You just know the dice are loaded when...

The Origin of Plants Depended on "Pre-adaptation," Another Word for "Preparation"
Ann Gauger October 23, 2015 3:44 AM

One of the most difficult problems for evolutionary biologists to explain is how adaptations manage to appear at the right time for the next stage of evolution to take place. This problem was succinctly summarized by Hugo de Vries, a Dutch botanist. I paraphrase: It's not the survival of the fittest, it's the arrival of the fittest that needs explanation.

To get around the problem, current evolutionary biologists use a word that stands in for this problem: pre-adaptation. In other words, things get ready for what is to come in advance of its arrival. Here's an example. Science Daily reports:

[A] team of scientists from the John Innes Centre, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and other international collaborators, has discovered how an ancient alga was able to inhabit land, before it went on to evolve into the world's first plant and colonize the earth...

Dr. Delaux said: "At some point 450 million years ago, alga from the earth's waters splashed up on to barren land. Somehow it survived and took root, a watershed moment that kick-started the evolution of life on earth. Our discovery shows for the first time that the alga already knew how to survive on land while it was still in the water. Without the development of this pre-adapted capability in alga, the earth could be a very different place today. [Emphasis added.]

Imagine this scenario: Before plants have colonized the land 450 million years ago, the only stuff on land is an ancient kind of fungus. An ancient algal species, the precursor to modern plants, is living in the sea. For some unknown reason it develops pathways that will enable it to have a symbiotic relationship with the fungus, without which it could not survive on land.

How do we know this? The genes for the symbiotic pathway exist in the modern versions of the ancient alga.

Dr. Delaux and colleagues analyzed DNA and RNA of some of the earliest known land plants and green algae and found evidence that their shared algal ancestor living in the Earth's waters already possessed the set of genes, or symbiotic pathways, it needed to detect and interact with the beneficial AM [arbuscular mycorrhiza] fungi.

With the pathway present, when the time came and the alga splashed up on the shore, it was prepared to share resources with the fungal species that was there. Maybe it had to splash up many times before it had assembled the necessary pathway. Each time, though, it would have died without the symbiotic relationship with the fungus. It was only when the symbiotic pathway was there that the alga could survive on land.

It's difficult to explain how a pathway needed to survive could develop piecemeal, when there is no benefit until the whole thing is assembled. (That's an understatement.) Perhaps it was using the pathway for something else, some would say, and it just happened to provide the means for symbiosis. We just happen to be on the lucky world where the pathway for symbiosis was assembled.

I would tend to discount this pre-adaptationist story (for the original paper go here) because it is so unlikely on Darwinian grounds, were I not an intelligent design proponent. There are numerous other examples that parallel this one, though. We find pre-adapted genes in animals that never have developed the body plans or structures that require those genes. What are they doing there?


When organisms develop the genes and pathways their descendants will use at some future time, before they need them for that particular thing, it's called pre-adaptation, exaptation, or co-option. Whatever you call it, it's either a directed process or an extremely lucky one. Evidence of directed evolution, planning, or any kind of foresight is inimical to Darwinism, so perhaps it's not surprising that the name pre-adaptation is assigned, and it's left at that. But foresight is exactly what we expect from designed processes. Pre-adaptation is another word for preparation -- something all of us should recognize as a hallmark of design.

The Watchtower Society's Commentary on the writings of the apostle Peter.

PETER, LETTERS OF:

Two inspired letters of the Christian Greek Scriptures composed by the apostle Peter, who identifies himself as the writer in the opening words of each letter. (1Pe 1:1; 2Pe 1:1; compare 2Pe 3:1.) Additional internal evidence unmistakably points to Peter as the writer. He speaks of himself as an eyewitness of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, a privilege shared only by Peter, James, and John. (2Pe 1:16-18; Mt 17:1-9) And, as is evident from John 21:18, 19, Peter alone could have said: “The putting off of my tabernacle is soon to be, just as also our Lord Jesus Christ signified to me.” (2Pe 1:14) The difference in style between the two letters may be attributed to the fact that Peter used Silvanus (Silas) for writing the first letter but apparently did not do so when writing his second letter. (1Pe 5:12) Both were general letters, evidently directed to Jewish and non-Jewish Christians. The first letter is specifically addressed to those in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia—regions of Asia Minor.—1Pe 1:1; 2:10; 2Pe 1:1; 3:1; compare Ac 2:5, 9, 10.

