There has been a long and arduous search for a plausible evolutionary mechanism that would produce complex organized life. We shall look briefly at the past two centuries of this search.
Science/religion issues are important because they have to do with ultimate realities, with whether to "worship" the Creator or the creature (creation), with whether a supreme being is above the creation and can supernaturally intervene.
Could not God have used the process of natural selection to create living organisms? What evidence might one use to answer that question? Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
This brief monograph was written to champion the views of a minority in the scientific community. This minority holds that it is possible to accept this ancient report of Earth's creation at face value — and still be a true scientist. But the main purpose is to go a step further. It will be argued that a close examination of life can lead observers to the logical conclusion that life itself is an actual evidence for creation. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 1.
Chapter 5 in the article, Life: An Evidence for Creation.
1. Everyday experience teaches us that manufactured goods with new functions are made from pre-designed components.
2. Successively more complex levels of our reality with new functions are based on the interactions of simpler forms of matter. This suggests that our complex reality is designed. Published in Origins, v. 25, n. 1.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1997, covering topics such as comparative genomics, intelligent design as information, cloning mammals, Precambrian glaciation, radioisotope dating, Neanderthal DNA, the question of life on Mars, molecular evolution, transposable elements, paleomolecules, Krebs Cycle optimality, origin of life, fossil ants and embryos, dinosaur-bird comparisons, speciation in guppies, scientists and faith. Published in Origins v. 24, n. 1.
This paper proposes that mutation and natural selection can produce biological change, but are not sufficient to explain the origins of biodiversity and complexity. Instead, the authors argue that genetic complexity is the result of intelligent design, and was at a maximum when life on Earth first came into being. Published in Origins v. 20, n. 2.
The "RNA World" hypothesis for the origin of life is implausible for several reasons, among them the difficulty of producing RNA naturalistically, its relative instability in water over time, the problem of chirality, and the insufficiency of RNA to form a living cell. Published in Origins v. 20., n. 1.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1991, covering topics such as Permian trees, molecular genetics, epigenetics, inheritance of paternal mtDNA, water and formation of petroleum, water in mantle rocks, impacts, Ordovician volcanism, molecular phylogenies of ratites, termites, cichlids and sabertooths, osteocalcin in dinosaur bones, fossil flowers, origin of life, Precambrian predation, stromatolites, Cambrian Explosion, quality of fossil record, rapid speciation, tree biogeography, Miocene ape, fossil dermopteran, Asian marsupial, dinosaurs, mammal-like reptile. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.
Several ideas have been proposed over the past two centuries to explain how organisms could have evolved through naturalistic processes. None of them seems viable, and it seems reasonable that creation should be considered as an explanation. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 1.
Readers are invited to submit their reactions to the articles in our journal. Please address contributions to: Origins, Geoscience Research Institute, 11060 Campus St., Loma Linda, California 92350 USA.
A collection of short commentaries on scientifc papers published in 1991, covering topics such as phylogenies, origin of life, Precambrian fossils, polar dinosaurs, fossil turtles, Lysan finch, ecological gradients and the fossil record. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 1.
The new theory of surface metabolism suggests that the forerunners of living matter were formed underwater, on metallic surfaces. While the theory of surface-metabolism represents a prodigious effort to explain the origin of living matter, it falls far short of its goal. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 1.