Article – March 8, 2004
Posted/Updated: 2006-09-14 17:02:58
EVOLUTION: Fact or Fiction?
Part 3
Can you imagine a rock breathing? Or your house cleaning itself? Ridiculous? Of course! Yet, in essence, this is what evolution teaches. The third installment of this series addresses the many fallacies of the theory of evolution.
BY BRADFORD G. SCHLEIFER
Imagine it is a hot summer day and you have spent too much time in the sun. Perhaps you are a little red or even sunburned. Over the next few days, an amazing process takes place as your body heals itself from overexposure to the sun.
No doubt, you paid more attention to this process if your skin got to the point of peeling or had become red and sensitive. But look at it from another angle—the amazing adaptability of skin. Through several processes, your skin is shedding its damaged cells and replacing them with new, healthy ones.
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Your entire body—from your skin, to your eyes, organs, and brain—is made up of cells. In fact, your body consists of over 250 different kinds of cells totaling about 100 trillion. So efficient and effective are these “little factories” that in seven years, your body will have completely replaced all 100 trillion cells! The design of each of those 250 types varies in shape, size, density and purpose.
The inner functioning of the cell is most fascinating. You can think of any cell as a miniature factory—and miniature it is! Red blood cells, for instance, are 10 times smaller than the width of a single human hair. Yet, even though each individual cell is microscopic, if you placed all the cells in your body end to end, they would encircle the earth 200 times. Astonishing!
So far, we are only talking about the size of cells—never mind their function! Cells are made up primarily of three parts: Membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus.
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The membrane surrounds the cell, and has the ability to recognize hundreds of substances. Acting as a “traffic cop,” it controls what enters the cell and what is purged.
The cytoplasm is the cell's “factory floor,” on which are thousands of machines called organelles. At any given time, there are over 20 different chemical reactions happening in the cytoplasm, for such purposes as: Communication, waste removal, repair, nutrition and reproduction. There is even an elaborate transport system to move products and waste throughout the cell.
While all of this is certainly remarkable, the intrigue of the cell goes even deeper. All of these functions are controlled by the “brains” of the cell—the nucleus. The nucleus houses all the information that the cell needs to repair and reproduce itself. This blueprint is made up of chromosomes and genes containing DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
When properly understood, DNA is one of the most breathtaking creations in the entire universe. In an age when computers are getting smaller and smaller, you may often be amazed at how tiny complex gadgets have become.
However, these pale in comparison to DNA.
If you transcribed the genetic information for just ONE person onto paper, it would fill a 300-volume encyclopedia set, each volume consisting of 2,000 pages. DNA is stored in an amazingly efficient spiral “staircase.” This is so effective in conserving space, that if you were to unravel this spiral from any human cell, it would be about six feet in length. In fact, it has been estimated, that if you placed all the DNA in the human body end-to-end, it would reach the sun and back 400 TIMES!
Yet, all the genetic information needed to replicate the over 6 billion people on earth today could fit into an area of about 1/8 of a square inch. (To learn much more about the divine fingerprint inside your cells, you may read our free article “The Wrong Assumption,” found on our website www.RealTruthMag.org)
The nucleus, cellular membrane and all the machines in the cytoplasm make up every cell in your body. Now stop for a moment, and recall that there are 100 trillion cells in your body, all with these little machines, factories and “supervisors” constantly working and reproducing. The human body is amazing!
Here is an incredible fact about the largest and smallest cells of the human body: Both are the “bookends” for creating life. The smallest cell is the male sperm cell—spermatozoa. At the other end of the scale is the female egg cell—the ovum. All cells, and therefore all life, fall between these cells in size. But to create life, the largest and the smallest cells combine. It is interesting that the two most important cells of all are the largest and smallest, with all the rest falling in between. Coincidence or design?
So far, we have only discussed the building blocks that make up your body—living matter. As you are well aware, there is another type of matter—non-living. And this brings us to the next assumption in the theory of evolution: At some point in time, long ago, non-living—inorganic—matter made the jump to living matter—organic—thus starting the process of biological evolution.
A Breathing Rock?
