More Denton: A new book (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, February 26, 2016, 12:56 (2984 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: Interestingly, you had to stop short of the following paragraph: “A third possible cause of the prolific saltation, which Denton alludes to but does not seem to favor, is that all of the dramatic changes were pre-programmed in the very first living organism....There is actually genetic evidence that this has happened, with elements that exist in ancestor life forms and are triggered into operation only in the descendents. The amount of design needed to pre-program this, not just for one transformation but for the whole tree of life, is staggering, but it would not be beyond the powers of an omniscient God.” - This is the first time I have seen your theory repeated by another scientist. Of course, anything would be possible for an omniscient (and omnipotent) God, and so no matter how staggering it may be, the faithful can believe it. One might hope that the faithful might also be able to believe that God is capable of creating an autonomous intelligent inventive mechanism that would not necessitate any of the staggering preprogramming or the millions of personal interventions, but would operate within all organisms to produce the vast variety of forms that make up the history of life on earth. But your reviewer doesn't seem to have thought of that.
 - DAVID: The IM you describe would have to be as complex as God himself to handle the complexity of living organisms and necessary saltations for further evolution, a point you constantly miss. - The IM is an explanation of how evolution works, not of origins. Since you believe in a creator God, I don't know why you think the IM must be as complex as its own creator, let alone the creator of a universe containing billions of solar systems and of life itself. It is certainly no more complex than the 3.8-billion-year computer programme or the millions of personal dabblings you claim are responsible for every individual innovation, lifestyle and natural wonder since life began. If your God could create such a programme, or could intervene countless millions of times to supervise such matters as the building of the weaverbird's nest, why do you think he would be incapable of creating an autonomous mechanism that would produce precisely the same effects? That is the point I have made in response to your reviewer's argument - a point you seem to have missed.