|
Genome Scientist Finds God
from the June 20, 2006 (Chuck
Missler’s) eNews issue
It has been just over fifty years since the discovery
of DNA - a discovery which has radically transformed modern science
and changed how many look at the origin of life. The Human Genome
Project has mapped our entire genetic code, which consists of a
sequence of over 3 billion chemical nucleotide bases. DNA research
has lead to the discovery of genetic cures for diseases. It has also
resulted in faster and more accurate diagnosis of diseases, and
assisted doctors in developing customized treatment plans for
patients.
Although scientists have learned a great
deal about the human genome, the overwhelming majority of DNA
remains a complete mystery. For all the new advances made in
genetics, we are constantly discovering how complex the DNA really
is and how much more we have to learn. According to Dr. Jerry
Bergman, a professor of science at Northwest College, “At the moment
of conception, a fertilized human egg is about the size of a
pinhead. Yet it contains information equivalent to about six billion
chemical letters. This is enough information to fill 1000 books, 500
pages thick with print so small you would need a microscope to read
it! If all the chemical letters in the human body were printed in
books, it is estimated they would fill the Grand Canyon
fifty times!”
Scientists still do not know the exact
number of genes, their exact locations, or their functions. Nor do
they know much about gene regulation, DNA sequence regulation,
Chromosomal structure and organization, or non-coding DNA. The list
of things we have yet to learn about DNA goes on and on. What we
do
know about DNA is that it is a digital, error-correcting, and
self-replicating code. Furthermore, within its complicated and
elegant structure is held the blueprints of every living thing on
the planet.
Francis S. Collins has long been on the
cutting edge of DNA research. He is the director of the National
Human Genome Research Institute and oversaw the Human Genome Project
- which some have called the most significant scientific undertaking
of our time. What most people don't know about Francis Collins is
that he used to be an atheist, but that his experiences have lead
him to believe in the existence of God.
When Collins was practicing medicine he saw
the faith displayed by some of his patients. Their strength in dire
circumstances caused him to begin to ask questions. It was then,
that a Methodist minister gave him a copy of the C.S. Lewis book
titled Mere
Christianity. The book opened
his eyes to new possibilities, however the turning point in his life
came while hiking in the mountains. It was the beauty of God's
creation that finally broke his resistance. Today, Collins sees his
research as a "glimpse at the workings of God". Although his beliefs
are not without controversy, his story testifies to the fact that
science and faith can co-exist.
According to Collins, "One of the great
tragedies of our time is this impression that has been created that
science and religion have to be at war. I don’t see that as
necessary at all and I think it is deeply disappointing that the
shrill voices that occupy the extremes of this spectrum have
dominated the stage for the past 20 years." Collins plans to share
his experiences in a book, due out this summer, titled
The Language of God: A Scientist
Presents Evidence for Belief.
Random chance cannot
account for the complex design of DNA. It is statistically and
mathematically impossible. In the last 30 years, a number of
prominent scientists have attempted to calculate the odds that a
free-living, single-celled organism, such as a bacterium, might
result by the chance combining of preexistent building blocks.
Harold Morowitz calculated the odds as one chance in 10100,000,000,000
(ten to the one hundred billionth power). Sir Fred Hoyle calculated
the odds that just the proteins of an amoebae arising by chance as
one chance in 1040,000 (ten to the forty thousandth
power). The odds calculated by Morowitz and Hoyle are staggering.
Think of it this way, the chances of winning the state lottery every
week of your life from the age of 18 to 99 are better than the odds
of a single-celled organism being formed by random chance. The
probability of spontaneous generation is about the same as the
probability that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard could
assemble a 747 from the contents therein. It is impossible. The
evidence all points to the unavoidable conclusion that we not the
product of chance or evolution, but the result of intelligent
design.
|
