JB
>Now then. Let's say it IS a life form. This, it seems to me, vindicates both
>Francis Crick [directed panspermia] and Fred Hoyle [Evolution from Space]. It
>deals a blow to traditional evolutionists (what, we had spontaneous generation
>in TWO places in the solar system?) and does nothing to harm Intelligent
>Design. In fact, it rather supports the idea.
Jim's claim that this exciting finding (if confirmed) damages evolution
suggests that he does not fully understand the use of hypotheses and data in
science. This has been a significant criticism of Phil Johnson as well.
The appearance of life elswhere does not disprove evolutionary science,
rather it adds novel data that must be accounted for in any model of
evolution. Thus, there is not sufficient reason to believe that the
framework of the model has suffered any kind of significnant blow. The
details of the model may need to be re-examined, however.
In research, we constantly uncover data that were not included in the
working model that stimulated the experiment. Unless such data clearly
disprove the model, we generally reexamine our understanding of the
phenomenon in question and modify the model to account for the new
information. Phil has called this dishonest, but he is wrong.
Similarly, as Jim stated, appearance of non-human life elswhere in the
cosmos does not deal a significant blow to our basic understanding of God as
the Creator of all things. However, this new information about the Creation
may require some of the details of this belief to be reexamined.
Knowledge accumulates.
Cheers,
Steve
__________________________________________________________________________
Steven S. Clark, Ph.D. Phone: (608) 263-9137
Associate Professor FAX: (608) 263-4226
Dept. of Human Oncology and email: ssclark@facstaff.wisc.edu
UW Comprehensive Cancer Ctr
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53792
"Universities are full of knowledge; the freshmen bring a little in,
the seniors take none away...the knowledge accumulates." Mark Twain
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