The genetic sciences in our 21st Century has left no reasonable doubt as to the question of God's existence. God does indeed exist, and the evidence is overwhelming for those with an open mind.
INFORMATION is different from other things in that although it is stored by a physical entity, such as a brain, a USB drive, a piece of paper, or a DNA molecule, INFORMATION itself it is not a physical entity. Because our genetic code is a highly complex form of INFORMATION stored in the cell, and since all information requires an intelligent source, this provides solid evidence for an intelligent designer.
1) NASA and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) use this same scientific principle to search for intelligent life, that INFORMATION implies an intelligent source.
In the following SETI article, they discuss how a signal from space directs them toward the conclusion that intelligent life has been discovered or not, based on whether the signal actually represents information (as opposed to background noise). SETI scientists discuss how they would use the same principles to try and return their communication:
"A continuous narrowband beacon carries only one bit of information (that
the alien civilization exists) and carry zero symbol rate after the beacon is discovered. In
contrast, modest to wide bandwidth signals can support modest to large symbol rates
(information rates)."
"Once the beacon is discovered, the focus turns to information extraction."
"When designing a signal for interstellar transmission to an unknown but technologically
competent species, we must consider how that species (e.g. humans) might discover the signal as
distinct from the galactic background radiation."
"At the same time, most SETI researchers suspect that an extra-solar civilization will wish
to communicate nontrivial information to humans. Until now, the primary focus of radio SETI
observations has been narrowband signals or strong broadband pulses. These signals can be used
only for “beacons,” since they convey no “message” beyond a single symbol of information. It is
usually suggested that the message information will be communicated in an entirely different
signal mode (or with extremely low symbol rate consistent with the narrowband criterion)."
(Ref: Harp, Gerald R., et al. 'A new class of SETI beacons that contain information. Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence'. 2011)
2) Our genetic code qualifies as a language:
"Scientists have found the genetic code has all of these key elements (of a language). The coding regions of DNA have precisely the same relevant properties as a computer code or language."
"The only other codes found to be true languages are all of human origin. Although we do find that dogs bark when they recognize danger, bees tap dance to point other bees to a source and whales release sounds, just to name a few examples of other species' communication, none fo these have the composition of a language. They are only considered low-level communication signals."
"The only types of communication considered high level are, (1) human languages and (2) artificial languages, namely computer and morse codes and the genetic code. No other communication system has been found to contain the basic characteristics of a language."
(Ref: L.D. Virgilio, 'The Little Code that Confirms the End of Evolution')
3) Even skeptics have abandoned their atheism for this reason. Sir Antony Flew, the late world-famous philosopher who had been the leading atheist in England, renounced his atheism a few years back and accepted the existence of God.
Regarding whether recent research on DNA had influenced his change of mind, he said: “Yes, I now think it does … almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together” ( There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind , 2007, p. 75).
“Why do I believe this, given that I expounded and defended atheism for more than a half century? The short answer is this: this is the world picture, as I see it, that has emerged from modern science. Science spotlights three dimensions of nature that point to God. The first is the fact that nature obeys laws. The second is the dimension of life, of intelligently organized and purpose-driven beings, which arose from matter. The third is the very existence of nature” (pp. 88-89).
4) So what form of information is our genetic code? It is a DIGITAL language.
a) "All present life is based on digitally encoded information.” - National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Whereas our computing devices are programmed using a binary digital coding system, our human genetic code is considered by some analysts to be a quaternary digital coding system, due to the four DNA bases A,C,T, and G.
b) “The genome functions in a hierarchical fashion. The DNA molecule is only the first level; chromatin [cell nucleus contents of DNA with accompanying proteins] organization is a second level; and the position of chromosomes within the nucleus is a third level … There is evidence at all three levels that non-protein-coding DNA performs functions that are independent of its exact sequence”
"(DNA is) bidirectional, multilayered, and interleaved, rather than simply linear … The organization of DNA strings along the genome is optimized for the establishment of multidimensional codes at all scales.” - Molecular biologist Jonathan Wells
c) “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” - Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
5) How much information is contained in our cells?
a) "The information content of a simple cell had been estimated as around 10^12 bits, comparable to about a hundred million pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica."
