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Putting God's Design In Perspective

Timothy Spurlin

Active Member
If you're going to make an objective claim, you need objective evidence. So I must apply xenoview's razor to your claims of a designer.

Xenoview's razor
Objective claims requires objective evidence
 

Dan From Smithville

He who controls the spice controls the universe.
Staff member
Premium Member
It is part of a long discussion. tas8831 and I agreed that you have a maximum of 50,000 benefitial mutations to explain the difference between chimps and humans

My point is that you need much more than 50,000 mutations to explain the differences between chimps and humans.

His position is that 50,000 is enough to explain all the differences.

Then I presented the article that explains that 3 million crucial differences have been infered when comparing the chimp and human genome. Given that 3 million is more than 50,000 I presented good reasons to assume that 50,000 is not enough to explain the differences between chimps and humans.


You can look at his reply and judge if he was sucsesucce supporting that 50,000 is enough.
The question remains. How do you come up with 50,000? How do you know it has to be more than that?

I think he has made a very strong case and none of it was straw man arguments.

There are really two questions here. How many mutations does it take for humans to become species separate from chimpanzees? The second question. The one answered by the comparison of the genomes is "How many changes have occurred since we diverged from the common ancestor?".

The question you seem to be focused on answering is the first and I want to know how you have come up with your claim that 50,000 is not enough. On what data are you basing this claim? Where is the evidence that supports it. You could just as easily claim it is 50, 500 or 5,000 mutations and based on the evidence I have seen so far, those answers are as valid as asserting 50,000 is not enough.
 

Dan From Smithville

He who controls the spice controls the universe.
Staff member
Premium Member
Good question.

Let me anser that like this: when ANY intelligence is doing work, what or how does it do it? It does it by communication or engineering. It isnt just humans that engineer, beavers making a dam or ants building there mountain colony or a bird making its nest out of straw, ect. All of those things are intelligence at work. Humans just have more greater or sophisticated intelligence over bugs or animals. But, also DNA has a code and enzymes and cells read the code and go to work building body parts.

So, in the case for intelligent design of the universe, we see order, complexity, functionality and or design. Then we infer a designer or intelligence was behind the making or building of the universe and things in it.

Now, the sight of design and information like the blueprints for DNA does not SHOW us directly WHO or WHAT the designer is, it just shows evidence through the hallmarks of design, that an intelligent cause was behind this.

To get at WHO the designer is you have to leave the arena of the physical or structural design in nature and then delve into philosophy or logic and spiritual experiences. NDEs are good to look at for showing a direct link to the designer.

But, theres people who believe aliens wer the intelligent designer, while some others believe God was and yet others believe a different God was.

But, to sum up, intelligent design simply works how any intelligence was. Like how im working to type out my message and order its points. Same thing.

Like, one dont need to be religious to abserve intelligent design in the world. You dont need to say a bunch of prayers, go to church or sacrifice pigeons, lol. Design and information is just an abservable byproduct of the world.
If the designer turns out to be an alien are you going to turn away from the Bible and stop worshiping God?

Design is an assertion and not seen in the natural world. Claiming it is not showing it.
 

Dan From Smithville

He who controls the spice controls the universe.
Staff member
Premium Member
Also, most of the FT arguments are based on the idea that all the constants that we could fit into our equations are equally probable. But what *that* could even mean hasn't been discussed (what does it mean to talk about a probability distribution in this context?), let alone whether a uniform distribution (as opposed to various logarithmic distributions) are the more likely.

And, again, like I said, we don't know to what extent the values of those constants are determined by physical laws we don't yet know. We don't know if they *can* change over time or between 'universes' in a multiverse.

But there is *no* reason to leap from FT to the existence of a deity operating by unknown laws, with unknown powers, with unknown complexity, with unknown composition and existing in an unknown realm.

To conclude the existence of an intelligence, we must *first* understand what effects are possible without an acting intelligence. We are quite far from knowing that in the cases of FT or of abiogenesis.
It is similar to claims that arise from other sources, like UFO's and near death events. A description of an experience that occurred near death does not automatically mean that a biased belief is the answer. A near death experience could be the consequence of chemical and physiological changes that are occurring. They could be messages from another dimension. They could be nothing extraordinary at all.

It is that leap that causes all the problems.
 