Is it possible for a rock to come to life? Could a lump of coal produce a chicken? While such questions seem silly, this is in essence what the theory of evolution teaches. Evolution stands or falls on whether non-living matter can be transformed, through a series of random events, into organic—living—matter. This concept is called by many names and explained by many theories, but most of the time, it is referred to as “spontaneous generation,” “chemical evolution,” “abiogenesis” or “biopoiesis.”
(But even to evolutionists, the topic of life's origin remains a sticky one. Many even go so far as to assert that the origin of life is not related to the evolution of living matter.)
Renowned evolutionist Stephan Jay Gould stated: “Evolution is not the study of life's ultimate origin as a path toward discerning its deepest meaning. Evolution, in fact, is not the study of origins at all. Even the more restricted (and scientifically permissible) question of life's origin on our earth lies outside its domain...Evolution studies the pathways and mechanisms of organic change following the origin of life” (“Justice Scalia's Misunderstanding,” Natural History, October 1987).
But is this really the case? Is evolution only restricted to the study of organic—living—matter? Allow geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky to answer: “Evolution comprises all the states of development of the universe; the cosmic, biological, and human or cultural developments. Attempts to restrict the concept of evolution to biology are gratuitous. Life is a product of the evolution of inorganic matter, and man is a product of the evolution of life” (“Changing Man,” Science, January 1963).
While the argument put forth by Mr. Gould sounds logical, if we attempt to limit evolution to biology, one is being “gratuitous”—and perhaps deceitful. If evolutionists separate biological evolution from the origin of life, or even the origin of the universe, it opens a big and completely unanswered door: How did events cause the universe and then life, if evolution applies only to life? How can life evolve if it never existed? Evolution must completely encompass the whole process—from that beginning of the universe to the diversity of plant, animal and human life on earth today. No amount of scientific “spin” can change this.
Consider: Why would such a prominent evolutionist blur the facts and separate this popular theory from the matter of life's origins?
Unbreakable Laws
At the absolute heart of the origins of life debate lies a fundamental scientific law—the Law of Biogenesis. It states that life can only come from life, that is, only living matter produces living matter. Are you beginning to see the inherent problem with the theory of evolution?
This law is so fundamental that Simpson and Beck's biology textbook, Life: An Introduction to Biology states, “there is no serious doubt that biogenesis is the rule, that life comes only from other life, that a cell, the unit of life, is always and exclusively the product or offspring of another cell.”
Also, Martin A. Moe, a writer for Science Digest, recently wrote, “A century of sensational discoveries in the biological science has taught us that life arises only from life...” (“Genes on Ice,” December 1981).
Perhaps the most powerful statement is found as a footnote in Moore and Slusher's biology textbook: “Some scientists call this a superlaw, or a law about laws. Regardless of terminology, biogenesis has the highest rank in these levels of generalization” (Biology: A Search for Order in Complexity, 1974).
These are three conclusive and irrefutable statements about the force and power of this scientific law. How then did evolutionists seem to bypass this law when trying to prove evolution? Are you beginning to understand why they attempt to separate the origin of life from the evolutionary process?
Recently, there has been much ado about scientists being able to produce a synthetic version of the polio virus. Some would say that, at last, it appears that man has been able to produce life from non-living synthetic products. But is this true?
This is just smoke and mirrors as evolutionists freely admit that viruses of any kind are non-living organisms, because they must have a living host in order to reproduce. Not to mention that it took careful and deliberate design to produce even these!
So how do evolutionists explain life on earth?
A Land Far, Far Away!
We have seen that it is impossible for life to have formed from non-living matter. Even many evolutionists will admit this process is “wrapped in a mystery.” However, in an effort to propel a dying theory, they have had to change the focus of the argument: If biogenesis cannot happen on earth, then perhaps it could happen in space. Take note of the divergence from standard science in this postulate. Generally, when a theory is disproven (spontaneous generation), it is dispelled and another hypothesis is put forward. But in this case, a new hypothesis is created because of the lack of evidence to support the old ones! And such is the case with so many aspects of evolution—a theory made of straw!
This new theory states that the precursor chemicals for life came from space. Astonishingly, this theory is gaining popularity in the scientific community. For such a theory to be valid, not only would these chemicals or simple amino acids have to be able to endure space travel, they would also have to be able to survive entry into the earth's atmosphere!
