Ichthus writes:
However, abiogenesis is not inevitable.
Evolution has absolutely nothing to say about abiogenesis... whatsoever. For someone such as myself, the answer is "I simply don't know". For someone such as yourself, if it helps you could just tell yourself that god "poofed" into existence the first life on Earth and allowed it to evolve.
Yes, I admit that microevolution is an inevidable chemical process.
To distinguish the difference between micro and macro evolution, it helps to think of it like walking. If you take a step from where you are to the next house, you are one step closer to it. If you take another step, you are another step closer to it. The small changes in your position by taking those small steps you could see as "micro" evolution. Now, if you take enough steps over long periods of time, you could end up a thousand miles away.
What's the difference between the motion of walking from where you are to the next house and walking from where you are to the next state? Nothing, really, except for the number of steps that you take. It's still walking.
That's what evolution is. Very small minute (tiny) changes in the allele frequencies of populations that over eons of time would inevitably add up to large changes.
In the past, people have nitpicked my analogy and say it's impossible to walk for a thousand miles. If this is what you intend to do, make sure to visit
this site first.
People used to walk for thousands and thousands of miles before the invention of automobiles, you know.