The letters of Peter agree fully with other Bible books in stressing right conduct and its rewards and also in quoting from them as the authoritative Word of God. Quotations are made from Genesis (18:12; 1Pe 3:6), Exodus (19:5, 6; 1Pe 2:9), Leviticus (11:44; 1Pe 1:16), Psalms (34:12-16; 118:22; 1Pe 3:10-12; 2:7), Proverbs (11:31 [LXX]; 26:11; 1Pe 4:18; 2Pe 2:22), and Isaiah (8:14; 28:16; 40:6-8; 53:5; 1Pe 2:8; 2:6; 1:24, 25; 2:24). Scriptural prophecy is shown to be the product of God’s spirit. (2Pe 1:20, 21; compare 2Ti 3:16.) God’s promise concerning new heavens and a new earth is repeated. (2Pe 3:13; Isa 65:17; 66:22; Re 21:1) The parallels between 2 Peter (2:4-18; 3:3) and Jude (5-13, 17, 18) evidently indicate that the disciple Jude accepted Peter’s second letter as inspired. Noteworthy, too, is the fact that the letters of the apostle Paul are classified by Peter with “the rest of the Scriptures.”—2Pe 3:15, 16.

Time of Writing. From the tone of the letters, it appears that they were written prior to the outbreak of Nero’s persecution in 64 C.E. The fact that Mark was with Peter would seem to place the time of composition of the first letter between 62 and 64 C.E. (1Pe 5:13) Earlier, during the apostle Paul’s first imprisonment at Rome (c. 59-61 C.E.), Mark was there, and when Paul was imprisoned for a second time at Rome (c. 65 C.E.), he requested that Timothy and Mark join him. (Col 4:10; 2Ti 4:11) Likely Peter wrote his second letter not long after his first, or about 64 C.E.

Written From Babylon. According to Peter’s own testimony, he composed his first letter while at Babylon. (1Pe 5:13) Possibly also from there he wrote his second letter. Available evidence clearly shows that “Babylon” refers to the city on the Euphrates and not to Rome, as some have claimed. Having been entrusted with ‘the good news for those who are circumcised,’ Peter could be expected to serve in a center of Judaism, such as Babylon. (Ga 2:7-9) There was a large Jewish population in and around the ancient city of Babylon. The Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1971, Vol. 15, col. 755), when discussing production of the Babylonian Talmud, refers to Judaism’s “great academies of Babylon” during the Common Era. Since Peter wrote to “the temporary residents scattered about in [literal] Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1Pe 1:1), it logically follows that the source of the letter, “Babylon,” was the literal place by that name. Never does the Bible indicate that Babylon specifically refers to Rome, nor does it state that Peter was ever in Rome.

The first to claim that Peter was martyred at Rome is Dionysius, bishop of Corinth in the latter half of the second century. Earlier, Clement of Rome, though mentioning Paul and Peter together, makes Paul’s preaching in both the E and the W a distinguishing feature of that apostle, implying that Peter was never in the W. As the vicious persecution of Christians by the Roman government (under Nero) had seemingly not yet begun, there would have been no reason for Peter to veil the identity of Rome by the use of another name. When Paul wrote to the Romans, sending greetings by name to many in Rome, he omitted Peter. Had Peter been a leading overseer there, this would have been an unlikely omission. Also, Peter’s name is not included among those sending greetings in Paul’s letters written from Rome—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews.

First Peter. The Christians to whom the apostle Peter addressed his first letter were experiencing severe trials. (1Pe 1:6) Additionally, “the end of all things” had drawn close—evidently the end of the Jewish system of things foretold by Jesus. (Compare Mr 13:1-4; 1Th 2:14-16; Heb 9:26.) It was, therefore, a time for them to be “vigilant with a view to prayers.” (1Pe 4:7; compare Mt 26:40-45.) They also needed encouragement to endure faithfully, the very encouragement provided by the apostle.

