For a Darwinist, the same must also apply to the origin of life—it must be an emergent property of matter. An emergent property of a system is some special arrangement that is not usually observed, but may arise through natural causes under the right environmental conditions.
In regards to the water molecules, and silver...I also think of cardiac cells and fibers. Taking a sliver of cardiac tissue from the heart and looking at it under the microscope, it beats like a whole heart beats. Muscle fibers contract, neurons pulse, excretory cells from excretory organs excrete and so on.
It’s a mightily hollow explanation to explain that it’s just this way because of natural selection over billions of years. A much better explanation is since each of these cells obviously have a purpose, that there was some meaningful force behind their being and functions in the first place.
Proteins and basic chemicals forming together in such a way with this kind of complexity to form complex functions make more sense in that they were designed opposed to they “just are” via natural selection over (alot) of time; mechanisms and structures of purpose from no purposeful rational force behind it makes little sense if any to most people.
Even the simplest experiments have some kind of intelligent design behind them, the right chemicals, the right environment, etc...even these simple factors take enormous thought and trial and error by scientists and we’re nowhere near the idea that we can take these chemicals separately and add them together in just such an exact and necessary way to succeed to cause cells to beat on their own in order to eventually make a heart beat (on it’s own, structurally).
But to THEN think about these cells forming complex structures like a heart with ventricles and valves and adding in electrical current to the muscle, beating pulsating muscle, to in turn form a heart, one of billions or more of different KINDS of hearts...is too staggering to think all just happened with no purpose, randomly, over “alot of time”.
Just sorting out the differences between a hamster’s heart compared to a gerbil’s heart, or mice, or guinea pigs, etc. etc. etc. could take a lifetime and we still wouldn’t be close to understading the complexity.
But to then turn around and tell children there’s “no place for God in science class”, seems to be about as petty and arrogant as one CAN BE petty and arrogant!
The author nails it with his “exclusion by definition” and “ridicule” observations in part 2. As I’ve been saying all along, NO ONE has placed people with God hang-ups in charge of defining science and all too often the best they can do is ridicule, which does nothing but prove that they’re desperate and incapable of discussing the science; ironically while blubbering incoherently about only they and they alone are the keepers of all things scientific!
Overall a compelling paper and appeals to common sense for those that are not under the spell of the evo cult.
Excellent post, tpanther. And it is no exaggeration to say what you said REALLY moved me. But let us not cast aspersions (and not give in to those who do on this thread). Let’s invite the naturalistic evolutionists to come up with a better explanation, and treat all such explanations with the respect of assumed sincerity. For my part, I really think Alex Williams put something together that is unassailable by the other side. But what seems obvious to us, may not seem obvious to them, as they are approaching autopioesis and irreducible hierarchy from a completely different angle. If they can find holes in Williams’ paper, then we should welcome them, as they will only help us further refine the argument (and the same should apply for the true believers on the other side, I should think). Having said that, you make excellent points...points I shall use (with your permission) in the future. And if you have anything else like what you just posted lying around in your arsenal, don’t hold back!...for I can honestly attest, I have never considered what you just now so eloquently put down to electronic paper.
All the best—GGG