— Carl Sagan
b) “There is enough information capacity in a single human cell to store the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 30 volumes of it, three or four times over.”
— Richard Dawkins
Conclusion:
a) “In ALL cases where we know the causal origin of ‘high information content,’ experience has shown that intelligent design played a causal role.”
"No physical or chemical law dictates the order of the nucleotide bases in our DNA, and the sequences are highly improbable and complex. Yet the coding regions of DNA exhibit very unlikely sequential arrangements of bases that match the precise pattern necessary to produce functional proteins. Experiments have found that the sequence of nucleotide bases in our DNA must be extremely precise in order to generate a functional protein. The odds of a random sequence of amino acids generating a functional protein is less than 1 in 10 to the 70th power. In other words, our DNA contains high CSI (complex and specified information)." - Stephen C. Meyer
b) "Each cell with genetic information, from bacteria to man, according to molecular biologist Michael Denton, consists of “artificial languages and their decoding systems, memory banks for information storage and retrieval, elegant control systems regulating the automated assembly of parts and components, error fail-safe and proof-reading devices utilized for quality control, assembly processes involving the principle of prefabrication and modular construction … [and a] capacity not equalled in any of our most advanced machines, for it would be capable of replicating its entire structure within a matter of a few hours” (Denton, p. 329).
So how could the genetic information of bacteria gradually evolve into information for another type of being, when only one or a few minor mistakes in the millions of letters in that bacterium's DNA can kill it?"
"Evolutionists don't even have a working hypothesis about it. Lee Strobel writes: “The six feet of DNA coiled inside every one of our body's one hundred trillion cells contains a four-letter chemical alphabet that spells out precise assembly instructions for all the proteins from which our bodies are made … No hypothesis has come close to explaining how information got into biological matter by naturalistic means” (Strobel, p. 282).
"Werner Gitt, professor of information systems, puts it succinctly: “The basic flaw of all evolutionary views is the origin of the information in living beings. It has never been shown that a coding system and semantic information could originate by itself [through matter] … The information theorems predict that this will never be possible. A purely material origin of life is thus [ruled out]” (Gitt, p. 124).
"In addition, the copying mechanism of DNA, to meet maximum effectiveness, requires the number of letters in each word to be an even number. Of all possible mathematical combinations, the ideal number for storage and transcription has been calculated to be four letters. This is exactly what has been found in the genes of every living thing on earth—a four-letter digital code. As Werner Gitt states: “The coding system used for living beings is optimal from an engineering standpoint. This fact strengthens the argument that it was a case of purposeful design rather that a [lucky] chance” (Gitt, p. 95).
"Back in Darwin's day, when his book On the Origin of Species was published in 1859, life appeared much simpler. Viewed through the primitive microscopes of the day, the cell appeared to be but a simple blob of jelly or uncomplicated protoplasm. Now, almost 150 years later, that view has changed dramatically as science has discovered a virtual universe inside the cell."
“It was once expected,” writes Professor Behe, “that the basis of life would be exceedingly simple. That expectation has been smashed. Vision, motion, and other biological functions have proven to be no less sophisticated than television cameras and automobiles. Science has made enormous progress in understanding how the chemistry of life works, but the elegance and complexity of biological systems at the molecular level have paralyzed science's attempt to explain their origins” (Behe).
"Dr. Meyer considers the recent discoveries about DNA as the Achilles” heel of evolutionary theory. He observes: “Evolutionists are still trying to apply Darwin's nineteenth-century thinking to a twenty-first century reality, and it's not working … I think the information revolution taking place in biology is sounding the death knell for Darwinism and chemical evolutionary theories” (quoted by Strobel, p. 243).