Repeatedly, Peter reminded fellow Christians of the blessings they enjoyed. Because of God’s mercy, they had received a new birth to a living hope, giving them reason for rejoicing. (1Pe 1:3-9) They had been bought with Christ’s precious blood. (1Pe 1:18, 19) Through the baptismal arrangement, they had received a good conscience and would continue to enjoy such by living in harmony with what their water baptism symbolized. (1Pe 3:21–4:6) As living stones, they were being built on Christ Jesus to become a spiritual house or temple. They were “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession.”—1Pe 2:4-10.

In view of what God and his Son had done in their behalf, Christians, as Peter showed, had reason to endure sufferings and to maintain fine conduct. They were to expect sufferings, for “even Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones.” (1Pe 3:17, 18) Sharing in the sufferings of Christ was in itself a reason for rejoicing, as it would result in being overjoyed at the revelation of Christ’s glory. To be reproached for the name of Christ constituted an evidence that a person had God’s spirit. (1Pe 4:12-14) The trials themselves resulted in faith of tested quality, which was needed for salvation. (1Pe 1:6-9) Moreover, by faithfully enduring, they would continue to experience God’s care. He would make them firm and strong.—1Pe 5:6-10.

However, as Peter emphasized, Christians were never to suffer because of being lawbreakers. (1Pe 4:15-19) Theirs was to be exemplary conduct, which would serve to silence ignorant talk against them. (1Pe 2:12, 15, 16) This involved every aspect of a Christian’s life—his relationship to governmental authority, to masters, to family members, and to Christian brothers. (1Pe 2:13–3:9) It called for right use of the organs of speech, holding a good conscience (1Pe 3:10-22), and remaining free from the defiling practices of the nations. (1Pe 4:1-3) Inside the congregation, older men serving as shepherds were not to lord it over the sheep, but were to do their work willingly and eagerly. The younger men were to be in subjection to the older men. (1Pe 5:1-5) All Christians were to be hospitable, seek to build one another up, have intense love for one another, and gird themselves with lowliness of mind.—1Pe 4:7-11; 5:5.

Second Peter. The purpose of Peter’s second letter was to assist Christians to make their calling and choosing sure and to avoid being led astray by false teachers and ungodly men within the congregation itself. (2Pe 1:10, 11; 3:14-18) Christians are urged to have faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godly devotion, brotherly affection, and love (2Pe 1:5-11), and they are admonished to pay attention to the inspired “prophetic word.” (2Pe 1:16-21) Examples of past executions of Jehovah’s judgments against ungodly persons are cited to show that those abandoning the path of righteousness will not escape God’s wrath. (2Pe 2:1-22) Despite what ridiculers might say in “the last days,” the coming of Jehovah’s day, a day for the execution of ungodly men, is just as certain as what befell the world of Noah’s day. Also, God’s promise of new heavens and a new earth is sure and should inspire diligent efforts to be found unblemished from God’s standpoint.—2Pe 3:1-18.

[Box on page 622]

HIGHLIGHTS OF FIRST PETER

A letter encouraging Christians to be vigilant and to endure faithfully despite trials

Written in Babylon by the apostle Peter using Silvanus as a secretary, about 62-64 C.E.

Christians should act in a manner worthy of their wonderful hope

“The ones chosen” have been given a living hope, an incorruptible inheritance in heaven (1:1-5)

They have faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls—something that the prophets of old and even the angels were intensely interested in (1:8-12)

Hence, they should brace up their minds for activity; they should shun their former desires, be holy, and conduct themselves with godly fear and brotherly love (1:13-25)

They must form a longing for the ‘milk of the word’ in order to grow to salvation (2:1-3)

They are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, built on the foundation of Christ; they must therefore offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (2:4-8)

As a people for special possession, they declare abroad the excellencies of their God and conduct themselves in a manner that honors him (2:9-12)

Relationships with fellow humans should be based on godly principles

Be submissive to human rulers; love the brothers; fear God (2:13-17)

House servants must be in subjection to their masters even when these are unreasonable; Jesus set a good example of patient endurance of evil (2:18-25)

Wives should be subject to their husbands; if the husband is an unbeliever, the wife’s fine conduct might win him over (3:1-6)

Husbands are to assign honor to their wives “as to a weaker vessel” (3:7)

