Bbella: David, even if you are completely correct about there being an all powerful, planning mind (God) that has created all we see, why assume that anything is ever out of his/it's control? Couldn't another possible explanation for saltation be, that it too is part of the plan?-Briefly, yes. I don't know that God programmed everything from the beginning. I believe He may step in from time to time to correct the course. The understanding that everything is seen to evolve, i.e. both the universe and life, means to me that evolution is the process God uses, which means he has to keep an eye on what is evolving.