Evidence of Spontaneous Generation? Not on Your Life!

by John Feakes

Headlines were made around the world 2 days ago claiming that scientists have at last created life in the laboratory.  Undoubtedly many in the evolutionist community will cite this as evidence that life got started on this planet without the need for intelligent design. This brief article is meant to throw some light on the whole matter and correct any such misapprehension.

What Really Happened

The technology behind the story is truly impressive. In short, scientists have successfully removed the DNA from a bacterium and replaced it with a brand new genetic code – a code designed by scientists via complicated computer technology.  The final DNA structure wound up being 1 million base pairs long (as compared to the human genome which contains about 3 billion base pairs).

Read the quotation from the msnbc news story carefully (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37256799/ns/technology_and_science-science):

“No machine can turn out a single piece of DNA anywhere close to that long, however. Instead, [the scientists] started with many relatively small pieces of DNA. Then the scientists transferred DNA pieces back and forth between a yeast cell and E. coli bacteria, turning the many short pieces into fewer but longer DNA segments.  Once the synthetic DNA segment reached the desired length the scientists injected it into a Mycoplasma bacterium that had had its own DNA removed earlier. Needless to say, the process of assembling such a lengthy piece of synthetic DNA was complicated.”

Several points need to be made. First, notice that DNA does not occur in nature apart from its being synthesized in living things. This is a huge obstacle that those who reject intelligent design must overcome.  Secondly, notice that even though small stretches of DNA can be synthesized with a machine (in other words, through intelligent design), even a machine can’t produce a molecule “anywhere close” to what the experiment ended up with. Third, in order to “grow” the molecule to its desired length, scientists had to employ both a yeast cell (an incredibly complex living organism) and E. Coli bacteria (more incredibly complex living organisms).  Nothing here suggests that what occurred genetically could possibly have taken place in the absence of already existing living organisms. Of course this is exactly what evolutionists must demonstrate if they want us to believe in the doctrine of spontaneous generation.

To summarize, recent headlines about life being created in the lab need serious qualification. Only God can create life. The scientists involved in these experiments only took fully functioning life forms, and had them influence stretches of genetic code that had to be intelligently designed. The technology may be impressive, but the whole thing falls infinitely short of dethroning God as the Ultimate Designer and Creator of life.

For more on this topic listen to the interview with molecular virologist Mark Williams by clicking here.