The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

And man created life

Does this strengthen or weaken belief in intelligent design?

By Sholto Byrnes Published 21 May 2010 12:33

So, at last it has been done. Scientists, led by the human genome decoder Craig Venter, have created synthetic life. We're not talking Frankenstein or Asimov's robots; so far, it's just a bacterium that has been given the name Synthia. But Venter, for one, is in no doubt as to the significance of his work. As he told the Times:

It is our final triumph. This is the first synthetic cell. It's the first time we have started with information in a computer, used four bottles of chemicals to write up a million letters of DNA software, and actually got it to boot up in a living organism.

Though this is a baby step, it enables a change in philosophy, a change in thinking, a change in the tools we have. This cell we've made is not a miracle cell that's useful for anything, it is a proof of concept. But the proof of concept was key, otherwise it is just speculation and science fiction. This takes us across that border, into a new world.

It does indeed. While it may be a great achievement, it is obviously worrying the ends to which this new technology could be put, especially if it falls into the wrong hands. There are some places in which we would be wise to tread very carefully, just as in the case of space exploration.

As Professor Stephen Hawking said recently of other forms of life that might be out there in the universe: "I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach." (Remember the alien visitors in Tim Burton's film Mars Attacks?)

"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet," he said. That's the important worry as far as other life, whether it's extraterrestrial or man-created, is concerned.

But back to Synthia. Some religious people will almost certainly regard her creation as man presuming to interfere with what should be the preserve of the divine. The Daily Mail's headline starts with the words "Scientist accused of playing God", and there'll be more of that to come, for sure.

And yet, could Venter actually be thought of as doing, if not "God's work", then at least a favour to the Almighty? Think of the teleological argument, or the argument from design, which suggests that the order we see in the universe could not have come about by chance.

As William Paley put it in his watchmaker analogy, if he were to stumble across a watch, "I should hardly think . . . that for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there . . . There must have existed, at some time, and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers . . . who comprehended its construction, and designed its use."

Many continue to find versions of this reasoning compelling. When I interviewed the philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny, a former Jesuit priest and the only man I've ever met who was excommunicated, he said to me: "The reason that I'm agnostic is that the Argument from Design seems to be quite strong in pointing to the need for some extra-cosmic intelligence."

We'll have to wait and see how Venter's work develops. But if we were to observe Synthia and conclude that she must have been designed by someone or something, we would be correct.

It would be intriguing if, far from strengthening the hand of science over supernaturalism, this newly created life only confirmed the beliefs of those who observe the world and assume that it, too, must have had an intelligent designer.

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Tags: Religion

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14 comments

Sat, 2010-05-29 22:12 — Taffington (not verified)

Re: Major Ray

So, now advances in science have to be construed as "men thinking themselves as Gods" as your "holy" book states?

And, yes, a great many people, not just scientists, cannot perceive a "supernatural realm" because quite frankly there's not a shred of evidence to suggest it is there. I'm open to any evidence you have that doesn't involve cobbled together man made books, supposed miracles or acts of sorcery.

Fri, 2010-05-21 13:51 — Craig (not verified)

Intelligent design is jsut a myth proported by creationists. the watch analogy doesn't stack up as its made from no living material that cannot move or develop. As for playing god dont see the issue this has massive implications for medical, engineering and climate change

Fri, 2010-05-21 13:58 — Will Avery

"If we were to observe Synthia and conclude that she must have been designed by someone or something, we would be correct" - hardly, the design of the components has been copied from previously existing life forms.

Intelligent design proponents who think this confirms their beliefs are merely showing there's no end to their folly.

Fri, 2010-05-21 14:18 — Chris (not verified)

Fascinating work - but this won't lead to any kind of intelligent, sentient being in our lifetime, I don't think, although it might not take the millions of years it took for us and other living things to evolve from bacteria. And Craig (above) has it right about the watch analogy...

Sun, 2010-05-30 01:33 — Daniele1

MajorRay:
What kind of PH.D have you got? one you've bought from a Christian American University?
What are you on? it must be some drug to render you that delusional!!
Wake up! Evolution happened, there is no god and no satan and you, my friend are on your own, like the rest of us.
But btw, the Universe is wonderful and we are part of it. That should be enough reason to rejoice.

Fri, 2010-05-21 15:26 — ROBERT TAGGART (not verified)

Although created by human life-form can Synthia be any worse than that ?... over copulation, over population, material greed, imperial 'forays'... !

Fri, 2010-05-21 15:50 — MajorRay (not verified)

