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***DISCLAIMER- PLEASE READ*** THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE DOES NOT HAVE A PH.D., NOR DOES HE OR SHE CLAIM OR PRETEND TO BE A PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIST WITH CREDENTIALS THAT WOULD MAKE HIM AN "EXPERT" IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH THE ARGUMENTS PRESENTED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ACCURATE TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, "REASONS FOR CHRIST" ASKS THAT YOU WOULD PLEASE NOT USE THIS ARTICLE AS A SOURCE IN ACADEMIC PAPERS. THIS IS FOR YOUR PROTECTION. ALTHOUGH WE BELIEVE OUR ARTICLES ARE CREDIBLE, ANY ARGUMENTS YOU MAKE IN AN ACADEMIC PAPER WOULD BE MUCH MORE POWERFUL IF YOU USED ARTICLES WRITTEN BY AUTHORS WITH PH.D.'S AS YOUR SOURCES . THE BIBLIOGRAPHY AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE SHOULD HELP YOU FIND SOME GOOD SOURCES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SOURCES AND WHERE WE FOUND THEM, PLEASE E-MAIL US AND WE WILL RESPOND.
Evolutionists teach that, given enough time, hydrogen will turn into a human. Just give it enough time, and life will slowly evolve into what we have today. However, they forget that in order for evolution to take its course, a very large number of "accidents" would have to happen, in the right order, and that these accidents would have to accidentally make conditions more conducive to evolution. Evolutionists assume that this series of accidents did indeed take place, without looking at the statistical probability of the accidents ever happening. If the statistics were to show evolution as an improbable mode of creating life on earth, then science's faith in evolution should be shaken.
So what are the chances of life starting from scratch, accidentally? We'll forget about primates and vertebrates for now, and concentrate on the "simplest" lifeform on earth. What are the chances of a simple, single-celled, photosynthetic organism forming by random chance?
In order for a living organism to exist, it needs proteins. Proteins are made up of smaller units called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids used to make proteins. DNA assists in protein formation by telling the cell which amino acids to put together in what order. It acts as a kind of foreman in the nucleus of a cell.
But wait! So you mean to tell me that in a normal cell, protein cannot exist without DNA? Right. If there is no DNA to tell the cell how to construct protein, no protein will be formed unless amino acids combine accidentally, in the right order. Since we are talking about the "first living cell" in our problem, we can assume that there would be no DNA to assist in protein formation. Therefore, the combining of amino acids to form protein is left to haphazard collisions between amino acids.
There is, however, a problem with assuming proteins formed through accident. You see, outside the comfort of a cell, the environment is not exactly conducive to protein formation. Amino acids do not last long in the environment, because they are destroyed by oxidation. Therefore, amino acids cannot join together where oxygen is present. (1) It is safe to assume that if there was a world three billion years ago, there was oxygen. Even evolutionary models state that the atmosphere was formed in the first billion years of the planet's history. So if one assumes the first amino acids formed in a "primordial soup", one must also assume that the soup was well hidden from oxygen.
Some scientists say they have proven that amino acids could combine to form proteins in the natural world. By making an assumption that the earth billions of years ago contained little oxygen (an assumption that is completely ludicrous), they can set up experiments in controlled, oxygen free laboratory environments. By blasting a mixture of chemicals with electricity (supposed to represent lightning), they have been able to create amino acids, and in some instances, four or five amino acids have joined together.
There's a couple of problems, though. First, in order for the amino acids to survive in even these controlled conditions, the acids would have to be moved to a freezer. Second, the amino acids could be split apart by future electrical charges, (so if amino acids were formed in nature by lightning strikes, they would most assuredly be split apart the next time lightning struck!) And finally, it is nothing to combine four or five amino acids. The typical protein contains several hundred amino acids. The odds of four amino acids joining are pretty good. The odds of several hundred amino acids joining, in the correct order, are terrible. Let me explain.
I am an avid bowler, not a great bowler, just an avid one. If I am a decent bowler, my odds of getting a strike in any one particular frame may be, say, one in three. If that is the case, then my odds of getting two consecutive strikes are one in nine (three times three). My odds of getting a "turkey", or three consecutive strikes, are one in twenty seven (three times three times three). Being an avid bowler, I get three consecutive strikes fairly often. Four straight is less frequent, and five straight hardly ever happens. That is because my odds of getting four or five straight are 1 in 81 and 1 in 243, respectively. The odds of me getting a perfect game, or 12 straight strikes, are 1 in 531,441. Needless to say, I've never rolled a perfect game.
The same statistical principles can be applied to protein formation. There are 20 different amino acids that can be used in protein formation. The odds of getting two amino acids to join in the correct order are 1 in 400 (20x20). Three in correct order- 1 in 8,000 (20x20x20) Four in correct order- 1 in 160,000 (20^4). The odds of getting 500 amino acids to join, in the correct order, are 1 in 10^600+. (2) Those aren't good odds. And that's just the odds of one protein molecule forming. Our simple sample cell would contain over 600 protein molecules! (1)
Even if the necessary protein could form, a great number of steps would have to accidently happen in order for the cell to survive. Consider the following:
 | The cell would need to "accidentallly" form a cell wall. (1) |
| The cell would need to "accidentally" figure out how to synthesize food. (1) |
| The cell would need to "accidentally" figure out a good metabolism. (1) |
| The cell would need to "accidentally" create chemical buffers and barriers to protect itself. (1) |
| And most importantly, the cell would have to "accidentally" learn how to reproduce itself. (1) |
All things considered, it doesn't seem likely that the first living
cell could arrive by accident. Only a Divine Creator could make a fully functional
and self-reproducing cell.
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