All Christians should show fellow feeling toward others, not repaying injury for injury, but pursuing peace (3:8-12)

The end of all things has drawn close, so Christians should be sound in mind and vigilant with a view to prayers, should have intense love for one another and use their gifts to honor God (4:7-11)

Elders should be eager to shepherd the flock of God; young men must remain in subjection to older men; all should manifest lowliness of mind (5:1-5)

Faithful endurance of suffering results in blessings

Christians can rejoice even under grievous trials, since the quality of their faith will be made manifest (1:6, 7)

They should not suffer because of wrongdoing; if they suffer for righteousness’ sake, they should glorify God and not feel shame; it is a time of judgment (3:13-17; 4:15-19)

Christ suffered and died in the flesh to lead us to God; hence, we no longer live according to fleshly desires—even if fleshly people abuse us because we are different (3:18–4:6)

If a Christian endures trials faithfully, he will share in great rejoicing at Jesus’ revelation as well as be assured that he has God’s spirit right now (4:12-14)

Let each one humble himself under God’s hand and throw his anxiety upon Him; let him take his stand against Satan, with confidence that God himself will make His servants strong (5:6-10)

[Box on page 623]

HIGHLIGHTS OF SECOND PETER

A letter encouraging Christians to exert themselves and to cling to the prophetic word; it contains powerful warnings against apostasy

Written perhaps from Babylon about 64 C.E.

Christians must exert themselves and trust in the prophetic word

God has freely given all things that concern life and godly devotion; in response Christians must exert themselves to develop faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godly devotion, brotherly affection, and love—qualities that will make them active and fruitful (1:1-15)

Christians must pay attention to the divinely inspired prophetic word; when Peter saw Jesus transfigured and heard God speak in the mountain, the prophetic word was made more sure (1:16-21)

Guard against false teachers and other corrupt persons; Jehovah’s day is coming

False teachers will infiltrate the congregation, bringing in destructive sects (2:1-3)

Jehovah is sure to judge these apostates, just as he judged the disobedient angels, the ungodly world in Noah’s day, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:4-10)

Such false teachers despise authority, stain the good name of Christians by excesses and immorality, entice the weak, and promise freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption (2:10-19)

These are worse off now than when they did not know about Jesus Christ (2:20-22)

Beware of ridiculers in the last days who will mock the message about Jesus’ promised presence; they forget that the God who purposes to destroy this system of things already destroyed the world before the Flood (3:1-7)

Do not confuse God’s patience with slowness—he is patient because he wants men to repent; nevertheless, this system of things will be destroyed in Jehovah’s day, and a righteous new heavens and earth will replace it (3:8-13)


Christians must do their utmost to be “spotless and unblemished and in peace”; then they will not be misled by false teachers but will grow in undeserved kindness and knowledge of Christ (3:14-18)

File under 'well said' XII

"Dignify and glorify common labor. It is at the bottom of life that we must begin, not at the top."
Booker T. Washington

Psalm29-35 New American Bible

29)A psalm of David.

I
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,*
give to the LORD glory and might;
2
Give to the LORD the glory due his name.
Bow down before the LORD’s holy splendor!a
II
3
The voice of the LORD* is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over the mighty waters.
4
The voice of the LORD is power;
the voice of the LORD is splendor.b
5
The voice of the LORD cracks the cedars;
the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon,
6
Makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
and Sirion* like a young bull.
7
The voice of the LORD strikes with fiery flame;
8
the voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the desert of Kadesh.
9
*The voice of the LORD makes the deer dance
and strips the forests bare.
All in his Temple say, “Glory!”
III
10
The LORD sits enthroned above the flood!*c
The LORD reigns as king forever!
11
May the LORD give might to his people;*
may the LORD bless his people with peace!
30)A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple.* Of David.

