'Oldest Evidence' of Life? | The Institute for Creation Research

'Oldest Evidence' of Life?

Recently, evolutionists discovered “microfossils up to almost 4.3 billion years old” in Canada.1 Their article states:

“It shows that some microbes have not changed significantly” since Earth’s early times, Papineau said. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago and the oceans appeared about 4.4 billion years ago. If the fossils are indeed 4.28 billion years old, that would suggest “an almost instantaneous emergence of life” after ocean formation, Dodd said.1

It is significant that these fossil microbes apparently didn’t change after four billion years—but evolution implies many, many changes over millions of years. If evolution involves substantial change, then why are these ancient microfossils so similar to modern microbes?

The article states the microbes “are similar to the bacteria that thrive today around sea floor hydrothermal vents” and “hydrothermal vents spewing hot water may have been the cradle of life on Earth relatively soon after the planet formed.” This brings us to a second point: The hardy life forms clustered around today’s hydrothermal vents are called extremophiles. They can survive punishing temperatures, high pressure, and toxic chemicals. Were these the first forms of life on Earth—having been fashioned by time, chance, and natural processes? In our advanced 21st century, secular biologists are still unaware of life’s origin:

How did cells arise? Of all the major questions posed by biologists, this question may be the least likely ever to be answered.2

We should be aware that the sudden and spontaneous formation of organic life (unobserved “abiotic synthesis”) from inorganic non-life has yet to be documented either on the surface of the “primitive” Earth, or in the cracks in the ocean’s floor—the “iron-sulfur world” hypothesis. And it’s certainly never been empirically observed in a laboratory. Indeed, naturalistic philosophers despair in even defining what life actually is.3

Although evolutionists cannot define life, how it arose, or where this miraculous first-life event occurred, they maintain it somehow did so almost instantaneously! Truly, a key ingredient in this strange, secular scenario is blind faith.

Finally, the article airily stated that the oceans “appeared.” But even water’s origin is an ongoing puzzle for the material scientist. “Astronomers [are still] looking for clues to water’s origins” stated a science news website.4 It recently has been suggested water covering the Earth may have had a more local origin, “How did the Earth get its water? It seems it had it all along.”5 This is an interesting admission especially in the light of what the Apostle Paul said:

“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.” (Acts 14:15)

The biblical record is a testimony of One who made water and life, the One who was there “in the beginning....”6

References

  1. Dunham, W. Canadian bacteria-like fossils called oldest evidence of life. Reuters. Posted on reuters.com March 1, 2017, accessed March 1, 2017. 
  2. Karp, G. 2013. Cell and Molecular Biology, 7th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 7.
  3. Bedau, M. A., and C. Cleland, eds. 2010. The Nature of Life: Classical and Contemporary Perspective from Philosophy and Science. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  4. Howell, E. Astronomers Looking for Clues to Water’s Origins. Astrobiology Magazine. Posted on astrobio.net March 27, 2014, accessed March 1, 2017. 
  5. Origin of Earth’s water traced back to the birth of our planet. New Scientist. Posted on newscientist.com November 18, 2015, accessed March 1, 2017. 
  6. Genesis 1:1.

Image credit: Copyright © 2017 Reuters. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holder.

*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate, Senior Lecturer, and Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on March 20, 2017.

The Latest
NEWS
Man of Science, Man of God: George Washington Carver
Who:  George Washington Carver What: Father of Modern Agriculture When: 1864 or 1865 – January 5, 1943 Where: Diamond Grove,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Scopes Monkey Trial: A Battle of Worldviews
Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, and its statue of William Jennings Bryan Image credit: M. Mueller The Scopes Monkey...

ACTS & FACTS
Long Non-Coding RNAs: The Unsung Heroes of the Genome
Evolutionary theory holds that all living things came about through random, natural processes. So conventional scientists believe the genome has developed...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 1: Tiny Clues of a Grand Picture
Yosemite National Park in California is a sure source of stunning scenery. It’s no wonder that American naturalist John Muir persuaded President...

ACTS & FACTS
From Inference to Theory: A Common Design Case Study
Without a doubt, humans, chimpanzees, and other organisms share similar features. An early explanation was that these features reflect similar designs...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: T. rex
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Entering By The Door
Recently, I hosted a visiting pastor from a large church at ICR’s Discovery Center. As I guided him through our Dallas museum, one conversation...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Mission in Fiji
Michele discusses pages from Explore the World with boys at an orphanage Image credit: Brian Thomas In 2024 my wife, Michele,...

NEWS
Distant Galaxies Continue to Challenge the Big Bang
Recently, a team of scientists released data collected from 800,000 galaxies at different distances from Earth, all lying within the same narrow slice...

NEWS
Did Teeth First Evolve as Sensory Tissue?
One of the mysteries of evolution (there are so many) is the origin of teeth. The past few years have witnessed a remarkable flurry of research...