I will post just one reply here, and it won't be lengthy. I believe that evolution is a fact, although there are of course details of it that aren't known.
Nevertheless, if it turns out that an alternative theory gives better answers to the existence of life than evolution, then I must give up my belief in evolution and accept the other theory instead. However, I will only accept other
scientific theories. A theory is scientific if it can be tested. For example, evolution says that various species have evolved from a common ancestor. If so, species which can be assumed to be closely related because they *look* rather similar should have more fundamental similarities as well, such as great similarities in their DNA. Using evolution as a starting point, we might predict that humans and apes should have very similar DNA. Nowadays it is possible to test the genetic code of various species very accurately, and it turns out that 99% of human DNA and simian DNA is indeed identical. This is not something that naturally follows if you believe in intelligent design. An intelligent designer who designed human beings to be extremely special might instead have chosen to give humans an extremely special kind of DNA, a DNA that differs radically from the DNA of all other species on the Earth. This, however, turns out not to be the case.
As far as I understand intelligent design, it is either not possible to test it scientifically, or if it is, evolution gives better answers (and comes up with better predictions) than ID. Evolution paints a truly grand, coherent and majestic picture of the evolution of terrestrial life, which has existed on our planet for at least three and a half billion years.
Evolution strongly suggests that if life takes hold and evolves somewhere, it will evolve in a relatively random way. This
very strongly suggests that the life that evolves on one planet will be totally unique to that world. Which means that if Superman's species has evolved on Krypton, then he, Superman/Clark Kent, will not only be absolutely incapable of procreating with Earth females, but he will quite possibly be totally unable to even survive in the Earth's biosphere. Since this is an idea that I don't like, I will suspend my belief in evolution when it comes to Superman.
Ann
