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Another huge hole in the theory of evolution is the fact that evolution has no explanation for the coded information that is present in all living organisms. Without the coded information present in the DNA of every living thing, life simply would not be possible. But the naturalistic processes of evolution have no observed ability to create that coded information.
Now the genome of every organism contains all the instructions for manufacturing the molecular machinery it uses for building itself up, for repairing damage, for managing waste, and for maintaining all the chemical processes that are essential for its existence. In addition, it also contains all the information for reproducing the organism, which, all on its own, is an achievement that mankind has not been able to match in any machine we have ever built. A simple cell is more complex than any machine, or factory, or complex of factories ever created by man.
In the human genome there are step-by-step instructions for building an organism that begins as just a single cell and ends up as a functioning machine with an estimated 50 trillion integrated and interdependent cells. Here’s a puzzle: how do you store step-by-step instructions for creating a machine with 50 trillion integrated parts using only the 3 billion base pairs of the human genome? Even if it were possible for each base pair to be an instruction in itself you wouldn’t come even remotely close to being able to do it. It’s obvious that the human genome must use data compression techniques that are far beyond anything that humanity can even dream of matching. Or else there are other sources in the cell for those step-by-step instructions, which we aren’t even aware of yet. Up to now mankind has managed to develop a fair understanding of how genes are used to manufacture the proteins that do the constructive work in the cell, but so far we really don’t have a clue how the control programs that build an organism work. The control programs that are present in a fertilized egg of a human describe what the physical structure of the human body will be, and how cells will differentiate into the various organs of the body and in what order they will do it, and how all the completed organs will communicate with each other in order to maintain the body in equilibrium. We are only just beginning the process of understanding how those control programs are stored and executed. It’s obvious that we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface in our understanding of the human genome.
So it is self-evident that information, at an extremely high level of complexity, is absolutely essential for life to exist at all. Now here’s the big problem for evolution – evolution is completely dependent on only naturalistic processes of matter and energy to evolve everything in the living world we inhabit, and yet coded information is not made up of either matter or energy. Coded information is a third fundamental property of the universe that is completely separate from both matter and energy. It is possible for coded information to be inscribed upon matter, as in the printed words of a book, or it can be inscribed upon energy, as in modulated radio waves, but coded information itself is a non-material entity that is the result of a cognitive mental process.
Since coded information is a non-material entity, the production of new information is not subject to any of the laws of science. There is no law of science known that will cause matter or energy to give rise to coded information. What observable science actually shows is that the production of new coded information is only subject to the will of an intellect. In order for new coded information to appear, an intelligent agent must consciously choose to create that information, or else that intelligence must consciously design and create a machine that can be programmed to produce new coded information. But the naturalistic laws of matter and energy do not initiate or control that conscious mental process.
To illustrate the non-material nature of information, suppose you had two books: one book filled with random characters and one book filled with the works of Shakespeare. There isn’t any scientific test or measurement that you could perform on either of the books that would tell you which book contained information and which book contained random junk. The only way to determine which book contained information would be to have a human intelligence, who understands the English language, read both books and tell you which book contained Shakespeare’s writings. Only an intelligent mind can ultimately create coded information and only an intelligent mind, or a machine created by an intellect, can recognize and interpret coded information. The processes of materialistic naturalism are completely incapable of producing coded information. In the entire history of science no process of matter and no process of energy has ever been observed to spontaneously create coded information. The only thing known to science that can create coded information is an intelligent mind.
So the theory of evolution really has no explanation at all for the information that is inherent to life. But I’m sure that some evolutionist may respond by bringing up the well-known analogy of the group of monkeys randomly typing away at a bank of typewriters. The evolutionist might say, “Just give the monkeys enough time and even though those monkeys are only typing random characters they will still end up creating the entire works of Shakespeare just by chance. All you have to do is give random physical processes lots and lots of available time and then those processes could spontaneously create information without any intelligent intervention.â€Â
Unfortunately for the evolutionist, the typing monkey illustration is fatally flawed. The flaw is in the fact that the evolutionist is assuming that a coding system would already be in place to store the information, namely, the English language. It is impossible to store or transmit information without a coding system already in place. And both the sender and the receiver of the information must have previously agreed on the details and structure of the code. Without the coding system of the English language already in place it would be impossible for the monkeys to type any meaningful information. Just imagine what would happen if the typewriters that the monkeys were using could only type out Arabic characters. Then it wouldn’t matter how many trillions of years the monkeys typed away, they would never create any information that was understandable to someone who only knew the English language. Without an agreed upon coding system there can be no information stored. The big problem for evolutionists is that materialistic naturalism has the same problem with coding systems as it has with information. There is no known naturalistic process that has ever been observed to spontaneously create a coding system. The only thing known to science that can create a coding system is an intelligent mind.
