Monday, October 15, 2007

Science vs. Religion

I have heard numerous quotes by LDS general authorities stating things to the effect of: "Science is bad and misleading. It confuses people."

If that is the case, why are they so proud that their words and talks are made available to the entire world via satellite and the internet, both of which are possible thanks to science?

Through my studies, I have seen some amazing evidence supporting evolution. Here's one of them. Almost all life on this planet, with a few very rare exceptions has a universal genetic code. Bear with me as I attempt to explain.

DNA is a molecule which is translated by mRNA and read by ribosomes to produce polypeptides which are folded to make proteins. A polypeptide is a long chain of amino acids which have been linked together.

DNA has four constituents, which I will call A, T, C, & G. A strand of DNA has millions of these four constituents arranged into long chains and the possibilities are endless. For example, a very short piece of DNA might look like this: AGACGTCGAGCGGTA

A sequence of any three is called a codon. Example: AGA. Ribosomes, molecules which read DNA and construct polypeptides, read each codon and connect the corresponding amino acid. For example, the codon AGA might mean amino acid #1 (there are about 21 different amino acids), CGT might mean amino acid #2, etc.

Scientists have actually been able to figure out the genetic code. They actually know which codon corresponds to which amino acid! But the most amazing thing is that all life, with the before mentioned very rare exceptions, has exactly the same code. So if you are a human, fly, bacteria, horse, dog, cat, or amoeba, the codon AGA codes for the same amino acid, CGT, etc.!

Did you know that insulin needed by diabetics is produced by bacteria? Of course, a normal person is able to produce their own insulin, but diabetics can't. Scientists have figured out how to isolate the gene that codes for insulin and insert it into the DNA of bacteria. Because the genetic code is universal, the bacteria will read that piece of HUMAN DNA and produce an insulin molecule! This is literally how diabetics get their insulin, from the nasty, filthy bacteria that the media tells us we are supposed to hate.

This is major evidence that supports evolution. The very fact that we share so much genetically in common with even the most primitive life, shows that we have a common ancestor. Did you know that there are some single celled organisms which actually have chloroplasts and the ability to carry out photosynthesis reactions? This shows us that not only are we related to bacteria, but even further back in time, we even share a common ancestor with plants!

The one answer that religion provides which science does not is, how did life begin? God put life on this planet, but that doesn't really answer the question. God is alive, right? So how did god get his life? So even though religion superficially answers that question, the bottom line is that no one really knows how life started.

Go back and read my lightbulb post and then tell me that "science is confusing and misleading." It is science that has ushered in the information age, not "the restoration". Science is the true religion because it actually helps us understand the world around us. Science has disproven religion time after time, and the example I have shared here is just one of them. Jesus has no place in the information age. Mankind will truly progress once he gets rid of the false belief that everyone sins and only Jesus will save him. Jesus is a myth. There is even evidence that he may never have even been a man. But I'll talk about that some other time.

Ever since I lost the "spirit", this continual stupor of thought just sucks!

Just another evil apostate...

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