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A missionary working in India in an 83% Muslim population conveyed this story to our congregation on a recent visit. In her home, she taught English to a group of young ladies who were eager to learn the language. At the end of one session, a particular lady waited until the rest of the girls left the class on the pretense that she had a question concerning the lesson. She privately asked the missionary about Jesus Christ. She said that in her dreams, Jesus Christ was reaching out to her and saying, “Come.” The missionary led the young lady to Christ in that private meeting.
As most of you know, this is a very dangerous situation. Our missionary could be jailed, beaten, exiled, or even killed for converting a Muslim to Christ. According to our Indian missionary, the Muslim Koran teaches putting the offending infidel to death to save that particular Muslim family from shame.
Down through time, millions have been tortured, imprisoned, and even put to death. They’ve had their belongings confiscated. They’ve been publicly shamed. They have forfeited their careers. They’ve been sold into slavery. They’ve seen their beloved children slain before their eyes, and so much more, because of their fidelity to Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory. This exceedingly dark wickedness against the Cross continues to this day. Jesus Christ said to count the cost of salvation (Luke 14).
In many parts of the world, calling yourself a Christian is the favored status. In these societies, Christ’s name is thrown around liberally. But, what would happen if that confession would result in the destruction of all that you hold dear? May God have mercy upon our souls. Hebrews 13:3:
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Those of you visiting this message today, would you like to find the peace that passes understanding? Do you desire to have all of your sin and shame expunged from your record as though it never happened? Would you like to find the living Christ, whom millions have found so dear, even to the forfeiture of their own lives? Would you like to be born-again—born a second time? I have marvelous news. Today is your day of salvation. Click onto “Further With Jesus” now for immediate entry into the Kingdom of God. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Exodus 20:11:
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
MAN SAID: Take a generous portion of nothing and process that nothing through time, chance, and mutations, and the outcome is the earth, its universe, and all the marvels that your seeing eye sees, and your thinking brain contemplates.
Now THE RECORD. Mutations are central to evolutionary theory. Can mutations prove Darwin’s hypothesis? The field of genetics was established in 1900. Charles Darwin was dead before genetic concepts entered the mainstream. Had today’s knowledge of the genome and DNA existed in Darwin’s day, it is highly unlikely his theory would have seen the light of day. It may not have been a theory he himself would have embraced.
An excellent article on the subject of mutations was recently published in the September 2007 issue of Acts & Facts. The author is Dr. B. Maddox, a urology specialist in Cleburne, Texas, and author of the biological sciences course material for the Creationist Worldview education program offered by ICR. The following excerpts are from that feature article:
One biology textbook states that "an important point to remember is that the variety of genes carried by all living species is the result of millions of years of random mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift." But natural selection only explains survival of the fittest; it fails to explain arrival of the fittest. Natural selection, i.e., the forces of nature, does not change the DNA of the individual animal at all, and can only change the total gene pool of a species by eliminating unfit individuals (leading to the loss, not gain, of genetic information). Genetic drift, or gene shuffling, only involves the shuffling of existing genes within a kind. It does not explain the origination of any gene. Another textbook states: "New alleles [genes] originate only by mutation." The only way for organisms to acquire DNA other than what they inherited from their parents is for their DNA to change, or mutate. If their DNA doesn't change, living things could never change regardless of how much time passes. Lizards could never become chickens and monkeys, and fish could never become philosophers. Since evolution rejects purposeful design, genetic change could only be random, or accidental.
The underlying genetic mechanism of evolution is random mutation, and specifically mutation that is beneficial to life. Biology textbooks in theory present positive and negative mutations to students as though these were commonplace and roughly equal in number. However, these books fail to inform students that unequivocally positive mutations are unknown to genetics, since they have never been observed (or are so rare as to be irrelevant).
The biology textbooks in other chapters teach that most mutations are pathologic, or disease‑causing, but they don't apply that information to evolution. The worst diseases doctors treat today are caused by genetic mutations. Nearly 4,000 diseases are caused by mutations in DNA. "The human genome contains a complete set of instructions for the production of a human being¼. Genome research has already exposed errors [mutations] in these instructions that lead to heart disease, cancer, and neurological degeneration." These diseases are crippling, often fatal, and many of the affected pre‑born infants are aborted spontaneously, i.e., they are so badly damaged they can't even survive gestation. However, the biology textbooks, when discussing mutation in evolution, only discuss the very rare "positive" mutation, like sickle cell anemia. The fact of some 4,000 devastating genetic diseases is suppressed from publication.
The recent decoding of the human genome has allowed scientists to determine that cystic fibrosis is caused by a random change of three nucleotides in a gene that codes for a 1480‑amino acid‑long ion transport protein. The human genome has three billion nucleotides, or base pairs, in the DNA. Since a random change of three nucleotides in a three‑billion‑part genome is fatal (0.0000001%), how is it remotely possibly that a chimp could be the evolutionary cousin of a human? The lowest estimate of the genetic differences between our DNA and that of chimps is at least 50 million nucleotides (some estimates of the disparity are much higher). Quantitative information in genetics today is proving evolutionary theory as simply a man‑made and irrational philosophical belief.
