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==== Origin of Life ====

==== Origin of Life ====

[[Image:Origin_of_life.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Unguided origin of Life?]]

[[Image:Origin_of_life.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Unguided origin of Life?]]

To date there are no known naturalistic (involving only ''un''intelligent processes) causes known that can explain the occurrence of life from non-life. Of all the proposed explanations for first life, only intelligent causation is teneble.

To date there are no known naturalistic (involving only ''un''intelligent processes) causes known that can explain the occurrence of life from non-life. Of all the proposed explanations for first life, only intelligent causation is tenable.

Darwin did not (and did not purport to) provide any explanation for the origin of the first replicating life form necessary for his theory of origin of ''species'' to work.  That is, Darwinism is a naturalistic explanation for the origin of ''species'' that assumes a replicating life form to start the process.

Darwin did not (and did not purport to) provide any explanation for the origin of the first replicating life form necessary for his theory of origin of ''species'' to work.  That is, Darwinism is a naturalistic explanation for the origin of ''species'' that assumes a replicating life form to start the process.

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That is, the chance of life occurring by natural processes is 1 in 10 followed by 1018 zeros.  Koonin's intent was to show that short of postulating a [[multiverse|'''multiverse''']] of an infinite number of universes, the chance of life occuring on earth is vanishingly small, and we can understand the practical import to be that life by natural proceses in a ''uni''verse such as ours to be impossible.

That is, the chance of life occurring by natural processes is 1 in 10 followed by 1018 zeros.  Koonin's intent was to show that short of postulating a [[multiverse|'''multiverse''']] of an infinite number of universes, the chance of life occuring on earth is vanishingly small, and we can understand the practical import to be that life by natural processes in a ''uni''verse such as ours to be impossible.

Other prominent evolutionists agree that naturally occuring life from non-life is impossible.  Evolutionist and theoretical physicist [[Davies, Paul|'''Paul Davies''']], for example, considers random self-assembly of proteins to be “a nonstarter”.<ref>Paul Davies, ''The Fifth Miracle, The Search for the Origin of Life'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999), p. 91).</ref> Davies recognizes that life as we know it requires hundreds of thousands of specialist proteins, not to mention the nucleic acids; the number of amino acids sequenced in a small protein is 10^130 (written as one followed by 130 zeros).  According to Davies, such an improbable sequence that is best explained by unconventional theories such as life has always existed. That is, there was no origin of life, because life is eternal, “spread around the universe … without having originated anywhere in particular”.<ref>Ibid., pp. 247-49).</ref>

Other prominent evolutionists agree that naturally occuring life from non-life is impossible.  Evolutionist and theoretical physicist [[Davies, Paul|'''Paul Davies''']], for example, considers random self-assembly of proteins to be “a nonstarter”.<ref>Paul Davies, ''The Fifth Miracle, The Search for the Origin of Life'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999), p. 91).</ref> Davies recognizes that life as we know it requires hundreds of thousands of specialist proteins, not to mention the nucleic acids; the number of amino acids sequenced in a small protein is 10^130 (written as one followed by 130 zeros).  According to Davies, such an improbable sequence that is best explained by unconventional theories such as life has always existed. That is, there was no origin of life, because life is eternal, “spread around the universe … without having originated anywhere in particular”.<ref>Ibid., pp. 247-49).</ref>