Posted on 09/18/2006 1:51:27 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
What question? What is ...the concurrence between the fossil record and the origin of life...? What on earth are you talking about?
On the other half however, if Darwin's theory allows for life (other than first life) coming from non-life - then the tree is not fully connected; it is not "whole." In fact, it is not a tree at all, but a field of grass.
The evolutionary tree of life, common descent, relies on "life begets life" in order for it to be a continuum.
Further, if your side of the debate is tossing common descent off the table, then you are also allowing for first life by segments - or "kinds" as the YEC'ers would claim.
Thank you for your post!
But that is a tautology. No information is added by saying life comes from life. And common descent is just the current best interpretation of evidence. It is unrelated to biogenesis or to the dynamics of evolution.
This is particularly irksome when the original context of the "quotation" is abiogenesis, and implies that Darwin said the problem could not be studied by science -- not just "unknown," but "unknowable" on principle:
Darwin said that "life can only come from life." He never said where life came from. Neils Bohr agreed, saying the origin of life is simply unknowable -- not just "unknown," but "unknowable" on principle -- and thus could never be a proper subject for scientific investigation. And Hubert Yockey agrees with both men that the origin of life is "unknowable." And yet: There Life is!
All this really boils down to for me is that the origin of life is "unknowable" on the basis of reason alone, thus scientific methodology cannot give an account for it. To get the "full picture," Spirit, faith is required: Faith and reason are not mutually exclusive, but equally necessary complementarities for a proper understanding of man and the universe.
What is so maddening about this is it argues for shutting down investigation -- unknowable on principle.
This is why I continue to post here. to oppose those who would shut down science and declare certain topics off limits to research.
This goes way beyond a misquote.
Alamo-Girl, you made the following statement in your post...
"Thank you but truly an apology is not necessary. It is impossible for another mortal to offend a Christian. Nothing can happen to us unless God does it or allows it - and either way, that's fine with us because it's His will not our own that matters."
Its quite an interesting statement, especially the part of it being impossible for another mortal to offend a Christian...something for me to mull over...
Perhaps you are aware that this partly describes Darwin's agnosticism.
So basically what you have here is a false quotation that is 100 percent opposite of the written (now published) opinion of the author.
In addition, you have an interpretation of the false quotation that is precisely the opposite of the author's opinion. And completely anti-science to boot.
I'm curious how Dembski or Yockey, writing in 1904, would have judged the outcome of the two-slit experiment in physics. On first principles.
What on earth are you talking about?
Only True Christians© need apply. Your mileage may vary. Not valid in some states. Tax and licenses not included.
Darwin's agnosticism.
Indeed...that is where it gets really tricky...who is the
True Christian?
Why are we discussing Darwin's agnosticism? I don't recall it being relevant to anything I've discussed.
So far, so good.
On the other half however, if Darwin's theory allows for life (other than first life) coming from non-life - then the tree is not fully connected; it is not "whole."
You may, if you like, picture the tree floating a bit above the ground, due to lack of current information about the base. (A better image would be to have the base represented by dotted lines going to the ground, because there had to be something there.) We don't know the ultimate base of the tree, because the origin of the first life that begins the tree is unknown. But from that point forward, life begets life, and it's all descended from that common (but unknown) origin -- thus the tree diagram. We shouldn't be having such difficulty over this.
In fact, it is not a tree at all, but a field of grass.
Not at all. Unless there were multiple episodes of non-living material developing life, each leading to an independent line of descent. But then, we wouldn't be able to observe, as I believe we do, that everything seems to be related. So it's not a field of grass. Just one tree.
The evolutionary tree of life, common descent, relies on "life begets life" in order for it to be a continuum.
Yes, after the first life has begun -- and I suspect it began from non-living organic material -- all subsequent branches and twigs on the tree are begotten from earlier life.
If we're still in disagreement, please let me know where.
Now, that's just silly.
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