Creation: Biblical and Other Theories

Living Stardust

To complete God’s masterpiece, the Biblical account states that God created vegetation and living creatures according to their kinds: birds, fish, livestock, creatures that move on the ground, wild animals, and man. Biblical authors were not seasoned biologists or geneticists and obviously did not possess an understanding of microbial organisms, amino acids, proteins, elements, atoms, molecules, cells, chromosomes, genes, DNA, and RNA. They explained the beginnings of life in terms that made sense to them at the time.

Planet Earth is speculated to be 4.5 billion years old. Astrobiologists and cosmologists generally agree that after the birth and expansion of the universe, the forces of nature got to work. The Earth’s atmosphere was swimming with hydrogen and helium. Eventually, energy transformed into stable, sub-atomic particles of matter that clumped together to form stars, planets, and galaxies. Volcanic activity produced carbon dioxide, ammonia, and other gases. Nitrogen was released into the atmosphere as sunlight interacted with ammonia molecules. Water vapor began to settle on the planet and fill low-lying areas. Oceans, rivers, and lakes were ready to welcome living critters.

Many scientists believe that inorganic materials collected near geothermal, hot springs or other sources of heat and water; then, began to spawn amino acids. Others believe these substances could have massed together in clay sediments along shorelines. Still others stick to the story that amino acids were delivered by meteors or comets.

Whichever way it happened, lab experiments have confirmed that zapping a mixture of methane, ammonia, water, and hydrogen with an electric charge will initiate the formation of amino acids. Tha...

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... theory to evolve a bit. Mapping of genetic information, which was unknown in Darwin’s time, has confirmed that genetic mutations passed down from generation to generation are the driving force behind evolution. The shared genetic information between different species also proves those species shared a common ancestor. DNA sequencing has sealed the deal on how life forms progressed and diverse species emerged. However, evolution does not answer how life began. What caused the spark of life that changed inorganic molecules into living organisms?

Scientists are fallible; they are human and, although they are sticklers when it comes to evidence, they may at times ignore minor discrepancies in a theory or make assumptions where they should not to prove a concept. However, when it comes to the total evolutionary process, a few questions have been justifiably raised.