Greetings Alate_One, This is a subject that I usually avoid. I view it as if I am walking down a fairly main road and want to continue onto my destination, but I notice down a side street two groups of people strongly discussing Evolution vs Creation. I am reticent to get involved with your view as you seem from the interesting graphics in your posts that you have studied this and are well prepared and convinced of your position.
I am a biology professor so science communication is a big part of my job. I'm always looking to hone my skills though.
I appreciate your candor on this issue, I know it is difficult for a lot of people.
My first question is based on the above. Do you believe that the present natural world is a clear evidence of God's creative power and wisdom and divinity?
I believe not just the natural world but the universe shows God's creative power. The ultimate question of this type is why is there something (a universe) rather than nothing. Many respected scientists have posited the idea of a multiverse, to explain this idea. But the multiverse is outside of the realm of science the same way the existence of God is. Their problem is we have shown scientifically that our universe has a beginning. Something that has a beginning would seem to need a cause. Except the beginning of the universe is also the beginning of time so things "before" it might need to be outside of time. It makes at least some sense that this could be God. Scientifically this isn't proof of God's existence but it is interesting.
Biologically speaking I look at living organisms as not static things that God created as a human would a car or truck, doomed to fall apart without regular maintenance but a dynamic process of creation which still continues to this day, which protects living things from the ever changing world we live on. I believe God is in the creative process today and continues to support creation as a whole. But the created order follows rules that we humans can discover(science). The mistake some scientists make is to state that the rules are eternal and not the rulemaker.
If you as an evolutionist say yes to this, why is it that many evolutionists use evolution to claim that God does not exist or is not needed? For example, everything happened by chance and the survival of the fittest.
My church actually had a sermon on this point last week. People believe in God (or not) typically due to reasons other than a rational assessment of science. In truth science is agnostic with regards to the existence of God. Plenty of people down through the years have accepted evolution and God's superintendence and creation of nature. See the "Nothing in Biology" essay above for a famous believing evolutionist.
The second aspect that has in the past been the basis for my continuing on my path and not go down the evolution vs creation side road flows on to some extent from the above quotation. When I look at the creation I have highlighted in my mind the fact that every species of plant, bird, animal and man can reproduce and I suggest that this is remarkable. Take the smallest seed of a tree and 20 years later we have a full large copy of the original tree. Same with birds and animals and humans, but with these you need a male and female.
Evolution doesn't explain how chemicals became reproducing organisms. I think maybe it is a property of chemistry itself that under the right conditions, life is likely to form. That the formation of life is part of the design of the universe. Perhaps supernatural intervention is required to create life but we may never be able to know the answer this side of eternity.
Regardless, evolution explains the diversity of life originating from a relatively simple organism. Reproduction is an essential property of life and the process that makes evolutionary change inevitable.
You may notice that while living organisms reproduce, their offspring are never truly identical to their parents. There are always variations generated in different ways. Natural selection "chooses" individual organisms that are able to survive better in a specific environment.
This basic process keeps living organisms from going extinct and keeps the earth as our life support system. Larger changes operate along the same process.
The big turning points in the history of life on earth have occurred through singular events.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-walking-fish-may-have-walked-all-fours-180949345/
Fossils like Tiktaalik above, show us how four limbed creatures originated. Given there were no vertebrates on land, and plenty of large predators in the water, the ability to walk on land would have been a huge advantage. Each group of organisms that has appeared had a specific advantage in different situations. The history of life on earth is a glorious story of survival that gives glory to God.
I am happy to walk you through more specific examples if you like.