Now I’m sure we all know that the genome of every living organism contains a coding system along with huge amounts of information stored within that coding system. Every cell is actually an intricate factory that continuously runs under automatic control. Living cells are examples of an information system containing a non-intelligent sender and a non-intelligent receiver. This type of information system requires the greatest amount of intelligence from the agent who designed the system. The control systems of the cell must contain all the programs necessary for dealing with every eventuality the cell will encounter during its lifespan. Systems must be in place to provide all the resources of matter and energy that the cell will ever require. The cell must know how to maintain itself in equilibrium while the organism is healthy. It must know how to react when the organism is dehydrated or starved. It must know how to react when the organism is attacked by disease. It must know how to interact with other cells within an organ and with other organs in the body. It must know how to reproduce itself. It must even know when to give up its life for the greater good of the organism. When a cell is no longer needed it goes through a process of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. During this process the cell first shrinks and then fragments into smaller membrane bound bodies that are then recycled for other uses. Apoptosis is essential to the development of the embryo and the differentiation of its tissues. Without the process of programmed cell death all multi-cellular life would be impossible.
So there is no way for functional living organisms to exist without access to volumes of information that have been provided in advance by their designer. So where did the coding system and all that stored information come from? Can you believe that materialistic naturalism was the designer behind this system? Materialistic processes have no observed ability whatsoever of creating non-material entities like coding systems or meaningful information within those coding systems.
In his book, In the Beginning was Information, Werner Gitt presents several universal laws that apply to coded information. And these laws apply 100 per cent of the time. There has never been an observed exception to these laws of information. Here they are:
1) Information cannot be set up, stored, or transmitted without using a code.
2) A code is always the result of a free and deliberate convention. It is a uniquely defined set of symbols that has been agreed upon by both sender and receiver.
3) There can be no information without a sender.
4) Any given chain of coded information points to a mental source.
5) Coded information cannot exist without having been established voluntarily by a free will.
6) All coded information involves five hierarchical levels: statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics.
Statistics – a fixed, agreed upon character set
Syntax – a pre-agreed grammar and word structure
Semantics – the message must have meaning. It conveys an idea from the sender
Pragmatics – the message causes the recipient to stimulate, initialize or implement some action
Apobetics – the sender intends a result to be achieved in, or by the recipient
7) Coded information can never originate in statistical processes. For example, a computer program designed to construct sentences using a dictionary and English grammar would never produce true information. Every true message sent by a sender will always convey some meaning to the receiver. The sender always intends that his message will achieve some result. But the computer program would never be able to add meaning to a message.
So in the end here are several things we can conclude with as much certainty as all the observable, repeatable, and testable evidence of science provides:
1) We know that no living organism can exist without the presence of encyclopedic volumes of coded information in its genome.
2) We know that no naturalistic process of matter or energy has ever been observed to spontaneously create coded information.
3) We know that the only thing observed by science that can spontaneously create coded information is an intelligent mind.
4) From the information laws above we can conclude that the information of life originated from a mental source, an intelligent Sender who consciously chose to create that information in order to produce His intended result – the creation of functional living organisms.
5) We can also conclude that the statistical processes of trial and error, which is all that evolution has available to it, would never be able to produce the coded information in the genome of the first cell.
Based on these observations, creationists can feel fully justified in believing that all the information in living organisms came from the mind of God. The laws of coded information give full support to the creation model.
Of course, evolutionists can still choose to believe that naturalism brought about the information of life. But they can’t claim that that belief is based on observable science. Their only option is to believe by faith that materialistic naturalism is capable of producing the coded information present in every living thing. In Hebrews 11:1, the Bible says that faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seenâ€Â. This certainly applies to the position that evolutionists find themselves in. They hope with all their hearts that naturalistic processes can spontaneously create life from non-living chemicals, and then design the coded information within that life which is essential for the reproduction and maintenance of all living organisms. They must hope in spite of the observable and testable evidence against their belief system. That hope, that faith, is the only evidence they can hold on to when they choose to believe that naturalism brought about life.
