Posts by cofty

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

I don't think slim is a troll

I do

I felt he raised some valid questions

He made deliberately obtuse statements and then ignored all answers,

It's a shame the thread became ugly, and what should have been an interesting debate,

That was his intention.

and defend himself, with " reasonable" arguments

He has not made a single reasonable argument in this thread that was not predicated on lying about the intention of the OP

Slims, simply audacious comments if honest and sincere, do challenge and create what could be an interesting debate

Not honest or sincere. His intention is to trash not challenge. You could copy-paste his first comment in this thread into any one of hundreds of different threads. It is generic bullshit with no connection to the actual topic.

Believers love him for it. Most of them don't have a clue what he is on about but it saves them having to think.

informative questions, rightly asked/ answered to create a great thread and challenge our thinking.

It was an excellent question. SBF made sure no sensible conversation on the actual topic was possible. It is his MO. Another thread trashed. SBF feeling smug. Mission accomplished.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

The watchtower's doctrine of spirit and soul make it theologically impossible for scientists to invent life in the lab.

the thread is based on a false premise.

Believers in this forum have objected many times that the origin of life poses an impossible barrier to a purely naturalistic view of life. I attempted to start a conversation about that. It is not based on any false premise. Even if you are right about the WT view - you're not - it in no way invalidates the topic.

You have made so many obtuse statements in this thread in a childish and arrogant attempt to shut down conversation. I stand by my original statement that you are a troll.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

So you worked backward from your understanding of JW teaching on "spirit"

It's not my understanding. I conducted enough bible studies in that book to know what they taught about spirit.

The spirit of life comes from god alone.

SBF - The amount of energy and time you have put in to try to destroy this thread using every dishonest tactic is an utter disgrace.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

Why do you assume that life created by scientists would be without spirit?

Spirit is the impersonal force that gives life to all living things. It emanates from god and returns to god. It was compared to electricity with god as its unique source.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

HOW CAN ANYTHING BE ALIVE WITHOUT SPIRIT IN WT THEOLOGY?

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

The brochure is a pseudo-scientific argument from complexity from beginning to end. It doesn't mention the deeper theological reason why scientists could not make life.

What is the "spirit" the returns to god at death according to the Watchtower? It is the impersonal force that gives life to all living things. It emanates from god and returns to god. It was compared to electricity with god as its unique source.

HOW CAN ANYTHING BE ALIVE WITHOUT SPIRIT IN WT THEOLOGY?

Spirit comes from god alone therefore scientists can NEVER create a living thing from rocks. They might make a cell but it would be lifeless.

"Spirit" is inaccessible to science.

For the same reason Satan can never create life.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

the feasibility of scientists creating living cells from non-living matter.

It does not say "living cells".

What is the "spirit" the returns to god at death according to the Watchtower? It is the impersonal force that gives life to all living things. It emanates from god and returns to god. It was compared to electricity with god as its unique source. How can anything be alive without spirit in WT theology? Spirit comes from god alone therefore scientists can NEVER create a living thing from rocks. They might make a cell but it would be lifeless.

"Spirit" is inaccessible to science.

For the same reason Satan can never create life.

Anyone acquainted with anything they have ever written knows this.

Not content with misrepresenting your own OP

Liar

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

That is about constructing a cell. It doesn't say that science could perhaps make new life.

They are very dogmatic that the term "spirit" refers to an ethereal animating force that originates with god alone.

405

Origin of Life

by cofty in

in recent years significant progress has been made in solving the question of how life originated on our planet.. how do you think theists will respond when it finally happens?

as a former christian i know my reaction would have been something like "well that just goes to show that it takes intelligent life to make life", but for two reasons that defense doesn't work.. firstly it would prove that life is not an ethereal force that originates with god.

there is no 'ghost in the machine', no elan vital.

cofty

You are wrong.

27

Directed panspermia - a plausible theory of intelligent design?

by EdenOne in

i have just read an interesting article by astrobiologist jacob haq-misra.. in this article he describes a process called "directed panspermia" as a plausible way that one form of intelligent design - one not related with religious driven agendas involving theism - could be involved in the process by which life developed on earth and possibly in other planets as well.. sounds like a speculation that's worth entertaining.

your thoughts?.

cofty

I think man with all thier tools and intelegence should be able to create life

That's because you have no grasp of the scale of the challenge.

Origin of life research got off to a false start with the Miller-Urey experiments in the 50s. It is only in very recent years that it has began to make progress. It will likely be decades before there is anything approaching consensus.

The most promising idea is that life began in hydrothermal Alkaline vents under the ocean in a world devoid of oxygen 4 billion years ago. These vents were only discovered in the year 2000.