25 Years, 25 Reasons to Believe – Patricia Fanning

25 Years, 25 Reasons to Believe – Patricia Fanning

W hile DNA sequences are often touted as evidence for humans’ descent from chimps, there are five areas of breaking research that demonstrate the data’s superior consistency with Scripture and its message of God’s involvement in creating us.

Patricia’s Top Five Reasons

1. So-called “junk DNA” has function. In the last quarter century, the belief that much DNA is functionless has formed one of the main arguments used to support the evolutionary paradigm. But in the last decade, this argument has crumbled. Recent research has shown that most types of “junk DNA” actually perform essential functions.

2. Genomes show a mosaic pattern. When comparing the entire genomes of humans, chimps, and orangutans, the supposed ancestral relationship between humans and chimps is not evident. Instead, the human genome looks like a mosaic, some sequences are more similar to chimps’ than to orangutans’ and vice versa. This is exactly the pattern you would expect from a Creator who selected each species’ DNA based on the species’ unique characteristics.

3. Purposeful changes in gene sequences. Small changes in gene sequences can result in enormous consequences, but they must be exactly the right changes. For example, two changes to the human version of FOXP2 (compared to the chimp version) result in a different regulation pattern of genes critical to enabling humans to use language. Yet, a single “wrong” change in the FOXP2 gene can cause severe damage to a person’s language capabilities.

4. Human accelerated regions. A number of noncoding regions of human DNA feature sequences that differ dramatically from those of all other species. Scientists believe these regions are critical in making us “human.” These sequences are so different from what’s seen in other species they would have required an evolutionary rate 72 times the expected rate to acquire so many changes over such a short evolutionary time frame—that’s why the regions are deemed “accelerated.” These dramatic differences fit better within a creation perspective.

5. Unique human transcriptome. The human transcriptome (collection of RNA transcripts) is dramatically different from that of chimps. Though human DNA sequences bear a strong resemblance to those of primates, they are expressed in a different fashion in humans, resulting in humanity’s uniqueness.