The Case for a Creator (54 page)

32
. “Natural Adversaries?”
Christian History
, 76 (Volume XXI, No. 4), 44.

33
. Gunter D. Roth,
Stars and Planets
(New York: Sterling, 1998), 89.

34
. Pam Spence, general editor,
The Universe Revealed
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 40.

35
. David Koerner and Simon LeVay,
Here Be Dragons
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 5.

36
. Ibid., 5–6.

37
. Quoted in Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee,
Rare Earth
, 266.

38
. Ibid., 220. For an excellent discussion of the importance of plate tectonics, 191–220.

39
. Ibid.

40
. See: R. J. Charlson, J. E. Lovelock, M. O. Andrea, and S. G. Warren, “Oceanic phytoplankton, atmospheric sulfur, cloud albedo and climate,”
Nature
326 (1987); and R. J. Charlson et al., “Reshaping the theory of cloud formation,”
Science
293 (2001).

41
. “The Genesis of Ores,”
Scientific American
, May, 1991.

42
. Gonzalez noted that one of Saturn’s moons, Prometheus, comes close, but it’s shaped like a potato and results in eclipses that last less than a second.

43
. See Michael J. Denton,
Nature’s Destiny
, 117.

44
. Henry Petroski,
Invention by Design
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996), 30.

45
. See:
www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Campus/4764/OKeefeObitEOS.pdf
(accessed June 1, 2003).

46
. John A. O’Keefe, “The Theological Impact of the New Cosmology” in: Robert Jastrow,
God and the Astronomers
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1992), 122.

47
. Astronomer Hugh Ross makes an interesting related observation. He cites seven reasons to believe why it’s likely that micro-organisms from Earth have ended up on Mars. Based on “the transportability and survivability of Earth’s life forms,” he said that “there are many reasons to believe that millions of Earth’s minute creatures have been deposited on the surface of Mars and other solar system planets.” He said Mars’s inhospitable environment would make germination of such life unlikely, and “thus ‘adult’ organisms should be quite rare on Mars.” He added: “The discovery of microbial life and creatures perhaps as large as nematodes on Mars—a discovery we can expect as technology continues to advance—will probably be touted as proof of naturalistic evolution, when in truth it proves nothing of the kind. It will prove something, however, about the amazing vitality of what God created.” See Hugh Ross,
The Creator and the
Cosmos
(Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1993), 144–46.

48
. John A. O’Keefe, “The Theological Impact of the New Cosmology,” in Robert Jastrow,
God and the Astronomers
, 118 (emphasis added).

Chapter 8: The Evidence of Biochemisty: The Complexity of Molecular Machines

1
. Bruce Alberts, “The Cell as a Collection of Protein Machines,”
Cell
92 (February 8, 1998).

2
. Franklin M. Harold,
The Way of the Cell
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 205.

3
. Ibid., 329.

4
. Michael Behe,
Darwin’s Black Box
(New York: Touchstone, 1996), back cover.

5
. Charles Darwin,
The
Origin of Species
(New York: New York University Press, sixth edition, 1998), 154.

6
. For a more in-depth response to McDonald, see Michael J. Behe, “A Mousetrap Defended,” available at
www.arn.org/docs/behe/mb_mousetrapdefended.htm
(accessed November 2, 2002).

7
. Kenneth R. Miller, “The Flaw in the Mousetrap,”
Natural History
(April 2002).

8
. See: Edward M. Purcell, “The Efficiency of Propulsion by a Rotating Flagellum,”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA
94 (October 1997), available at
www.impa.br/~jair/pnas.pdf
(accessed July 1, 2003).

9
. See: Joe Lorio, “Four of a Kind,”
Automobile
(August, 2003).

10
. Andew Pomiankowski, “The God of the Tiny Gaps,”
New Scientist
(September 14, 1996).

11
. Michael Denton,
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
, 338.

12
. See: Michael J. Behe,
Darwin’s Black Box
, 90–97.

13
. Kenneth R. Miller,
Finding Darwin’s God
(New York: Cliff Street, 1999), 145.

14
. Ibid., 147.

15
. See: Michael J. Behe, “A True Acid Test: Response to Ken Miller,” available at:
www.arn.org/docs/behe/mb_trueacidtest.htm
(accessed July 3, 2003).

16
. Not all philosophers and scientists agree with the falsification test. “The role of falsification in science is not clear,” said philosopher J. P. Moreland. “Nevertheless, falsification is certainly relevant to science. Whether it constitutes a necessary or sufficient condition for science, however, is quite another matter.” See: J. P. Moreland,
Christianity and the Nature of Science
, 32–35.

17
. National Academy of Sciences,
Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences
(Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1999), 25.

18
. Pamela R. Winnick, interview with Michael Behe,
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
(February 8, 2001).

19
. J. Ratzinger,
In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall
(Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986), 56.

20
. J. A. Shapiro, “In the Details . . . What?”
National Review
(September 16, 1996).

21
. Allan Sandage, “A Scientist Reflects on Religious Belief,” Truth: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Christian Thought, Volume 1 (1985). Available at
www.clm.org/truth/1truthtml
(accessed July 31, 2000).

