Why Don’t More Scientists Accept These Conclusions?
The conclusions that we’ve presented in this chapter are obviously at odds with the dominant scientific paradigm in the Western world today. How can our claims possibly be true? Evolutionists have an explanation that they’ve advanced for decades: YEC conclusions are not true. The justification that evolutionists cite for this claim is the absence of YEC conclusions from the mainstream peer-reviewed scientific literature. And why are creationist conclusions absent from this literature? The quote from BioLogos that we cited above is worth repeating here:
The reason Christian anti-evolutionary approaches are absent from the mainstream scientific literature is not because scientists are theologically or philosophically biased against them, but rather because they offer little in the way of useful tools for making accurate predictions about the natural world.81 [emphasis added]
As we’ve observed, this is factually untrue. In the realm of science that we’ve briefly examined in this chapter, YE creationists make many testable, accurate predictions about the natural world, and it’s the evolutionists who historically have had trouble getting their predictions to match facts.
Furthermore, YE creation scientists do not publish un-reviewed technical papers. The major scientific players in the YEC field all earned their degrees from reputable secular universities with many also having many secular publications prior to making a career shift into origins research,82 and we submit our findings to one another for peer-review prior to publication. Just like the secular peer-review system, some of our initial conclusions must be significantly refined or rejected before they have a chance of being published.
Naturally, evolutionists might criticize YEC scientists relying on likeminded individuals (e.g., fellow YEC scientists) for the peer-review process. Evolutionists might claim that this represents a self-reinforcing process that is ultimately flawed and useless to scientific progress. But YEC scientists could say the same about evolutionists. The latter do not consult with YEC scientists before publishing their evolutionary conclusions. Instead, they solicit the assistance and review of the fellow, like-minded evolutionists!
Thus, on two counts, the common evolutionary reason for the absence of creationist ideas from mainstream scientific literature is wrong. First, creationists do indeed submit their research to peer review. Second, as we have demonstrated, they make testable scientific predictions that, in many cases, are more accurate than the predictions of the evolutionists (e.g., see preceding sections).
The latter fact raises an important question: Why don’t evolutionists submit their ideas to creationist peer-review before publication? Why not solicit YEC PhD scientists for help and criticism before publishing a paper? Why not consult with the YEC community (at least informally) before taking evolutionary ideas public? Doing so might save the evolutionary model from further erroneous predictions.
To answer the question that heads this section, the BioLogos claim that we cited above would suggest that we are left with only one option: The vast majority of professional scientists are theologically or philosophically biased against creationist ideas. At first pass, this would seem conspiratorial and, therefore, difficult to accept.
Yet upon further reflection, this wooden interpretation of our options becomes much more nuanced in light of a few key facts. First, surveys show that the vast majority of scientists are unbelievers. Nearly 70% of scientific professionals cannot positively say that they believe in God.83 Since belief in God is a necessary (but insufficient) profession for one to be a Christian, the number of non-Christian scientists is likely even higher than 70%.
Second, Scripture tells us that unbelievers do indeed have a bias. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom 1:18–20). Not only do unbelievers suppress the truth about God, they suppress the truth about God that is revealed in nature. Thus, the creation/evolution debate is at the heart of the unbeliever’s dealings with God.
However, this passage in Romans does not suggest that all unbelievers go on the warpath against creationist ideas. Instead, Scripture says that unbelievers suppress the truth; they don’t all violently try to destroy it. Conversely, suppressing the truth can take many forms — from passively ignoring contrary ideas, to never attempting to learn or understand uncomfortable contrary claims, to occasionally expressing strong dislike for an idea. In other words, non-Christian scientists are much like the unbelievers that we encounter every day. Most are passively disinterested in and ignorant of the things of God and of the scientific ramifications of the creation account. Only a few are visibly and adamantly opposed.
Sadly, as the above discussion demonstrates, evolutionists who are professing Christians appear to practice the same behavior.84 For example, they seem to never have considered alternative hypotheses on the question of ancestral population size, and they regularly and prematurely turn highly speculative hypotheses into fact (e.g., Table 2).
The latter error should technically be termed pseudoscience. However, since the evolutionary creationists we cited are well trained and practiced scientists, we don’t think this error stems from any lack of quality training. Instead, it is more likely to stem from an ignorance of the opposition. In other words, when a scientist is completely unaware of a contrary view, his hypothesis may seem like fact since nothing else seems able to explain the data he’s observing.
