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DarkStar replies:
The arrangement... of the planets in their orbits is central to the existance of life on this planet.
So what? Please note I have elided the word design from your sentence, as it is not equivalent to "arrangement".
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You may then ask, "how do you know it is by design?", to which I would have to reply, I do not claim that it is "by" design, only that it "is" a design.
Well, how is that a meaningful statement? Does that mean I can refer to a heap of unwashed clothes on the floor as "a design"? How about a pile of leaves? Furthermore, without asserting that these arrangemensts are BY design the argument makes no sense; a "design", when so broadly defined, does not require a "designer".
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Evidence of an order necessary for our existance. Can you state emphatically that it is not a design? What evidence can you offer to support your position?
Yes, I can.
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design ( P ) Pronunciation Key (d-zn)
v. designed, designing, designs
v. tr.
To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent: design a good excuse for not attending the conference.
To formulate a plan for; devise: designed a marketing strategy for the new product.
To plan out in systematic, usually graphic form: design a building; design a computer program.
To create or contrive for a particular purpose or effect: a game designed to appeal to all ages.
To have as a goal or purpose; intend.
To create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner.
You will note that ALL of these clarifications require deliberate decision making and forethought by a living, intelligent being. Every one of them describes a mental process that prepares for physical action; that is what the term denotes.
There is no evidence of a mental process, of an intent, in the arranegement of the planets. Thus, there is absolutely no evidence of design, and therefore, of a designer.
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