A fact that is seldom mentioned in such discussions is that simple forms of life, as well as all living matter, are highly unstable. You see this all around you. Plants, animals and people die and decompose, while rocks and minerals last for millennia.
So, these highly unstable, simple forms of life would have to survive being ejected from a far away planet, travel through space (all while being bombarded by high levels of deadly cosmic radiation), withstand the extreme heat of penetrating the earth's atmosphere and finally survive the intense surface impact. How ridiculous! One does not need a degree in science to see how far-fetched such a theory is—yet, incredibly, it is discussed as a possibility!
This whole hypothesis is nothing more than side-stepping the original issue. This is called a “bait and switch.” Instead of addressing the Law of Biogenesis, which they cannot get around, evolutionists attempt to appeal to the great unknown of space as the answer (bait), thus avoiding the original problem (switch).
Biogenesis is a UNIVERSAL law. Just as it applies on earth, so does it apply throughout the universe. Moving the problem to outer space does not make it disappear!
So what is the solution proposed by evolutionists who do admit to these issues? They simply apply the argument to future logical fallacy (as covered in Part One of this series). They claim it is going to take further advances in science to be able to figure out the cause for life on earth.
This answer is really a “non-answer.” Evolutionists avoid the question and give no real answer, because they have none. Meanwhile, evolution is taught as fact in schools. Such fallacies and lack of evidence are the reason why Dr. Louis Bounoure, Director of the Zoological Museum and Director of Research at the National Center of Scientific Research in France, stated that “Evolutionism is a fairy tale for grown-ups.”
Open or Closed—It Is Still Impossible
For the next assumption, we can use the game of “let's suppose.” Suppose that the previous assumption was not false, and that at some future time, we will discover the naturalistic method in which living matter came into existence.
Obviously, with the proof above, this is quite a supposition. But for the sake of argument, assume there was a time when only very simple organisms, such as amino acids, existed. We can even extend our game of “let's suppose” a few steps further and suppose that these amino acids had already formed into enzymes. Of course, we are being overly generous to evolution, but it will serve to prove a point.
Now we are ready to shatter this concept by once again bringing in the most fundamental and important law of science in existence today—the Law of Thermodynamics. Albert Einstein called this the premier law of all sciences. Sir Author Eddington stated that if “your theory is found to be against the Second Law of Thermodynamics, I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation” (The Nature of the Physical World).
These are very strong words from two world-renowned scientists. Other writers have noted that the more that you work with these laws, the more respect you gain for them. Obviously, the Laws of Thermodynamics are absolutely immutable.
While they were touched upon in Part Two of this series, we will cover them in much more detail here. Their importance to all disciplines of science is obvious from the quotes above. Therefore, to be true, evolution must fall within the constraints of Thermodynamics. Most applicable to this assumption, evolution must fall within the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Rewinding the Top?
Thermodynamics comes from two Greek words, therme, meaning “heat,” and dynamis, meaning “power.” In essence, thermodynamics is the study of “heat power.” The Second Law of Thermodynamics states three basic concepts: (1) Systems gravitate to the most probable (likely) state, (2) systems will gravitate to the most random state, and (3) systems will increase in entropy—the scientific term for “unusable energy.”
It is best explained by world-famous science writer and scientist Isaac Asimov: “Another way of stating the Second Law then is ‘The universe is constantly getting more disorderly!' Viewed that way we can see the Second Law all about us. We have to work hard to straighten a room, but left to itself it becomes a mess again very quickly and very easily. Even if we never enter it, it becomes dusty and musty. How difficult to maintain houses, and machinery, and our own bodies in perfect working order: How easy to let them deteriorate. In fact, all we have to do is nothing, and everything deteriorates, collapses, breaks down, wears out, all by itself—and that is what the Second Law is all about” (“In the Game of Energy and Thermodynamics You Can't Even Break Even,” Smithsonian Institute Journal, June 1970).
Perhaps you are already beginning to see where this law contradicts the theory of evolution.
But evolutionists have not given up yet! In an attempt to make the theory work, a debate between “open” and “closed” systems has arisen. The difference between the two is quite simple. In a closed system, there is no interference from an external source, so the Second Law applies without any complications. The system becomes more disordered over time strictly in line with the Second Law. On the other hand, it is argued that in an open system external sources of energy allow a product to have more sustained energy—or increase in useable energy.