In support of this conjecture, mainstream evolutionary literature demonstrates ignorance of creationist ideas.85 For example, evolutionists regularly contend that accepting YEC requires throwing out science entirely:
If someone challenges the current paradigm of [sic] by asserting that the Earth is not 4.5 billion years old, but rather was created by divine intervention 6000 years ago . . . the correct response is: “Well, maybe. But if that is what happened, then much else of what we think we know must also be wrong. We will need a new explanation for how the Sun gets its energy, as our laws about nuclear physics must be wrong. As this is the physics that has manifestly empowered engineers to build nuclear power plants, we need to explain how they are doing so well even though they are operating with the incorrect laws. The same would go for the empowerment provided by science for the use of radioisotopes in medicine X-rays in dentistry.86
The former president of BioLogos repeats this claim:
The conclusion that creation is ancient does not come from interpretations at the periphery of these disciplines; it is at the core of all that nuclear physicists, geologists and astronomers do every day. For you or I to say that they are wrong is to say that these entire disciplines — geology, nuclear physics and astronomy — have got almost everything wrong.87
But it is nearly impossible to read and understand the YEC scientific literature and arrive at the conclusions above. These claims — that accepting YEC requires throwing out physics, geology, etc. — are as far from the truth as any stereotype of YEC science can be. Since we are confident that both of the men responsible for the quotes above are scholarly and logical scientists, we are left with one option: they haven’t read and/or understood the YEC scientific literature.
Even more disappointing, the few evolutionary creation scientists with whom the authors of this chapter have personally communicated seem to have no interest in the YEC scientific literature. When we’ve presented them with the opportunity to engage the scientific data (e.g., by pleading with them to rigorously peer-review creationist findings before publication), they have declined. One theistic evolutionist has even admitted a past bias toward opponents, confessing that he viewed them as dumb and uninformed. If this is how professing Christians behave when confronted with contrary evidence, how much more so the unbelieving scientists!
In sum, the vast majority of the scientific world is at odds with the conclusions that we have presented here about human genetic origins because they appear to never have educated themselves on their opponents’ scientific positions. More troubling is that, in some cases, evolutionists appear to have even deliberately avoided the opposition, and in the most extreme cases, intentionally suppressed it.88 While this phenomenon could be labeled “bias,” it does not appear to involve a deliberate and planned conspiracy among scientists in the Western world. Instead, for unbelievers, it appears to flow from their deeply rooted spiritual state. Since unbelievers are too proud to acknowledge God in their thinking,89 and since all believers, ourselves included, are in the process of sanctification and can fall prey to some of the same sins that unbelievers practice, such as spiritual and/or intellectual pride,90 the fear of man, and the desire for academic respect from the secular world,91 “pride” rather than “bias” may be the better answer to the question that heads this section.
Summary and Ramifications
From the brief overview of the technical scientific literature that we’ve sketched, three facts emerge. First, the evolutionary model of human origins has a long history of scientific failure (Tables 2–3). It has repeatedly made public pronouncements of fact only to discover new data that contradict these claims. Hence, before we can even explore the question of whether evolution works as a scientific model today, we are struck with the dismal track record of evolution in times past.
Second, the evolutionary model does a poor job of explaining data in the present (Figure 2). When pressed to explain human-human genetic differences observable today, evolutionary predictions are an order of magnitude off the actual value. In essence, the evolutionary model cannot predict the rate of mtDNA mutation in humans. Since mutations are supposed to be the engine of evolution and the driver of all evolutionary change, this mismatch between predictions and facts is all the more profound.
Third, the YEC conclusions that we’ve highlighted in this chapter represent a comprehensive answer to the question of human genetic origins. Our claims and observations encompass virtually every genetic compartment present in human cells (Table 7), and they account for the millions of DNA differences across ethnic groups present in the world today. Furthermore, they robustly answer the questions of from whom humans originated (people, not apes), how many humans began our species (two — Adam and Eve), when humans originated (about 6,000 years ago), and where major human ethnic groups originated (near Ararat). In short, they explain all the data for which we have experimental results. For those areas in which experiments are forthcoming, we presented testable predictions that can be falsified in the lab (e.g., Table 5).