I
2
I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3
O LORD, my God,
I cried out to you for help and you healed* me.
4
LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
you let me live, from going down to the pit.*a
II
5
Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful;
give thanks to his holy memory.
6
For his anger lasts but a moment;
his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
but at dawn there is rejoicing.
III
7
Complacent,* I once said,
“I shall never be shaken.”
8
LORD, you showed me favor,
established for me mountains of virtue.
But when you hid your face
I was struck with terror.b
9
To you, LORD, I cried out;
with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
10
*“What gain is there from my lifeblood,
from my going down to the grave?
Does dust give you thanks
or declare your faithfulness?
11
Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me;
LORD, be my helper.”
IV
12
You changed my mourning into dancing;
you took off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness.c
13
So that my glory may praise you
and not be silent.
O LORD, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.
31)For the leader. A psalm of David.

I
2
In you, LORD, I take refuge;a
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me;
3
incline your ear to me;
make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to save me.
4
For you are my rock and my fortress;b
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
5
Free me from the net they have set for me,
for you are my refuge.
6
*Into your hands I commend my spirit;c
you will redeem me, LORD, God of truth.
7
You hate those who serve worthless idols,
but I trust in the LORD.
8
I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy,
once you have seen my misery,
[and] gotten to know the distress of my soul.d
9
You will not abandon me into enemy hands,
but will set my feet in a free and open space.
II
10
Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
affliction is wearing down my eyes,
my throat and my insides.
11
My life is worn out by sorrow,
and my years by sighing.
My strength fails in my affliction;
my bones are wearing down.e
12
To all my foes I am a thing of scorn,
and especially to my neighbors
a horror to my friends.
When they see me in public,
they quickly shy away.f
13
I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead;
I am like a worn-out tool.*
14
I hear the whispers of the crowd;
terrors are all around me.*
They conspire together against me;
they plot to take my life.
15
But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”g
16
My destiny is in your hands;
rescue me from my enemies,
from the hands of my pursuers.
17
Let your face shine on your servant;h
save me in your mercy.
18
Do not let me be put to shame,
for I have called to you, LORD.
Put the wicked to shame;
reduce them to silence in Sheol.
19
Strike dumb their lying lips,
which speak arrogantly against the righteous
in contempt and scorn.i
III
20
How great is your goodness, Lord,
stored up for those who fear you.
You display it for those who trust you,
in the sight of the children of Adam.
21
You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
safe from scheming enemies.
You conceal them in your tent,
away from the strife of tongues.j
22
Blessed be the LORD,
marvelously he showed to me
his mercy in a fortified city.
23
Though I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your eyes.”k
Yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy,
when I pleaded with you for help.
24
Love the LORD, all you who are faithful to him.
The LORD protects the loyal,
but repays the arrogant in full.
25
Be strong and take heart,
all who hope in the LORD.
32)Of David. A maskil.

I
Blessed is the one whose fault is removed,
whose sin is forgiven.
2
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit.
II
3
Because I kept silent,* my bones wasted away;
I groaned all day long.b
4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered as in dry summer heat.
Selah
5
Then I declared my sin to you;
my guilt I did not hide.c
I said, “I confess my transgression to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6
Therefore every loyal person should pray to you
in time of distress.
Though flood waters* threaten,
they will never reach him.d
7
You are my shelter; you guard me from distress;
with joyful shouts of deliverance you surround me.
Selah
III
8
I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk,
give you counsel with my eye upon you.
9
Do not be like a horse or mule, without understanding;
with bit and bridle their temper is curbed,
else they will not come to you.
IV
10
Many are the sorrows of the wicked one,
but mercy surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
11
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
exult, all you upright of heart.
33)I
1
Rejoice, you righteous, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.a
2
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.b
3
Sing to him a new song;
skillfully play with joyful chant.
4
For the LORD’s word is upright;
all his works are trustworthy.
5
He loves justice and right.
The earth is full of the mercy of the LORD.c
II
6
By the LORD’s word the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.*d
7
*He gathered the waters of the sea as a mound;
he sets the deep into storage vaults.e
III
8
Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all who dwell in the world show him reverence.
9
For he spoke, and it came to be,
commanded, and it stood in place.f
10
The LORD foils the plan of nations,
frustrates the designs of peoples.
11
But the plan of the LORD stands forever,
the designs of his heart through all generations.g
12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people chosen as his inheritance.h
IV
13
From heaven the LORD looks down
and observes the children of Adam,i
14
From his dwelling place he surveys
all who dwell on earth.
15
The One who fashioned together their hearts
is the One who knows all their works.
V
16
A king is not saved by a great army,
nor a warrior delivered by great strength.
17
Useless is the horse for safety;
despite its great strength, it cannot be saved.
18
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those who fear him,
upon those who count on his mercy,
19
To deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive through famine.
VI
20
Our soul waits for the LORD,
he is our help and shield.j
21
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
22
May your mercy, LORD, be upon us;
as we put our hope in you.
34)Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech,* who drove him out and he went away.

