God: Fact or Fiction?: Exploring the Relationship Between Science Religion and the Origin of Life

by Brendan Roberts

  Can Intelligent Design coexist with evolution? To answer this let’s see if there are any examples in science where more than one theory or model has been used to explain a given substance. The gas hydrogen, the simplest form of matter is without colour or odour. Science uses three conceptual models to explain the gas: the periodic table of the elements, the planetary model and the quantum model. Each model fits with the gas being colourless, odourless and flammable.

  Therefore the two models of evolution and Intelligent Design can be used to explain purpose, design and change within nature.

  Some people think there is an inseparable gap between science and religion. But the results of two separate surveys are astonishing. Sociologist James Leuba conducted a survey in 1914 which revealed that 42% of American scientists believed in the existence of a personal God who reveals Himself and answers prayer. More than 80 years later, Edward Larson, UGA professor of law and history conducted the survey again. How many American scientists do you think believed in such a God’s existence? 20%? Or how about 10%? Wrong! It would seem that the number would be remarkably smaller in the new survey. But, astonishingly the number of scientists who now believed in such a personal God changed only nominally, by 3%. In fact 39% believed in a personal God.

  Furthermore Larson conducted more than 100 individual interviews for more comprehensive answers as to American scientists’ religious beliefs. The results showed that all of them believed in evolution, none believed in creationism, and some believed in an altruistic (self-giving and loving or good) God.

  Summary If Young Earth Creationists studied evolution and understood that microevolution is in fact compatible with Christianity then they would not need to take such a literal stance. They could then reason that evolution with God is not a threat. However, I support them when they defend the concept of a Creator. I believe there needs to be a unified voice within Christendom that says: the theory of evolution does not denounce a Creator; and we accept the Earth might be millions of years old. But we will not accept neo-Darwinists and the secular media imposing their views that there is no Creator.

  Nature abounds with examples of Intelligent Design, in which complexity, irreducible complexity, contingency, and specification are inherent within earthly nature and systems, not only throughout our galaxy, but the entire universe. If you were able to remove one component of these systems, or alter the initial laws they would collapse. Intelligent Design is not opposed to evolution; the two theories can indeed coexist. It takes a mind to understand what a mind intended with DNA. Evolution and Intelligent Design can both be used to describe the same world we live in. Even atheists believe principles of Intelligent Design should be taught impartially in schools. We will soon cover other examples of design within the universe, our galaxy, the human cell, and DNA.

  Notes

  CHAPTER 6 UNLOCKING THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

  1. Isaac Newton. Optics (New York: Dover, 1952), p. 344.

  2. Robert B. Stewart, ed. Intelligent Design: William A. Dembski & Michael Ruse in Dialogue, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), p. 93.

  3. William Dembski, ed. Mere Creation: Science, Faith and Intelligent Design (Downers Grove; Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998), p. 15.

  4. See Michael J. Behe, William A. Dembski and Stephen C. Meyer. Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000), p. 92.

  5. Philip Clayton. Mind and Emergence: From Quantum to Consciousness (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1993), p. 170.

  6. Robert B. Stewart, ed. Intelligent Design, p. 175.

  7. Ibid.

  8. Behe, Dembski and Meyer, Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe, p. 134.

  9. See Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), pp. 74-76.

  10. Robert B. Stewart, ed. Intelligent Design, p. 30.

  11. William Dembski, Mere Creation, Science, Faith and Intelligent Design, p. 15.

  12. Ibid., pp. 332-333.

  13. Ibid., p. 335.

  14. Paul Davies. The Last Three Minutes (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1994), p. 22.

  15. Richard N. Ostling. “Atheist Philosopher, 81, Now Believes in God,” Associated Press Report, December 10, 2004, www.livescience.com/ strangenews/atheist_philosopher_041210.html (accessed Jan 6, 2009).

  16. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pocket Edition, St Pauls, Australia 1995, [sections 2366 and 2367], p. 569.

  17. See Ian G. Barbour. Religion & Science, Historical and Contemporary Issues (SCM Press Ltd, 1998), p. 59.

  18. See Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species. Facsimile of the first (1859) edition, (Cambridge; Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1966), p. 84.

  19. Paul Davies. The Mind of God (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1992), p. 167.

  Biochemistry explores the foundation stones of life – it is the study of the molecules that make up living tissues and cells. Simply, it is what makes you tick. This scintillating part of science opens up the research of creation to incredible discoveries. Now that we have explored the concept of Intelligent Design let us delve into the basics of Biochemistry and discover whether there is evidence of Intelligent Design within this field. By the end of this chapter you will be able to see whether the evidence points towards design and thus a Creator.

  We’ve all heard about criminals being caught by the very evidence of DNA. Their DNA tends to be extracted from saliva (and other body fluids), human hair and even tiny flakes of skin. In fact, DNA has been discovered to be as unique as human fingerprints. But do you really know the intricacies and complexity of DNA? In this chapter I will explain the basics of the dynamic system of the cell, the complexity of DNA, and reveal stunning facts that you may never have pondered or even speculated about.

