Entering the Fray! Creation Vs. Evolution!
First, a couple of things out of the way. I just added Haloscan for comments so it would be easier to reply to those that wish to comment. I’ve seen it on a few other blogs and thought I’d try. Unfortunately it wiped out all existing comments. Thanks to those that posted something up to now!
I also want to thank the Retropolitan at Tales to Astonish for adding me to his list of links! Much appreciated!
On to the subject at hand. I’ve been reading about some of the creationism versus evolution debate. I’ve always found it interesting since there seems to be on the two extremes. Either evolution is correct and creationism is totally false, or creationism is true and evolution is totally false.
I’m of the school that neither needs to be mutually exclusive. I’ve read some of the arguments against “intelligent design” or the approach that evolution is guided by a greater force (ie God). It’s funny because the evolutionists reject the notion out of hand as “dogma”. However, I don’t think evolutionary science explains it all.
I’m a Catholic, and believe God created the universe. However, I’m not of the literal school that says the universe was created in seven days and is 4000-6000 years old. Being a former chemist, I believe in science. The overwhelming evidence is that life evolves. This is fine. Scientists are trying to find the mechanisms and are testing/refining different theories that round out our understanding of the process. The problem with evolution is that it is just a PROCESS.
Scientists can explain how chemicals combine and form other compounds, but I have trouble believing that all these chemicals just lying around spontaneously combined slowly over time to create a cell or living organism. Evolution can explain how organisms change over time to become different forms but never answers the really central question as far as I’m concerned: Where did it all come from?
Evolution presupposes that all the atoms/molecules/compounds/whatever were there to start with. Evolution cannot create something out of nothing. None of the theories on the origins of the universe can explain where everything came from. Even the Big Bang theory presupposes that all the matter in the universe was condensed into one huge mass prior to the big explosion that started everything in motion. So, again, where did the matter come from and what caused the explosion that started the process? That, faithful readers, is God.
I’ve seen the “clockmaker” argument on this issue. That is, if God made everything, who made God, or more specifically, the universe can be compared to a clock, with finely crafted pieces that as a whole work together but someone made the clock. However, it seems the people that make this argument can accept that all the matter in the universe was “just there” at the outset but cannot believe that God was “just there” and created everything.
I firmly believe that God has been guiding the process of evolution. Considering that Man is the only sentient species of its kind on the planet, it really seems hard to believe that if evolution is a relatively random process, that is favorable mutations predominate over unfavorable ones, there would be more species as intelligent as ourselves. The bottom line (for me at least) is that God is involved in the process. Again, this is a personal belief and I certainly welcome debate on the subject.
I also want to thank the Retropolitan at Tales to Astonish for adding me to his list of links! Much appreciated!
On to the subject at hand. I’ve been reading about some of the creationism versus evolution debate. I’ve always found it interesting since there seems to be on the two extremes. Either evolution is correct and creationism is totally false, or creationism is true and evolution is totally false.
I’m of the school that neither needs to be mutually exclusive. I’ve read some of the arguments against “intelligent design” or the approach that evolution is guided by a greater force (ie God). It’s funny because the evolutionists reject the notion out of hand as “dogma”. However, I don’t think evolutionary science explains it all.
I’m a Catholic, and believe God created the universe. However, I’m not of the literal school that says the universe was created in seven days and is 4000-6000 years old. Being a former chemist, I believe in science. The overwhelming evidence is that life evolves. This is fine. Scientists are trying to find the mechanisms and are testing/refining different theories that round out our understanding of the process. The problem with evolution is that it is just a PROCESS.
Scientists can explain how chemicals combine and form other compounds, but I have trouble believing that all these chemicals just lying around spontaneously combined slowly over time to create a cell or living organism. Evolution can explain how organisms change over time to become different forms but never answers the really central question as far as I’m concerned: Where did it all come from?
Evolution presupposes that all the atoms/molecules/compounds/whatever were there to start with. Evolution cannot create something out of nothing. None of the theories on the origins of the universe can explain where everything came from. Even the Big Bang theory presupposes that all the matter in the universe was condensed into one huge mass prior to the big explosion that started everything in motion. So, again, where did the matter come from and what caused the explosion that started the process? That, faithful readers, is God.
I’ve seen the “clockmaker” argument on this issue. That is, if God made everything, who made God, or more specifically, the universe can be compared to a clock, with finely crafted pieces that as a whole work together but someone made the clock. However, it seems the people that make this argument can accept that all the matter in the universe was “just there” at the outset but cannot believe that God was “just there” and created everything.
I firmly believe that God has been guiding the process of evolution. Considering that Man is the only sentient species of its kind on the planet, it really seems hard to believe that if evolution is a relatively random process, that is favorable mutations predominate over unfavorable ones, there would be more species as intelligent as ourselves. The bottom line (for me at least) is that God is involved in the process. Again, this is a personal belief and I certainly welcome debate on the subject.
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