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> dhw: [i]The question here is whether the purposeful activity of all of these molecules, DNA and others in the cell, denotes that they ARE thinking workers or are mere automatons. That has been the debate between us. I say they may be thinking workers. You say they are automatons. Whichever they are, when I say “maybe your God made them that way”, I mean maybe your God made them (or if you prefer it, planned them) that way.[/i]
> 
> [i]IF we could show molecules think, that would support your vision of the reality of life. Separated out from a living environment, the individual molecules just sit there. Their function only appears in the full milieu of life[/i]
> 
> What do you expect them to do - grow legs and start looking for their buddies? Of course their function only appears in the full milieu of life! If someone put your brain in a glass jar, do you think it would do anything other than sit in the glass jar? All living communities depend on their individual members cooperating, and all living bodies are living communities of living communities. That doesn't mean the individual members don't think, even if their thinking powers are limited to the fulfilment of particular functions. But you are right, IF we could show that the hypothesis is right, it would mean the hypothesis is right! The same applies to your hypothesis of a 3.8-billion-year-old computer programme, divine dabbling, and indeed the very existence of your God.