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But probability does not demand any such thing, unless we think (with Epicurus) that the universe is governed by chance, and that, of course, would be a reason to give up our Christianity, not to rerig its cosmology.

So far we have built magnificent devices, from computers to microscopes, assuming quantum mechanics; that is, that the universe is governed by chance. Here is something that is positive after one century of effort, hence by author's criterion must be accepted, yet he does not even allude to this fundamental theory.

ET meets the bible ping.

[This ping list for the evolution -- not creationism -- side of evolution threads, and sometimes for other science topics. If you want to be included, or dropped, let me know.]

So far we have built magnificent devices, from computers to microscopes, assuming quantum mechanics; that is, that the universe is governed by chance.

Well, TopQuark, we should be careful here. Yes, chance comes everywhere into play in quantum mechanics in the unfolding of events at the microscopic level. But the creation of the universe, and the deployment of its laws and mathematics, may not have been a chance event. Many believe it was not, especially given the extremely low entropy with which the universe was created, and all the order (which we see around us) which flows from the intial low entropy. Many also believe that quantum mechanics is essential to the possibility of free will - a possibility which also may not have been created by chance.