  The Cell The first item we will check out is the cell, which can be found in all living organisms i.e. bacteria, plants, animals and humans. The cell is the foundation of your body. When gangs of cells hang out together they form tissues; tissues combining results in muscles; and finally groups of muscles form organs.

  The cell is so amazing! It is like a factory that churns out products based on precise instructions, does repairs, gets rid of wastes and has a security process or safety control in which it keeps the unwanted from entering, or kicks out the intruders.

  The cell is a microscopic structure. Just imagine seeing only the whole outline of a computer under the lense of a microscope. As you observe the computer running it is obvious that there is functionality which involves extremely complex processes. Similarly the cell is like a computer as it is functional, intricate, complex and every part relies on another component or else the system fails (irreducible complexity).

  Within your body are trillions of these cells; each one is incredibly complex and performs mind-boggling processes. Michael Behe compares the factory-like aspect of the cells to your favourite Jeans factory (But be warned cowboy boots are not included). He says the cells continually manufacture new structures, and gets rid of old ones. The new materials can then be made in a central location and then sent to other parts of the cell. Thus the cell is ‘like a large city making blue jeans and radios to be sent to small towns’.1

  Cellular Structure Now we jump straight into the makeup of the cell. Throughout this section take note of the irreducible complexity; the inherent factorylike aspects; the diversity; and the dynamics of the entire cell. Inside your body is a complex network like a sophisticated computer system that transmits, copies and deletes information. This network contains processes that are phenomenally complex, intriguing and wonderful. The cell is composed of the following:

  1. The cell membrane is like a security process. It allows the cell to let in substances it needs, to expel substances it doesn’t require, and to block or fight off intruders. So you could actually liken it to the bouncer at your favourite nightclub (but that doesn’t mean it comes with squashed face and bulging biceps!)

  2. The endoplasmic reticulum is a structure that move
s like creeping tentacles throughout the cell, actually taking up a big chunk of space. It simulates a network of wires within a computer, stretching from the cell membrane throughout the cell and eventually to the cell nucleus. This intricate network means the endoplasmic reticulum allows the cell to transmit information and proteins.

  3. The nucleus of the cell is located at its center and can be likened to a brain or the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a computer. It is from the nucleus that information is processed and instructions issued for the cell to grow or replicate. It is also equivalent to the master blueprint held by the factory’s head office. Therefore it is interesting to note that if you remove the nucleus then the cell will actually die. Just imagine what it would be like without a nucleus. Let’s imagine that when you were developing none of your cells contained one. Well, I am sorry to say, you would not have come into existence (what a morbid thought!) You would not have been able to even take one breath because your organs, let alone your tissues and muscles, would not have even been able to develop.

  4. Lysosomes are another cell structure. They are like your antivirus software program on your computer. The lysosome stores the materials in which to fight off bacteria, and once the bacteria are detected the lysosome releases the material to wage war with the enemy.

  5. The mitochondria of the cell produce energy that give the cells their get up and go, enabling them to function. So without mitochondria, your cells would not be able to replicate, perform security tasks or transmit the necessary information.

  The systems within your cells are actually quite mind boggling. Linda Tagliaferro (artist and author) and Mark Bloom (Professor in Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic) in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Decoding your Genes reveal a fascinating fact about the division of the human cell: ‘There are trillions of cells in the human body. About 100,000 of these cells divide every second, and each one has about 80,000 genes.’2

  Fighting Diseases Behe explains the startling odds that an antibody has to face in order to bind to an invader of the body and protect your cells from disease. To ensure at least one type of antibody is available to defend against each attacker, the cells produce billions to trillions of them. Moreover for one particular invader it takes 100,000 antibodies for one antibody to succeed.3

  Behe analogously describes the process in which an antibody captures a hostage: When an antibody on a B cell binds to a foreign molecule it triggers a complex mechanism to swallow the invader: in effect, the munitions factory takes a hostage. The antibody then breaks off a piece of membrane to make a little vesicle – a self-made taxicab. In this taxi, the hostage is brought into the B-cell factory. Inside the cell (still in the cab) the foreign protein is chopped up, and a piece of the foreign protein sticks to another protein.4

  The dissected pieces of the invader are presented for the consideration of the T cell. Behe says, ‘If the fit is just right, it causes the helper T cell to secrete a substance called interleukin. Interleukin is like a message from the Department of Defense to the munitions factory.’5

  Antibodies are astonishingly complex. Behe explains that by mixing and matching DNA segments you get about a million different combinations of heavy chain segments:6

  Once again we encounter complex factory-like processes that are vital for our very survival. The complexity of antibodies is spellbinding, but it doesn’t compare to what we will encounter next.

  The Irreducible Complexity of the Cell Each component of the cell is needed for it to survive. If you remove either the cell membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, lysosomes, or mitochondria then the intricate processes integral to the survival of the cell will collapse. Therefore as you may recall, when any such irreducibly complex system collapses from removing one component of the system, then this system points to the principle of Intelligent Design and thus to the likelihood of an Intelligent Designer.

