Originally Posted by: Jolly McJollyson but I find a random altering in favor of environmental pressures incredibly unlikely, which is why I believe that evolution (if there is indeed interspecies evolution) may be guided by an outside force. [/quote] This gain implies design and that is a big old bucket of fish heads that is unnecessary for evolution to occur. Living in a chemically reactive environment (full of Oxygen , UV radiation and all the other things than can cause cancer (random genetic mutation) causes ... wait for it random genetic mutation ! This is the driving force behind genetic plasticity. It is then just selected for (if it helps survival) or selected against (the organism dies) in accordance with how well the mutation fits the environment. Not the other way round !

[QUOTE=Jolly McJollyson]I just personally don't see how something as complicated as a cell could have came out of nothing...didn't we already disprove spontaneous generation?

That is the whole point mate!

Evolution is not spontaneous !!

It happens over many generations and a very long period of geological time. It is for this reason that it is sometimes difficult to see it happening in front of you. However you can if you know where to look !

Evolution is quite an intellectually intense subject and, to quote Douglas Adams (another arts major) "If it hasn't absolutely stunned you and totally altered the way you see the world, you haven't understood it."

Lets also consider what evolution is and what it isn't.

It is not a way of explaining the beginning of the earth or the universe (I am not going to be drawn into that argument at the moment as Im focusing upon evolution first. Maybe later 3_rd degree burn!!). They are physical not biological events and not subject to the same laws and pressures.

It is a way of explaining how biological complexity can accumulate slowly over a long period of time.

It has very little to do with proving weather any form of deity exists or not. It can explain how biological complexity can randomly accumulate to give the appearance of design.

I majored in Ecology and Microbiology, have a PhD in Cell Biology and do genetics every day for a living !! Is it a fair fight, well I don't see what hat has to do with anything !