Then why can't the idea of evolution explain itself completely? I mean, it is a fairly coherent theory to some extent. But if you look at the huge audacious picture, it sort of goes off the rails.
Bob pointed out a nice quote by Karl Polanyi (who was channeling Gödel): “No conceptual system can ever demonstrate within its system its own consistency... Belief is always based on personal, tacit grounds, extraneous to the system.”
It always gets back to our premises, principles, and assumptions. So end of story. Have a nice day, folks!
But really, this would get boring if we couldn't poke some holes at the mantra of evolution. Materialists certainly like poking holes at God, but they can only do it from inside the box they've made for themselves. While all along God never intended for there to be walls in the first place.
I found this recent article fascinating, showing that life made a more sudden appearance than once believed (a nice 200 million year shave!). What this means is the random chance of human life coming into existence didn't have that much time to make such a great leap. So was there an architect, God forbid?
Back in 2004, Stephen Meyer published an article in the extensively peer-reviewed magazine, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, about the origin of biological information and higher forms of life. His conclusion:
An experience-based analysis of the causal powers of various explanatory hypotheses suggests purposive or intelligent design as a causally adequate--and perhaps the most causally adequate--explanation for the origin of the complex specified information required to build the Cambrian animals and the novel forms they represent. For this reason, recent scientific interest in the design hypothesis is unlikely to abate as biologists continue to wrestle with the problem of the origination of biological form and the higher taxa.The Cambrian explosion is certainly a mystery. Most of the species that came out of that period were fully developed, most of which have not altered since. Also, there is still missing fossil evidence of an assumed transitional species, prior to homo-sapiens. And it appears to there is an irreducible complexity to much of life, that can be partially explained by Gould's punctuated equilibrium, however, still without decent causal powers.
Not too mention all the fine tuning of physical constants and low-entropy needed for anthropic life to exist on the third planet from the sun in this particular solar system. Spitzer says, “[Fred Hoyle] compared the emergence of a single cell by pure chance to 'a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard assembling a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.'”
I guess we got some supernatural nudges along the way from somewhere.
And if you prefer to believe in the multiple permutations of chance that got us here with a multiverse hypothesis, you will need to rest that belief on faith much like I do.
As Spitzer notes, “Physics has not explained away transphysical causation, but rather is opening the door evermore widely to an intelligent, transtemporal, causative power.”
Place your bets.