One top geneticist recently conducted a computer analysis to quantitate the ratio of "beneficial mutations" to harmful mutations. Only 186 entries for beneficial mutations were discovered (and even they have a downside), versus 453,732 entries for harmful mutations. The ratio of "beneficial mutations" to harmful mutations is 0.000041! Thus, even if a very rare mutation is "beneficial," the next 10,000 mutations in any evolutionary sequence would each be fatal or crippling, and each of the next 10,000 imaginary mutations would bring the evolution process to a halt.
Virtually all the "beneficial mutations" known are only equivocally beneficial, not unequivocally beneficial. In bacteria, several mutations in cell wall proteins may deform the proteins enough so that antibiotics cannot bind to the mutant bacteria. This creates bacterial resistance to that antibiotic. Does this support evolutionary genetic theory? No, since the mutant bacteria do not survive as well in the wild as the native (non‑mutant) bacteria. That is, the resistant (mutant) bacteria will only do well in an artificial situation, where it is placed in a culture medium with the antibiotic. Only then can it overgrow at the expense of the native bacteria. In the wild, the native bacteria are always more vigorous than the mutant bacteria. [End of quote]
Dr. Maddox wrote several paragraphs concerning mutations in the disease sickle cell anemia. He continued with the following:
The mutations described above are those that, when expressed, cause phenotypic (physically observable) changes in organisms. However, the majority of mutations are "neutral mutations" that do not cause any detectable change in the phenotype or body of the animal. These mutations can only be detected by DNA sequencing and are not candidates for evolutionary processes at all. Since there is no phenotypic change, natural selection cannot even remotely select for them. And they are not totally neutral, but are rather subtly deleterious because they degrade the genetic code. A better term for these neutral mutations is "near‑neutral." Research is demonstrating that the "near‑neutral" mutations are accumulating far too rapidly for organisms to have avoided extinction if they indeed have existed over the millions of years claimed by evolutionary biologists. Harmful mutations destroy the individual organism, preventing the gene from being passed on. The "neutral mutations" will ultimately destroy entire species, because the mutated genes will be passed on and accumulate.
While instructing students that harmful mutations were more numerous than "beneficial" mutations, this textbook failed to disclose that even equivocally beneficial mutations (which still have a downside) are extremely rare (about one in 10,000), and that unequivocally beneficial mutations are nonexistent in nature. There may be a few times when the gun was fired through the hood and resulted in no immediate harm to the engine. However, improving the engine in this manner would be impossible.
In the twentieth century, many genetic researchers tried to "accelerate evolution" by increasing mutation rates. This can be accomplished with ionizing radiation, like x‑rays, or chemical mutagens. Researchers gave plants and fruit flies very high doses of radiation or other mutagens in hopes that new life forms, or at least improved organs, would result. Decades of this type of research resulted in repeated failure. Every mutation observed was deleterious to the organisms' survival. In the fruit fly research various mutations occurred‑‑like legs coming out of eyes‑‑but not one improved mutation was observed. Why? Because radiation is harmful, as the signs in hospitals warn pregnant patients. The pre‑born child is more sensitive to mutagens, and thus has a higher likelihood of being harmed.
Carl Sagan, in his Cosmos program "One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue," stated that evolution was caused by "the slow accumulations of favorable mutations." While this may be the current popular theory, real science disagrees. [End of quote]
God’s Word is true and righteous altogether. His truth never changes. On the other hand, man’s “truth” of today debunks his “truth” of yesterday, and his “truth” of tomorrow will debunk his “truth” of today. Thousands of years ago, God declares the truth that never changes and that, by the way, is the nature of real truth—it never changes.
GOD SAID, Exodus 20:11:
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
MAN SAID: Take a generous portion of nothing and process that nothing through time, chance, and mutations, and the outcome is the earth, its universe, and all the marvels that your seeing eye sees, and your thinking brain contemplates.
Now you have THE RECORD.
References
Authorized King James Version
Campbell, N. et al. 1997. Biology: Concepts & Connections. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin Cummins, 426.
Collins, F. et al. 1990. The cystic fibrosis gene: isolation and significance. Hospital Practice, 25(10):45‑57.
Maddox, Dr. B., “Mutations: The Raw Material for Evolution?” Acts & Facts, 9/07, pp10-13
Miller, K. and Levine, J. 1998. Biology: The Living Science. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 271.
Muller, H. 1946. Time, 48(20):38; and Gardner, E. 1964. Principles of Genetics. New York: Wiley, 192.
Nora, J. et al. 1994. Medical Genetics: Principles and Practice. Philadelphia: Lea and Feliger, 3.
Sanford, J. 2005. Genetic Entropy and the Mystery of the Genome. Lima, NY: Elim Publishing, 26.
The Human Genome Project. Announcement from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, May 6, 1993.
