The same way Christianity and Islam became prevalent. Pre-scientific people made up many stories about the universe. The ones that spread the farthest are the o

The same way Christianity and Islam became prevalent. Pre-scientific people made up many stories about the universe. The ones that spread the farthest are the ones that replicate, by killing and converting opposition like these religions have. Similarly, many compounds have randomly formed that exhibit parts of what we call life. The ones that exist in noticeable quantities are the ones that successfully replicate.