I
2
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be always in my mouth.a
3
My soul will glory in the LORD;
let the poor hear and be glad.
4
Magnify the LORD with me;
and let us exalt his name together.
II
5
I sought the LORD, and he answered me,
delivered me from all my fears.
6
Look to him and be radiant,
and your faces may not blush for shame.
7
This poor one cried out and the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
8
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and he saves them.b
9
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the stalwart one who takes refuge in him.c
10
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones;
nothing is lacking to those who fear him.d
11
The rich grow poor and go hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
III
12
Come, children,* listen to me;e
I will teach you fear of the LORD.
13
Who is the man who delights in life,f
who loves to see the good days?
14
Keep your tongue from evil,
your lips from speaking lies.
15
Turn from evil and do good;g
seek peace and pursue it.
16
The eyes of the LORD are directed toward the righteoush
and his ears toward their cry.
17
The LORD’s face is against evildoers
to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18
The righteous cry out, the LORD hears
and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
19
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted,
saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20
Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him from them all.
21
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.i
22
Evil will slay the wicked;
those who hate the righteous are condemned.
23
The LORD is the redeemer of the souls of his servants;
and none are condemned who take refuge in him.
35)Of David.

I
*Oppose, O LORD, those who oppose me;
war upon those who make war upon me.
2
Take up the shield and buckler;
rise up in my defense.
3
Brandish lance and battle-ax
against my pursuers.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4
Let those who seek my life
be put to shame and disgrace.
Let those who plot evil against mea
be turned back and confounded.
5
Make them like chaff before the wind,b
with the angel of the LORD driving them on.
6
Make their way slippery and dark,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
II
7
Without cause they set their snare for me;
without cause they dug a pit for me.
8
Let ruin overtake them unawares;
let the snare they have set catch them;
let them fall into the pit they have dug.c
9
Then I will rejoice in the LORD,
exult in God’s salvation.
10
My very bones shall say,
“O LORD, who is like you,d
Who rescue the afflicted from the powerful,
the afflicted and needy from the despoiler?”
III
11
Malicious witnesses rise up,
accuse me of things I do not know.
12
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is desolate.e
13
*Yet I, when they were ill, put on sackcloth,
afflicted myself with fasting,
sobbed my prayers upon my bosom.
14
I went about in grief as for my brother,
bent in mourning as for my mother.
15
Yet when I stumbled they gathered with glee,
gathered against me and I did not know it.
They slandered me without ceasing;
16
without respect they mocked me,
gnashed their teeth against me.
IV
17
O Lord, how long will you look on?
Restore my soul from their destruction,
my very life from lions!f
18
Then I will thank you in the great assembly;
I will praise you before the mighty throng.g
19
Do not let lying foes rejoice over me,
my undeserved enemies wink knowingly.h
20
They speak no words of peace,
but against the quiet in the land
they fashion deceitful speech.i
21
They open wide their mouths against me.
They say, “Aha! Good!
Our eyes have seen it!”j
22
You see this, LORD; do not be silent;k
Lord, do not withdraw from me.
23
Awake, be vigilant in my defense,
in my cause, my God and my Lord.
24
Defend me because you are just, LORD;
my God, do not let them rejoice over me.
25
Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Our soul!”*
Do not let them say,
“We have devoured that one!”
26
Put to shame and confound
all who relish my misfortune.
Clothe with shame and disgrace
those who lord it over me.
27
But let those who favor my just cause
shout for joy and be glad.
May they ever say, “Exalted be the LORD
who delights in the peace of his loyal servant.”
28
Then my tongue shall recount your justice,
declare your praise, all the day long.l

Russia continues to fall short re:religious liberty.

Experts Object to Russia’s Banning of JW.ORG:

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—On July 21, 2015, the Russian Federation banned jw.org, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses, making it a criminal offense to promote it from within the federation. Russia is the only country in the world to ban jw.org.

