Can Evolution explain this? (Re: The biological evolution of religious belief)

Not at all.The changes that happen are totally random. They are not directed or moving towards some goal or solution. They chance of eyes developing in a world with no light is exactly the same as in a world with light. Actually, the Theory of Evolution has no position at all on the existence or non-existence of a GOD.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

That moves over into the filtering part of the TOE. A vision like function whether sight or heat or electromagnetic sense might well give one critter an advantage when run through the filter, but I still say the probability of something occurring initially is independent of the potential use.Eyes might well develop even in a world without light.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

That's the only way I can ever learn anything. If I have any advantage or knowledge to pass on here it is only because I've been wrong more often and made more mistakes than most of the members here.Let me start with the eye but I'll try to get to the issue of GOD by the end of the message.The key point that I wanted to make is that mutations are simply random. They happen. They are not driven by outside forces or conditions. They are not directed, not from worse to better, from less to more or inferior to superior.The difference comes with the filter.And now back to the concept of God.There are two issues there IMHO. First, GOD either exists or does not exist. If he exists, then he will exist regardless of what we believe.The second part of the God issue relates to theology and religion. The existence of GOD and the existence of religion are two different questions. Why do we believe in dieties?IMHO, the growth of religion is pretty simple. As others have mentioned, the world is full of many things we cannot explain. This was particularly true in the past, but still true today. In the past, many things were assigned to dieties. It was a way to explain the unexplainable.As we learn more we assign less and less to dieties. That is a normal progression.Yet it still has no relation to the existence or non-existence of GOD. GOD exists, or does not exist.So religion, faith, becomes clearer, simpler, less confronted. Theology, religion, are a matter of belief. It is not science, not logic, not provable. It's faith.But regardles, GOD exists, or does not exist. That is beyond our belief system.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

I addressed the retention part in Message 7. Mutations seem to be pretty random within the limits of chemistry. Whether or not a trait is retained in a population depends on the filtering side of the TOE.Two steps.But whether or not a trait develops is limited by chance and the basic components possible.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion