--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When it comes to the origin of life there…" description: "\"When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/george-wald-9544_accepting_when-it-comes-to-the-origin-of-life-ther_2929304.jpg" --- # When it comes to the origin of life there are only two… ![“When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on…” quote by George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/george-wald-9544_accepting_when-it-comes-to-the-origin-of-life-ther_2929304.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/george-wald-9544_accepting_when-it-comes-to-the-origin-of-life-ther_2929304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/george-wald-9544_accepting_when-it-comes-to-the-origin-of-life-ther_2929304.jpg) > “When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!” [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only two explanations for life's origin exist: divine creation or random chance, and the latter is scientifically untenable. **In simple terms:** Life's origin: creation vs. chance. Key Takeaway Question the plausibility of random life. Themes science philosophy existence Mood inquisitive skeptical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - public education - theology discussion Key Concepts creationism spontaneous generation probability cosmology Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports naturalistic origins? - How do we reconcile faith and science? A Different Perspective Scientific consensus supports natural processes, not pure chance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creation Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation-spontaneous-2537822/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Arose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-arose-303401/) [Origin of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-life/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) [Spontaneous Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous-generation-382549/) [Supernatural Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supernatural-creation-3541770/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose: Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God… There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-are-only-two-possible-explanations-as-to-how-life-arose/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [ \[Attributing the origin of life to spontaneous generation.\] However improbable we regard this event, it will almost certainly happen at least once… The time...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/attributing-the-origin-of-life-to-spontaneous-generation-however/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [One has only to contemplate the magnitude of this task to concede that the spontaneous generation of a living organism is impossible. Yet here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/one-has-only-to-contemplate-the-magnitude-of-this-task-to-concede/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [What we call creation science makes no reference to the Bible. It says there are two possible explanations for the origin of the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-gish/what-we-call-creation-science-makes-no-reference-to-the-bible-it-says/) [Duane Gish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-gish/) > [It is a matter of fact; I approached without a preconceived idea, too ready to declare, if the experiment had imposed upon me the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/it-is-a-matter-of-fact-i-approached-without-a-preconceived-idea-too/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Mathematical discoveries, small or great are never born of spontaneous generation They always presuppose a soil seeded with preliminary knowledge and well prepared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematical-discoveries-small-or-great-are-never-born-of-spontaneous-2/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [The idea of spontaneous generation of life in its present form is therefore highly improbable even to the scale of the billions of years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilya-prigogine/the-idea-of-spontaneous-generation-of-life-in-its-present-form-is/) [Ilya Prigogine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilya-prigogine/) > [Mathematical discoveries, small or great are never born of spontaneous generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematical-discoveries-small-or-great-are-never-born-of-spontaneous/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [I tell my students, with a feeling of pride that I hope they will share, that the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen that make up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-tell-my-students-with-a-feeling-of-pride-that-i-hope-they-will/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I do not want to believe in God. Therefore I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-do-not-want-to-believe-in-god-therefore-i-choose-to-believe-in-that/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [“Creativity is not any accumulated knowledge, coming from past to the present. The stage of creation is a spontaneous flash of intelligence, Energy merging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-kumar/creativity-is-not-any-accumulated-knowledge-coming-from-past-to-the/) [Gian Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-kumar/) > [“It all boils down to instinct, good or bad. Artistic creation must be spontaneous. It comes from the heart; it has to pass through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-chevalier/it-all-boils-down-to-instinct-good-or-bad-artistic-creation-must-be/) [Maurice Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-chevalier/) > [A thing is either alive or it isn’t; there is nothing that is almost alive. There is but the remotest possibility of the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-c-peattie/a-thing-is-either-alive-or-it-isn-t-there-is-nothing-that-is-almost/) [Donald C. Peattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-c-peattie/) > [The important point is that since the origin of life belongs in the category of at-least-once phenomena, time is on its side. However improbable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/the-important-point-is-that-since-the-origin-of-life-belongs-in-the/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Whether Earth was deliberately terraformed, in other words, or whether it was seeded with the spores of life from crashed comets or whether, indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/whether-earth-was-deliberately-terraformed-in-other-words-or-whether/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) ## More by George Wald > [Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/civilization-will-end-within-15-or-30-years-unless-immediate-action/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [So-called defense now absorbs sixty per cent of the national budget, and about twelve per cent of the Gross National Product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/so-called-defense-now-absorbs-sixty-per-cent-of-the-national-budget/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I have lived much of my life among molecules. They are good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-have-lived-much-of-my-life-among-molecules-they-are-good-company/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. We are the products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/evolution-advances-not-by-a-priori-design-but-by-the-selection-of/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Every creature alive on the earth today represents an unbroken line of life that stretches back to the first primitive organism to appear on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/every-creature-alive-on-the-earth-today-represents-an-unbroken-line/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think if a physician wrote on a death certificate that old age was the cause of death, he'd be thrown out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-if-a-physician-wrote-on-a-death-certificate-that-old-age-was/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I am growing old, and my future, so to speak, is already behind me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-am-growing-old-and-my-future-so-to-speak-is-already-behind-me/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [A scientist should be the happiest of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-scientist-should-be-the-happiest-of-men/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think all of you know there is no adequate defense against massive nuclear attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-all-of-you-know-there-is-no-adequate-defense-against-massive/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [We've committed many war crimes in Vietnam - but I'll tell you something interesting about that. We were committing war crimes in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/we-ve-committed-many-war-crimes-in-vietnam-but-i-ll-tell-you/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Science goes from question to question; big questions, and little, tentative answers. The questions as they age grow ever broader, the answers are seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/science-goes-from-question-to-question-big-questions-and-little/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [There's life all over this universe, but the only life in the solar system is on earth, and in the whole universe we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-s-life-all-over-this-universe-but-the-only-life-in-the-solar/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I think I know what is bothering the students. I think that what we are up against is a generation that is by no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-think-i-know-what-is-bothering-the-students-i-think-that-what-we/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/a-physicist-is-an-atom-s-way-of-knowing-about-atoms/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose: Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God… There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/there-are-only-two-possible-explanations-as-to-how-life-arose/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) [Explore all 72 George Wald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. 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