Religious studies specialist and professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations in Moscow, Yekaterina Elbakyan, comments on jw.org: “I think the website is necessary because it contains objective information directly from Jehovah’s Witnesses about their organization rather than third-party opinions. . . . Not only are its members interested in the website, but also those who are simply interested in various religions. And I’m not only speaking about professional religious scholars like myself but also journalists and publicists who write about religion.”

“I think the website is necessary because it contains objective information directly from Jehovah’s Witnesses”—Yekaterina Elbakyan, Professor, Academy of Labor and Social Relations, Moscow
A legal expert at the Human Rights Institute in Moscow, Lev Levinson, puts this action by the government in historical context: “Twenty-first century Russia has a constitution that guarantees freedom of religion and equality of religious associations before the law. However, as in the 19th century, Russia is again restricting the freedom of sharing one’s religious views by confiscating literature and banning websites. And this is all being done by judges and experts who apply unlawful regulations under the guise of counteracting extremism.”

The ban is the latest development in a legal battle stretching back to 2013. On August 7 of that year, a Russian district court declared the website “extremist” during a secret trial, but that decision was reversed by a regional court on January 22, 2014. However, a Deputy of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to reinstate the trial decision. On December 2, 2014, the Supreme Court heard the prosecution’s appeal without the Witnesses present to defend themselves, as they were not properly notified of the hearing. The Supreme Court reinstated the trial decision, declaring the entire website “extremist” although the court conceded that the website no longer contained any religious material prohibited by the Russian authorities. The Witnesses contested the decision and appealed to the chairman of the Supreme Court, but without success. As a result of that decision, on July 21, 2015, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added the website to the Federal List of Extremist Materials, banning the website throughout Russia.

Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, comments on the impact of the ban: “We are disappointed that the Russian authorities have taken this unwarranted action. This ban curtails the worship of over 170,000 in this country who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. But when you consider that some 285,000 people in Russia accessed the website every day, it is clear that even those who are not members of our faith have been deprived of an excellent resource for Bible study.”

Speaking from the Witnesses’ world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, J. R. Brown, an international spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, states: “Our official website, jw.org, hosts award-winning videos, publications for Bible study in hundreds of languages, and the two most widely distributed magazines in the world, The Watchtower and Awake! It has been featured in some of the largest international book fairs and has even been used extensively in schools. It has benefited many communities around the world and was widely used in Russia. Really, this is a website that should be promoted.”

Media Contact(s):

International: J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5000


Russia: Yaroslav Sivulskiy, tel. +7 812 702 2691

Methodological naturalists raid design advocates' tool kit again.

Chemistry Nobel Prize Based on Design Inference
Evolution News & Views October 21, 2015 3:58 AM

This month's announcement of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry should cause design advocates to celebrate. We have just seen the biggest prize for science go to three biologists who made a design inference about genetic information. Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, and Aziz Sancar shared the prestigious honor for their work on DNA repair mechanisms.

Of course, intelligent design was never mentioned in the Nobel Committee's announcement, either the popular version or the scientific version. We know also that the committee assumes that the repair mechanisms came about by a Darwinian process. In all likelihood, the winners are evolutionists, too. But think about it; their work was about information quality control -- a subject related to our new video that came out the very next day after the news. The Information Enigma asks three questions: (1) What is information? (2) How do we detect it? and (3) Where does it come from? The Nobel announcement suggests a fourth question: (4) How is information maintained?



The 1970s and 80s were a heady time for molecular biology, when the prizewinners were doing their research. The realization that life is based on digital information encoded in DNA was only a couple of decades old. DNA's structure had been revealed by Watson and Crick in 1953. Further work by Crick revealed the molecular basis of the genetic code in the "letters" of DNA bases (see Nature Scitable Education Library). Watson, Crick, and Wilkins won the Nobel Prize in 1962 "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material" (emphasis added.) Their work relied on findings by many other scientists, Nature Scitable reminds us, that were converging on the fundamental discovery that life is information-based.

