Assertive Atheist Moments Blog

I ran across Perry Marshall’s Website the other day.  Perry presents an Intelligent Design orientation to everything that he argues about and has a number of discussion areas open – with a large area dedicated to the proposition that since the pattern in DNA is a code, and that all codes find designed by intelligence, therefore, DNA is proof of Intelligent Design.  He challenges everyone to come up with just one example of a code brought about through natural, random occurrence to prove him wrong.

Yesterday, 8/18/9, I posted a response to Perry’s proposition and challenge – and I am waiting for his response. 

Hi Perry,

I certainly understand your fascination with DNA, this Nucleic acid being one of the two basic building blocks of life.  The Amino acids (the other building block), from the simplest structure of glycine (a molecule of five atoms of hydrogen, two atoms of carbon, two atoms of oxygen, and one atom of nitrogen), to the most complex of tryptophan (composed of twelve hydrogen, eleven carbon, two oxygen, and two nitrogen atoms) – along with the Nucleic acids – form the two dozen or so moderately complex molecules that comprise the basic ingredients of all life on Earth.

All current Earthly life is composed of cells – from the single-celled amoeba to the hundred trillion (10 to the power of 14) celled human – serving the basic function of applying energy within open and closed systems.  Thus, although on a Cosmic level, Entropy “rules” the Universe from an initial temperature of 10 to the power of 32 at 10 to the power of -43 seconds after the Big Bang (of some 13,700 Million years ago) to a current temperature of about 3 degrees Kelvin – Life on Earth resides within the Open System of our little Solar system.  One only needs to spend an entire summer day soaking up the rays of our Sun to appreciate the tremendous power of this energy source impacting an Open System over the past 4,500 Millions years of Earth’s existence.

Naturally, as soon as any discussion includes any element beyond hydrogen and helium, we are also dealing with the Cosmic events of not one, but countless numbers of Super Nova explosions creating all elements having more than two protons within the core of their atoms.  Only within the extreme temperatures of these Super Nova extravaganzas do we achieve the fusion of atoms in the range of Uranium 235 and 238 – with explosive distribution of these heavy element debris, floating within gigantic hundred light-year wide clouds from which young stars and solar systems gather their substance.

Of key importance here is the Cosmic evolution dynamic of applied energy on Macro and Micro levels.

After the Earth loses its initial atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, carbon, and other trace elements during the first 1,000 Million years of its existence (through “evaporation” from a rather hot Earth into space), the rapidly cooling Earth entraps the remainder of these elements under a crust of rock, explosively out-gassing the pressures through volcanoes, geysers, earthquakes, and the like – releasing vast amounts of gaseous water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ash and dust.  Further Earth cooling facilitates the liquidization of water vapor into the vast oceans upon the face of the Earth.

Some of the out-gassed carbon dioxide, in the presence of water, forms limestone.  Most of the out-gassed oxygen quickly reacts with hydrogen to form more water or mixes with minerals within the crust, forming oxides, such as rust or sand.  Breathable oxygen – and the all important protective ozone layer – form only after life, as plants, apply energy to the extraction of carbon from carbon dioxide through the process known as photosynthesis.

During the first 1,000 Million years of the existence of the Earth, the off-gassing of elements into the second atmosphere of the Earth results in the colliding, sticking, and reacting of gasses.  Combined with the application of energy from the Sun, radioactivity from radioactive elements within the earth, electromagnetic discharge of energy through lightning, and even sound wave propagation from thunder, breaking chemical bonds – complex gases, such as ammonia and methane, combine into a collection of free atoms and simple molecules.  These simple molecules slosh around within the primordial soup creating amino acids and nucleotide bases – in short, organic matter from inorganic substance.

However, prior to the combination of amino acids and nucleotide bases into actual proteins, water molecules must find removal from the ever-lengthening chains of organic matter.  There are three primary forces that facilitate the removal of water molecules – heat, cold, and catalytic interaction.  Heat, applied along shorelines and within shallow pools, tends to evaporate the water molecules.  Cold, in the form of freezing temperatures, forces water, as ice, to leave the primordial soup, concentrating the acids and bases into stronger bonds.  Many types of clay along shorelines form the catalytic frameworks for the fabrications of larger organic molecules.

This all happens prior to the formation of proteins and the nucleotide bases of adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T) found with the molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).  The fifth nucleotide base, uracil (U), does not reside within the DNA molecule; however, these five nucleotide bases are to the nucleic acids as the twenty amino acids are to the proteins.  The Big Twenty-five, so to speak, are the building blocks of life on Earth.

Again, all nucleic acids and proteins are long chain-like arrangements of carbon-rich molecules.  Moreover, carbon finds creation through the Cosmic evolution of exploding Super Nova – forging the necessary heat for the fusion of carbon from hydrogen and helium.  Thus, it is impossible ever to talk about organic carbon-based organic Life without including a discussion of inorganic Cosmic evolution.  In short – Darwin falls short of placing the Evolution of Life within the larger context of Cosmic Evolution.

Thus, Perry, in answer to your question about the so-called “Code of DNA” – the Cosmic Evolution of matter from inorganic matter to organic matter – creates a natural, non-directed, random-event occurring Code, known as DNA!  This answers your question of having someone point out just one, naturally occurring code.  I provide the answer that you seek.  By the by, I am an Atheist.

Bob Allen

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 12:37 pm and is filed under So-called Intelligent Design - Same Old Creationism!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.