Face to Face with the Real Creator
DNA alone is just one component of blood so it is a necessary, but insufficient condition for life. The assertion that a team of scientists from Maryland created synthetic life is not true. The cell is a machine and all they did was to replace a machine component. The laws of nature operating in a Divine matrix do the rest. Since scientists use the natural mind to perceive the world, the supernatural realm with its own laws is dismissed outright. New cells are grown every second by nature effortless and without the involvement of man. Where did this DNA come from? The people who emailed the DNA codes used in creating synthetic life are no match for the nanoscale genesis and re-genesis of complex cells using the biological intranet through divine healing. Truly, the bible did say that the day would come when men will think of themselves as gods.
Daniel 12:3-4 but you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the Book until the time of the end. Then many shall run to and fro and search anxiously through the Book, and knowledge of God's purposes as revealed by His prophets shall be increased and become great.
Many Bible scholars believe that this prophecy also points to an increasing knowledge of science and technology.
Here we are! The group named the so-called synthetic life form Cynthia. This act is blasphemy and an abomination to the Creator. This assertion says that we were not created in God’s image, but we were evolved from bacteria. This is like calling God a bacterium! Where is the church on this issue? Every discerning Christian should be outraged.
Dan 12:10 many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
I really do not expect these scientists to understand what I am saying since they are spiritually dead and lack spiritual discernment. Satan has always sought to divide us from the truth by creating separate disciplines and attaching prestige to them. These scientists may be celebrated on earth for their manipulation of the elements, but they will have to face the real Creator someday and share their results with Him.
Ray Turner, Ph.D.

Fri, 2010-05-21 15:55 — Yeti (not verified)

Great article.

It increases the proof that life originates from chemicals.

Sat, 2010-05-22 15:25 — Craig (not verified)

MajorRay

Have u any substantive proof for this 'divine matrix' other than dogma originating in a book written by greek monks in the 1st 2nd and 3rd centuries and edited by a roman emperor?

Wed, 2010-06-02 07:19 — Steve (not verified)

Daniele... you're on the right track...questioning the existence of a Creator. This acknowledgment, even when posed as a hypothetical, shows the openmindedness necessary to even wrestle with the question. and by the way swatantra nandanwar, "stuff happens" is a statement in and of itself contrived by men as a definite "comfort blanket", but in fact, the saying is a descriptive of the intangible. Those things we cannot see, touch, or even explain.
Things like, disasters: natural and man made, disease, accidents that maim and kill, old age... watching in disbelief as your body dies around you...while you still find it impossible to really "believe" you are as old as you are, or as sick as you are, or as injured as you are...
but the you inside believes rightly, you will find out you do not have to have the body to survive.
Think of it this way: No one...and I mean no one can remember a time when they themselves did not exist.
That will never change. From the time you are born... You Are. What you have to choose is WHERE You Are.
Daniele, IF "stuff happens", answers your questions about is there a creator, does God exist, what happens when people die, why do bad things happen to good people and so on...then You Are where you want to be. I doubt that is a good enough answer for you. Your previous post above tells much about you... you see beauty and wonder...you used the word rejoice, joy is a good thing, very good indeed! You Are on the right track! Be bold, ask the tough questions. Then listen to "all" of the answers...99% will be like "stuff happens" we all know better than that. Do you celebrate Christmas? Why?
science,God loves it!

Sun, 2010-05-30 22:33 — Steve (not verified)

I found the article interesting but fraught with error from the second sentence on. Obviously, the scientists, the author of the article and those who responded with comments are educated, but did not exibit an intellectual prowess that would force them to acknowledge these painfully obvious facts...
The second sentence of the article begins:

"Scientists, led by the human genome decoder Craig Venter, have created synthetic life."

This is an arrogant display of ignorance. The article should have read,

"Scientists, led by the human genome decoder Craig Venter, have successfully perverted a once normal bacteria cell to an altered state of existence by injecting a synthetic DNA code conceived by them."

Venter did not create life. He had to take something that previously existed for which he can take no credit that it even lives, and he perverted it.

This is an absolute.
To ignore this fact, is to render the rest of this article fodder for the endless stream of bloggers who undoubtedly will believe anything, anyone with a PH.D chooses to feed them. Ignoring the fact that the greatest thinkers of man's short lived history on this earth were self motivated, self educated and open minded, in no way excuses them from the responsibility to be honest in all that we do not know.

This is key in admitting that all that we study under a microscope...all that we see around us can in no way be considered here without design.

One of the lines in "Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarden" is very simply put...

"Everything Dies."

Even a child knows that a plant in a paper cup will die. Pets, people and yes even a genome decoder will pass away. And all these, revert back to the current value of the chemicles or elements from which they exist. Which in todays market is about 6 bucks.

Bottom line, you either meet
Jesus Christ as Savior or you meet Him as Judge. He split time...even your own birthdates hinge on his existance. We are allowed by God, His Father to ignore, refute, even refuse what He offers...but in all that science discovers, God already knows, by virtue of the fact that He created all that is. This will be your final "DISCOVERY"...do it NOW!
For it is by Faith that we are saved. Don't be caught with faith in science, but rather in the God of the knowledge that your science pursues.

Wed, 2010-06-02 15:45 — warmachine

Of those who assume the cosmos had an intelligent designer will see this as evidence because most people tend to ignore evidence that contradicts their belief. A phenomenon known as confirmation bias.

As for whether this supports divine creation of life, Venter created DNA from scratch but had to replace the nucleus of an existing life form. That is, life was not created entirely from inanimate chemicals, only partly.

Mon, 2010-05-31 11:44 — Daniele1

Steve:
Yes right..Whatever.....Now I get it!! Just one thing, who the hell created the creator?

Mon, 2010-05-31 11:52 — swatantra nandanwar

Daniele, you've answered your own question, why humans have created 'the creator'. Its a mental thing, a kind of comfort blanket, to provide an explanation for themselves. Stuff happens, life happened.