(Ref: UCG.org<http://www.ucg.org/> / The Good News<http://www.ucg.org/the-good-news> / DNA: The Tiny Code That's Toppling Evolution)
Psalm 139: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
INFORMATION is different from other things in that although it is stored by a physical entity, such as a brain, a USB drive, a piece of paper, or a DNA molecule, INFORMATION itself it is not a physical entity. Because our genetic code is a highly complex form of INFORMATION stored in the cell, and since all information requires an intelligent source, this provides solid evidence for an intelligent designer.
1) NASA and SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) use this same scientific principle to search for intelligent life, that INFORMATION implies an intelligent source.
In the following SETI article, they discuss how a signal from space directs them toward the conclusion that intelligent life has been discovered or not, based on whether the signal actually represents information (as opposed to background noise). SETI scientists discuss how they would use the same principles to try and return their communication:
"A continuous narrowband beacon carries only one bit of information (that
the alien civilization exists) and carry zero symbol rate after the beacon is discovered. In
contrast, modest to wide bandwidth signals can support modest to large symbol rates
(information rates)."
"Once the beacon is discovered, the focus turns to information extraction."
"When designing a signal for interstellar transmission to an unknown but technologically
competent species, we must consider how that species (e.g. humans) might discover the signal as
distinct from the galactic background radiation."
"At the same time, most SETI researchers suspect that an extra-solar civilization will wish
to communicate nontrivial information to humans. Until now, the primary focus of radio SETI
observations has been narrowband signals or strong broadband pulses. These signals can be used
only for “beacons,” since they convey no “message” beyond a single symbol of information. It is
usually suggested that the message information will be communicated in an entirely different
signal mode (or with extremely low symbol rate consistent with the narrowband criterion)."
(Ref: Harp, Gerald R., et al. 'A new class of SETI beacons that contain information. Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence'. 2011)
2) Our genetic code qualifies as a language:
"Scientists have found the genetic code has all of these key elements (of a language). The coding regions of DNA have precisely the same relevant properties as a computer code or language."
"The only other codes found to be true languages are all of human origin. Although we do find that dogs bark when they recognize danger, bees tap dance to point other bees to a source and whales release sounds, just to name a few examples of other species' communication, none fo these have the composition of a language. They are only considered low-level communication signals."
"The only types of communication considered high level are, (1) human languages and (2) artificial languages, namely computer and morse codes and the genetic code. No other communication system has been found to contain the basic characteristics of a language."
(Ref: L.D. Virgilio, 'The Little Code that Confirms the End of Evolution')
3) Even skeptics have abandoned their atheism for this reason. Sir Antony Flew, the late world-famous philosopher who had been the leading atheist in England, renounced his atheism a few years back and accepted the existence of God.
Regarding whether recent research on DNA had influenced his change of mind, he said: “Yes, I now think it does … almost entirely because of the DNA investigations. What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together” ( There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind , 2007, p. 75).
“Why do I believe this, given that I expounded and defended atheism for more than a half century? The short answer is this: this is the world picture, as I see it, that has emerged from modern science. Science spotlights three dimensions of nature that point to God. The first is the fact that nature obeys laws. The second is the dimension of life, of intelligently organized and purpose-driven beings, which arose from matter. The third is the very existence of nature” (pp. 88-89).
4) So what form of information is our genetic code? It is a DIGITAL language.
a) "All present life is based on digitally encoded information.” - National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Whereas our computing devices are programmed using a binary digital coding system, our human genetic code is considered by some analysts to be a quaternary digital coding system, due to the four DNA bases A,C,T, and G.
b) “The genome functions in a hierarchical fashion. The DNA molecule is only the first level; chromatin [cell nucleus contents of DNA with accompanying proteins] organization is a second level; and the position of chromosomes within the nucleus is a third level … There is evidence at all three levels that non-protein-coding DNA performs functions that are independent of its exact sequence”
"(DNA is) bidirectional, multilayered, and interleaved, rather than simply linear … The organization of DNA strings along the genome is optimized for the establishment of multidimensional codes at all scales.” - Molecular biologist Jonathan Wells
c) “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” - Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
5) How much information is contained in our cells?
a) "The information content of a simple cell had been estimated as around 10^12 bits, comparable to about a hundred million pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica."
