Every living cell contains something called DNA. The discovery made by two men in 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick, marked an astounding milestone in the history of science and became the impetus for modern molecular biology. The study of DNA is done in the field of genetics and ultimately investigates the 100 trillion cells in the human body. Scientists estimate there are around 200 distinct cell types, which can look different and carry out diverse functions within the body. DNA provides the genetic information necessary for the body to create the proteins that maintain and replace tissues, which allows functionality and growth.
DNA has a double helix construction, similar to a spiral staircase. Each strand of DNA is about six feet long and fits into every cell through coiling and folding. The two complementary strands, a sugar-phosphate backbone, are linked together by hydrogen bonds between the nitrogen bases. These stairs are called base pairs and are a combination of four compounds. The base pairs store information in code form. There are some three billion base pairs in each strand of DNA. Such numbers are staggering and difficult to comprehend.
Approaching scientific study from an objective viewpoint, one must concede how scientists might conclude that evolution could be a unifying approach to understanding the relationship of organisms. The analysis of DNA could seem to support Darwin’s suggestion of lineage from common ancestry. By comparing the genomes of many different organisms, it is feasible to see the concept of a common ancestor. What evolution cannot answer, though, is the programming that drives the physical apparatus.
Christians contend that genetic commonality is due to a universal designer. This is a fundamental difference with evolutionary thinking. An art expert is capable of identifying a particular artist based on color palette, brush strokes, canvas, content, and other specific features. These aspects identify the person responsible for the workmanship. The same principle holds true in literature, craft, music, culture, cuisine, and much more.
The four compounds, Cytosine, Adenine, Thymine, and Guanine, have a particular sequencing order. Abbreviated as the letters A, T, G, and C, these compounds are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT, and the like. How they are organized instructs cellular behavior. Researchers have determined that 99.9% of an individual’s DNA is similar to everyone else’s genetic makeup (a reason why evolutionists argue Darwin’s theory). The uniqueness of each person is the result of a fractional difference. Less than one-tenth of one percent of the three billion letters found sequenced in cells are responsible for this individuality. DNA contains the biological instructions that make each species unique and each individual within a species exclusive.
DNA in cells is comparable to a complex computer program. It would be one thing to build a computer using plastic, metal, and silicon – but that provides no information about the software that makes the computer operational. A computer program is comprised of a series consisting of ones and zeros, which is called binary code. Sequencing and ordering ones and zeros make the computer program work properly. Every aspect of computer programming comes from intent. Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. There is no program without a programmer. Someone programmed DNA – that is the only logical conclusion to be derived from the evidence. It is complex programming.
Using natural and biological causes as the exclusive means to DNA is deficient as an explanation when programmed information is involved. It is only possible to find these types of directions, specific data of this nature, with someone deliberately constructing it. This implies intelligence. DNA is not merely chemicals. These compounds instruct code in a highly comprehensive way, telling exactly how the person's body should function.
A British philosopher named Dr. Antony Flew, a foremost representative of atheism, was actively involved in debates arguing the theory of evolution. However, scientific discoveries within the past three decades brought him a change of mind and heart. After objective examinations of the newly acquired evidence, he arrived at an unavoidable conclusion. In a video interview in December 2004, Dr. Flew stated, "Super-intelligence is the only good explanation for the origin of life and the complexity of nature."
Why is the discovery of DNA so significant? It provides continued proof of the existence of God. According to the Bible, God is the originator of all life forms. Scripture also presents Him functioning as the sustainer of those things. And, it is His relationship with humanity that makes existence meaningful. On
June 26, 2000, President Bill Clinton congratulated those who completed the human genome sequencing. President Clinton said, "Today, we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift." How right he was.
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