Table 7. Grand Summary of YEC Model on Human Genetic OriginsType of Genetic Comparison | YEC Status |
---|
Human vs. human nuclear DNA | Successful prediction of mutation, genetic reshuffling rate (e.g., recombination & gene conversion) for entire sequence |
Human vs. human mitochondrial DNA | Successful prediction of mutation rate |
Human vs. human Y chromosome | Pending prediction for Y chromosome mutation/genetic reshuffling (e.g., gene conversion) rate |
In light of these facts, it is all the more remarkable that evolutionists can continue to accuse creationists of being ignorant of the “big picture” of evolution. While this chapter covers only the question of human genetic origins, the accompanying chapters demonstrate the veracity of the biblical account of human origins from a variety of fields. To say that creationists are only capable of finding minor holes in evolutionary arguments while missing the larger body of evidence is unjustifiable.
Furthermore, the claim that “multiple independent lines of genetic evidence” support human evolution is false. Again, evolutionists are fond of appealing to the “big picture” when confronted with a contradiction between one of their predictions and fact. Logically, if every one of their claimed evidences fails, then the sum of these broken evidences cannot possibly add up to a successful model. As we have observed, all the claimed evolutionary evidences represent type-3 experiments, or they represent type-2 experiments that could falsify or have already falsified evolutionary predictions (rather than YEC predictions) (e.g., Tables 2–4, 6). Multiple independent lines of evidence demonstrate that evolutionary claims are unscientific.
As described at the beginning of this chapter, the gold standard of science is the ability of a model to make testable accurate predictions. From the assumptions of the YEC model, creationists have made testable predictions about the future that can be tested in the laboratory. If evolutionists have a problem with what we’ve concluded, we’ve given them a ready means by which to falsify our position. In other words, the YEC model of genetics has matured into a full-fledged scientific alternative to the evolutionary model, with much stronger predictive power.
Furthermore, the conclusions in this chapter represent only a fraction of the mature YEC model. We’re in the process of publishing testable genetic predictions for a great assortment of animal species alive today for which genetic data is available.92 The “big picture” of evolution can now be compared head-to-head with the “big picture” of YEC — if evolutionists are able to come up with some falsifiable predictions of their own.
In light of these advances, we would be fully justified in taking the evolutionists’ criticisms of creation right back to them. If evolutionists want to be taken seriously in the origins debate, then they need to do more than make an isolated claim about an obscure species here and there that shows nothing but shifts in existing genetic variation or an isolated benefit due to the loss of genetic information. Instead, they need to give us a comprehensive model, a falsifiable explanation that accounts for the genetics of all species alive today. Science demands no less.
Footnotes
- Nathaniel Jeanson received a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University. Jeff Tomkins received his B.S. in Agricultural Education from Washington State Univ., an M.S. in Plant Science from Univ. Idaho, and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Clemson University.
- Michael Buratovich, “Biological Evolution: What Makes it Good Science? Part 1,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/archive/biological-evolution-what-makes-it-good-science-part-1. See also chapter 23 of Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolution (Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2013). “The most important feature of scientific hypotheses is that they are testable” (emphasis his, p. 635).
- Dennis Venema, “Theory, Prediction and Converging Lines of Evidence, Part 3.” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/theory-prediction-and-converging-lines-of-evidence-part-3.
- The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium, “Initial Sequence of the Chimpanzee Genome and Comparison with the Human Genome,” Nature 437 (2005): 69–87, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7055/full/nature04072.html.
- Kevin E. Langergraber et al., “Generation Times in Wild Chimpanzees and Gorillas Suggest Earlier Divergence Times in Great Ape and Human Evolution,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109 no. 39 (2012): 15716–15721, http://www.pnas.org/content/109/39/15716.full; Oliver Venn et al., “Strong Male Bias Drives Germline Mutation in Chimpanzees,” Science 344 (2014): 1272–1275.
- Eve was “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20) and from the eight people on the ark “the whole earth was populated” (Gen. 9:19).
- As is shown in the later chapter by Bergman, biblically speaking there is only one race, Adam’s race.
