Life in the Lab

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in astronomy and related areas of science. This has led to my curiosity about life's origin-- how did it all get started here on planet Earth? Growing up in the Christian church, I heard the story of God's creation. Then along came college. Now all I heard was the evolutionary model, based on the assumption that life was pretty simple to get started. All you needed were the right chemicals and a spark to set it all off. But thanks to Hugh Ross and his organization Reasons to Believe, we now know the real story.

Hugh and Fuz Rana have written extensively about the frustration of origin-of-life researchers over the last few decades. Knowledge about life's intricate complexities has grown to the point where naturalistic explanations seem pretty desperate. International researchers gather at origin-of-life events, tear down each other's theories, and leave more confused than before.

But the problem for theists is simple -- we haven't been able to get the true message out to enough people. Most still believe life came from primordial soup that was zapped by a bolt of lightning. They don't realize what recent advances have done to this picture--naturalistic theories simply don't match the current scientific understanding of the early earth and the intricacies of the "simple" cell.

Dr. Rana has just released a brand-new book that should help clear up some of this confusion. It's called Creating Life in the Lab. In this book he describes what researchers have investigated and discovered as they have attempted to assemble constituent parts of what we call life. He tells of synthetic biology, the most recent frontier in life sciences, which holds out both dangers and promises.

I'm planning to get a copy and read this book. I hope you will consider doing the same. You can go to Reasons to Believe's web site (reasons.org) to order the book. As some of you know, Dr. Rana came to our church a couple of years ago to describe the incredible complexity of the cell. I'm sure he will bring the same insights and clarity to his new topic.

The "Big Bang" is misunderstood

This is a shorter blog than usual, but it's on an interesting topic. We hear a lot about the Big Bang in cosmology. It was a term applied sarcastically when it was initially brought out as an explanation for the beginning of the universe. But now scientists are satisfied that it is the true description of what happened at the very beginning--the universe expanded from a single point into the vast array of stars, planets, dust, and dark matter that we encounter today. This concept is widely misunderstood, and Hugh Ross (head of Reasons to Believe) wrote a short piece that clarifies what the Big Bang really means.

When we think of an explosion, we picture an uncontrolled event with pieces being driven in random directions out to random distances. Think of a grenade going off or a stick of dynamite exploding. But this isn't the case with the start of the universe. Its expansion is neither random nor chaotic.

In fact, the Big Bang was precise and fine-tuned in such a way as to bring life into existence. As an example, the rate of expansion had to be exactly right. If it had been slightly slower, all matter would have collapsed back together so that no stars or planets would have formed. If the explosion had been any faster, all would have flown apart, resulting in no stars or planets sticking together.

Ross says there are two physical factors that control this cosmic expansion, and they illustrate the precision of the initial explosion. These two factors are the mass density and dark energy density. If you want more info on this part of his explanation, take a look at his books or go to his web site (reasons.org).

Ross claims that the Bible has described all the key principles of big bang cosmology in its pages. He can show you various passages that refer to the beginning of matter/energy/space/time, ongoing cosmic expansion, and the constancy of physical laws. Again, you can check these points for yourself by reading some of his provocative books or looking at items on his web site.

The Big Bang is not a threat to our faith in an intelligent designer as some would suggest. It acts as confirmation of the existence of a creator God who fashioned a universe in which humans could exist and ponder how they got there. I highly recommend Ross and his organization. Let me know if you'd like some good books to start with in this area.

A website and radio show worth checking out

Sharon told me about a website I should investigate, so I took a look at inthepublicsquare.com a few weeks ago. Wow, I really enjoyed it.

It’s the website for a talk-radio program that is broadcast on a station we can’t get here in southern California at a time I refuse to be awake for (12-2 a.m.). Here’s the good news—you can download previous programs. There’s no password required, no registration, and no charge to use this although there is a pitch to help out financially if you want to.

Who’s involved? The host is John Snyder, formerly of Apologetics.com on KKLA in SoCal. He’s a Civil War buff and holds a Juris Doctor from Trinity Law School as well as a graduate with certificate from the Strasbourg Institute of International Law. He has others with him: Alexandra Berauer (former Executive Director of a Pregnancy Care Center in Southern California, a member the California Bar, and a bioethicist with the Center for Bioethics & Culture on issues of human egg trafficking), Christopher Neiswonger (holder of a Master's Degree in Public Policy, a Juris Doctor in Law, and a student of International Human Rights with his primary focus on how Christian thought affects the nature of civil government and culture), Stephen Nemo (artist, writer, and commentator on culture/politics), David Llewellyn (a legal activist and Constitutional law scholar, Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence located at Chapman University, and former Professor of English). That’s a good cast with strengths in a lot of areas that are of interest to discerning Christians today.

What’s the purpose of Snyder’s show and website? Let him explain in his own words:

In the Public Square exists to provide an intelligent and genial forum for the discussion of important issues in contemporary life from a Christian perspective:
In the Public Square is dedicated to reintegrating Christian ideas into issues of culture, politics, art, history, science, life issues and philosophy.
In the Public Square is dedicated to rehabilitating the image of the Christian mind and showing that Christianity has explanatory power.
In the Public Square invites people with differences to grapple with each other's ideas and opinions. It is a place to refine thoughts in good faith discussion— always with the aim of developing a better understanding of the world of visible and invisible things—always with the purpose of seeking and being shaped by the Truth.


I’ve listened to ten of his shows. What sorts of things has he covered? Well, it’s been wide ranging, including discussions of stem cell research, Civil War battles, the existence of the universe as evidence of a Designer (a great interview with Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe), the culture war in America, animal/human hybrid research, the space program, and weaknesses in the politics of both the right and the left. You can see there’s something for almost everyone.


The show is conducted with reason, wit, fairness, and intelligence. So, if you’re tired of Michael Savage and others who exist to rile you up, give this show a try.