Categories
Design The First Days

ENCODE Project Explodes Myth of ‘Junk DNA’

ENCODE project logo

Multiple news outlets have broken the story of a project which puts to rest a major argument supporting Darwinist ideology.  It’s called the ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project , described as a “Google Maps for the Human Genome.”  NPR reports some initial conclusions and their implications:

For decades, scientists thought that most of our genetic code was essentially useless — basically filler between our genes. Only a tiny fraction — the part that has genes in it — really mattered, according to this thinking. […] What has been called junk DNA is actually teeming with an intricate web of molecular switches that play crucial roles in regulating genes. The ENCODE project scientists found at least 4 million of these regulatory regions so far.

This is fantastic research. I do wish scientists had never called any of it “Junk DNA.” That idea was born out of the evolutionary paradigm that dismissed it as “useless filler,” like the failed “vestigial organ” arguments of yesteryear. Ideas like that hold back scientific progress.

Looking at it from the perspective that this code is here for a reason, placed there by an intelligent designer, curiosity is sparked: “What’s it here for?” “What does it do?” “Let’s find out!” No, the most important concept in biology is not evolution. It is the notion that biological structures have a function and their purpose can be discovered through scientific research. Evolution News has a breakdown of this story which confirmations intelligent design predictions.

This takes away nearly all the genetic breathing room anyone had left to insert mythologies about the development of life on Earth.  The new findings are a major upheaval and I expect there will be more information going “mainstream” in the coming weeks.  Are you as excited as I am?

For more information on this project, see the video below and Nature‘s website.

Categories
Biology The First Days

Evolution and the Flying Spaghetti Monster

In 2005, Bobby Henderson wrote a letter to the Kansas State Board of Education expressing his opposition to their recent decisions concerning the teaching of Intelligent Design.  He claimed to be a member of a parody religion known as Pastafarianism which worships the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  His skillful use of rhetoric and humor turned the idea into an Internet phenomenon – today it has a polished website and 14.6% of the French editors of Wikipedia claim to believe in it.  Yet, his own parody easily shows the foolishness of these common anti-creationist arguments.

The argument generally goes that if Intelligent Design or anything else that might be characterized as creationism is allowed to be taught alongside evolution, then every single creation story must be included, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.  This argument embodies the perspective that the notion of a creator God is just as silly, imaginary, and unscientific as, well, a Flying Spaghetti Monster (hereafter known as the FSM).  One need not provide further evidence to point out the atheistic nature of this line of thinking.

I once pointed out in a discussion with an ardent atheist that belief in evolution requires a belief that such a ridiculous creature could one day evolve.  I posited that an octopus could eventually take on characteristics that allow it to fly, giving an air-bound creature the “noodly appendages” that are so emblematic of the FSM.  His predictable retort described me as totally ignorant regarding what Darwinism is all about.  Little did I know that I’d be vindicated by a project called The Future Is Wild, which includes a documentary and a cartoon series aired on Discovery Kids.

The project is centered around imagining what creatures might be around 5, 100, or even 200 million years from now.  Yet, they repeatedly claim that it involves much more than that:

“Every animal and plant in The Future is Wild could really exist. Our science team devised each one as a viable, living organism. Their place in the environment, their life cycle and their place in the food chain are all authentic.”

What’s more, the team involved in the creation is not made up of artists, but 16 scientists that are “experts in fields such as geology, climatology and biology.”  To be clear, they are claiming that the processes of biological change originally theorized by Charles Darwin could realistically make their imagined world come to life given the right conditions and enough time.  That’s where Squibby comes in.

Squibby is the playful pet of the main characters of the cartoon series.  He is a cross between a Gibbon (which resembles a monkey) and a squid (yes, a squid), giving him the proper name, “Squibbon.”  The resemblance to the FSM is striking:

Flying Spaghetti Monster and Squibbon Because of their tree-dwelling ancestry, squibbon can “fly” through the trees.  The relation to a squid gives it the same “noodly appendages” as the FSM (the Future Squid Monkey?)  Really, except for the fact that the squibbon only has one large round body mass instead of two, these two creatures are not decidedly different from one another.

Galatians 6:7 tells us that God s not mocked.  Indeed, when vast numbers of people reject their creator, the resulting foolishness is limited only by our imagination.  The absurdity of Henderson’s “monster” makes it an effective and humorous parody.  As we have seen, atheists themselves must believe such a ridiculous thing could someday exist in order to be consistent in their worldview.

Categories
Biology Design The First Days

Icons of Evolution

The Discovery Institute takes a hard-hitting look at the falsifications and pseudo-science that make up modern scientific practice. As thorough as they are, we must add the most important detail: identification of the Designer as our Lord Jesus Christ.