The likelihood of a living cell forming by accident is finite but very remote.
Very. The likelihood of a 747 forming when a whirlwind goes through a junkyard is zero. The living cell is merely remote.
Nuclear physics and cosmologists have identified (I’m told) twenty-plus purely arbitrary numeric values for such things as the masses of various subatomic particles, the strengths of the four primary sources, the ratio of mass to energy that determines the speed of light, and so forth. Jiggle any single on of them and you may not even reach step a) in the sequence in the first paragraph.
Once the universe and time *both* began, the result was merely a matter of time. So many stars that it takes 24-ish decimal digits to number them. Say one in ten-thousand has an “earth” candidate in orbit at the right distance, with a large moon to stabilize it so that seasons stay regular. On each, perhaps N million cubic miles of ocean and a major fraction of a billion years, to wait for that one ultimate serendipity, a cell forming that is capable of reproduction.
Did I mention the way the various chemicals necessary for life tend to leap together like smart LEGOs?
How difficult is it to guess, just a guess, that a GOD created the universe so beautifully designed that it would, on its own and therefore organically*, generate not just life but life capable of perceiving the miracle of its own existence?
To me, if you want a way to discuss Intelligent Design, that’s as far as you need to go.
*love to stick in buzz-words.
Oh, and Another Thing 