Proof Of God – The Protein

How did life begin?

The Origin Of Life And The Lowly Protein

How did life begin?  We really have no idea and no scientific explanation comes even close.  The typical response is: “Well, it happened by trial and error over billions and billions of years.”  Or “life was created from a combination of primordial matter plus energy like lightening or some such.”  Okay, but how?  What combination?  Some even speculate “life came to us from some other place in space carried on a meteorite”.  This answers nothing.  If life came to us from elsewhere, how was it created there in the first place?  To date, despite the best efforts of leading scientists, we have not been able to create life from inanimate matter.

You might say “Okay, so what?  We just haven’t found the answer yet.” Right?  Well, not so fast.  Consider this…

Life From Primordial Ooze?

To answer the question, “How did life begin?”, some will say, “I recall reading about some experiment that used primordial gases and lightening to create life”.  This refers to the Miller-Urey experiment performed in 1952 with ammonia, methane, water and hydrogen.

• Many refinements have been made since the original experiment
• Bottom line: the Miller-Urey and subsequent experiments have produced a bunch of amino acids – the “building blocks of life”

Here’s the gist of that experiment and enhancements – from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller%E2%80%93Urey_experiment and here’s an article on recent findings in space suggesting that amino acids are created naturally: http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2013/newchem.   Feel free to check out other sources.

But there’s a problem.  The fact that amino acids are created naturally doesn’t really help answer the question “How did life begin?”  Amino acids are a building block, for sure, but as we’ll see below, the rest of the story is much more complicated.

By the way, if you’re interested in a detailed explanation about the issues associated with the primordial ooze hypothesis, check this out: https://evolutionnews.org/2012/12/top_five_probl/

Proteins: The Key Component Of Every Cell

Let’s assume it’s a given that amino acids occur naturally and instead look at the more important component of the cell: the protein.

BLUF: the complexity of proteins, made up of amino acids, is almost unimaginable yet they represent the key components of each cell.  AND, each cell contains thousands of different proteins.

• Cells, the most basic element of life, are mostly composed of a bunch of molecules: sugars, lipids, nucleic acids (like DNA & RNA) and proteins.  We won’t talk about sugars, lipids or nucleic acids here
• Proteins, the cell’s key components, direct nearly all activity of the cell
• Each cell contains several thousand different proteins that perform a wide variety of functions.  Some create the cell structure itself, some fight infections, some enable key chemical reactions, etc. etc.
• Each protein is made up of a long combinations of 20 different amino acids
• Each protein has between 50 and 800 amino acids with a rough average between 250 and 375 amino acids
• Proteins aren’t just composed of long strings of amino acids but are also “folded” into various 3 dimensional shapes
  • Think of a wadded up piece of string or wire
• Amino acids within a protein interact with each other in their 3 dimensional wad so how they’re wadded is very important in determining how the protein will function
• The protein’s function is determined by: which amino acids are included, the number of those amino acids, how they are combined one to another and then how they are folded together.

This is the important point: the complexity of proteins is almost unimaginable yet they represent the key components of each cell.  AND, each cell contains thousands of different proteins.

Here’s a more complete explanation of this cellular biology if you’d like to read an overview of the rest of the story: Cellular Biology And The Origin Of Life

What Are The Odds?

As cited above, cells contain proteins and proteins are made of amino acids folded into particular 3 dimensional structures so that the amino acids can interact with each other.

Putting aside more biology details, Douglas Axe of Cambridge University and author of Undeniable calculated that the odds of creating a single functional protein purely by chance is 1 in 10¹⁶⁴.

Watch this excellent short video for an explanation in layman’s terms:

For extra credit and a supplemental explanation, check out this article: https://www.str.org/blog/building-a-protein-by-chance#.WUQrsty1u01

Cool Video For Perspective

For we mere mortals who can’t fully comprehend what it means when the probability of creating just one protein by pure chance is 1 in 10¹⁶⁴, watch this very cool video from Illustra Media.  It’ll help put this in perspective:

Proof of God – Answering “How Did Life Begin?”

Clearly, just this first example found in the world of molecular biology is sufficient to prove that life was created on purpose, not by chance.  God is the only possible being with the power to execute such a purpose.  Those who argue the viability of life beginning on other planets or that the existence of extremophiles increases the opportunity for more primoridal ooze arguments miss the fundamental point: Life was created on purpose, not by random chance.  Even Antony Flew, once a renowned atheist, found God and documented his recantation of atheism in “There Is A God” when confronted with these facts.

Read More…

• Next in the Proof of God – Part 1 series:  Monkeys Typing Shakespeare And The Origin Of Life.
  • This article debunks the commonly held notion that a bunch of monkeys can eventually create a Shakespeare play

• Move to Proof of God – Part 2:  Proof of God – The Cell.
  • This article discusses more amazing proof for the existence of God found in our cells

Other Next Steps

Consider one of these options:

1. If you’re Jewish, Muslim or Christian, take a moment and say a prayer.  Thank God for the awesome world we live in and for each blessing of your life.
2. If you’ve been skeptical about God but are ready to consider following Him then just stop here for a few minutes, close out the distractions of life and, if needed, find a place where you can be at peace.  Ask God to enter your life and your heart.  Ask for forgiveness for the things you do that are bad.  Thank Him for each of the blessings in your life and for the amazing world that surrounds you.  And ask Him to help you live the life that fits His plan for you.