by Harun Yahya
There are some landmarks in histories of nations that break the routine for that nation and leave indelible scenes both in the minds of individuals and the collective memory.
Two months ago, on July 15, Turkey experienced such a landmark; it went through an attempted coup d’état, which changed the course of everything that the nation has known. The incident is still hot, with its shock waves sweeping the nation.
Amid this turmoil, there was one event that was considered a great accomplishment, for the topic was slightly different from the subjects of the intense debates dominating the nation.
The International Conference on the Origin of Life and the Universe held in Istanbul last month hosted biochemists, astrophysicists and medical doctors from the United States and Turkey. The event was a joint effort of Turkey’s Muslim Technics and Science Research Foundation and the US’ Christian Reasons to Believe (RTB) to expound that evolutionary mechanisms fall short of explaining the origin, history and design of life and that, contrary to the general perception, the scientific evidence does not support the theory of evolution.
RTB, which was founded by famous astrophysicist Dr Hugh Ross, has been operating with the aim of educating Christian youth so that they can understand how science clearly proves God’s existence. Throughout the years, members of the group have written many books, organised numerous events and helped millions of young people appreciate God’s creation through science.
The first speaker of the day, Dr. Fazale Rana, a biochemist who pursued his postdoctoral studies in the biophysics of cell membranes at the University of Virginia and Georgia, took the audience on an amazing voyage within the cell and explained why “it was science that brought him to the conviction that a Creator must exist”.
In his speech, he described how his research during his graduate education led him to make a careful examination of the evidence and made him a believer. He said:
“You might say that biochemistry convinced me that God must exist. The elegant design, the sophistication and the ingenuity of biochemical systems prompted me to ask the question, ‘How did life originate?’
“I wanted to know. How does the scientific community account for the origin of such remarkable biochemical systems through strict mechanistic processes?
“After examining the explanations that were available 30 years ago, I was shocked. The explanations presented by the scientific community seemed to me to be woefully inadequate. I was convinced that chemical and physical processes could not generate life. This realisation coupled with the elegant design and biochemical systems forced me to the only conclusion possible — for intellectual reasons alone — that a Creator must indeed exist and must have been responsible for bringing life into being.”
The conclusions Dr Rana reached in his speech were the sum total of his long career as a scientist.
He said: “When we examine biochemical systems we see evidence for the work of a Mind, we see a Creator’s fingerprints. We can show that every attempt to explain the origin of life through chemical evolution has led to fail. And we can show that attempts to create life in the lab unequivocally demonstrate the necessary role of an intelligent agency really left with one conclusion. The life itself must come from the work of a Mind.”
The second speaker, Dr. Oktar Babuna, a Turkish neurosurgeon, spoke about Darwinism and the detrimental effects it brought to the world. In his very informative speech, Dr. Babuna highlighted that Darwinism, which is responsible for the death of 300 million people in the 20th century, is not based on any scientific evidence and he provided powerful evidence for this throughout his speech.
At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Babuna provided a good account of Darwinism that enunciated his point.
“Darwinism proposes the lie that human beings came into this world as the result of a series of chance events and that they are a ‘species of animals’. Furthermore, it claims that the only law in life is a selfish struggle for survival and to stay alive; strong individuals survive by crushing the weak individuals.
“According to Darwinism, there is a ruthless struggle in nature that eliminates the weak. These ideas, of course, have been the foundation of wars, violence and terrorism that we see in the world today.”
In her speech, Dr. Anjeanette Roberts, a PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, gave a detailed account of the errors of the theory of evolution and concluded her speech with the following words: ‘‘Nature is a reliable revelation of God. The Scriptures tell us that God reveals Himself in nature. He wants to be known. In conclusion, God wants to be known and He has revealed himself clearly to those who have an open mind and a humble heart.’’
Astrophysicist Dr. Jeff Zweerink, who holds a part-time position at University of California in Los Angeles, showed the explicit fine-tuning and balances prevalent in the universe and explained how the scientific discoveries regarding the universe match the descriptions we are given in the Holy Books: “…We live in a universe where the scientific description matches that was revealed by God, we live in a universe that’s designed to support life. That points to a God, Who created everything…”
There is no doubt that the impact of this important event will have far-reaching effects to be felt for a very long time, especially in Darwinist circles. However, maybe even more importantly, this event showed that members of the Islamic and Christian faiths, despite the intense campaign to the contrary, can collaborate and work for good.
Indeed, both the American scientists and the Turkish audience were visibly affected by both the enthusiasm and the welcoming attitude of the other party; this attitude was strongly reflected in the speeches, in the questions of the audience and in the breaks in between.
Our efforts and similar organisations will continue, and we hope that they will be instrumental in showing that people of love and truth wait for an opportunity to rise up and cooperate for good.
This event (http://www.theoriginoflife.net/) had been one of those times and there is no doubt it was just a beginning.
Harun Yahya has authored more than 300 books, translated into 73 languages, on politics, religion and science.