe it, you must abandon human reasoning when you apply it to the history. I don’t know how you can stick to your one fixed belief when as far as you, a human being, are concerned it is illogical.

DAVID: I've never abandoned reason. The only guess I've made about God's intentions is humans were a prime goal. You accept our specialness, which can't be denied, and then attempt to reduce its importance. We are not just naked apes. We are extremely special and our consciousness cannot be explained by any theory of materialistic evolution.

dhw: Nobody can explain consciousness at any level. Again you say “a” prime purpose, but you have never yet offered us any other prime purpose. Your theory that your God decided to delay fulfilling his one and only purpose for 3.X billion years, and all other life forms etc. were “interim goals to establish the necessary food supply to cover the time he knew he had decided to take” is the one which requires the abandonment of human reason: “Nothing illogical required if one does not apply human reasoning to the actual history”.

DAVID: For me the word prime means just that. I'm with Adler. We were the prime goal. The universe, the Earth and all the bush of life had to be accomplished to allow us as the final result. I firmly believe we are the end point, and major evolution is over.

dhw: The bold – which means every life form etc. had to be specially designed in order to cover the time he had decided to take before designing us, his only goal - is precisely the incongruity you refuse to recognize or, when you do recognize it, you say we must abandon human logic for it to make sense. The two quotes that I have bolded above could hardly make it clearer.

Again, your incongruity, not mine. God prepared the earth for humans with the bush of life. All makes sense, except to you, as you do not accept humans as the end point.

DAVID: The Earth was prepared for us over time, that is the logical thought.

dhw: Of course he would have had to make the proper preparations for humans, but that does not mean that 3.X billion years' worth of non-human life forms, lifestyles and natural wonders were “interim goals”…as quoted above! Do you honestly believe that part of the preparation for H. sapiens was a wibbly-wobbly oojamiflip or a creepy-crawly what’sname that died out 3 billion years ago?

DAVID: You know the answer. God evolved starting with single-celled organisms, and worked up to us.

dhw: That does not explain why he decided to spend 3.X billion years designing billions of non-human life forms, lifestyles and natural wonders (i.e. "all the bush of life") before starting to design us.

God chose to evolve us. The history shows his plan which prepares the Earth for us. We need the bush of life, and you seem to ignore that.