Editor’s note: Although I wrote this article, it borrows so heavily from the work of others that I can’t claim credit for it.  For a list of resources, videos, and organizations responsible for this and similar work, please see the end of the article. Thanks!

Almost every American today is aware that biological beings are constructed and maintained by using the language of DNA.  But how on earth did DNA come to exist in the first place? 

Let us consider for a moment that the theory of human evolution is true, and that–for some unknown reason–lightning hit a pool of primordial goo billions of years ago, leading some small portion of protein-saturated matter into surviving life.  In order for us to exist today, that living organism must have reproduced.  And if it needed to reproduce, it had to have some form of DNA/RNA.  Without DNA/RNA, the life form would be completely incapable of replication.

Now, what exactly are DNA and RNA? They are one-dimensional programming codes for three-dimensional beings.  By translating these one-dimensional codes, a living being is able to build–piece by piece, in sequential order–another living, functional organism.  And as one might imagine, without the ability to process DNA properly by copying it and reading it properly (a very complex process done by a series of [1] complex machines), the next organism which it would have reproduced could not have been built.

Even the order by which DNA constructs something is incredibly important.  For instance, if your DNA code neglects to give you a heart, or lungs, or a brain, or skin, you die.  If your DNA-replicating devices forget to build your spine before your arms, you die.  So not only are the combination of organs and appendages absolutely necessary for your survival, but the correct order of construction is essential as well, and both require the existence of a functional DNA language and processing unit.  The single-celled organism is very much like you in this respect: without using the blueprints to construct all the specific machines within the cell to either carry out all necessary functions (waste-management, movement, resource detecting, etc) or hijacking another organism’s machines, an organism simply cannot survive.  And if the living being has no way to interpret DNA and organize itself accordingly, there can be neither survival nor reproduction.

What does DNA require to be functional?  Herein lies the problem with spontaneous existence: if the processing of genetic information is not just necessary for evolution, but also for our very existence, then where did the information come from, and why was it able to be processed?  As an example, the English language is very useful if you know someone who speaks English, but if you’re on an island with someone who only speaks Japanese, the languages are useless until one of you trains the other.  DNA and RNA are very much like this, in that they are language which must be interpreted by a machine or being who understands them, or else they are completely useless for communication.  Since communication without interpretation cannot serve a function, if no interpreter existed upon DNA’s arrival, the process of natural selection would have been more likely to eliminate DNA’s existence (since natural selection only favors attributes which serve a functional advantage).

Why is this a problem for Evolutionists?  Supposing that there was at some point no living being or genetic code, but the first organism suddenly came into existence by sheer luck, how did a one-dimensional language appear alongside it, along with the ability for that organism to translate it into another three-dimensional living organism?  If the being exists, but no language for genetic material exists, the being cannot replicate.  If the language suddenly exists, but the being doesn’t know how to process it, the being cannot replicate.  The only way the first organism could have given rise to all the other organisms we see today is if a language suddenly appeared alongside a series of machines which coincidentally interpreted them, and then–by using this very same language–we were able to add pieces of information to it.  And of course, this all has to happen upon that original lightning strike.

Even if we were to suppose that DNA/RNA was created later, and simple organisms would have had to replicate without it (which is impossible, but for the sake of argument…), we would still have to explain how this language of DNA suddenly appeared alongside machines which could interpret it.  And must I remind the reader, even DNA strands for simple organisms are still very long, and very complex.

Does information appear without a designer?  My generation has always been able to use computers, so we’re well aware of the power of binary code.  But binary only uses two digits, 0 and 1, and is responsible for two-dimensional screen displays and other computer programs.  It would be silly to assume that binary code could have arisen from non-intelligent beings, but evolutionists have already accepted the fact that a four-unit (DNA’s ACGT) informational code exists not as information for a computer, but for actually creating and running a three dimensional biological being along with the host of machines which interpret DNA, all from scratch.  This, as one can see, is a little silly.

Furthermore, The Discovery Institute is quick to point out that most people’s assumptions about information are biased according our worldviews: people will readily admit that all forms of information exist as a result of intelligent designers, but generally deny this stance when dealing with the existence of genetic information.  In [2] Unlocking the Mystery of Life, the Discovery Institute reminds us that our [3] SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) program spends a good chunk of taxpayer money waiting for signals from outer space.  If we can safely assume that any form of information received by SETI would be an indication of intelligent life, we’ve already accepted the idea that the natural, lifeless universe doesn’t produce information, since non-living processes cannot yield language.  But when analyzing our own genetic information, we assume that it must have arisen from natural, non-intelligent processes.

In short, DNA is the most powerful language known to man, it couldn’t have arisen from nowhere, and the human race is already well-aware of this.  Non-living matter cannot give rise to language, and even if it did, non-living matter does not suddenly give rise to language interpreters.  These are both acts of design, from a language which already existed before the first biological being, interpreted by [4] machines which were designed to interpret and have no purpose other than interpretation.

So before you leave your computer and decide to worship yourself (or worse, some other person), consider this: your life is short, and you’re going to die.  It could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen in twenty years.  Perhaps it might be a good idea to know that you’re not angering the very Being which holds your very molecules together, and by the language of His mouth constructed every minute detail of your being.  As His servant, the [5] Apostle Paul writes:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

According to the Bible, God knows that you know He exists, and left you without an excuse to ignore Him.  If you’d like to know how to get in contact with that Being, and better yet–how to avoid His wrath for the things He has personally seen you do, contact me.  This warning is the bad news.  The Good News is just ahead of you: if you’d like to know how the work of your reconciliation has already been done, and how you can accept it and regain contact with your Origin and Destination, I will be here for you.  But please be careful.  Delaying your momentary decision could very well determine whether you meet Him as His child or as His enemy.

For further information:

Short video about [6] the processing of DNA

Answers in Genesis: how the existence of DNA [7] displays God’s very existence (in scientific depth)

The Discovery Institute: [8] Genetics, information/language, and design

Psalm 90: [9] man’s frailty

If you can read this, [10] God exists