- Note that the genealogies of Shem, Ham, and Japheth in Genesis 10 abruptly end after a few generations — consistent with the writer of Genesis 10 being unable to communicate with the members of additional generations due to a language barrier brought about by the Tower of Babel incident.
- Chris Hardy and Robert Carter, “The Biblical Minimum and Maximum Age of the Earth,” Journal of Creation 28 no. 2 (2014): 89–96, http://creation.com/images/pdfs/tj/j28_2/j28_2_89-96.pdf; Robert Carter and Chris Hardy, “Modelling Biblical Human Population Growth,” Journal of Creation 29, no. 1 (2015): 72–79. Since Peleg was born 101 years after the flood and lived 209 years, and we are told that the division of humanity at the Tower of Babel was some unspecified date “in the days of ” Peleg, we cannot be precise on the dating of the division.
- John R. Grehan and Jeffrey H. Schwartz, “Evolution of the Second Orangutan: Phylogeny and Biogeography of Hominid Origins,” Journal of Biogeography 36 (2009): 1823–1844.
- DNA repair machinery exists in the cell, but some copying mistakes still apparently slip through each generation.
- For the chimpanzee reference, see Oliver Venn et al., “Strong Male Bias Drives Germline Mutation in Chimpanzees,” Science 344 (2014): 1272–1275. The human rate has been measured on multiple occasions; for an example, see Donald F. Conrad et al., “Variation in Genome-wide Mutation Rates Within and Between Human Families,” Nature Genetics 43 no. 7 (2011): 712–714, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3322360/.
- An example of the math: 3,000,000 years / 20 years per generation = 150,000 generations.
- An example of the math used to derive the figure of “80 million DNA letters apart” is as follows. In 13,000,000 years, about 650,000 generations pass [13,000,000 years / 20 years per generation = 650,000 generations]. Using this number, 60 DNA changes per human generation x 650,000 generations = 39,000,000 DNA changes total. Since the identical process would occur in chimpanzees, the total would need to be multiplied by two [39,000,000 x 2 = 78,000,000 DNA changes total in both the human lineage and the chimpanzee lineage]. Rounding numbers, the total is ~80,000,000 DNA changes in 13,000,000 years.
- Technically, since our DNA comes in two versions (in technical terms, we are a dipoid species — versus a haploidspecies), humans have 6 billion total DNA letters (as do chimps). But 3 billion is a useful simplification for our purposes in this section.
- An example of the math used: 78,000,000 predicted DNA differences between humans and chimpanzees / 3,000,000,000 total DNA letters in humans = 0.026 = 2.6%, or about 3% difference.
- Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “Genome-Wide DNA Alignment Similarity (Identity) for 40,000 Chimpanzee DNA Sequences Queried against the Human Genome is 86–89%,” Answers Research Journal 4 (2011): 233–241, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/genome-wide-dna-alignment-similarity-identity-for-40000-chimpanzees/; Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “Documented Anomaly in Recent Versions of the BLASTN Algorithm and a Complete Reanalysis of Chimpanzee and Human Genome-Wide DNA Similarity Using Nucmer and LASTZ,” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 379–390, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/blastn-algorithm-anomaly/.
- In the 2005 Nature paper describing the elucidation of the chimpanzee DNA sequence (accessable at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7055/full/nature04072.html), the authors stated, “Best reciprocal nucleotide-level alignments of the chimpanzee and human genomes cover ~2.4 gigabases (Gb) [2,400,000,000 DNA letters] of highquality sequence, including 89 Mb [89,000,000 DNA letters] from chromosome X and 7.5 Mb [7,500,000 DNA letters] from chromosome Y” (p.71). Only these 2,400,000,000 DNA letters were used to calculate the published 1.23% DNA difference between humans and chimpanzees. In table 1 of the same paper, it is clear that 2.7 gigabases (GB) — 2,700,000,000 DNA letters — in total were sequenced, leaving 0.3 GB — 300,000,000 DNA letters (about 10% of 3 billion) — unaccounted for, consistent with Jeff Tomkins’ independent findings. Furthermore, by last count (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/, accessed 09/28/15), the total number of DNA letters in chimpanzees is 3,309,000,000, and in humans it is 3,259,520,000 DNA letters, leaving even more potential DNA differences unaddressed. Clearly, a DNA difference between humans and chimpanzees of 1.23% represents a careful selection of a subset of the facts.
