In the Beginning Was Information: The Quality and Usefulness of Information (Ch 9)

Shannon’s information theory can be regarded as an extension of probability theory. He takes the bit as the unit of measurement of information, and a book with 200 pages then contains twice as much information as one with 100 pages if the pages contain the same number of letters. Meaning is completely ignored. Wolfgang Feitscher gave a striking description of this situation: “When considering semantic information, we are like a chemist who can weigh substances, but cannot analyze them.” In this sense, Shannon solved the problem of weighing information, but the analysis question is still untouched. To rise above Shannon’s theory, it is necessary to define measures for semantic information which must be generally valid. We will now discuss some aspects which may pave the way for solving this difficult problem...

"Explain 1 Corinthians 15:39"

All flesh is not the same flesh: but one is the flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, another of fishes.

If I try to get specific scientific information from this verse then I might be led to the following reasonable conclusions:

1. There are only four types of living creatures on earth: men, beasts, birds, and fish. What about insects? What about amphibians?
2. Fish and birds are not beasts.
3. The flesh of beasts is all the same: from the fur of bears to the scales of snakes.

Whether or not evolution is correct, a person would be really silly to try to get any valuable scientific insights from 1 Corinthians 15:39.

"came by random time chance and mutation"

There are no completely random events in the universe. Everything is bounded by the laws of physics which impose some ... or rather a very large amount ... of order on the universe.

It is very likely that God set up the laws of physics, but those are all you need to get from the Big Bang to humans accusing each other of apostasy because of varying views on how we got here.

The basic particles and forces give you photons, atoms, etc. And not just any atoms, but only those with self-consistent properties.

The expression of those basic forces at a higher level give you molecules ... and not just any molecules ... but those where the binding forces between the atoms are consistent with the laws of physics.

The expression of those basic forces at a higher level give you more complicated molecules such as proteins, which leads to RNA which leads to DNA, which leads to mankind.

This is not a completely random process. There are probabilistic elements to it, but everything is guided to the conclusion that God wanted.

I can't tell you what the next number will be to come up on a particular roulette wheel in Vegas. But I am certain that you will lose money if you play that wheel for an extended period of time.

I can't tell you what will come in the future, but I can assure you that because we exist in a universe that appears to be guided by fixed physical rules that it will not be a purely random reorientation of mass and energy.

Increase in complexity on earth is consistent with billions of years of net mass/energy gain due to sunlight, meteor/asteroid impacts, etc.

What is with you evos?

A guy made a statement about Christianity.

I responded with a scripture reference.

You tried to drag it into the realm of “science”.

Then you upbraided me for what you did.

Duh.

Buck W wrote that evolution and Christianity are compatible.

You responded glibly with a Bible verse.

I read the verse and interpreted your glib reply as meaning that the world as described in the Bible verse was incompatible with the world described through evolutionary theory.

I then basically said the obvious: the verse is not meant to be interpreted as a description of the world in the same way as evolutionary theory describes the world.

Sorry that I seem to have misinterpreted your "argument", but if you had taken the time to make a reasoned response then you might have not been misinterpreted.

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