[Borodog]

No, non-random does not mean designed. It means "non-random."

For example, the pebbles at the shore are jostled randomly by crashing ocean waves energetically tossing them about. Yet after the wave recedes the pebbles are arranged in a non-random pattern; smaller pebbles come to rest closer to the shore. This pattern does not arise because God is personally sorting the pebbles. It arises because of the laws of fluid dynamics. If you want to chose to believe that God wrote the laws, be my guest. I have no problem with that.

Selection is non-random not because anyone is doing the selecting, but mecause the selection process is inherently biased. Those variants that are better at surviving and reproducing will come to predominate numerically. Duh. How could it be otherwise?

[ QUOTE ]
Why not just say variation occurs, heck if I know why, instead of saying variation occurs by chance?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because we often know why, and it is often by chance. By chance an error is made copying a strand of DNA. A cosmic ray comes along by chance and hits a strand of DNA. Why do you hate chance so much?

[ QUOTE ]
They are equivalent except when you say chance you are implicitly saying God was not involved.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not saying any such thing. You are. And I don't really see why.

[ QUOTE ]
But you can never know or prove that He wasn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not trying to prove God does or does not exist or was or was not involved. It is impossible to prove that God does not exist. It is impossible to prove that anything does not exist (especially anything that is by definition unobservable). All that matters is that He does not seem to be required to explain anything observable.

Does it matter if God is rolling the dice?