evolution does not mean there is no god

Since scientists agree that the earth has not existed eternally, simple logic dictates that no middle position exists on the important issue of plan versus accident. Either a superintending Mind planned and designed our planet, or it all originated by a fortuitous accident without a plan and design!

the "either-or" argument..either this happened, or that happened..this argument fails

“If A is false, B must be true. Oh? Why? Plus, shouldn’t B stand on its own regardless of A? Of course. So even if evolutionary theory turns out to be completely wrong, that does not mean that, ergo, creationism is right. There may be alternatives C, D, and E we have yet to consider. There is, however, a true dichotomy in the case of natural versus versus supernatural explanations. Either life was created and changed by natural means, or it was created and changed by supernatural intervention and according to a supernatural design. Scientists assume natural causation, and evolutionists debate the various natural causal agents involved. They are not arguing about whether it happened by natural or supernatural means. And, again, once you assume supernatural intervention, science goes out the window--so there can be no scientific evidence in support of creationism because natural laws no longer hold and scientific methodology has no meaning in the world of creationists." (Michael Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things, 1997, p. 144)

The most important factor affecting the surface temperature of the earth is obviously the distance from the sun. If the earth were moved a few million miles closer to the sun, the surface of the earth would become warmer causing our glaciers to melt.

wouldnt they eventually evaporate?

With a decrease in the area of ice the total reflectivity of our planet's surface would thereby decrease and more of the sun's heat would be absorbed. The melting of glaciers would produce a rise of sea level, and, apart from flooding most of our modern cities, would create a larger total ocean surface area.

um, if the earth were so hot, wouldnt you expect the water to boil?

From this discussion we see that the earth is just the proper distance from the sun to maintain the right surface temperature suitable for life and the many important geologic processes!

big deal?..how do you know that, if the earth were closer or farther from the surface, that life would have evolved differently?

To the evolutionist the distance of the earth from the sun is a strange accident, if the earth were the only planet in the universe, then yes..(thats also assuming that there is no god, which the quote above from shermer's book says is beyond science)..however, the earth is NOT the only planet in the universe..it is one of nine in this solar system..there are probably more than 10^20 (100,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 100 billion billion) planets in the universe (dawkins, blind watchmaker, p. 142, 1986)..when you think about that, it would seem absurd to say that earth is the only planet within roughly the same distance from its star(in earth's case, the sun)

pluto is a maximum of 4,551.4 million miles from the sun (1997 world almanac, p. 455)..so, assuming every other "solar system"(i think thats the name of this 9-planet system we have here) had its last planet twice the distance as pluto is from our sun(9,102.8 mil. miles) and had 18 planets, i did a little bit of calculations on this 100 billion billion planets

according to my calculations(and, i dont know that i did it correctly because the answer seems absurdly high, but then again. . . . )..that makes about 610,312,822 planets to each mile of the 9,102.8 million miles..meaning that, if my calculations are correct, we could expect there to be more than a billion planets roughly the same distance from their sun's as the earth is from its sun..earth just happens to be one of those planets..thats not to say, though, that life would not have evolved differently if the earth were a different distance..i think it would have

of course, an all-powerful god could have created life to suit any planet he damn well pleased to put life on

The earth rotates once every 24 hours producing the interval of time called "day". If the earth rotated more slowly, we would have more extreme day and night temperatures. Other planets have "days" which are many times that of the earth, producing scorching daytime heat followed by freezing nighttime cold.

what other planets?..mercury has an atmosphere that is .0000000000002 that of earth's atmosphere..although i dont know whether that has anything to do with it, it could..if anybody knows the answer to that, please tell me..i tried looking at two sites(u. of ariz, NASA) internet to see the reason as to why the temperature had such a large variation, but i couldnt find it..(the reason i think it could is because of venus)..venus' day is 243 earth days, but it stays at a fairly constant 900 degrees..those are the only two planets that the book on planets that i reference to that either had the variation between day-and-night stated(mercury) or obvious(venus)..if that statement by morris were true, i would expect different from venus

The normal daily routine of plants and animals would be impossible if the earth day were much shorter than that of the present.

the "normal daily routine" of them would be different

The 24-hour day seems to be optimum, serving to evenly heat the earth (somewhat like a turkey turning on a barbecue spit).

of course it does because we live on it like that..we are biased towards these types of statements

Our present tilt causes seasons with associated fluctuations in weather, producing a maximum amount of farmable land and pleasant seasons.