Dan From Smithville

He who controls the spice controls the universe.
Staff member
Premium Member
Isn't it cool how one creationist unwittingly demolished the decades-long claims of professional creationists re: haldane's dilemma, and he didn't even notice? If even 1% of those 3 million 'differences' are beneficial mutations, then it proves Haldane's model wrong, and undercuts ReMine's entire reason to exist.



Good question - I do wish creationists would go beyond merely asserting 'X number of beneficial mutations is just too few!' and actually try to explain why they make that claim.

I have never seen a creationist go beyond the assertion, even the professionals.
I have had classes in genetics and I do not understand all the details and every aspect, yet here are people that have never trained in the subjects that they are suddenly self-declared experts at and they are going to solve, by cut-and-paste, all the riddles of life.

It seems that assertion is their key means of discussion here and evidence is not something they understand.

I read through that old thread you found and I have seen some transcripts of discussions with Remine that are on the web. I agree with you that the poster in that old thread is very likely Remine. The narcissism required to go through those kinds of tactics must be pretty deep. He is desperate that his belief have a factual basis, when it is not required. He is desperate for attention and justification.
 
So your saying that your god is not magical or supernatural? That would make your god natural right? If your god is natural, then it would be detectable by science.

No, it would not, no more then conciousness is detected directly. Or gravity, or magnetism. Or wind, ect
 
You were already told. You should be able to answer that question yourself. You are communicating with me and others thanks to several of the gifts of science.

By studying DESIGN in nature, engineers can learn to engineer more advanced technology. And theres two kinds of science, technology and understanding nature.

What does religion give the world? I have no need for it. The more people become involved in religion, the less useful they are to others around them.

Absolutely incredably insulting. Religion has been very useful to the world. It has helped and served humanity and for some people it has changed them into more loving people. Thats all usefull if you ask me.

Also theres some very useless none religious people, so two can play that game.

Also, you debating me now, is that useful?

Bottom line: I have lived a religion- and god-free life for several decades now that has allowed me to live a meaningful, satisfying, and enjoyable life free of much of the pain and confusion others experience chasing after gods and miracles.

And people can live a meaningful, satisfying, and enjoyable life free of much of the pain and confusion WITH religion too. Your statements are just ones of disbelief in religion. You see it as unreal. But many have had wonderful spiritual experiences with it. Something you are missing out on. Your loss. You deny a part of your birthright.

Not to me it doesn't. Order, complexity, and form are the natural results of mindless physical laws acting on matter.

And how do you determine or know this?

Studying nature does not lead to a god belief in clear thinkers.

In clear thinkers? Wow. Actually, no its the other way around. Concluding a God from studying nature makes you a clear thinker. Theres a good number of scientists who conclude God. Why not say newton was a unclear thinker?

What we find is a world that runs on its own, the nature of which science has well described without reference to gods. Scientific theories derive from the study of nature, and not one has a god in it, nor would any benefit from the ad hoc insertion of one into the theory. Go ahead and stick a god into one and see if it improves its predictive power.

How do you know it runs on its own?

Notice that I changed information to form. Information requires a conscious observer to become informed by external form printed itself onto and into consciousness, thus in-form-ing the observer.

Yea, codes and information or instructions are still caused by intelligence whether you understand the codes or not.

I never said that there are no gods. What I posted was, "There is no god in the rational skeptic's world view"

Ya and no God in his view makes him not rational. Not believing God exists is not rational.

There is none in this rational skeptics world view because I have no reason to believe that any exist, and I have no need to insert one into it. Thatis not the same as saying that no gods exist.

Yes theres lots of reasons to believe, but you ignore them. The question is, why do you ignore them?

False equivalence. Wind and gravity can be detected.

Yes they can, but not detected directly, just like God can be detected, but not directly.

No god can be detected. And once again, I don't deny that gods exist. Nor do I deny that vampires and leprechauns exist. I have no test that excludes or rules them out. But I also have no need for such a test. I am content to remain skeptical of all of these claims, and to hold a world view free of vampires, gods, and leprechauns.

Grouping a infinite God in with a leprechaun is not the same thing. And intelligence is detected, get over it.

Notice that if I choose to disregard the existence of gravity, I will likely be harmed or die.

Wrong, someone could choose to make up a different explanation for why things fall.