Chapter 9: The Evidence of Biological Information: The Challenge of DNA and the Origin of Life

1
. George Sim Johnson, “Did Darwin Get It Right?”
The Wall Street Journal
(October 15, 1999).

2
. Quoted in Stephen C. Meyer, “Word Games: DNA, Design, and Intelligence,” in William A. Dembski and James M. Kushiner,
Signs of Intelligence
, 102.

3
. Nicholas Wade, “A Revolution at 50; DNA Changed the World. Now What?”
New York Times
(February 25, 2003).

4
. See: Nancy Gibbs, “The Secret of Life,”
Time
(February 17, 2003).

5
. Michael Denton,
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
, 334.

6
.
Unlocking the Mystery of Life
, produced by Illustra Media, available at:
www.illustramedia.com
.

7
. Ibid.

8
. Quoted in Larry Witham,
By Design
, 172.

9
. The Discovery Institute is a think tank that deals with a wide variety of projects in the fields of technology, science and culture, legal reform, national defense, the environment and the economy, the future of democratic institutions, transportation, religion and public life, foreign affairs, and other areas. See:
www.discovery.org
.

10
. See: Fazale R. Rana and Hugh Ross, “Life from the Heavens? Not This Way,”
Facts for Faith
, Quarter 1, 2002, an account of a 1999 international conference on the origin of life, where the mood among Darwinists was described as full of frustration, pessimism, and desperation.

11
. See: Bernd-Olaf Küppers,
Information and the Origin of Life
(Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1990), 170–72.

12
. Henry Quastler,
The Emergence of Biological Organization
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964), 16.

13
. Francis Darwin,
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin
(New York: D. Appleton, 1887), 202.

14
. Michael Denton,
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
, 260.

15
. See: J. Brooks,
Origins of Life
(Sydney: Lion, 1985).

16
. Michael Denton,
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
, 261.

17
. See: Richard Dawkins,
Climbing Mount Improbable
(New York: W. W. Norton, 1996).

18
. See: S. W. Fox, editor,
The Origins of Prebiological Systems and of their Molecular Matrices
(New York: Academic Press, 1965), 309–15.

19
. For a summary of other arguments against the “RNA first” hypothesis, see: “Stephen C. Meyer Replies,”
First Things
(October 2000).

20
. Robert Shapiro,
Origins: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth
(New York: Summit, 1986), 189.

21
. Ibid.

22
. See: Gerald F. Joyce, “RNA Evolution and the Origins of Life,”
Nature
338 (1989), 217–24, and Robert Irion, “RNA Can’t Take the Heat,”
Science
279 (1998), 1303.

23
. Jay Roth, “The Piling of Coincidence on Coincidence,” in: Henry Margenau and Roy Abraham Varghese, editors,
Cosmos, Bios, Theos
(Chicago: Open Court, 1992), 199.

24
. Interview in
Unlocking the Mystery of Life
.

25
. See: Michael Polanyi, “Life’s Irreducible Structure,”
Science
160 (1968), 1308–12.

26
. For a more detailed critique of this theory, see Hubert P. Yockey, “Self-Organization, Origin of Life Scenarios, and Information Theory,
Journal of Theoretical Biology
91 (1981), 13–31, and Stephen C. Meyer, “DNA and the Origin of Life: Information, Specification, and Explanation,” in John Angus Campbell and Stephen C. Meyer, editors,
Darwinism, Design, and Public Education
(Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State Univ. Press, 2003), 252–55.

27
. Robert Shapiro,
Origins: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth
, 188.

28
. Francis Crick,
Life Itself
, 88.

29
. Robert Shapiro,
Origins: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Creation of Life on Earth
, 189.

30
. See: J. W. Valentine et al., “Fossils, Molecules, and Embryos: New Perspectives on the Cambrian Explosion,”
Development
126 (1999).

31
. See: Chi Lili, “Traditional Theory of Evolution Challenged,”
Beijing Review
(March 31–April 6, 1997).

32
. John F. McDonald, “The Molecular Basis of Adaptation: A Critical Review of Relevant Ideas and Observations,”
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
14 (1983).

33
. See: Stuart Kauffman,
At Home in the Universe
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).

34
. Michael Denton,
Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
, 330.

Chapter 10: The Evidence of Consciousness: The Enigma of the Mind

1
. Michael Ruse,
Can a Darwinian Be a Christian?
(Cambridge: Oxford University Press, 2001), 73.

2
. Ray Kurzweil, “The Evolution of Mind in the Twenty-First Century,” in Jay W. Richards, editor,
Are We Spiritual Machines?
(Seattle: Discovery Institute, 2002), 12, 29, 44–45, (emphasis added).

3
. Thomas Huxley, “Mr. Darwin’s Critics,”
Contemporary Review
(November 1871).

4
. Edward O. Wilson,
Consilience
(New York: Vintage, 1998), 132.

5
. “Do Brains Make Minds?” on the television program
Closer to Truth,
first aired October 2000.