Pssst! Don't tell the creationists, but scientists don't have a clue how life began

Scientific American ^ | 2/28/2011 | John Horgan

[Cyman]

The argument for either or is specious at best. Creationism and adaptation are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[Red Badger]

I’ve know this since I was maybe 10 years old................

[DManA]

I don’t believe creationists are trying to destroy science.
I don’t believe life science is trying to destroy faith.

The more I learn about God’s natural world the more in awe I am in his creative power. Science is the tool that helps us appreciate what He reveals about Himself to us through His creation.

I call for a cease fire and good will on both sides. I don’t even see the basis for sides.

[backwoods-engineer]

The argument is really about the information content of life: where did it come from? Life is not life without the inherent information in RNA and DNA.

Non-theistic evolution says that biological material is self-organizing. This has not been the results of experiments (Miller-Urey "filtered" the results and is not valid). There isn't a naturalistic explanation for life if the material is not self-organizing.

If biological material is not self-organizing, who put the information into life? The believer says, "God", the creator of the universe.

Scientists who want to discount God don't have another answer, which is why the panspermia hypothesis has become popular. But that just pushes the origin of life question back by one planet: if someone seeded Earth, where did that someone come from?

[blueunicorn6]

“Billions and billions of years ago, in billions and billions of galaxies, billions and billions of mutations...OK...yes, I am pulling this out of my behind because I prayed once and Susie Smith went out with Billy instead of me. I’ll teach God!”

[bunkerhill7]

Life began on Saturday night.

[Westbrook]

Ad hominem is par for the course for evolutionists.

Unless, of course, it’s due to ignorance rather than logical bankruptcy.

[Gaffer]

Actually, I think a majority of the issue isn’t a scientific one. I believe it is ideology - socialist ideology that drives the controversy.

[Westbrook]

> when you ask about the origin of God.

A being that exists outside of time, who in fact created time-space, cannot, by definition, have an origin.

[kidd]

God invented natural laws and physics. What makes people think that He and science are incompatible? => => =>The only ones who would argue with that are Scientists who think they are god, or young Earthers who insist that God had to do it "by the book" so to speak. God is God. As far as I'm concerned, He can do it any way he wants.

Excellent. I have always regarded science as the profession that tries to understand what God has set in motion. One of these groups shows arrogance and bad scientific practice in proclaiming they know it all, the other group refuses to acknowledge evidence and have no business discussing science.

[fish hawk]

GOD AND THE ASTRONOMERS by Robert Jastrow (for one)

[MrB]

The arguments I’ve been in are along the lines of

“how can you accept adaptation without accepting evolution!”

(Logic fallacy of equivocation)

[Texas Eagle]

Yeah. Maybe scientists should save the heavy stuff until after they've decided whether or not Pluto is a planet.

What's the latest on Pluto? Is it is or is it not a planet.

[fish hawk]

I quit arguing about this. 1.there was nothing 2.then there was matter. 3. Matter cannot create itself. 4. something had to create it. 5. who?

Only one answer to this question.

[Texas Eagle]

What makes people think that God and science are incompatible?

Arrogance.

[Chuzzlewit]

Gerald Schroeder has some interesting thoughts on this topic. I’ve purchased a few of his books.

[Abathar]

I believe they came up with a whole new category and name for it, to appease the upset people for them dropping it.

Kind of hilarious, when they had the vote on whether it was or wasn’t a planet there were some really heated arguments going on.

[MrB]

Yeah, and PCs are better than Macs!

[Peter from Rutland]

I’m surprised they published this. Sci Am went moonbat years ago.

[Abathar]

Hehehe, fastest way to hijack a thread known to man... :)