On the Origin of Life
Patrick Berg, MD
In 1802, William Paley published his famous watch analogy in Natural Theology. He asserted that if a watch is found in an open field, “the inference we think is inevitable, (is) that the watch must have had a maker- that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other… an artificer who formed it.” He reviewed the complexity of human anatomy, as well as animals and plants, based on scientific understanding at the time. Seeing complexity far beyond a watch in plants, animal and human anatomy, he concluded that there is a Creator. William Paley’s idea was not new. From the Greek philosophers, to the Bible and the Quran, the existence of God was asserted to be self-evident on the basis of the wonder of the world we live in. However, after the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, scientifically-minded individuals increasingly associated the theory of natural selection with “the” driving force that created “the watch.” This rigid association fueled an uptick in atheism. However, natural selection as “the” mechanism of creation falls apart when we get down to the ground level. When we look at the mechanics of what is actually happening in all living organisms (which is biochemistry), the contribution of the theory of natural selection is placed in its proper perspective. It becomes evident that a completely naturalistic view of creation is actually a belief, that doesn’t come anywhere close to meeting a burden of proof, and isn’t destined to at any point in the near future. In fact, while sometimes the devil is in the details, this presentation might demonstrate God is also in the details. When the details are examined, the wonder of life is affirmed as well today as when William Paley first published Natural Theology. A cell is the basic unit of all life; therefore, the natural starting point for exploring whether natural processes explain how life came to be is to explore the development of the first cell. This presentation will briefly explain the primary mechanisms inside all cells, and then review the current degree to which a naturalistic explanation for them seems plausible, based on the current scientific research.
Patrick Berg, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, Division of Acute Care Surgery, UC Davis Health
Patrick grew up as the son of an Air Force officer who was always on the move. For college, he attended Brigham Young University. He graduated with a degree in applied physics and also worked for a year and a half in the Willardson biochemistry lab. He went on to medical school at Texas Tech – El Paso, and graduated with a distinction in research. At the time, he published a number of articles on a post-surgical complication called dumping syndrome, which is about as unsophisticated as it sounds. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, and a fellowship in pediatric surgical critical care at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. He is a major in the Air Force, and clinical assistant professor at UC Davis in the division of trauma and acute care surgery. He married Lindsey Stephens in 2011 and is the father of 3 children. He is a devout Christian who believes that religion and science should be married.