RE: Blind scorpions (or fish) as proof of evolution?

Hi Dick,

Thank you for the reply. I mean no disrespect, but wouldn't it also be wise
to understand the arguments that creationists, such as AIG, use before
claiming they're incorrect? Though I lean toward a creationist viewpoint,
I confess that there are some things I find troubling, just as I do with
evolution. But neither side seems to be informed about (or even willing to
consider) the opposing arguments, resulting in a dearth of any edifying
discussion. Each side merely "preaches to the choir."

I'm curious as to your statement that God is "the first cause of all
events." By this, do you mean that God created and then simply allowed
everything to evolve from non-living matter? Or did God create the first
life form and then allow life to evolve from that point forward? If such
evolution was not directed by God, did it arise by mere chance? Though I'm
sure there are many different views among the members of ASA, I'm curious as
to the general consensus regarding this issue.

In Christ,

Mike

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105).

  _____

From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of Dick Fischer
Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 3:58 PM
To: 'Mike Tharp'; ASA
Subject: RE: Blind scorpions (or fish) as proof of evolution?

Hi Mike, you wrote:

Answers in Genesis indicate that they "delight in using blind cave fish as
examples of 'downhill' or 'information-losing' mutations causing
'devolution'"
(http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v23/i1/eldredge.asp).

Devolution is permitted, evolution shunned. Sounds like just the
inconsistency I would expect from AIG. Actually, evolution has no upward
direction, it just causes change. Nature selects what works. In a world
filled with light, nature selects sight. In a world of darkness, sight has
no natural advantage. I would suggest AIG find out how evolution works
before pontificating on it.

The metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly is something that causes
me to question the feasibility of evolution. How can random mutations and
natural selection account for this? I'm not saying it can't, but only that
I don't understand how it can. How does one speculate that this
metamorphosis process arose? Of course, if evolution was directed by God,
it could certainly be possible. But the whole idea is to take God out of
the equation, correct?

Nobody I know on this list takes "God out of the equation." The idea is
that God need not take sporadic, intermittent action to cause new species to
come into existence or for novel features to appear on creatures of an
existing species. As the first cause of all events, God does not directly
cause all events.

Dick Fischer

Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association

Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History

 <http://www.genesisproclaimed.org> www.genesisproclaimed.org
Received on Wed May 31 16:50:37 2006