Quote: As to the origin of life specifically, science has not yet explained how it happened. Scientists have some ideas, and I think the most widely accepted one so far is that RNA (the predecessor to DNA) got assembled in undersea volcanic vents a long, long time ago.
This is a huge simplification of the hypothesis, and I'm not qualified to give you the details. You can hit up Wikipedia for a better description.
However, it's almost universally accepted among scientists that once the first self-replicating cell existed, it became the ancestor of all life on earth.
Interesting--I've never really heard a full explanation of origins from an evolutionary perspective, though I did get a basic introduction to it in school and hung around a few evolutionists in grad school.
Quote: I used to be an evangelical fundamentalist. The process of deconversion was incredibly painful
I hear you. I did the fundamentalist church thing, including youth groups and college ministry, and stepping out of that mix was very difficult. At this point, I think it's fair to say I'm "spiritual but not religious," but I still describe myself as a Christian (though some people in my life cast doubt on that).
