NotAnEasyThing
The Fly
A_Wanderer said:4 centuries of investigation does not a complete picture make.
There is no complete theory of life, there are various theories that can often be applicable in particular circumstances. There is no need for God in this, there is no need to actively work to deny the influence of God in biology because God is a negligable element that cannot be proven or disproven.
Evolution is a fact, over the generations changes are taken up into the gene pool and the frequency of their expression can increase or decrease depending on the population pressures - this occurs and the evidence that we have for it gives it a very large confidence level. Now there is the fact, the scientific theory is how this can be explained, be it natural selection, puntuated equallibrium or any manner of theories regarding the mechanisms that drive evolution. Likewise gravity is a fact, the theories to explain it can be improved as tools of investigation are increased. We have gone from a clockwork view of a newtonian universe to the concept of a fixed speed of light with general relativity - the theory to explain gravity has changed but that has not altered the fact that gravity exists.
Yup, but why? (I'm starting to sound like my son ).
Evolution is not a fact -it is what some believe is the best way to describe the origin of life. It may just happen that science comes up with an even better way of explaining this. But it still doesn't answer the underlying question- why? Maybe that question is irrelavent to you... I don't know. To me though that seems the more important question.
It's like a boy asking his Dad "why is the kettle boiling?" The Dad's reply is "Well son, it's because the combustion of the gas transfers heat to the bottom of the kettle which, being a good condcutor transfers heat to the water. The molecules of water become more and more agitated, give off steam and there is your boiling." Dissatisfied the kid asks his mother the same question. Finally he gets the answer he's been looking for; "the kettle's boiling because I'm about to make us all a cup of coffee".