ok Solon,
Let's talk about natural explanations.
The principle steps en route to the origin of life, as envisioned by evolutionary theory, are:
1) the existence of the right primitive atmosphere.
2) a concentrations in the oceans of an organic soup of "simple" molecules necessary for life.
3) from these come proteins and nucleotides (complex chemical compounds) that
4) combine and acquire a membrane, and thereafter
5) they develop a genetic code and start making copies of themselves.
So, Solon, what are the available facts that these steps are in accord with?
Let's go one by one and start with the primitive atmosphere. What happens when there's oxygen in the air? And without oxygen? There has been many attempts to establish the nature of earth's primitive atmosphere. Does anyone know for sure what it was like? How likely is it that the amino acids thought to have formed in the atmosphere would drift down and form an "organic soup" in the oceans? But, it's assumed that it did. And somehow, these amino acids were protected from the the ultraviolet radiation in the atmosphere! And assume that all of this by chance occurred. Now, would there be enough energy in the water to activate further chemical reactions? Water in any case inhibits the growth of more complex molecules does it not?
So, once amino acids are in the water, they have to get out if they are to form larger molecules and evolve toward becoming proteins that can be of any use for the formation of life. If, by chance, they make it out of the water, they're in that destructive ultraviolet light again! Really, this is the first and relatively easy stage and even at this-- getting amino acids-- in the evolution of life is forbidding wouldn't you agree? |
