The Evolution Debate Continues

I just posted this article on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cosmicfingerprints.com%2Fdarwin-half-right%2F&h=wAQCh7YvgAQAJ9m3p7PuT-us9A712R_0d1Zrzzk2GxF2Yjw I've made comments there about it, but there are a couple of counterarguments that occurred to me, which I thought might be better in a blog post. First, the random mutation generator Mr. Marshall links to and cites as evidence that "noise" does not add information to a structure. However, the use of linguistic information as an analogy to evolution is precisely that: an analogy, and by no means a perfect one. The fault in Marshall's generator is that there is nothing that plays the role of natural selection. Nothing that weeds out the harmful mutations. Of course, he would say, as he does later in the article, that such measures are not "natural selection" but "deliberate selection." But again, this is only an analogy, and simply having random mutations with nothing that serves to play the role of natural selection is ultimately not useful, except perhaps to give us a sense of precisely how unusual useful mutations are. But in the real scenario of natural selection there is a sort of "refiner's fire" that gets rid of superfluous or harmful mutations. There is nothing that even serves as a substitute for this process in this generator. Second, Marshall discusses how there is in fact no question that very beautiful, intricate patterns occur with no interference from a mind: sand dunes, snowflakes, etc. However, putting it that way is theologically incorrect. Precisely because God is a sovereign, personal God, Biblical Christianity would argue that He fashions each snowflake, each sand dune, every thunderstorm, the course of every river, and so on. Yes, these are entirely natural occurrences, but it is God who not only wrote the laws that govern the natural forces which produce these magnificent displays of His glory, but He is intimately involved with them (and us) day by day. There is no easy, scientific way to explain how these can be both completely naturally occurring and intimately designed by God, but nevertheless, Biblical Christianity sees no conflict between these positions.