— Carl Sagan
b) “There is enough information capacity in a single human cell to store the Encyclopedia Britannica, all 30 volumes of it, three or four times over.”
— Richard Dawkins
Conclusion:
a) “In ALL cases where we know the causal origin of ‘high information content,’ experience has shown that intelligent design played a causal role.”
"No physical or chemical law dictates the order of the nucleotide bases in our DNA, and the sequences are highly improbable and complex. Yet the coding regions of DNA exhibit very unlikely sequential arrangements of bases that match the precise pattern necessary to produce functional proteins. Experiments have found that the sequence of nucleotide bases in our DNA must be extremely precise in order to generate a functional protein. The odds of a random sequence of amino acids generating a functional protein is less than 1 in 10 to the 70th power. In other words, our DNA contains high CSI (complex and specified information)." - Stephen C. Meyer
b) "Each cell with genetic information, from bacteria to man, according to molecular biologist Michael Denton, consists of “artificial languages and their decoding systems, memory banks for information storage and retrieval, elegant control systems regulating the automated assembly of parts and components, error fail-safe and proof-reading devices utilized for quality control, assembly processes involving the principle of prefabrication and modular construction … [and a] capacity not equalled in any of our most advanced machines, for it would be capable of replicating its entire structure within a matter of a few hours” (Denton, p. 329).
So how could the genetic information of bacteria gradually evolve into information for another type of being, when only one or a few minor mistakes in the millions of letters in that bacterium's DNA can kill it?"
"Evolutionists don't even have a working hypothesis about it. Lee Strobel writes: “The six feet of DNA coiled inside every one of our body's one hundred trillion cells contains a four-letter chemical alphabet that spells out precise assembly instructions for all the proteins from which our bodies are made … No hypothesis has come close to explaining how information got into biological matter by naturalistic means” (Strobel, p. 282).
"Werner Gitt, professor of information systems, puts it succinctly: “The basic flaw of all evolutionary views is the origin of the information in living beings. It has never been shown that a coding system and semantic information could originate by itself [through matter] … The information theorems predict that this will never be possible. A purely material origin of life is thus [ruled out]” (Gitt, p. 124).
"In addition, the copying mechanism of DNA, to meet maximum effectiveness, requires the number of letters in each word to be an even number. Of all possible mathematical combinations, the ideal number for storage and transcription has been calculated to be four letters. This is exactly what has been found in the genes of every living thing on earth—a four-letter digital code. As Werner Gitt states: “The coding system used for living beings is optimal from an engineering standpoint. This fact strengthens the argument that it was a case of purposeful design rather that a [lucky] chance” (Gitt, p. 95).
"Back in Darwin's day, when his book On the Origin of Species was published in 1859, life appeared much simpler. Viewed through the primitive microscopes of the day, the cell appeared to be but a simple blob of jelly or uncomplicated protoplasm. Now, almost 150 years later, that view has changed dramatically as science has discovered a virtual universe inside the cell."
“It was once expected,” writes Professor Behe, “that the basis of life would be exceedingly simple. That expectation has been smashed. Vision, motion, and other biological functions have proven to be no less sophisticated than television cameras and automobiles. Science has made enormous progress in understanding how the chemistry of life works, but the elegance and complexity of biological systems at the molecular level have paralyzed science's attempt to explain their origins” (Behe).
"Dr. Meyer considers the recent discoveries about DNA as the Achilles” heel of evolutionary theory. He observes: “Evolutionists are still trying to apply Darwin's nineteenth-century thinking to a twenty-first century reality, and it's not working … I think the information revolution taking place in biology is sounding the death knell for Darwinism and chemical evolutionary theories” (quoted by Strobel, p. 243).
(Ref: UCG.org<http://www.ucg.org/> / The Good News<http://www.ucg.org/the-good-news> / DNA: The Tiny Code That's Toppling Evolution)
Psalm 139: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
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