- Assuming that humans possess 3,259,520,000 total DNA letters, a 12% DNA difference from apes (the result of only 88% identity — see previous footnotes) entails the following: 0.12 x 3,259,520,000 total DNA letters = 391,142,400 DNA letters difference, which is about 400 million DNA differences between chimps and humans.
- Kevin E. Langergraber et al., “Generation Times in Wild Chimpanzees and Gorillas Suggest Earlier Divergence Times in Great Ape and Human Evolution,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109 no. 39 (2012): 15716–15721, http://www.pnas.org/content/109/39/15716.full.
- Oliver Venn et al., “Strong Male Bias Drives Germline Mutation in Chimpanzees,” Science 344 (2014): 1272–1275. We give special thanks to Rob Carter for bringing this evolutionary discrepancy to our attention.
- For example, see Michael Buratovich, “Biological Evolution: What Makes it Good Science? Part 1,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/archive/biological-evolution-what-makes-it-good-science-part-1; for a non-BioLogos reference see Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolution (Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2013).
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Darwin vs. Genetics: Surprises and Snags in the Science of Common Ancestry,” Acts & Facts43 no. 9 (2014): 8–11, http://www.icr.org/article/darwin-vs-genetics-surprises-snags.
- For example, “Humans share more DNA with chimpanzees than with any other animal, suggesting that humans and chimps share a relatively recent common ancestor.” See Anon., “What Is the Genetic Evidence for Human Evolution?” https://BioLogos.org/common-questions/human-origins/what-scientific-evidence-do-we-have-about-the-first-humans/.
- See Anon., “Genetics,” http://biologos.org/resources/audio-visual/genetics, and Dennis Venema, “Theory, Prediction and Converging Lines of Evidence, Part 3,” http://biologos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/theory-prediction-and-converging-lines-of-evidence-part-3.
- Diagrams for this supposed evolutionary event typically show the fusion of only one member of each pair.
- Jerry Bergman and Jeffrey Tomkins, “The Chromosome 2 Fusion Model of Human Evolution — Part 1: Re-evaluating the Evidence,” Journal of Creation 25, no. 2 (2011): 106–110, http://creation.com/chromosome-2-fusion-1; Jeffrey Tomkins and Jerry Bergman, “The Chromosome 2 Fusion Model of Human Evolution — Part 2: Re-analysis of the Genomic Data,” Journal of Creation 25, no. 2 (2011): 111–117, http://creation.com/chromosome-2-fusion-2; Jeffrey Tomkins, “Alleged Human Chromosome 2 ‘Fusion Site’ Encodes an Active DNA Binding Domain Inside a Complex and Highly Expressed Gene — Negating Fusion,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 367–375, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/alleged-human-chromosome-2-fusion-site-encodes-an-active-dna-binding-domain-inside-a-complex-and-hig/.
- Dennis Venema, “Signature in the Synteny,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/signature-in-the-synteny.
- Michael D. Wilson et al., “Species-specific Transcription in Mice Carrying Human Chromosome 21,” Science 322 no. 5900 (2008): 434–438, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3717767/; Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “An Update on Chromosome 2 ‘Fusion,’ ” Acts & Facts 42 no. 9 (2013): 13, http://www.icr.org/article/update-chromosome-2-fusion.
- Anon., “What Is the Genetic Evidence for Human Evolution?” https://BioLogos.org/common-questions/human-origins/what-scientific-evidence-do-we-have-about-the-first-humans/. Evidence #2 references “genetic scars” and implicitly assumes that these sorts of genetic differences (the “scars”) represent mutated and non-functional or functionally neutral sequences. For the “genetic synonyms” argument to work in Evidence #3, the argument must assume that these “synonyms” represent functionally neutral sequences.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Recent, Functionally Diverse Origin for Mitochondrial Genes from ~2700 Metazoan Species,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 467–501, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/recent-functionally-diverse-origin-for-mitochondrial-genes-from-~2700-metazoan-species/.
- BioLogos Editorial Team. “On Reading the Cell’s Signature,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/archive/on-reading-the-cells-signature; Dennis Venema, “Understanding Evolution: Is There ‘Junk’ in Your Genome? Part 1,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/understanding-evolution-is-there-junk-in-your-genome-part-1; Dennis Venema, “Is There ‘Junk’ in Your Genome? Part 2,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/is-there-junk-in-your-genome-part-2.