Not so with gods, leprechauns, or vampires, and all for the same reason.

Harm or no harm does not dictate if its true or false.

Sorry, but all of us see these things, but do not conclude that a god is needed for any of them. The can all be explained naturalistically.

Explain it naturalistically then?

And what finding would you accept as proof that reality is godless? None at all, if you are honest with yourself.

I just told you, if proof was given the universe came from nothing or was eternal and NDEs with ESPs are chance and halucinations, then id be convinced theres no God. But, proof is likely not going to happen there because the evidence is too overwelming God exists.

Science can predict eclipses. If you like, you can use the science to point your mounted camera to the part of the sky where science has informed you to expect the eclipse to occur, and set the timer on it to shoot a picture at the time science told you the eclipse would be visible, thus controlling the outcome of the photographic effort.

Wonderful.

How is it that you need to be told these things? Aren't you presently predicting and controlling outcomes when you post to RF? Aren't you predicting that your post will appear to yourself and others under certain predictable circumstances, such as turning on one's computer and manipulating it to open the thread to which you posted, at which point you expect that the words you chose will be present for others to read?

Sure.

Science allows that.

Yes, they do, sure. Im grateful to science for engineering it and intelligently designing this technology.

Religion does not. Religion cannot compare with science for predictive power or utility (usefulness).

True, religion does not create these computers for us to talk, thanks to scientists for designing them. But thanks to God for designing you and me so we can think, use our fingers to type on a device that science designed. Unlike you, i take the appreciation one step further.
 

Timothy Spurlin

Active Member
No, it would not, no more then conciousness is detected directly. Or gravity, or magnetism. Or wind, ect

So your saying that your god is not natural?
That your god is not detectable by science?
So your saying that your god is supernatural?
Do you have objective evidence for your god? Evidence that exist outside of the mind?
 
If the designer turns out to be an alien are you going to turn away from the Bible and stop worshiping God?

Ill answer that two ways.

1, its a logical impossibility for finite aliens to have created the universe. Now, smaller finite things, like us, perhaps they could. But, a God would still have had to create the universe.

2, if aliens wer proven to have biologically engineered us, no, i would not reject God, for God would still be the creator of the universe.

3, and youl surely get a kick out of this one, i already believe God gave the blueprints to the angelic host (the elohim) to engineer humans. But, the blueprints and knowledge came from God. God let his angelic host play a role in his engineering.

Design is an assertion and not seen in the natural world. Claiming it is not showing it.

Its not seen? Why do we both have a nose, eyes and ears in the same place then? And the same number of eyes and ears and nose and mouth too?
 
Engineers design, because they do not know how to create. God does not design, God Creates by natural processes, therefore there is design observed in nature.

How does God create by....natural processes?

Also you said "therefore there IS DESIGN OBSERVED in nature."

But earlyer you said and i quote

"No, we can observe complexity, order, and information naturally. Design is NOT observed. it is an apologetic assertion to explain what we can observe naturally."

:cool::)
 

Timothy Spurlin

Active Member
Ill answer that two ways.

1, its a logical impossibility for finite aliens to have created the universe. Now, smaller finite things, like us, perhaps they could. But, a God would still have had to create the universe.

2, if aliens wer proven to have biologically engineered us, no, i would not reject God, for God would still be the creator of the universe.

3, and youl surely get a kick out of this one, i already believe God gave the blueprints to the angelic host (the elohim) to engineer humans. But, the blueprints and knowledge came from God. God let his angelic host play a role in his engineering.



Its not seen? Why do we both have a nose, eyes and ears in the same place then? And the same number of eyes and ears and nose and mouth too?

Do you have objective evidence your god created the universe?
What objective evidence do you have for the angelic host?
 
None of that is objective evidence for a god. I think all you have is subjective evidence from your mind.
How does any of that prove there is a god?

Gravity is not proven. But theres good evidence of it by indirect detection.

God likewise is indirectly detected by order, complexity, information and DIRECTLY detected via the NDE.
 
Ask God! The only available evidence is for natural processes.

Also you said "therefore there IS DESIGN OBSERVED in nature."

Sorry for the typo. It should read :"there is no design observed in nature."

Ok, i didnt know it was a typo. Sorry.

Ok, ask God. Did you ask him?
 
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