In my view life itself is all quite simple, as far as I can gather this debate began with the discussion on what is fact and what is truth and what is whatever. It has now quite ironically evolved into a debate on evolution.
Now I am not going to attack it the way you all seem to be doing which is attempting to use so called fact's or truth's to argue your position. I am going to discuss the element which no one has touched on. Us ourselves.
Now who devised all these theories in the first place, us. Now fact Gyrene rightly says is a known occurence or process that has been backed up by scientific and mathematical testing and subsequent proof.
However Penguin has his merits as well. The theories he has put forward are generally considered the accepted beginning of the Universe and the beginning and development of life.
Now here is Gyrene's fault, there is no way of testing these two theories conclusively. Evidence however points towards these being true. But don't take that wrong because Penguin is also off, you see posing a scientific hypothosis on these two while they have tonnes of evidence, by technicality you are incorrect because they aren't PROVEN so it cannot be taken as fact.
My point is here, the Human mind is a very curious and in depth organism, it needs to know as much as it can about its enviroment. We compensate for our impossibility of testing these theories by taking what evidence we can gather and applying it into a logical history, or we label it supernatural and then religion comes in in which we use our imaginations to satisfy our needs to know. Saying god did it has been the way of getting out of these tricky questions for ages and that I think is why we still follow them closely even though they are usually untrue, grotesque and grossly outdated.
So our mind adapts to suit itself when it is impossible to explain something thereby making all unproven theories false until confirmed. so we say god or a sacred ghost did it and that it is the universe or a higher power that decides this particular part of the worlds workings.
Now for my personal argument, I am on penguins side. I am a supporter of the evolution theory, it has already been shown that our minds compensate for lack of information or knowledge by creating foundationless theories on how god or L Ron Hubbard created the universe.
So when faced with odds that mean death unless we adapt to an enviroment it seems logical that our bodies can follow suit. Take Africans for example, their continetn is hot and dry, it has been like that for thousands of years. The human race originally inuit and sheet white for living in polar conditions during the Ice Age change their skin pigmentation to resist the sun and heat of a desert climate, why have Asians got exceedingly light build and an exceptional fluid retention capability, because they evolved in a tropical climate, why are europeans white as sheets and put on weight easily, to resist long winteers and blizzards of a european climate. Animals do the same and so do amoeba. The mutations shown by moray prove the existance of genetics and therefore evolution as a whole.
At least that is my take. Ok time to put my hazmat and flame resistant clothes on.