The Beginnings

Since humans first started their reign on the earth, we have questioned just about everything around us. We have pondered on everything from the reasons why the sky is blue to why things fall to the ground. It is part of our very nature to be inquisitive of the world around us, and that is completely fine!  One of these things, is our ever-contested belief of the origin of life. It is science’s very job to investigate these sort of questions and attempt to find an answer as an explanation. Now to start this blog I want to say that I mean no disrespect to either side. I am in fact not only a fan of science, I am religious as well. Now with that aside, I am just going to present some of the ideas and theories of the origin of life because we as students were always taught and told various things throughout our education. I apologize if I show bias in any way shape or form through negative or positive word connotation. That is not my point. My point is only to simplify and expand on what many of us were told throughout school. 

Okay, now before you start singing the theme song to the TV show Big Bang, realize that the origins of life in the eyes of science are significantly more complex than just a few words. To Science there is one main theory viewed as the most accurate: the Big Bang Theory. As for the very beginning of this theory, there lies its biggest flaw. Because science states that one cannot create something out of nothing, the big bang theory lacks a significant base foundation. Quantum physicists that spend their entire life studying this theory are still trying to figure out what was happening in the universe BEFORE the “Big Bang”. Regardless, there was a large explosion around 10^-43 seconds. This initial explosion is said to create all of the energy and matter in the universe, and all that there ever will be. In less than a millionth of a second later, the universe itself began to cool and expand drastically. This set into motion the basic principles of physics such as gravity, and the electrostatic repulsion and attraction. Eventually matter began to form which helped to create giant masses of gaseous clouds. These clouds eventually get so dense that they form stars and other planetary or stellar objects.

Eventually the earth’s atmosphere cools down significantly enough to allow for life to evolve.Using methods such as carbon dating, it is estimated that the first sign of life on the planet earth began around 3.6 billion years ago. Okay, now here’s the thing. Throughout school we were always told “evolution” this and “evolution” that, but (at least for me) no one actually explained how evolution worked. Essentially the theory of evolution states that species adapt to their environment for the better, and the ones that are the must fit for their surroundings are the ones that survive. The way that an organism “adapts” to their surroundings however, is more complex than I was ever taught in high school. I always assumed that because the animal wanted to be red, it turned red. However, through the expression of DNA mutations, we know that this is not true. As a population we view mutation as a bad thing, but it is the driving force for evolution. Through mutations or mistakes in the DNA coding during the embryonic stage of an organism, an animal or other creature can have drastically different genotypes and phenotypes when compared to their parents. However this can sometimes be a benefit. If an animal that comes from a species with short necks, has a mutation in the growth palettes of its neck that allows its neck to be twice the size of those in its species, this can lead to many different advantages for the organism. If there happens to be a flood or something that destroys the plants lower towards the ground, then the other members of this organisms species would not be able to find food as easily as the one with the longer neck would. Therefore, the longer necked organism would be able to reproduce more and pass on its beneficial mutation, with the same thing happening to its offspring, until the only ones left living are the ones with the longer necks. Therefore, the old species has most likely died out and the new one is this long necked species. This means that the species has evolved longer necks which give them an easier time finding food thus increasing their chances of survival.  Essentially that is how evolution works.

Now as someone from a religious and science background, you can imagine that it has been difficult at times to chose a side. However, after many years I have tried to come to terms by meshing together the two viewpoints from both sides, and making a Theory of my own. In the Bible, it is said in the book of Genesis that there is a “flash of light” in the beginning of creation by God. This light could have easily been the “Big Bang” that scientists are so eagerly trying to prove. As for the evolution part, many scientists believe that it is possible that our life started elsewhere and it came to the earth from some extraterrestrial cause. This is because there just isn’t enough time since when the universe was created until now to create such complex organisms as us. This makes me think that maybe evolution was an act that was facilitated by God, possibly speeding it up faster than the normal rate. I love the idea that we originated from more primitive lifeforms and are essentially now the ending product of billions of years of evolution – it just reinforces the idea that we are supposed to have a connection with the world around us because we came from it! However, I’m sure this isn’t the same for some of you though. If you don’t mind sharing, what are your viewpoints or beliefs on the origin of life?