it sure would have been nice for (all-powerful) god to have made it possible to farm all land

its like saying "well, we have two eyes..and two eyes are the best way to go"..but, wouldnt you love to have a couple eyes in the back of your head?..or maybe just one "eye" that circled your head?..thats what i would rather have..so i could see 360 degrees..then nobody could sneak up behind you

The present level of oxygen seems to be optimum.

so do two eyes

If we had more oxygen, combustion would occur more energetically, rocks and metals would weather faster, and life would be adversely affected. If oxygen were less abundant, respiration would be more difficult and we would have a decreased quantity of ozone gas (O3) in the upper atmosphere which shields the earth's surface from deadly ultraviolet rays.

in both cases, life might have evolved differently

This small amount, however, seems to be at the optimum value.

so do two eyes

If we had less carbon dioxide, the total mass of terrestrial and marine plants would decrease, providing less food for animals, the ocean would contain less bicarbonate, becoming more acidic, and the climate would become colder due to the increased transparency of the atmosphere to heat. While an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide would cause plants to flourish (a beneficial circumstance for the farmer), there would be some unfortunate side effects. A fivefold increase in carbon dioxide pressure (the optimum level for organic productivity) would alone cause the average world surface temperature to be a few tens of degrees Fahrenheit warmer! Also, a large increase in carbon dioxide would so accelerate the chemical weathering of the continents that an excess of bicarbonate would form in the ocean, leading to an alkali condition unfavorable for life.

in both cases, life might have evolved differently

The total density or pressure of our atmosphere appears to be ideal.

so do two eyes

The density is very important for it acts as an insulating blanket protecting the earth from the coldness of space. If the earth had a greater diameter, holding a more dense atmosphere, the thermal blanketing effect would be enhanced, producing a much warmer climate. If the earth were of smaller diameter, holding a less dense atmosphere, there would be a colder climate. As suggested earlier, the earth has the correct surface temperature, showing that the atmosphere has the proper density and that the earth has the proper size!

again, life could have evolved differently(these answers are getting predictable, eh?)

This analysis shows that our atmosphere has both the correct composition and density. How, except by divine planning and design, could our atmosphere have formed?

naturally..people see things and say "hey, that looks impossible..must me a diety out there"..but, if theyd actually think about it, it wouldnt seem so darn special

Water is an extremely rare compound in space. A permanent reserve of liquid water, a very unlikely occurrence in space, is known to exist only on the earth. we know of only nine out of the 10^20 planets in the universe..0.000000000000000009%

Water in liquid form has many unique chemical and physical properties which make it ideal as the primary component of life and the solution of the world ocean.

for earth life, maybe..but, again, that doesnt mean that earth life is the only possible direction of evolution

From our discussion it should be evident that the presence of an ocean on our planet is an evidence of God's planning and foresight.

or that humans just think some things that arent really that spectacular and think they are

No other planet is known to have a permanent supply of liquid water.

we have a poor sample..if a randomly picked the same percentage of humans as we know of planets, i would have, well, maybe a fingernail

The continents which cover 29% of our planet's surface have a mean elevation of about 2,750 feet above sea level. The world ocean which covers 71% of the earth's surface has an average depth of some 12,500 feet! Why do we have such lofty continents along with such deep ocean basins?

plate tectonics?

We would expect, using simple probability estimates, to have an earth of nearly constant elevation.

what probability estimates are these?

The ocean with a constant elevation earth would be nearly void of life.

or life could have evolved differently

To the evolutionist this is a peculiar accident. To the creationist, however, these facts show God's design.

well, for me, the fact that we have a round number of fingers and even number of eyes are more than enough evidence for the existence of god

If we had larger amounts of iron and magnesium in the crust, oxygen from the atmosphere would be consumed to weather these elements and an oxygen-rich atmosphere would be impossible. Our present crust, unlike other planets and meteorites, is already highly oxidized and therefore permits an oxidizing atmosphere. Thus, the composition of the crust shows God’s wisdom.

of course, if there was a god, he could have created earth anyway he liked..and the make-up of the earth anyway he liked to support that life

The person who is a consistent evolutionist will attribute the many wonders of our planet (the earth's surface temperature, tilt and rotation, atmosphere, ocean, and crust) to the unguided chance.

again, that is false..because most people that accept evolution are theists

complete version of impact #14

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