Return to David's theory of evolution PARTS 1 & 2 (Evolution)

by dhw, Monday, August 01, 2022, 08:12 (843 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: You have presented your theory of my theory, which refuses to accept the simple statement that God chose to evolve us from bacteria for His own unknown reasons.

I’ve never refused to accept that we humans – like every other species – evolved from bacteria! If God exists, I’m also happy to accept that evolution was his choice of fulfilling whatever may have been his purpose. What I cannot accept is the theory that your God’s one and only purpose was to produce us and our food, and his method of doing so was to produce countless species and ecosystems that had no connection with us or our food. You yourself can make no sense of this theory.

DAVID: I cannot know God's mind but can attempt to interpret His results. Your discussion of ecosystems fails to recognize evolution advances stepwise from past to present as a continuum. Your constant dodge is to try to present evolution as discontinuous.

Of course evolution advances from past to present, but as it does so, it branches out into species and ecosystems that have no connection with humans and our ecosystems. Past ecosystems were for the past, and extinct life has no role in current time. I am quoting you!

DAVID (under “death of a kelp system”): ecosystems are vital for the health of the living planet. That is a designing God saw to it that a very diverse bush of life was developed as evolution progressed to humans. Looking back there were ecosystems satisfying the need for food from the beginning of evolution through all ensuing stages. dhw denigrates this as God providing 'humans (plus food)', as if that was all that was necessary for God to do. The obvious history tells us the logical otherwise.

Of course ecosystems are and always were vital for the health of the planet, and in the course of 3.X billion years, they came and went, feeding countless life forms that had no connection with sapiens and our current ecosystems. It is YOU who claim that although nearly all the individually designed, extinct life forms and their ecosystems were for the PAST (as above), they were “necessary for God to do” (an “absolute requirement”) if he was to fulfil his one and only purpose of designing sapiens plus food! And you can’t explain this theory – it “makes sense only to God”. Please stop dodging!

DAVID: God is not the God you think about. He does not create as a primary purpose to have things to take interest in. His following what happens as an interest is a secondary event.

dhw: Written with great authority but, as you repeat below, all your theories and mine are nothing but “guesswork”. Now please tell us what you think was his “primary” purpose in creating humans and all the life forms and econiches that had no connection with humans.

DAVID: […] we do know He has given us brains which can think about Him and ask questions. Anything further is guesswork.
And:
DAVID: He gave us brains so we could debate about Him. So we recognize Him.

dhw: EVERY theory is guesswork, including your God’s existence. So why do you think he wanted us to think about him, recognize him, and ask questions? And why do you think wanting recognition is less "human" than wanting to create something he would find interesting?

DAVID: By giving us a mind, which thinks, discussing God naturally flows. There is no way of knowing if God expected that result, so we are free to think as we wish. And whether He desired it as a result is also unknown. Your questions again fit your role as God's humanizer.

Oh, your God gave us brains which can think about him and recognize him, but you don’t know if God wanted us to think about him and recognize him. So please tell us what you think was his purpose in creating a species which could think about him and recognize him.

DAVID: Your constant interpretation of my thoughts is so twisted and lacks so much insight into my thinking it seems impossible for me to explain it, but I have tried above.

dhw: How can you possibly explain a theory which “makes sense only to God”? Please tell me which of these “interpretations of your thoughts” are twisted: 1) God’s one and only purpose was to “evolve” (= design) sapiens plus food. 2) God individually “evolved” (= designed) countless life forms and econiches that had no connection with sapiens plus food. 3) God designed some species (Cambrian) that had no precursors (i.e. that did not evolve in stages).[…]

DAVID: I accept what God did with no need to explain it to myself or you. His reasons are His alone.

dhw: […] You accused me of a twisted interpretation of your thoughts. Please say which of the above are “twisted”.

DAVID: You have never accepted God, so you don't understand the mindset that accepts God's works without question, but retains the right to interpret.

I have never rejected God, and I fully accept the theory that if God exists, the history of life as we know it may be called “his works”. What I do not accept is an interpretation of that history which does not make sense to the interpreter or to me.