From the heart
A medical doctor shares on creation
Being brought up in a Christian family, I have never doubted 6-day creation. It was perfectly logical to me, since I believe God has the power to create the world in even a fraction of a second. However, when I encountered some friends who argued for evolution, I started to think on the topic more. How could I answer their queries about evolution and creation, so that I could help guide them towards the light?
I found that the concept of evolution was quite deeply rooted in the minds of my non-believer friends. That was also the case for some of the Christians I knew, who believed God ‘used evolution’ to create the world. I even had an intense discussion on this matter with one friend, who has been a Christian since childhood and is a science major graduate. She thought that God created the world in thousands of millions of years.
It was not my only similar exchange; I also had one with a university friend who is now a fellow doctor. The idea of a Creator behind the obvious design in biology was new to her. So too was the notion of a fallen world that is deteriorating, with mutations just leading to diseases, not improvement. She said she needed time to think, so I gave her a subscription to Creation. She thanked me for introducing her to new concepts; she had previously thought Christianity was just another religion, like Buddhism, Islam, etc. I’m grateful for such opportunities to introduce the truth to people like her, and I’m still praying for her salvation.
Since my youth, it has been crystal clear to me that there is a Creator behind all the things we now see—every creature on earth or in the sky or sea; the air we breathe which keeps us alive; the water that comes from the sky that hydrates us; the food that grows from soil that satisfies us, and so on.
The wonders inside of us
I had the privilege of studying medicine in Hong Kong, which further strengthened my faith and my belief that creation is the truth. I had medical professors who were great Christians and taught us about the well-designed mitochondria (membrane-bound organelles inside our cells).
Each mitochondrion (see figure below) is as complex as a factory, but is condensed into a tiny size of 0.5–3 µm1 (about the same size as a small bacterium—invisible to the naked eye). Each one works to produce energy (in the form of adenosine triphosphate—ATP) from sugar and oxygen, utilizing an amazing miniature electric motor.2 The mitochondrion is like a power plant that supports our lives, as well as the lives of many other organisms, including plants.
Mitochondrial numbers are precisely regulated in each cell according to the need. They can also travel within a cell along special ‘railway tracks’ (cytoskeletal microtubules).3
It seems self-evident that such a sophisticated structure and mechanism could only be so ingeniously designed by a super-intelligent Creator. When we see a well-made Rolex watch or a motorcar, we know that each had to be designed by intelligent and specialized designers. The mitochondria are much more complex than a Rolex watch!
Evolution is supposed to proceed from simpler to more complex via mutations adding new functions to existing simpler organisms. Mutations are accidental changes to the existing DNA code, the inherited information that each generation receives from the preceding one. We do see mutations happening from time to time, but they lead to diseases and death—they don’t produce new structures or cellular pathways or ‘super humans’ with endless energy.
Mutations—breaking, not making us
There is a wide range of diseases affecting our mitochondria. This underscores the grim reality that mutations lead to dysfunction, which occurs in varying degrees in the brain, kidneys, muscles, heart, eyes, ears, and elsewhere.4 The mutation causing a particular disease can be inherited as an autosomal (non-sex-linked) recessive gene, which means there is a 25% chance that an offspring will inherit the disease. Where the gene is dominant, the chance is 50%.
Mitochondria have their own DNA. A disease-causing mutation in that will have a 100% chance of being inherited (from an affected mother; sons do not pass it on).
Some mitochondrial diseases have a variable age of onset. These include Kearns–Sayre syndrome (KSS), Leigh’s disease, and MELAS (characterized by mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes). These diseases are caused directly by mitochondrial DNA mutations.
The symptoms of mitochondrial disease depend on the affected body parts, and they may differ in severity. They may range from poor growth or developmental delay to hearing impairment, seizures, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, and more.5
Tragically, mitochondrial diseases are currently incurable. This means only supportive treatment with symptomatic relief can be provided, in order to alleviate the discomfort and distress caused by the disease.
To sum up, a random change (mutation) in the genetics of mitochondria causes disastrous consequences, resulting in physical and psychological suffering. Other than in comic books, mutations have not created more powerful or indestructible human beings. Rather, they have produced degeneration, disease, misery, and suffering in this real, fallen world (Genesis 3, Romans 8:20–22).
For those who are Christians, I believe it is of paramount importance that they understand the power of 6-day creation. It means that from Chapter 1 the Bible is a book of facts, not based on ‘stories’ or myths but on real history. It is important to be equipped with answers, too. We can help others see through the evolutionary attempts to explain how this intricate world could have somehow made itself.6
We can see with our own eyes, as Romans 1:20 says:
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
As I have studied medicine, I have seen powerful evidence of this Bible passage. For me, the reliability of the Bible is underlined by the wonders of creation, God’s works of art. The amazing fulfilment of the many biblical prophecies in the birth, life, death and Resurrection of Jesus reinforces this to me. We should trust the word of God 100% without any reservation, and use it as our life guide, so that we will not go astray.
References and notes
- Shami, G.J. and 4 others, Three-dimensional ultrastructure of giant mitochondria in human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Sci Rep 11:3319, 2021. Return to text.
- Thomas, B., ATP synthase: majestic molecular machine made by a mastermind, Creation 31(4):21–23, 2009; creation.com/atp-synthase. Return to text.
- DiMauro, S. and Schon, E., Mitochondrial respiratory-chain diseases, New England J. Medicine 358:2656, 2003. For a video of another amazing nanomachine that ‘walks’ along such microtubules, see creation.com/kinesin. Mitochondrial transport uses different, though also highly complex, machinery. Return to text.
- See cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/mitochondrial-faq.html. Mitochondrial dysfunction can sometimes be secondary to another disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Lou Gehrig’s disease, diabetes, cancer; my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15612-mitochondrial-diseases. Return to text.
- See childrenshospital.org/conditions/mitochondrial-disease. Return to text.
- The information and resources available through Creation Ministries International (creation.com) are immensely helpful in this. Return to text.
Readers’ comments
Comments are automatically closed 14 days after publication.