Biochemical Predestination

Biochemical Predestination
Author Dean H. Kenyon and Gary Steinman
Country United States
Language English
Subject Biochemical origin
Genre Probability theory
Publisher McGraw Hill Text
Publication date
 January 1969

Biochemical Predestination is a 1969 book by Dean H. Kenyon and Gary Steinman which argued in support of biochemical evolution.[1]

In the book, Kenyon and Steinman conclude that "Life might have been biochemically predestined by the properties of attraction that exist between its chemical parts, especially between amino acids in proteins."[2] They argued that life originated with the chemical properties of amino acids causing them to be attracted to each other, forming long protein chains, most important in every living cell. Kenyon believed that proteins were directly formed by attraction between amino acids without DNA coding, and that these were derivatives from non-living raw chemicals in a conducive environment.

In 1976 Kenyon was persuaded by the young Earth creationist arguments of A. E. Wilder-Smith.[3] In the 1982 foreword he wrote to What Is Creation Science? by Henry M. Morris and Gary Parker, Kenyon said that he no longer accepted the pro-evolution arguments in Biochemical Predestination. At the Edwards v. Aguillard trial he provided an affidavit in support of creation science and noted the book as one of his publications. Kenyon subsequently became a co-author of Of Pandas and People which rebranded creation science as intelligent design.[1][4]

Analysis

The theory propounded was summarized by Stephen Berry, a chemist; "describing the following causal chain: the properties of the chemical elements dictate the types of monomers that can be formed in prebiotic syntheses, which then dictate the properties of the occurring polymers, which finally dictate the properties of the first eobionts and all succeeding cells."[5] Kenyon's work was about virus production.[6] Intelligent design proponent Stephen C. Meyer says that the book provided a new approach which came to be known as "Self-organization".[7]

"Then in 1976, a student gave me a book by A. E. Wilder-Smith, '"The Creation of Life: a Cybernetic Approach to Evolution". Many pages of that book deal with arguments against Biochemical Predentination, and I found myself hard-pressed to come up with a counter-rebuttal." (D.H. Kenyon)[8]

Kenyon began to doubt his theory in the mid-1970s after a student posed the question to him as to how the first proteins could have been assembled without specific genetic instructions.[9] On a fellowship at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley during the 1969-1970 academic year, he reviewed literature on the relationship of science and religion. He began to rethink his Christian faith, and explored the topic further in a 1974 sabbatical at the University of Oxford. In 1976, a student gave him a book by the young Earth creationist A. E. Wilder-Smith, and "Eventually, several other books and articles by neo-creationists came to my attention. I read some of Henry Morris’ books, in particular, The Genesis Flood. I’m not a geologist, and I don’t agree with everything in that book, but what stood out was that here was a scientific statement giving a very different view of earth history. Though the book doesn’t deal with the subject of the origin of life per se, it had the effect of suggesting that it is possible to have a rational alternative explanation of the past."[3] In 1976 he wrote a new section for Morris and Whitcomb's The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications. In the 1982 foreword he wrote to What Is Creation Science? by Morris and Gary Parker, Kenyon said that he no longer accepted the pro-evolution arguments in Biochemical Predestination. At the Edwards v. Aguillard trial he provided an affidavit in support of creation science and noted the book as one of his publications. Kenyon subsequently became a co-author of Of Pandas and People which rebranded creation science as intelligent design.[1][4]

Reception

According to intelligent design proponent William A. Dembski, the book was widely considered a plausible theoretical explanation at the time, and became a best-seller.[10] In his testimony at the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, the publisher of Of Pandas and People Jon A. Buell testified that Dean Kenyon "was the co-author of the best selling book on the origin of life" and was recognized as one of the top "five or ten origin of life researchers in the world."[11] Under cross examination, Buell confirmed he was aware that Kenyon had submitted an affidavit to 'Edwards v. Aguillard in support of creation science, and testified that "Dr. Kenyon changed his view after he interacted with us."[11]

Biochemical Predestination has been cited as an "optimistic book".[12] Intelligent design creationist Nancy Pearcey describes it as "one of the most widely used graduate textbooks" which expounds the view that life arose through "natural forces within the constituents of matter itself".[13] But Kenyon's theory created doubts due to the noted fact that the "complex specific configurations exhibited in the folding of life molecules, along with the probabilistic challenges that they presented."[14] Progressive research throughout the 1970s proved Kenyon's original theory incorrect by stressing the importance of DNA on genetic coding.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kenyon, Dean H. (17 September 1984). "Edwards v. Aguillard: Dean Kenyon's Affidavit". TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Unlocking the Mystery of Life, Illustra Media, a branch of the Discovery Institute, and Focus on the Family, 2002
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Dean Kenyon: a young-earth creation scientist who was later relabeled an intelligent design proponent - The Panda's Thumb". Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forrest, Barbara (1 April 2005). "Expert Witness Report". National Center for Science Education. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Biochemical Predestination" as Heuristic Principle for Understanding the Origin of Life" by Stephen Berry, J. Chem. Educ., 1997, 74 (8), p 950 doi:10.1021/ed074p950 Link
  6. ↑ "Prof Flips Theory Coin About Virus Production," Winnipeg Free Press, Wednesday, March 22, 1972. p. 43
  7. ↑ Meyer, Stephen C. (23 June 2009). Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design. HarperCollins. pp. 229–. ISBN 978-0-06-147278-7.
  8. ↑ Pinno, A. Arthur (January 2011). God Is!. Xulon Press. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-1-61215-621-7.
  9. ↑ Colson, Charles (14 July 2011). How Now Shall We Live?. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-4143-2242-1. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  10. ↑ Dembski, William A.; McDowell, Sean (2008). Understanding Intelligent Design. Harvest House Publishers. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-7369-2442-9. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Kitzmiller v. Dover: July 14 Hearing: Jon A. Buell". TalkOrigins Archive. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Templeton, John Marks; Herrmann, Robert L. (10 April 2013). Is God The Only Reality: Science Points Deeper Meaning Of Universe. Templeton Press. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-1-59947-414-4.
  13. ↑ Pearcey, Nancy (28 February 2008). Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity. Crossway. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-4335-2235-2.
  14. ↑ "Biochemical Predestination". ISCID Encyclopedia of Science and Philosophy. Retrieved 1 June 2013.