Time and chance happeneth to all says the Bible.
So does God roll the dice?
My answer is Heavenly Father may roll the dice and Heavenly Mother makes sure He rolls them till they come out right. Perfection through persistence and the choice to choose chance.
How long was a day of creation? The day was over when the job was done and said to be good. What is more meaningful - God creating by snapping a finger or God patiently waiting for all creatures and creation to choose and change?
wgcJuly 11, 2013
Steven S, your ignorance is showing. a super-masive black hole at the center of the Milky Way has been positively identified. observations of the the galactic corehave shown massive stars orbiting an object at the center, and the orbital period is a few years! The mass required to produce a gravitic attraction resulting in such a tight, fast orbit of those stars is greater than any star yet observed. yet it doesn't show up on the images! An invisible, super massive gravity source with stars orbiting it is a good description of a black hole!
Earl ChantrillJuly 6, 2013
To me it is not necessary to posit intelligent design as an alternative to Creationism. We know that God created the world. We are speculating about the process by which this was done. If we accept that some truths can be understood through scientific theory and others are outside empirical evidence, but are understood nicely through the spirit and the "experiment" suggested by Alma, we can have a testimony of the truth without having a complete understanding of the process. We will never convert those who will not look for truth outside "science" or who believe there is no truth outside science, and who can't therefore see the limitations of the scientific method. Anti-religious "intellectuals" will use any arguments and methods they can to disprove God and to move religious argument into the area of mythology, and therefore not worthy of serious consideration.
Terry AndersonJuly 2, 2013
This field has interested me for decades. The work being done at the Discovery institute is valuable in presenting a scientific case for Intelligent design. Opponents of ID like to conflate ID with Creationism, but in fact the ID theory being proposed by modern proponents is not dependent on proving the existence of God, or literal interpretation of Genesis, but rather shows that the best explanation for life is that of an intelligent agent. It's disappointing that some LDS scientists are still criticizing ID on the assumption that it is creationism. They need to re-educate themselves. The question that ID proponents need to address, and this article goes part way to addressing it, is by what means did the Designer implement this intelligence? To the materialists, this is where the pejorative term "magic" is invoked, to shift ID into the non-science domain. Was the Designer literally tinkering with DNA in a laboratory, or invoking calamities that steered life in a new direction. The book of Abraham suggests that a spiritual creation came first and this provided a template for life forms. There are many possible answers, but at the end of the day, a theory that invokes Intelligence, rather than blind mutation, wins out.
Wally GoddardJuly 2, 2013
What a fascinating and informative article! Thank you.
Steve July 2, 2013
Since overwhelming evidence of organic evolution is acknowledged by most scientists, including those at BYU, isn't the more interesting question, how much oversight was required by God for it to reach its foreordained conclusion?
Steven S.July 2, 2013
When we view the universe and life itself as Joseph and Sidney did in the Johnston home (See D&C 76), our observation and learning of the world changes to match the old prophets, including Apostle Nelson. Nothing surprises me when I hear men denounce truths for fables of the world, when it is pure speculation and highly subjective.
Even the claim Supernova image is pure speculation based on an observation and maybe finds themselves not correct on this subject. Or, fables of black holes that found at the core of each galaxy is no different from the dark ages of Europe when clerical scientist of their days believe the earth was flat.
Truths can be sought and answers are given to the faithful and those who desire to know. Have the faith and desire to seek truths.
Comments | Return to Story
Chris KiteJuly 20, 2013
Time and chance happeneth to all says the Bible. So does God roll the dice? My answer is Heavenly Father may roll the dice and Heavenly Mother makes sure He rolls them till they come out right. Perfection through persistence and the choice to choose chance. How long was a day of creation? The day was over when the job was done and said to be good. What is more meaningful - God creating by snapping a finger or God patiently waiting for all creatures and creation to choose and change?
wgcJuly 11, 2013
Steven S, your ignorance is showing. a super-masive black hole at the center of the Milky Way has been positively identified. observations of the the galactic corehave shown massive stars orbiting an object at the center, and the orbital period is a few years! The mass required to produce a gravitic attraction resulting in such a tight, fast orbit of those stars is greater than any star yet observed. yet it doesn't show up on the images! An invisible, super massive gravity source with stars orbiting it is a good description of a black hole!
Earl ChantrillJuly 6, 2013
To me it is not necessary to posit intelligent design as an alternative to Creationism. We know that God created the world. We are speculating about the process by which this was done. If we accept that some truths can be understood through scientific theory and others are outside empirical evidence, but are understood nicely through the spirit and the "experiment" suggested by Alma, we can have a testimony of the truth without having a complete understanding of the process. We will never convert those who will not look for truth outside "science" or who believe there is no truth outside science, and who can't therefore see the limitations of the scientific method. Anti-religious "intellectuals" will use any arguments and methods they can to disprove God and to move religious argument into the area of mythology, and therefore not worthy of serious consideration.
Terry AndersonJuly 2, 2013
This field has interested me for decades. The work being done at the Discovery institute is valuable in presenting a scientific case for Intelligent design. Opponents of ID like to conflate ID with Creationism, but in fact the ID theory being proposed by modern proponents is not dependent on proving the existence of God, or literal interpretation of Genesis, but rather shows that the best explanation for life is that of an intelligent agent. It's disappointing that some LDS scientists are still criticizing ID on the assumption that it is creationism. They need to re-educate themselves. The question that ID proponents need to address, and this article goes part way to addressing it, is by what means did the Designer implement this intelligence? To the materialists, this is where the pejorative term "magic" is invoked, to shift ID into the non-science domain. Was the Designer literally tinkering with DNA in a laboratory, or invoking calamities that steered life in a new direction. The book of Abraham suggests that a spiritual creation came first and this provided a template for life forms. There are many possible answers, but at the end of the day, a theory that invokes Intelligence, rather than blind mutation, wins out.
Wally GoddardJuly 2, 2013
What a fascinating and informative article! Thank you.
Steve July 2, 2013
Since overwhelming evidence of organic evolution is acknowledged by most scientists, including those at BYU, isn't the more interesting question, how much oversight was required by God for it to reach its foreordained conclusion?
Steven S.July 2, 2013
When we view the universe and life itself as Joseph and Sidney did in the Johnston home (See D&C 76), our observation and learning of the world changes to match the old prophets, including Apostle Nelson. Nothing surprises me when I hear men denounce truths for fables of the world, when it is pure speculation and highly subjective. Even the claim Supernova image is pure speculation based on an observation and maybe finds themselves not correct on this subject. Or, fables of black holes that found at the core of each galaxy is no different from the dark ages of Europe when clerical scientist of their days believe the earth was flat. Truths can be sought and answers are given to the faithful and those who desire to know. Have the faith and desire to seek truths.
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