In the case of evolution, it is stated that because our sun is supplying ample amounts of extra energy to the earth, this allows for systems to become more complex because they have the necessary energy to do so. And since the sun is winding down, the overall Laws of Thermodynamics in a closed system (the universe) are being met.
Basically, the extra energy from the sun supposedly allows evolution to take place on earth.
But is this true? As we have seen, clever arguments can sometimes be nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Energy Alone Doth Not Evolution Make
Can simply applying energy to a system allow it to move to a lower level of entropy? Is that all that is required for evolution to take place? There have been mathematical constructs to show how the Second Law of Thermodynamics does apply in an open system. Does evolution fall within these constructs?
While many evolutionists try to hide under the concept of an open system, there are some who do not. For instance, Charles J. Smith stated, “The thermodynamicist immediately clarifies the latter question by pointing out that the Second Law classically refers to isolated [closed] systems which exchange neither energy nor matter with the environment; biological systems are open and exchange both energy and matter. This explanation, however, is not completely satisfying, because it still leaves open the problem of how or why the ordering process has arisen (an apparent lowering of the entropy [an increase in useable energy]), and a number of scientists have wrestled with this issue. Bertalanffy called the relation between irreversible thermodynamics and information theory one of the most fundamental unsolved problems in biology” (“Problems with Entropy in Biology,” Biosystems, 1975).
As you can see, it was understood decades ago that there are “fundamental unsolved problems” with this concept. Yet, even recently published articles fall back on it.
Raw energy alone is not enough to lower entropy! In fact, for this to happen, multiple conditions must be met. Two are summarized in the following quote from renowned scientists George Gaylord Simpson and W.S. Beck's textbook Life: An Introduction to Biology, “But the simple expenditure of energy is not sufficient to develop and maintain order. A bull in a china shop performs work, but he neither creates nor maintains organization. The work needed is particular work; it must follow specifications; it requires information on how to proceed” (emphasis ours).
“Particular work” requires more than just raw energy. Of course, there must be energy, but that energy must be directed. It cannot simply be a “bull in a china shop.” Such uncontrolled, undirected energy will never build—it always destroys! This is exactly the reason you should not leave photographs in direct sunlight. Over time, this undirected, raw energy will destroy them.
There is still another condition that must be met for energy to be “useable.” There must be a mechanism to convert one type of energy into another for a specific application. Without fulfilling these conditions, you have nothing more than raw, unbridled energy that will do nothing but destroy.
There are natural examples of energy—sunlight in particular—channeled into useful work. The most remarkable—photosynthesis in plants—also serves as the best illustration. Photosynthesis, an energy conversion system, is the process in which plants convert sunlight into the usable energy needed to make plants grow. Because this process is biological, we are dealing with the Second Law of Thermodynamics in an open system. In such a case, raw energy is available in the form of sunlight. And because plants have DNA, there is a highly designed and detailed specification for this “particular work” to be carried out. All needed conditions are met and, in such a case, there is a lowering of entropy—an increase in usable energy.
There are also similar systems in our body—digestion, respiratory system, etc. Yet in all cases, the conditions described above are satisfied.
To perform specific work, there must be “information”—instructions—for the process to proceed, and a mechanism for those instructions to be carried out. As we have seen, this happens in the leaves of plants, as well as the systems in our bodies.
But you CANNOT perform the highly specific work of evolution by simply supplying energy from the sun and “hope for the best.” No matter the argument, no matter how intensely arms are waved, no one can circumvent these fundamental laws of science. They are immutable—and, as such, make evolution impossible!
Two More Pillars Fall
We have looked at two more of the false assumptions that make up the theory of evolution. The laws of science are SURE! They are absolute and have existed since the beginning of our universe. Evolution cannot account for the appearance of life on this, or any other planet. Dishonest, yet clever, arguments cannot sidestep the laws of biogenesis or thermodynamics.
As you are learning in this series, evolution is simple—simply preposterous!
By now, you should be able to clearly and effectively refute the foolish assertions made by evolutionists. More importantly, your slate has been cleaned, and false concepts have been unlearned. The true Source of all life and the universe in which you reside should now be crystal clear!
