Sunday 7 October 2012

Creation, Evolution and Wine-making!

Creation, Evolution and Wine-making!

Oh, are you ready for this? My dear and faithful readers, I do not think so! Read on dear reader, but be open minded, but first get  a cuppa and then sit down, this is a bit of a long one, apologies in advance....

There are those of us that believe that God created all that we are, the Universe as we know it, all that we understand (so far), everything in the heavens, black holes, imploding stars, exploding meteors, taxes, Mondays, Sun spots, blackheads, bad hair days, "computer says no" days, times when whatever you do it all turns out wrong days, times when whatever you do it all turns out to be a fantastic time day, why does this always happen to me days, etc. A bit flippant, but you know what I mean.

There are those of us that think that natural selection, Darwin's thoughts and opinions are true. That somehow, all of this amazingly diverse life on this planet that we are inhabiting, without thought, most of the time, just happened by evolution, all from the same "Big Bang" and primordial soup. Well, perhaps.

These  two schools of thought seem, on the face of it, to be completely opposed to each other. Not a bit of it my dears. All of you are missing the point. They are both part and parcel of the picture as I see it.

Compare these thoughts to wine-making. Take certain ingredients, let's say fruit, water, sugar, a little tannin, some glycerine and mix well. Then add yeast, an absolutely amazing organism that multiplies rapidly in the right conditions. At the start, the mixture is totally different to what it will eventually become. Let's call it our primordial soup. After a period of time, the yeast multiplies, initially rapidly, consuming the sugar and making alcohol, carbon dioxide and other various chemicals. As the alcohol content increases, the yeast finds the conditions too difficult to endure and eventually dies. Are you with me so far dear reader? Good, then I will continue. A change seems on the cards perhaps. The "wine" will start to take on a different look. It will have a sediment on the bottom of the container, consisting of dead yeast, fruit pulp, etc. This is then racked, (strained, to the uninitiated) and the resulting solution will, if left for a while, become clear and ready to drink. If left even longer, it will of course mature and taste even better. Evolution at its most simple. This, I am sure you will appreciate, is a very condensed version of events and will forgive me.

So, what has wine-making got to do with it all, I hear you ask? Well, God is the wine-maker, putting together all the necessary ingredients and then steps back to let things happen. He watches the changes and reactions that he knows are going to happen. Before I receive some pathetic comment saying "How do you know God is a he and not a she", just don't, don't. I told you before that I am a PC free area and don't concern myself with such trivia.

If you find it difficult to consider any of the above regarding creation opinion, I would ask you to consider this. How, on what has always been an island, Australia, did the Aborigines inhabit that amazing land for at least the last 60,000 years? More on this later, if you are good enough to comment, as I am sure those of you with strong opinions will!

Until the next time, look after your loved ones, all the best from Grandad......





4 comments:

  1. Hi Grandad,

    That was a thought-provoking post to say the least! I'm really enjoying your blog so far.

    Given your premise that the creation and Darwin's schools of thought are both part and parcel of the same big picture, your last question about Australia did surprise me a little. Are you suggesting that people must have been "put" there after all?

    As far as I know there are several theories to the spread of homo sapiens, but I think the most widely accepted one is that as a species we spread from Africa, into Asia and over what would then have been an ice-bridge into Australia. The world was once a very different place!

    I think your original point is valid, though: if all of this wine-making sequence of life's evolution and events were to involve a wine-maker, then the process is no less valid. The main difference I can see from your metaphor is that Darwin's theory doesn't REQUIRE the wine-maker, but as you rightly point out, it also doesn't disprove the existence of one either.

    For my tu'penne'th, I find that the thought of all of that happening WITHOUT a creator is all the more wonderful - for me that makes life itself special, not a deity.

    Jim.

    P.S. - Do your bird boxes have any residents yet? Please post more photos!

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    1. Hi Jim,
      Thank you for your comment. I must say that I find it a well informed and intelligent comment and one that we could build on if we had the time! Regarding the accepted view of the spread of mankind, this is, as you so rightly say one of several theories and yes, the planet was a very different place at that time. Well, I can't prove or disprove that this ice bridge extended that far, but of course anything is possible.
      I am so pleased that my last little comment on this post surprised you, this was my intention and thankfully it has worked. Am I suggesting that people must have been "put" there? Well, in a word, yes, if you are a creationist person and no, if you are an evolutionist!
      The thought of all this happening without a creator is wonderful as you say, however, the thought of it happening with a creator is even more of a wonder!
      As for the bird boxes, I will probably put these up later this month or early the next in order to provide shelter during the winter to come. Then I will inspect them early next year to get them ready for habitation. With luck, we will get some residents, I will put a camera into one box and hopefully be able to post photo's of a successful brood next spring!

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  2. Wow, this is too much for me to take in, I think i will just stick to the Shiraz, no offence Grandad!

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    1. Max,
      Thank you for your comment. I feel it might be easier to contemplate after the second bottle. By the way, Grenache is somewhat superior in my humble opinion.

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