Return to David's theory of evolution (Evolution)

by David Turell , Monday, February 27, 2023, 17:30 (424 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: I don’t know who taught you that your God’s only purpose was to create us and our food and therefore he deliberately designed every species, knowing that 99% of them would have no connection with us or our food. But I’m not surprised that your teacher said your God’s reasons were unknown. See 1) – 7).

DAVID: My teacher's books (by Adler) specifically told me God's goal was humans. And Adler discussed at great length the known facts of Darwinian evolution in the 1940's, accepting that God ran that form of evolution. Therefore, Adler assumed design before the concept appeared in a formed ID group (Discovery Institute). Adler did not bring up my point that the system is a messy way to create what is desired. However, Adler used the system to prove God!!!

dhw: You always fall back on Adler’s evidence for God’s existence – a theory and argument which I find perfectly reasonable. Our dispute is over the theories listed above, in which you make your inefficient and cumbersome designer God responsible for countless mistakes, failed experiments, wrong choices, faulty designs – all carried out in full knowledge that 99% of his work would not lead to his one and only goal, and was not even necessary, since you say he could have designed us and our food from scratch if he'd wanted to.

We assume He could create us outright since He made direct creation of life. But His history is quite clear: Big Bang, then evolve the universe; start life, then evolve humans; start the Earth, add life and have them evolve the Earth. The conclusion is God prefers to evolve His creations. I've described evolution as a messy process. Since we are here God managed it successfully. I do not end up with your description of a bumbling God as a result. I see him as a brilliant designer handling a cumbersome method. My previous comments have driven you to defend a 'pure' faultless God, a strange position for an agnostic. I understand your invention of brilliant-designer cells who do the work for Him placing Him at a position of secondhand blame so His dainty fingers are clean. Evolution is a methodology of creation we and God both use. Its use in advancing lifeform's complexity is cumbersome and must require
death. In one sense this is a failure, but with a sense of purpose, death is really a step into the future. When I apply purpose to God's form of evolution the point is no longer an issue of survival. Survival is secondary and viewed as lasting long enough to get into a situation requiring speciation. At that point God steps in and does it.