  Isn’t it incredible that scientists can’t make a cell from scratch? They have to borrow existing components from another cell. During the process of cloning they take the cell nucleus from one cell and implant it into another cell. Yet if there is a Creator or Intelligent Designer He had no trouble pre-programming the cell.

  DNA

  DNA often features in the news. Remarkably Forensic Scientists are able to study the information encoded on your DNA. Utilising technology and skills from the specialist field that has advanced in ginormous leaps and bounds over the last two decades, the infor-mation they uncover is unique to each individual – a genetic fingerprint. In this section we look at the astounding facts of DNA, and whether the amazing complexity of machine-like workings of the cell, point significantly to Intelligent Design, and thus an Intelligent Designer.

  DNA is an information bearing component of the cell in its nucleus. Its location is vital; if the DNA was isolated from the nucleus, it would be impotent, and once again you would not be able to form past a blob as your cells could not perfect tissues, muscles or organs.

  Information Bearing DNA Michael Behe in Mere Creation explains the awesome power of information storage of DNA. Note, the reference he refers to is from 1989 when the home computer microprocessors were about 100 to 200 MHz: ‘The information storage density of DNA, thanks in part to nucleosome spooling, is several trillion times that of our most advanced computer chips.’7

  DNA in our cells is so complex that to unravel them would produce an astounding result: ‘If the total DNA in all the trillions of cells in one human being were laid out in a straight line, it would stretch to the sun and back more than a thousand times.’8

  Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft applauds the information rich ability of DNA. He says though it’s like a software program it is ‘far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created’.9

  Each cell in your body has an amazing storage capacity for information. It is much the same as the hard drive on your computer. ‘A single cell of the human body contains as much information as the Encyclopaedia Britannica (thirty volumes) multiplied three or four times.’10

  The capacity of the cell to contain such a vast amount of information is staggering. Each one of your cells is in fact a mini computer. Can we really believe this is by pure chance? Can a complex system store such humongous amounts of information and transmit, transport, replicate information and defend the cell from intruders just by chance?

  Sequence Complexity and Specificity of DNA As mentioned previously, it is the sequence or pattern that is paramount with DNA. DNA include chemicals which are grouped into molecules (nucleotides) that like letters in a message they must be in sequence to make any sense. If the letters are out of order there is no meaning, it is nonsense.11

  Similarly, Paul Davies tells us that the precise sequence of atoms is crucial: ‘You can’t have an arbitrary sequence because DNA is an instruction manual for making the organism. Change a few atoms and you threaten the structure of the organism. Change too many and you won’t have an organism at all.’ 12

  Moreover he states that the fascinating odds against ‘producing just the proteins [of life] by pure chance are something like 1040,000 to one...the British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle likened the odds against the spontaneous assembly of life as akin to a whirlwind sweeping through a junkyard and producing a fully functioning Boeing 747.’13

  If your DNA were completely shuffled, like a deck of cards, then your DNA would be severely mutated. DNA controls the production of proteins. Since all enzymes are proteins then all living processes are controlled by enzymes.14

  Dr Stephen Meyer in Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe explains the flaw of the argument that chemical attraction explains specified complexity. He says if a sequence is not at least complex, then it can’t be both specified and complex. Also because chemical affinities don’t generate complex sequences then they can’t be ‘invoked to explain the origin of specified complexity or information content’.15

  Duplication of Cells When cells duplicate, it’s analogous to identical twins, excep
t the next cell is identical in every way including the DNA information. There are different reasons why cells duplicate, and they include: to fight diseases; to replace cells which die every day (watch that sunburn, ow!); and to enable hair, tissues, and organs to grow (just imagine your hair not growing back after you had it shaved off).

  When a cell replicates itself, it is like the copy function in a Word Processor program (OK, so I’m a computer geek, lol). You don’t delete the information but copy it, leaving the original source intact (thank God for the undo command). The cell replicates through the mitosis process (the chromosomes are duplicated first), whereby the cell also copies its nucleus, and therefore the DNA residing there. In The Complete Idiots Guide to Decoding your Genes, the process is succinctly explained:

  When DNA is about to duplicate, it’s literally as if it were splitting at the seams. The whole strand begins to unravel. The twisted ladder of the molecule untwists, and the two sides then pull apart like a molecular zipper. The rungs of the ladder – the As paired with Ts and the Cs paired with Gs

  – split in half, and what you have left is a long row of As, Cs, Ts, and Gs that are missing a partner to make complete rungs on the ladder.16

  The DNA bases. Image courtesy of Neil Broom, How Blind is the Watchmaker, InterVarsity Press, 2001, 92

  Well, I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck As, Cs, Ts and Gs have to do with DNA. Just hang in there with me. DNA has four bases A, C, T & G (A = adenine; T=thymine; G=guanine; and C=cytosine). These bases represent a four letter alphabet. In comparison Morse Code has two and for you fellow computer geeks, computers work with a binary code of two bases (0 and 1). That was actually a nerd test! So if you knew that, you are already part of my club. However the bases are only mutually attracted to certain types, for example blondes (just kidding, lol!) A will only pair up with T, and C will only pair up with G. Like two negative ions, if they aren’t attracted then they won’t do the tango.