Return to David's theory of evolution (Evolution)

by dhw, Thursday, November 24, 2022, 12:36 (728 days ago) @ David Turell

As this thread and the “more miscellany” thread are riddled with repetitions, I will try to edit the discussion without all the sub-headings.

dhw: […] the argument is not about the present ecosystem but about your irrational insistence that your God had to design all the extinct dead end systems of the past because although they had nothing to do with his one and only purpose, they were all necessary for him to fulfil his one and only purpose. If you stop repeating your dodges, I can stop pointing them out!

DAVID: They are not dodges but represent that you do not think about God as I do. Everything on Earth now and all past history of evolution is God's work. We were evolved. Dead ends happened as in any evolutionary processes. Your illogical analysis of reality as it relates to God's actions is flawed at all times.

If God exists, of course evolution is his work. That is true whether he designed every species, created a free-for-all, experimented to find a particular formula, or had new ideas as he went along. We and all other species, including the dead ends, “evolved” (though for you, this means they were individually designed by your God). Please stop hiding behind these vague generalizations as if somehow they explained the irrational theory bolded above, which you admit makes no sense to you. As for your mantra that all evolutionary processes have dead ends, we only know of one evolutionary process for life on Earth. Or have you secretly travelled round the universe documenting all of your God’s other evolutions of life?

DAVID: You don't believe in Him and so your 'illogical way' comment is your confused human criticism of God's choice of action. I simply accept He chose to evolve us.

I don’t disbelieve in him either, and I am NOT criticizing him. If God exists, I have no problem with his choice to evolve us and every other life form that ever existed, since I believe in evolution. What I do not believe is your irrational theory bolded above, which yet again you try to dodge by pretending that my agnosticism makes me confused.

DAVID: The 'countless forms' are today's food!!! Stop slicing up evolution as disconnected.

dhw: The countless dead ends, as you have repeatedly acknowledged, are the life forms that did NOT lead to today’s food! They formed the ecoysystems of the past which were only for the past. Today’s food forms are descended from those branches of evolution that were not dead ends. Please stop dodging!

DAVID: You give a perfect description of how evolution works and then complain about it. Of course, the necessary dead ends are not in our line!!! Pure logic.

So they were NOT necessary for us and our line, although you keep telling us that they were! And so your logic leads you to conclude that it was logical for your God to design dead ends that had no connection with his purpose because they were necessary for his purpose although they were not necessary for his purpose. Alice would have loved you.

DAVID: A designing mind can do anything it wishes. It evolved us from Archaea. That is known history, assuming the mind in action as I do.

I agree. It is therefore nonsense to claim, as you do, that we and our food are descended from life forms which he designed during the Cambrian WITHOUT PREDECESSORS. You use the Cambrian gap as evidence for your God’s existence. (You wrote: “ The gap is the prime example of the need for a designing mind.”) But if there is a direct line from Archaea to us, then there have to be pre-Cambrian predecessors! You can’t have it both ways! (See also under “a new fungal family”.)