Yesterday I came across this interesting article in the journal RNA on the subject of pseudogenes. The majority of scientific papers I read typically would be of no interest to the average person. This one however sparked my interest because of its relationship to a number of exciting areas. Not just in science, but also in theology and religion. This paper (titled … [Read more...]
The Argument from Design Stated
We see one of the most famous presentations (though not the first) of the Argument from Design in William Paley’s Natural Theology (1802). William Paley (1743-1805) was an English philosopher of religion and ethics and had written several essays regarding Christian apologetics, such as his Truth of the Scripture History of St Paul he wrote in 1790. However, his most notable … [Read more...]
GOD: The Best Explanation? Part 4
The Fine Tuning of the Universe Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (Pt 4) This is one of the most astonishing discoveries of modern cosmology and astrophysics - the universe is incomprehensibly "fine-tuned" for the existence of complex biological life. This can be seen by looking at the initial conditions for the Big Bang, the mathematical value of the constants of physics, and many other … [Read more...]
Human Design Blindly Echos Design in Nature
Mankind has frequently, with varying degrees of success, attempted to mimic structures found in nature with the goal of adapting the function of the structure into technology. Take, for example, early flying machines. Pictured here is Gustave Whitehead's Albatross glider (circa 1905): The first thing you notice about this contraption is how very bird-like it is. … [Read more...]
Scientific Confirmation of a Beginning
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Philosophically speaking there are only two choices when it comes to our universe; It had a beginning or it did not have a beginning. Thus the question arises, “Which choice is better supported by the scientific … [Read more...]
The God Question: A TV Series Investigates the Relationship Between Science and Faith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThxrHkO-Mk The God Question, a TV series bringing together world renowned contributors on both sides of the debate on God and science, explores the question of whether there is design evident in the universe. The series, a Scottish venture that promises to reach 170 million potential viewers internationally, features figures of note in the … [Read more...]
The Flagellar Filament Cap: "One of the Most Dynamic Movements in Protein Structures"
Imagine you are an archaeologist surveying the remains of a formerly technologically advanced civilization. You stumble across the device depicted in the figure above. With its pentagon-shaped plate and its carefully crafted leg-like extensions, it looks like it came from some sort of machine. Immediately, you intuitively infer that the device was designed intentionally, for a … [Read more...]
GOD: The Best Explanation? Part 3
HOW DID THE UNIVERSE BEGIN TO EXIST? Part 1 Part 2 (pt.3) In this episode of our series "GOD: The Best Explanation?", we begin to investigate if the scientific fact of the beginning of our universe can be adequately explained by the existence of God. Amazingly, in the 20th century alone, we have discovered at least 5 different ways in which we can demonstrate scientifically … [Read more...]
Evaluation of Darwin's Doubt by Stephen C. Meyer, Part 2
This is the second post in my series on Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design. You can read my introductory post HERE. A Cautionary Note on Internet "Reviews" If you have investigated the book much at all, you will have noticed some nasty pseudo-reviews posted around the internet. As I mentioned in my introductory post, I have … [Read more...]
Exon Shuffling: Evaluating the Evidence
Yesterday, I introduced the subject of exon shuffling and gave a few reasons why such a mechanism cannot explain the origins of the earliest, most ancient proteins. Now I want to offer an evaluation of the arguments, pro and con, for the role of exon shuffling in accounting for the subsequent origins of novel protein folds. … [Read more...]