Currently, though, it is a faith step to say that the long self replicating molecule formed spontaneously, just as it is a faith step to say that God guided the formation of the combination that became self replicating. Until we have proof, either statement is a faith step (or an unproven hypothesis, if you will.)
There's no faith involved in the scientific process. You're talking about our best theory of the origin of replication, which may or may not be true. We are trying to find out. Some individuals may 'believe' it to be true but in the end the beliefs of individual scientists do not matter to the progress of science, except to the extent that they lead people to study particular areas and question particular conclusions.
To believe that God did it, on the other hand, you do have to have faith - in the existence and nature of God.
So I contend these two positions are different.