Let’s look even deeper in to living organisms. What about our DNA? DNA is one of the most complex organic structures we know of. DNA is essentially a sentence 4.5 billion characters long. We are expected to believe this amazing complex and specific instruction came about from random, dumb processes.
OBJECT LESSEN Name on Board, pen and time. How much time would it take for my three letter name to be made by this pen using random natural forces only. I think everyone can agree it would take a intelligent force/person to make this pen write my name on the board.
OBJECT LESSEN Toss Ink at paper. How many times would I have to throw ink on the board before the random process result in my name appearing on the board. Again, I think all of us agree it would take a intelligent force/person.
How big is 4.5 Billion characters. An average printed page has about 3000 characters. If it’s really small print maybe 4 thousand. I have a Bible with the KJV, NAS, NIV and AMP translations side-by -side in parallel. It is about 2.5 ” thick. It has about 3,000 pages. So, printed like this Bible, a single DNA code would fill a stack of bibles like this one 80 feet high or about 350 of these books. That is a lot of information. What is probability this amount of information came into existence randomly. We scientists have a word for this. Impossible. Even if I could calculate a probability, it is so improbable it simply would never happen.
Bill Gates founder of Microsoft said, “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” It is more advanced and more complicated than any software ever created, and they want us to think it just happened. On its own.
From a random group of carbon goo to you. That takes a lot of faith to believe that bedtime story.
And DNA is not even the beginning. You need all of the components for replications and none of these components are simple. And none of them are the configurations that chemistry drives you to. The specific branching needed is impossible without binding proteins and enzymes, DNA primase, RNA primers, Helicase, DNA polymerase, DNA ligase. None of these are stable outside of a living cell and you can’t have a living cell without all of them. And there are proteins which are even more complex than DNA, RNA, peptides, enzymes, amino acids, proteins. And the list can go on and on. With all of these in the specific configurations needed, none are stable outside of a living cell. With out any of these amazingly complex components, a cell will not survive or reproduce.
I’m trying not to lose you in the chemistry and physics. If you want more on this, Look up these guys. Dr. Stephen Meyer at the discovery institute and Dr. James Tour who is a professor at Rice University here in Houston. These two will give you loads of details on the origin of life research and the components needed for life and intelligent design.
The bottom line is simple, if you gave any scientist today every component needed for a cell in the purest possible forms. There is still no one who could construct a living viable cell. That is how complex life is even in its most basic parts and I did not even talk about how two simple cells become you and me. That is even another whole other level of complexity.
Next let’s look at sub-atomics. I know you get it already but I’m a science geek. But I’ll make it quick.
This is a diagram of a carbon atom. We have no idea why the nucleus does not fly apart. The fine tuning of the atomic forces is beyond specific. Protons, neutrons, and electrons.
And science has now discovered sub-subatomic particles that make up protons, neutrons and electrons which they call quarks and there are six different kinds of quarks.
Which means even the protons and neutrons and electrons are not all the same. They are unique for different elements. And I’m sure someday people will discover something smaller that is even more complex.
Or well we already know of some things.
We all know about light. Photons. But it is very complicated. Very complex. Very finely tuned. Our understanding is incomplete and the more we discover the more complex the subatomic level becomes.
We know about theoretical particles like Tachyons and Neutrinos. And there are energy waves, x-rays, gamma rays, heat and other radiation. Extremely complex but also extremely ordered and fine-tuned. And there is no scientist who can explain them. We know energy exists but what is energy?
There are modern theories about strings and dark matter and dark energy. All of these are so complex the people imagining these theories cannot mathematically model it. We can’t see it. In fact, one scientist said that to prove the existence of strings or dark matter or some of the other sub-sub-sub-atomic particles we would need a particle accelerator the size of the known universe. If it’s true, that is yet another extremely complex layer of fine-tuning that points to intelligent design.
I’ll just stop there. I could keep going but I’ll stop. Sorry I’m a scientist at heart and I love science.
Can you say science supports the idea of design and if you have a design, you must have a designer. There has never been any observable science to support anything else. We could go through examples of animals that have no evolutionary explanation. We can look at the Evolution processes and see there is no evidence, only wishful thinking. The reality is people are desperately searching for a reason there cannot be God, so they don’t have to face the reality they will give an accounting to God someday. But without God, there is no meaning and no purpose.
What was the Evidence.
The Cosmological argument. The beginning or Big Bang requires a bigger “Big Banger”. The uncaused cause. Or the unmoved mover as Aristotle said it. Must be outside of the closed system, outside the box which is the universe. Immaterial, timeless and spaceless. Must be extremely powerful. To bring everything into existence from nothing is pretty powerful. And last time I checked nothing wasn’t powerful, it was nothing. The Teleological argument. Design needs a designer. No matter what level we look at from the universe scale to the subatomic particles. Everything is so finely tuned and designed, an incredibly intelligent designer is the only reasonable explanation. And that designer must be actively sustaining creation and has a purpose for what he has designed. The moral argument. What is the basis for right and wrong. The only source has to be an absolutely morally perfect being. And don’t miss this to be the standard of right and wrong, that standard must be personal. This is an incredibly good description of the God of Christianity without using a single Bible verse. the figurative fingerprint of God is all over every aspect of Creation. Everything points to not only the existence of God but to a very a particular God. The God of Christianity.
And this is not all of the evidence, we will talk about even more in the coming weeks.
Dr. Robert Jastrow one of Americas famed astronomers and part of NASA’s Lunar exploration project in the 1950’s and 60’s. He wrote this in his book God and the astronomers. “for the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; He is about to conquer the highest peak; As he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.“
Is there a God? Well simply yes. The evidence is overwhelming. The Cumulative Case is overwhelming.
Next week is the Problem of Evil. This is the hammer atheist use to show us there cannot be a God. But of course, they are using the Moral principles of God which their worldview doesn’t have to say that. Frank Turek calls this stealing from God. Evil.. next time.
Don’t forget if you do have questions email me at questions@punla.org.
Let’s close and pray before we listen to the song Awesome God by Rich Mullins.
Let’s close and pray before we listen to the song Awesome God by Rich Mullins.
Let sing Awesome God by Rich Mullins.
Sorry. I know you are going to have that in your mind for the rest of the day. I love the song. (Video 4 min)
Our God is Awesome.
Thank you and God’s Blessing my friends.
This is the end of How to Defend your Faith Session 5: Evidence for God