… on how you believe life on Earth originated.

 Let’s say you believe in evolution.*  And let’s also say you can imagine the ideal, the quintessential, the perfectly realized chicken. We’re talking the chicken that defines chickenhood.  If so, you can visualize that at some time in the past, something almost but not quite the ideal chicken laid the egg containing the ideal chicken.  Egg came first.

Of course the ideal chicken only exists in Kentucky Fried Chicken ads.

Now let’s say you believe life as we know it today was created around 6,000 years ago by magical fiat, as in; Poof! Now everybody and everything with eyeballs and a nervous system is standing around, looking at each other, and wondering, “Can I eat that thing or should I run away from it?”  I’m thinking the chicken came first in that scenario.  If the egg came first it wouldn’t have anyone to sit on it.

Of course if you believe in the magical fiat origin of life, all bets are off.  The egg could have been warmed by a… um… a Heavenly Incubator, or the Warm Glow of God’s Love.

Or something.

Now that I’ve settled two of life’s great riddles, maybe I’ll tackle something even bigger next time, like “Does God exist?” Or “Does the light in the refrigerator turn off when you close the door?”

Or maybe I should quit while I think I’m ahead.

- Poppa

 *Belief in evolution does not preclude belief in a Divine Creator.  There could have been a Divine Chef stirring the Primordial Soup. **

**But belief in evolution does make it possible to NOT believe in a Divine Creator. ***

*** For those of you wondering about my position on this, I don’t believe in magical fiats, period.