[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply!

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.

That is the point. One cannot say it is a continuum - a “tree” - in the face of the possibility of multiple episodes of abiogenesis or biogenesis.

That life is a continuum was the theory of evolution. The previous thinking was that it was not a continuum. No omne vivum ex vivo, no continuum.

That everything seems to be related doesn’t satisfy because nothing precludes the abiogenetic or biogenetic episodes from being the same or similar.

Of course, if there is no continuum then half of the dispute with Young Earth Creationists goes away. So that part would be a good result.

[Coyoteman]

One cannot say it is a continuum - a “tree” - in the face of the possibility of multiple episodes of abiogenesis or biogenesis...

Of course, if there is no continuum then half of the dispute with Young Earth Creationists goes away. So that part would be a good result.

Baraminology?