If evolution makes sense, tell me do cells in and of themselves have intelligence? How do cells know how to?

Question

organize themselves? I believe that God designed, planned and spoke all this into existence and we are just at the tip of the iceberg in learning the mysteries of life through science.

Thanks all for your input. I was in the Biology section, which caused me to answer this question. But at least I see things better now. Please remember some people took biology a long time ago. Be kind.

Answer 1

Each day that goes by in research in cell biology turns evolution on it's head. They're finding that their original beliefs of what they thought about how evolution worked - is wrong. Cells are not simple at all - which is what Darwin thought. They are finding this natural selection junk just doesn't hold water. Perhaps that's why they are trying to start a new belief system called abiogenesis, mentioned above. The DNA studies are the greatest tool around showing Gods brilliance. It truly is amazing to see human logic and reason made foolish. Folks - this isn't random chance you're looking at.

So don't let these know-it-alls bother you. You can read the same news papers they can.

Answer 2

Leaving the question of god out of it for now, just consider a few things. First, ask yourself, when you don't know anything about a person, but you form an impression of them -- they "seem" a certain way -- does that mean you understand them? No, it takes a lot of time to form a fair and accurate picture of who someone is, and even then there will always be a lot you don't know. And even after you have known them a long time, you might misinterpret their actions at times.

If you don't know much about how cells function, or how they organize themselves, but you have the impression that the process is very complicated and could not have happened without the conscious effort of God or some other phenomenally intelligent being, do you then conclude that you know this to be a fact. No, you do what thousands of scientists do every day for decades of their lives: you ask the questions, you gather the data, you formulate theories, you test the theories, you modify your theories according to what the data tell you. You never, ever form a conclusion based on what something "seems" to be. There is a huge body of literature available to you with this type of painstakingly gathered information, and this story of how cells function is based on evidence and testing. It survives because even though every scientist on the planet earth is trying hard to be the one who discovers the "true" process and thereby overturn previous ideas about how they work, they somehow are unable to do it, and instead they come to a consensus about certain scientific facts. These are not people who "want" to agree with each other. There is no predetermined source of beliefs for these people. They come to these beliefs because they have independently studied the evidence and tested it on their own.

Now, let's bring god back into it. Does the fact that science tells us something about how cells work also tell us anything about whether god was involved. I think the answer is no. Whether you believe in god or not, this science is the best information we have available for understanding nature. If you believe in god, then you believe these scientist are uncovering the work of god. Nature is certainly amazing and complex, but that doesn't mean we can understand a lot about it. In fact, that amazement is one of the most compelling reasons people choose to enter science in the first place. It's why I did. And I am not an atheist.

Answer 3

I won't bother giving you a science lesson. I just want to point out to you how you just defeated your own argument.

We are just at the tip of the iceberg to understanding the mysteries of life.

Yet, you claim that a book of mythology, which many stories therein have already been disproven and/or shown to be copies of earlier pagan beliefs, has all of the answers.

Just listen to yourself. You're saying science knows very little. But you think sheepherders from a small area of the globe, representing a small portion of humanity 2000 years ago, had all the answers of the universe in one neat little book.

If you can't see how ridiculous that sounds, then I'm afraid I can't help you. But suffice it to say, your holy book WAS the science of its time. We simply know a lot more now. Science is at the tip of the iceberg, I agree. But the bible isn't anywhere near the iceberg. It is floundering in the water far far away, and it's drowning.

Answer 4

Posting a science question in the religion and spirituality section often means the asker does not really want an answer. His goal is to ask a question that he believes proves some scientific knowledge to be wrong, or that science does not yet answer, and make the implicit claim that the only other explanation is a god, and specifically, the same god he happens to believe in.

It's the "god of the gaps" - intellectually bankrupt, since it favors ignorance instead of knowledge, and because of the contained logical fallacy.

If you really want this explained to you, post in Biology.

Answer 5

Evolution does make sense.

Whether you understand it or not has no bearing on its validty.

Regarding cells, no they are not intelligent. They organize, replicate, and metabolise components based on chemical laws.

They are nothing more than tiny chemical "machines".

We are at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to science. However we know far more today than we did 400 years ago. Which leaves me speechless when people who use ALL or the modern advances in science today will dismiss some discoveries, not because of any weaknesses in the theories, but because of ancient religious dogma.

Answer 6

It's more of a trial and error process. If the differences that exist between all members of the same species make some individuals within the species better at surviving and procreating, then those specific differences will become more common within the species. It's really not that difficult to understand, in fact, the only hurdles you have between you and comprehension of evolution is admitting that the bible is not 100% correct. But lots of your fellows have accepted this and are quite content with their beliefs, why don't you follow suit?

Answer 7

Why don't you guys go to school, study science for a few years, and get advanced degrees in genetics, microbiology or some related field. Then you'll know first hand what it's all about.

The rest of us, who trust good science, aren't kept up late at night with ridiculous questions like these.

Then start defining natural selection accurately instead of saying it's all about "chance".

Intelligent Design is really about "chance" that's why it makes no sense.

Answer 8

Why would you think that cells have intelligence?
That makes no more sense than the notion that some "god" created everything.

I agree that if you are genuinely curious about this, you should read about stem cell research. We know quite a bit about how cells organize themselves.

Answer 9

Well you have already made up your mind then haven't you? Of course cells do not have intelligence. Nowhere in the theory of evolution does it suggest otherwise. You need to Google genetics, not that it would make any difference as I said, if you think goddit, whats the point?

Answer 10

Evolution is the process of natural selection through a series of mutations. Cells aren't intelligently designed, they mutate.

If they were designed, they would never mutate into cancerous cells.