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God of the gaps arguments: What is and what ain’t

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Speaking of theistic evolutionists, they are fond of claiming that arguments for design in nature are God-of-the-gaps arguments.

Here’s how it works: Wherever Darwinism—natural selection acting on random mutations—seems an insufficient explanation, we are assured that another Darwinian explanation will soon arise to fill the “gap.”

And that is true. Because there seems to be no natural selection process for weeding out bad Darwinian arguments that don’t fit the facts. Whichever one is pitchforked in first will do. If a newer one comes along, the old one doesn’t disappear forever, it just gets recycled a few years later.

Over at Truthquest, biophysicist Kirk Durston offers two examples of arguments, one of which is an actual God-of-the-gaps argument and one is not:

Example of a god-of-the-gaps argument:

1. We do not know what encoded the functional information in the genomes of life.

2. If we do not know what caused something, then God must have done it.

3. Therefore, God encoded the functional information in the genomes of life.

vs. a non-god-of-the-gaps argument:

1. At present, intelligent minds are the only verifiable method whereby non-trivial levels of functional information can be produced

2. The genomes of life contain non-trivial levels of functional information.

3. Therefore, the only explanation we have at present for the functional information encoded in the genomes of life is that it was produced by an intelligent mind.

Here’s Durston’s explanation of the difference.

Comments
It is interesting to note that atheists believe in the 'god of the gaps' fallacy,,,
Phillip Johnson addresses the 'God of the Gaps' fallacy - video (the 38:50 minute mark of his lecture is where Phillip Johnson addresses the 'God of the gaps' fallacy) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zK5sqd1SKXo#t=2329s
,,when the fact of the matter is that the founding of modern science all the way through to the modern breakthroughs of science, (i.e. Big Bang and Quantum Mechanics), have now shown that God is,,
Not the God of the Gaps, But the Whole Show - John Lennox - 2012 Excerpt: God is not a "God of the gaps", he is God of the whole show. http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-god-particle-not-the-god-of-the-gaps-but-the-whole-show-80307/
Of course, the nuance Dr. Durston (as well as Stephen Meyer and others) make, as to the sheer inability on material processes to generate immaterial information, is important, but it is also important to note that the competing explanation against God that atheists offer does not really exist save in the imagination of atheists and those unfortunate people they have managed to con with their never ending shell game:
Darwinism Not Proved Impossible Therefore Its True - Plantinga - video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/10285716/
OT:
Did the Apostles Really Die as Martyrs for their Faith? By Sean McDowell - Fall 2013 http://magazine.biola.edu/article/13-fall/did-the-apostles-really-die-as-martyrs-for-their-f/
bornagain77
November 10, 2013
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