Now the genome of every organism contains all the instructions for manufacturing the molecular machinery it uses for building itself up, for repairing damage, for managing waste, and for maintaining all the chemical processes that are essential for its existence. In addition, it also contains all the information for reproducing the organism, which, all on its own, is an achievement that mankind has not been able to match in any machine we have ever built. A simple cell is more complex than any machine, or factory, or complex of factories ever created by man.
In the human genome there are step-by-step instructions for building an organism that begins as just a single cell and ends up as a functioning machine with an estimated 50 trillion integrated and interdependent cells. Here’s a puzzle: how do you store step-by-step instructions for creating a machine with 50 trillion integrated parts using only the 3 billion base pairs of the human genome? Even if it were possible for each base pair to be an instruction in itself you wouldn’t come even remotely close to being able to do it. It’s obvious that the human genome must use data compression techniques that are far beyond anything that humanity can even dream of matching. Or else there are other sources in the cell for those step-by-step instructions, which we aren’t even aware of yet. Up to now mankind has managed to develop a fair understanding of how genes are used to manufacture the proteins that do the constructive work in the cell, but so far we really don’t have a clue how the control programs that build an organism work. The control programs that are present in a fertilized egg of a human describe what the physical structure of the human body will be, and how cells will differentiate into the various organs of the body and in what order they will do it, and how all the completed organs will communicate with each other in order to maintain the body in equilibrium. We are only just beginning the process of understanding how those control programs are stored and executed. It’s obvious that we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface in our understanding of the human genome.
So it is self-evident that information, at an extremely high level of complexity, is absolutely essential for life to exist at all. Now here’s the big problem for evolution – evolution is completely dependent on only naturalistic processes of matter and energy to evolve everything in the living world we inhabit, and yet coded information is not made up of either matter or energy. Coded information is a third fundamental property of the universe that is completely separate from both matter and energy. It is possible for coded information to be inscribed upon matter, as in the printed words of a book, or it can be inscribed upon energy, as in modulated radio waves, but coded information itself is a non-material entity that is the result of a cognitive mental process.
Since coded information is a non-material entity, the production of new information is not subject to any of the laws of science. There is no law of science known that will cause matter or energy to give rise to coded information. What observable science actually shows is that the production of new coded information is only subject to the will of an intellect. In order for new coded information to appear, an intelligent agent must consciously choose to create that information, or else that intelligence must consciously design and create a machine that can be programmed to produce new coded information. But the naturalistic laws of matter and energy do not initiate or control that conscious mental process.
To illustrate the non-material nature of information, suppose you had two books: one book filled with random characters and one book filled with the works of Shakespeare. There isn’t any scientific test or measurement that you could perform on either of the books that would tell you which book contained information and which book contained random junk. The only way to determine which book contained information would be to have a human intelligence, who understands the English language, read both books and tell you which book contained Shakespeare’s writings. Only an intelligent mind can ultimately create coded information and only an intelligent mind, or a machine created by an intellect, can recognize and interpret coded information. The processes of materialistic naturalism are completely incapable of producing coded information. In the entire history of science no process of matter and no process of energy has ever been observed to spontaneously create coded information. The only thing known to science that can create coded information is an intelligent mind.
So the theory of evolution really has no explanation at all for the information that is inherent to life. But I’m sure that some evolutionist may respond by bringing up the well-known analogy of the group of monkeys randomly typing away at a bank of typewriters. The evolutionist might say, “Just give the monkeys enough time and even though those monkeys are only typing random characters they will still end up creating the entire works of Shakespeare just by chance. All you have to do is give random physical processes lots and lots of available time and then those processes could spontaneously create information without any intelligent intervention.â€Â
Unfortunately for the evolutionist, the typing monkey illustration is fatally flawed. The flaw is in the fact that the evolutionist is assuming that a coding system would already be in place to store the information, namely, the English language. It is impossible to store or transmit information without a coding system already in place. And both the sender and the receiver of the information must have previously agreed on the details and structure of the code. Without the coding system of the English language already in place it would be impossible for the monkeys to type any meaningful information. Just imagine what would happen if the typewriters that the monkeys were using could only type out Arabic characters. Then it wouldn’t matter how many trillions of years the monkeys typed away, they would never create any information that was understandable to someone who only knew the English language. Without an agreed upon coding system there can be no information stored. The big problem for evolutionists is that materialistic naturalism has the same problem with coding systems as it has with information. There is no known naturalistic process that has ever been observed to spontaneously create a coding system. The only thing known to science that can create a coding system is an intelligent mind.