- ENCODE Project Consortium, “Identification and Analysis of Functional Elements in 1% of the Human Genome by the ENCODE Pilot Project,” Nature 447 (2007): 799–816.
- ENCODE Project Consortium, “An Integrated Encyclopedia of DNA Elements in the Human Genome,” Nature 489 (2012): 57–74, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v489/n7414/full/nature11247.html).
- Ed Yong, “ENCODE: the Rough Guide to the Human Genome,” http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/09/05/encode-the-rough-guide-to-the-human-genome/#.V_AxDtx4yoI.
- For example, see Dan Graur et al., “On the Immortality of Television Sets: ‘Function’ in the Human Genome According to the Evolution-free Gospel of ENCODE,” Genome Biology and Evolution 5 no. 3 (2013): 578–590, http://gbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/3/578; for a response to Graur et al., see: Nathaniel Jeanson and Brian Thomas, “The Resurrection of ‘Junk DNA’?” http://www.icr.org/article/resurrection-junk-dna.
- Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “The Human Beta-Globin Pseudogene Is Non-Variable and Functional,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 293–301, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/human-genome/the-human-beta-globin-pseudogene-is-non-variable-and-functional/.
- Rachel Held Evans and Dennis Venema, “Ask an Evolutionary Creationist: A Q&A with Dennis Venema,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/ask-an-evolutionary-creationist-a-qa-with-dennis-venema.
- Jeffrey P. Tomkins, “Challenging the BioLogos Claim that a Vitellogenin (Egg-Laying) Pseudogene Exists in the Human Genome,” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 403–411, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/dna-similarities/challenging-BioLogos-claim-vitellogenin-pseudogene-exists-in-human-genome/.
- Ibid.
- Dennis Venema, “ENCODE and ‘Junk DNA,’ Part 1: All Good Concepts are Fuzzy,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/encode-and-junk-dna-part-1-all-good-concepts-are-fuzzy; Dennis Venema, “ENCODE and ‘Junk DNA,’ Part 2: Function: What’s in a Word?” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/encode-and-junk-dna-part-2-function-whats-in-a-word.
- Dennis Venema, “Common Ancestry, Nested Hierarchies, and Parsimony,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/adam-eve-and-human-population-genetics-part-6-common-ancestry-nested-hierarchies-and-parsimony.
- See Figure 4A of Cristina Sisu et al., “Comparative Analysis of Pseudogenes Across Three Phyla,” PNAS 111 (2014): 13361–13366, http://www.pnas.org/content/111/37/13361.long.
- Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes that do not involve changes in DNA sequence.
- E.g., a population living at the time that the evolutionists propose — hundreds of thousands of years ago.
- Brian Thomas and Jeffrey Tomkins, “How Reliable are Genomes from Ancient DNA?” Journal of Creation 28 no. 3 (2014): 92–98.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Mitochondrial DNA Clocks Imply Linear Speciation Rates Within ‘Kinds,’ ” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 273–304, https://answersingenesis.org/natural-selection/speciation/clocks-imply-linear-speciation-rates-within-kinds/.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Recent, Functionally Diverse Origin for Mitochondrial Genes from ~2700 Metazoan Species,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 467–501, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/recent-functionally-diverse-origin-for-mitochondrial-genes-from-~2700-metazoan-species/.
- Dennis Venema and Darrel Falk, “Does Genetics Point to a Single Primal Couple?” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple.
- The 1000 Genomes Project Consortium, “A Global Reference for Human Genetic Variation,” Nature 526 (2015): 68-74, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7571/full/nature15393.html.
- Their offspring would have received 60 new mutations. So, 60 / 6,000,000,000 = 0.00000001%.
- Under the YEC model, there is no scientific reason to exclude mutations from happening after the entrance of sin into the world at the Fall. Instead, mutations likely played a minor role in generating the genetic diversity observable today — minor because of the sheer number of differences with which Adam and Eve were likely created.
