Questions about evolution

[Maccie]

I think the OP was a wind-up! I PM'd him and asked him to come and answer all the questions as to his source. But no, he remains silent!

I expect he invented it, and got everyone running round in circles discussing it!!

 

[gluadys]

How did we suddenly come to have this population of one-celled organisms?

Possibly by special creation. If it takes a special intervention by God to create the first form of life, obviously he is not limited to creating a single cell. He can just as easily create a few million at once.

Possibly by abiogenesis. The proposed (but not yet verified) chemical reactions which would eventually lead to a natural origen of life would also spontaneously create thousands to millions of cells in a single reaction. See, for example, protocells.

 

[statrei]

Possibly by special creation. If it takes a special intervention by God to create the first form of life, obviously he is not limited to creating a single cell. He can just as easily create a few million at once.

Possibly by abiogenesis. The proposed (but not yet verified) chemical reactions which would eventually lead to a natural origen of life would also spontaneously create thousands to millions of cells in a single reaction. See, for example, protocells.

Someone would have to put the chemicals in place.

 

[Vance]

Someone would have to put the chemicals in place.

Well, yes, of course, it all came from God and started with God's direct and immediate action at some point. Remember, everyone on this forum believes that God created everything, He IS the Creator. The question is what He started with. Did he set it ALL in motion at the Big Bang in a manner that would accomplish all His purposes, including the rise of life from non-life, without the further need for tinkering or, as the ID guys like to say, "fine tuning". I think we all would agree that He is capable of this.

Or, did He choose to do it in more progressive manner, stepping in and making things happen at given points? Hard to say.

But, what has to be avoided is pinning God down to the "gaps". A "God of the gaps" approach, in which whatever we do not yet understand is assigned automatically (or worse, dogmatically) to God's direct intervention (rather than ultimate creative work) is dangerous since when the gap is filled in with a non-supernatural explanation (think rainbows and thunder), the idea of God's creative involvement takes a "hit" when it shouldn't have.

 

[gluadys]

Someone would have to put the chemicals in place.

Sure, but the topic was the first life. We can assume the chemicals were already available when the first life came into being.

 

[statrei]

Well, yes, of course, it all came from God and started with God's direct and immediate action at some point. Remember, everyone on this forum believes that God created everything, He IS the Creator.

Thanks for the reminder. Of course, I am more interested in what science and theology say about the Creator than what they can contribute to my understanding of origins. Out.