Now I’m sure we all know that the genome of every living organism contains a coding system along with huge amounts of information stored within that coding system. Every cell is actually an intricate factory that continuously runs under automatic control. Living cells are examples of an information system containing a non-intelligent sender and a non-intelligent receiver. This type of information system requires the greatest amount of intelligence from the agent who designed the system. The control systems of the cell must contain all the programs necessary for dealing with every eventuality the cell will encounter during its lifespan. Systems must be in place to provide all the resources of matter and energy that the cell will ever require. The cell must know how to maintain itself in equilibrium while the organism is healthy. It must know how to react when the organism is dehydrated or starved. It must know how to react when the organism is attacked by disease. It must know how to interact with other cells within an organ and with other organs in the body. It must know how to reproduce itself. It must even know when to give up its life for the greater good of the organism. When a cell is no longer needed it goes through a process of programmed cell death known as apoptosis. During this process the cell first shrinks and then fragments into smaller membrane bound bodies that are then recycled for other uses. Apoptosis is essential to the development of the embryo and the differentiation of its tissues. Without the process of programmed cell death all multi-cellular life would be impossible.
So there is no way for functional living organisms to exist without access to volumes of information that have been provided in advance by their designer. So where did the coding system and all that stored information come from? Can you believe that materialistic naturalism was the designer behind this system? Materialistic processes have no observed ability whatsoever of creating non-material entities like coding systems or meaningful information within those coding systems.
In his book, In the Beginning was Information, Werner Gitt presents several universal laws that apply to coded information. And these laws apply 100 per cent of the time. There has never been an observed exception to these laws of information. Here they are:
1) Information cannot be set up, stored, or transmitted without using a code.
2) A code is always the result of a free and deliberate convention. It is a uniquely defined set of symbols that has been agreed upon by both sender and receiver.
3) There can be no information without a sender.
4) Any given chain of coded information points to a mental source.
5) Coded information cannot exist without having been established voluntarily by a free will.
6) All coded information involves five hierarchical levels: statistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and apobetics.
Statistics – a fixed, agreed upon character set
Syntax – a pre-agreed grammar and word structure
Semantics – the message must have meaning. It conveys an idea from the sender
Pragmatics – the message causes the recipient to stimulate, initialize or implement some action
Apobetics – the sender intends a result to be achieved in, or by the recipient
7) Coded information can never originate in statistical processes. For example, a computer program designed to construct sentences using a dictionary and English grammar would never produce true information. Every true message sent by a sender will always convey some meaning to the receiver. The sender always intends that his message will achieve some result. But the computer program would never be able to add meaning to a message.
So in the end here are several things we can conclude with as much certainty as all the observable, repeatable, and testable evidence of science provides:
1) We know that no living organism can exist without the presence of encyclopedic volumes of coded information in its genome.
2) We know that no naturalistic process of matter or energy has ever been observed to spontaneously create coded information.
3) We know that the only thing observed by science that can spontaneously create coded information is an intelligent mind.
4) From the information laws above we can conclude that the information of life originated from a mental source, an intelligent Sender who consciously chose to create that information in order to produce His intended result – the creation of functional living organisms.
5) We can also conclude that the statistical processes of trial and error, which is all that evolution has available to it, would never be able to produce the coded information in the genome of the first cell.
Based on these observations, creationists can feel fully justified in believing that all the information in living organisms came from the mind of God. The laws of coded information give full support to the creation model.
Of course, evolutionists can still choose to believe that naturalism brought about the information of life. But they can’t claim that that belief is based on observable science. Their only option is to believe by faith that materialistic naturalism is capable of producing the coded information present in every living thing. In Hebrews 11:1, the Bible says that faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seenâ€Â. This certainly applies to the position that evolutionists find themselves in. They hope with all their hearts that naturalistic processes can spontaneously create life from non-living chemicals, and then design the coded information within that life which is essential for the reproduction and maintenance of all living organisms. They must hope in spite of the observable and testable evidence against their belief system. That hope, that faith, is the only evidence they can hold on to when they choose to believe that naturalism brought about life.