for what very little it is worth, am comfortable not knowing (and, perhaps, being unable to know) re. origins, reason/s for being, afterwards, etc, but...
at one time christian universe was created/ruled by god according to features/traits described in genesis - earth at center, man occupying role as master species/gender of planet, augustine had no use for appeals to reason/science, faith was sufficient...
christian cosmology - god/goodness/paradise on one side, devil/evil/hell on other - held sway until initial stirring of what would become modern science in 16th century, impact upon christianity was severalfold: challenged sovereignty of faith as sole/primary way to undersand/order world, challenged vision of universe as one created/actively governed by god...
so copernicus challenged belief that earth was center of universe, bacon labeled religion a superstition of the mind, challenged faith/reason relationship & questioned idea that universe was governed by final causes, descartes displaced god from center of knowledge, newton recast universe in terms of mechanic force & laws of motion...
scientific thinkers held that reason guided by correct rules could dispel falsities, dogmas, superstitions, prejudices that blocked human understanding, significantly, reason was not intended to destroy religion but to secure it more firm foundations, nietzsche would later suggest that reason could turn upon both itself and christianity (political order as well), and eventually, scientific thinkers, in looking for rational basis of religion, questioned existence of god...
pre-darwin, theologians recognized complex design as fundamental puzzle of life, it was, for them, an argument for existence of god (reverend william paley is often cited to this effect)...
danger of darwin’s idea: it pulls rug out from under best argument for god's existence, that of design, after all, what else could account for fantastic and ingenious design to be found in nature, it has to be the work of supremely intelligent god, as with most arguments built on rhetorical question, this isn’t really confirming, but it was quite persuasive until darwin offered modest answer to rhetorical question: natural selection...
for most who study this stuff, science won, darwin’s idea banished the book of genesis to place of quaint mythology, some god believers have tried to reconceptualize creator as less anthropomorphic source of meaning and good, others have created 'creation' science...
there are, of course, good and bad darwinians, both are darwinians because they hold both god and lamarck to be inadequate explanatory alternatives, thus, life in the universe is either darwinian or something else not yet thought of...
people are certainly interested in questions of origins * origins of the universe, origins of life, origins of consciousness, such questions are landmarks in trying to understand what we are and how we fit into wider scheme of things, for those who are religious and insist on having role for god, there are three gaps left in scientific knowledge where they wish to invoke 'him' as direct influence in the world: 1) origin of consciousness (human soul); 2) origin of life * life getting started from non-life; 3) origin of the universe as a whole.
before darwin, people thought that organisms were well-designed because highest-order force was doing it directly, a benevolent, creative god who made it that way, darwin's genius was to beat level of explanation down to organisms, in other words, organisms are well-designed as side consequence of struggle for reproductive success...
rather than all-wise, benevolent, purposeful god, there are organisms struggling for 'advancement' which seems to be moral opposite, however, there is no morality in nature, interestingly, side consequence of above appears to be good design... michael hoover
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