New Miscellany: fine tuning, theodicy, evolution (General)

by David Turell , Friday, March 21, 2025, 17:54 (13 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: It is not an “addition” but the ultimate, indispensable stage of fine-tuning which produces life instead of merely allowing life, and which is not present throughout the entire universe. But you can solve my “problem” very easily. Do you now agree that the statement: “The entire universe is fine-tuned for life to appear” is wrong? Yes, or no?

No. The support for life is built into the construction of the entire universe but can appear only where it is hospitable. A slight difference in emphasis.

Theodicy

dhw: There are no ”experts” on the subject of a possible God’s unknown nature, and please stop pretending that your ignoring the subject, making an all-powerful God powerless, or being happy provides an answer to the problem.

DAVID: I opened the subject!!!

dhw: And since then you have offered us nothing but two blatant dodges and one blatant contradiction! Why did you raise the subject if you don’t think it’s a problem worth discussing?

I have offered the faithful answers. You keep pounding the same old points. We have exhausted the subject for now.

Evolution

DAVID: Raup did not discuss purpose in evolution.

dhw: So please stop pretending that his arguments in any way support your illogical theory that your all-powerful God’s only purpose was us plus food, and for some unknown reason he had to design and cull 99.9 species that had no connection with us.

Raup in no way supports me. I don't know why God chose to evolve us.

The intelligent cell

DAVID: I KNOW how bacteria react. I don't mean our cells are their equals as you try to invent.

dhw: I don’t “try to invent” anything. If you can accept bacterial intelligence, there is no reason why you should reject Shapiro’s theory that other cells may also be intelligent. You needn’t accept the theory. It is your know-all closed mind that I object to.

DAVID: You should not ridicule my faith in God.

dhw: I have never ever ridiculed your faith in God, for which I have the utmost respect. It is your faith in your illogical theories about your God’s purpose, nature and methods that I object to, and the only ridicule in these discussions is yours, when your wacky theories lead you to describe him as a messy, cumbersome and inefficient designer. The theory that cells are intelligent, and God may be a possible source of their intelligence, is an alternative to your faith in your illogical and partly insulting theories about him.

Cells do what God designed them to do, no more. I think all automatically.