- Robert W. Carter, “The Non-Mythical Adam and Eve! Refuting errors by Francis Collins and BioLogos,” http://creation.com/historical-adam-BioLogos; Nathaniel T. Jeanson and Jason Lisle, “On the Origin of Eukaryotic Species’ Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity,” Answers Research Journal 9 (2016): 81–122, https://answersingenesis.org/natural-selection/speciation/on-the-origin-of-eukaryotic-species-genotypic-and-phenotypic-diversity/.
- Dennis Venema and Darrel Falk, “Does Genetics Point to a Single Primal Couple?” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/does-genetics-point-to-a-single-primal-couple.
- Specifically, the DNA sequences are called Alu sequences.
- The second claim addresses the arrangement and groupings of DNA differences along chromosome (technically termed linkage disequilibrium).
- Jianbin Wang et al., “Genome-wide Single-Cell Analysis of Recombination Activity and De Novo Mutation Rates in Human Sperm,” Cell 150 (2012): 402–412, http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674%2812%2900789-1?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867412007891%3Fshowall%3Dtrue; Amy L. Williams et al., “Non-crossover Gene Conversions Show Strong GC Bias and Unexpected Clustering in Humans,” eLife 4 (2015): e04637, http://elifesciences.org/content/4/e04637; Pier Francesco Palamara et al., “Leveraging Distant Relatedness to Quantify Human Mutation and Gene-Conversion Rates,” Am. J. Hum. Genet.97 (2015): 775–789.
- Jeanson and Lisle, “On the Origin of Eukaryotic Species’ Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity,” p. 81–122.
- Ibid.
- Since Adam and Eve each would have been created with two versions of their 3 billion letter DNA sequence, and since Eve’s versions may have been slightly different than Adam’s, humanity may trace its genetic origins to 4 different starting points.
- Dennis Venema, “Mitochondrial Eve, Y-Chromosome Adam, and Reasons to Believe,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/mitochondrial-eve-y-chromosome-adam-and-reasons-to-believe.
- See references in Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “A Young-Earth Creation Human Mitochondrial DNA ‘Clock’: Whole Mitochondrial Genome Mutation Rate Confirms D-loop Results,” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 375–378, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-genome-mutation-rate-/.
- Ibid.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Mitochondrial DNA Clocks Imply Linear Speciation Rates Within ‘Kinds,’ ” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 273–304, https://answersingenesis.org/natural-selection/speciation/clocks-imply-linear-speciation-rates-within-kinds/.
- About 1 mtDNA letter is mutated every ~6 generations, on average. See Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “A Young-Earth Creation Human Mitochondrial DNA ‘Clock’: Whole Mitochondrial Genome Mutation Rate Confirms D-loop Results,” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 375–378, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-genome-mutation-rate-/.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Recent, Functionally Diverse Origin for Mitochondrial Genes from ~2700 Metazoan Species,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 467–501, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/recent-functionally-diverse-origin-for-mitochondrial-genes-from-~2700-metazoan-species/; Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Mitochondrial DNA Clocks Imply Linear Speciation Rates within ‘Kinds,’ ” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 273-304, https://answersingenesis.org/natural-selection/speciation/clocks-imply-linear-speciation-rates-within-kinds/; Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “A Young-Earth Creation Human Mitochondrial DNA ‘Clock’: Whole Mitochondrial Genome Mutation Rate Confirms D-loop Results,” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 375–378, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-genome-mutation-rate-/; Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “On the Origin of Human Mitochondrial DNA Differences, New Generation Time Data Suggest a Unified Young-Earth Creation Model and Challenge the Evolutionary Out-of-Africa Model,” Answers Research Journal 9 (2016): 123-130, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/origin-human-mitochondrial-dna-differences-new-generation-time-data-both-suggest-unified-young-earth/.
- The range of numbers is due to the fact that the measured mutation rate has (like all biological data) a range of statistical uncertainty. Combined with the fact that there’s a range of generation times for humans (e.g., some women marry and bear children at age 15, others at age 35), we report a statistically reliable range of predictions for both creation and evolution.
- We used one of the shortest estimated time frames from the Flood to the present. Arguments could be made for longer time frames, but since our calculations with the shorter time frame already show agreement with current data, longer time frames would simply underscore the veracity of our results.
- Ibid.
- Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Recent, Functionally Diverse Origin for Mitochondrial Genes from ~2700 Metazoan Species,” Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 467–501, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/recent-functionally-diverse-origin-for-mitochondrial-genes-from-~2700-metazoan-species/; Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “Mitochondrial DNA Clocks Imply Linear Speciation Rates within ‘Kinds,’ ” Answers Research Journal 8 (2015): 273–304, https://answersingenesis.org/natural-selection/speciation/clocks-imply-linear-speciation-rates-within-kinds/.
- Anon., “How Are the Ages of the Earth and Universe Calculated?” https://BioLogos.org/common-questions/scientific-evidence/ages-of-the-earth-and-universe/.
- For a recent discussion of the constant rate assumptions in astronomy, see: Jason Lisle, “Anisotropic Synchrony Convention — A Solution to the Distant Starlight Problem,” Answers Research Journal 3 (2010): 191–207, https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/starlight/anisotropic-synchrony-convention-distant-starlight-problem/.
- The YEC community has even performed full-scale laboratory research projects to support this conclusion. For example, see Larry Vardiman, Andrew Snelling, and Eugene Chaffin, eds., Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth, Vol. 2 (El Cajon, California: Institute for Creation Research; Chino Valley, Arizona: Creation Research Society, 2005).
- Dennis Venema, “Mitochondrial Eve, Y-Chromosome Adam, and Reasons to Believe,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/mitochondrial-eve-y-chromosome-adam-and-reasons-to-believe.
- For example, see Max Ingman, et al., “Mitochondrial Genome Variation and the Origin of Modern Humans,” Nature 408 (2000): 708–713.
- E.g., they sequence the DNA from a parent-offspring pair (or perhaps even a grandparent-grandchild pair), and then count the number of differences that have arisen from ancestor to descendant. This represents one or more generational events; hence, units are reported in terms of mutations per generation.
- United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Population Division, Fertility and Family Planning Section, “World Marriage Data 2012,” http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WMD2012/MainFrame.html; see also Nathaniel T. Jeanson, “On the Origin of Human Mitochondrial DNA Differences, New Generation Time Data Both Suggest a Unified Young-Earth Creation Model and Challenge the Evolutionary Outof- Africa Model,” Answers Research Journal 9 (2016): 123–130, https://answersingenesis.org/genetics/mitochondrial-dna/origin-human-mitochondrial-dna-differences-new-generation-time-data-both-suggest-unified-young-earth/.
- The 1000 Genomes Project Consortium, “A Global Reference for Human Genetic Variation,” Nature 526 (2015): 68–74, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7571/full/nature15393.html.
- Anjali G. Hinch et al., “The Landscape of Recombination in African Americans,” Nature 476 (2011): 170–175, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3154982/.
- G. David Poznik et al., “Sequencing Y Chromosomes Resolves Discrepancy in Time to Common Ancestor of Males Versus Females,” Science 341 no. 6145 (2013): 562–565, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032117/.
- Dennis Venema, “Theory, Prediction and Converging Lines of Evidence, Part 3,” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/dennis-venema-letters-to-the-duchess/theory-prediction-and-converging-lines-of-evidence-part-3.
- Anon., “Creation Scientists and Other Specialists of Interest,” http://creation.com/creation-scientists.
- Anon., “Scientists and Belief,” http://www.pewforum.org/2009/11/05/scientists-and-belief/.
- Note that most of our references to evolutionary ideas come from the BioLogos website.
- For example, see chapter 23 of Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolution (Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2013).
- Steven Benner, “Challenge or Preserve the Paradigm?” https://BioLogos.org/blogs/archive/challenge-or-preserve-the-paradigm.
- Darrel R. Falk, Coming to Peace with Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 80–81.
- Michael Behe, “Correspondence w/ Science Journals: Response to Critics Concerning Peer-Review,” http://www.trueorigin.org/behe07.php.
- “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts” (Ps. 10:4).
- Note that pride need not pervade every area of a person’s life. A Christian may be one of the most humble people you have ever met — in all areas but one, which happens to be the area in which he or she is currently undergoing sanctification.
- 92. All Christians, including the authors of this book, are susceptible to giving in to these two vices, as Scripture makes clear (e.g., Prov. 29:25 and John 12:42–43).
- Jeanson and Lisle, “On the Origin of Eukaryotic Species’ Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity,” p. 81–122.
Source: https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/adam-and-eve/genetics-confirms-recent-supernatural-creation-adam-and-eve/