This month's announcement is not the first time the design inference led to a Nobel Prize. The NIH Record, for instance, honors Marshall Warren Nirenberg as "discoverer of the genetic code" for his work on "the genetic code used by virtually all living organisms to translate the information in DNA molecules into protein structure." Nirenberg shared the Nobel Prize in 1968 with Robert W. Holley and H. Gobind Khorana.

The discovery of the genetic code and the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 are generally considered the two transformational events in making biology a molecular science and are the fundamental basis of the subsequent sequencing of the billions of nucleotides in human DNA molecules, as part of the Human Genome Project, and the sequencing of the DNA of hundreds of other living organisms.
Sequencing would make no sense, obviously, if the order of the DNA bases were meaningless. Genome sequencing relies on the principle that the precise order of the bases is critical for function.

Another principle was becoming known around that time, too: information can be degraded. Erik Stokstad, writing in Science, describes how these two forces in conflict with each other -- information creation and degradation -- led Tomas Lindahl to think that something unnatural must be going on in the cell nucleus:

Biologists have long known that DNA wasn't rock solid. Blasts of xrays, for example, could cause mutations in cells. Yet most researchers believed that the molecule was inherently stable. After all, cancer and other genetic malfunctions are the exception, not the rule.
As a postdoc in the late 1960s, however, Lindahl began to have doubts. Samples of RNA in his experiments rapidly degraded when heated. Further experiments showed that even under normal conditions, DNA quickly suffered enough damage to make life impossible. A light bulb went on. "Lindahl had the critical insight," says biochemist Bruce Alberts of the University of California, San Francisco.

Lindahl began to search for enzymes that might repair this unseen damage.

Stokstad goes on to tell about the mechanism Lindahl found and published in 1974. Then he tells about the work of Modrich and Sancar, who independently "felt the light bulb go on" when thinking about this "hugely important topic" of information repair. Stokstad begins his article on that theme:
Considering how much depends on the messages it bears, DNA is an alarmingly fragile molecule. It's vulnerable to UV light and mutagenic chemicals, as well as spontaneous decay. Life has survived through the ages because enzymes inside every cell ensure that DNA remains in proper working order. This year's Nobel Prize in chemistry, announced 7 October, recognizes three scientists who discovered key mechanisms for fixing the damage.
We suggested that DNA repair is in some way "unnatural" -- why is that? Well, look what happens under natural conditions. The Nobel Committee tells us what would happen without "systems" to maintain the genetic information:
Each day our DNA is damaged by UV radiation, free radicals and other carcinogenic substances, but even without such external attacks, a DNA molecule is inherently unstable. Thousands of spontaneous changes to a cell's genome occur on a daily basis. Furthermore, defects can also arise when DNA is copied during cell division, a process that occurs several million times every day in the human body.
The reason our genetic material does not disintegrate into complete chemical chaos is that a host of molecular systems continuously monitor and repair DNA. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015 awards three pioneering scientists who have mapped how several of these repair systems function at a detailed molecular level.

What's "natural" is for DNA to degrade, and thus, the information that rides on it. Mutations lead to cancer and other life-threatening diseases. We humans know all about the necessity of tools to fix things. So do cells; the cell keeps a "toolbox for DNA repair," the Nobel headline quips. The New York Times uses similar concepts, in its own words, to describe how the cell "fights" the natural tendency toward chemical chaos:
The human body is made up of trillions of living cells, each containing a coiled mass of DNA that if straightened out would extend about six feet. In turn, each strand carries the thousands of genetic instructions needed to run the body.
But the DNA molecule is unstable. The genome of each cell undergoes thousands of spontaneous changes each day. And DNA copying for cell division and multiplication, which happens in the body millions of times daily, also introduces defects. Finally, DNA is damaged by ultraviolet light from the sun as well as by industrial pollutants and natural toxins -- those in cigarette smoke, for example. What fights pandemonium are DNA repair mechanisms.

Notice that what they found was not simply mechanisms that "repair DNA" as if any order of base pairs would do. No; they found systems and mechanisms that worked to maintain the genetic instructions needed to run the body (i.e., functional information).
So it's fair to say that what is "natural" is the spontaneous degradation of information. Mechanisms designed by a mind, by contrast, can overcome the natural tendency toward "pandemonium." We know from experience that it takes the guidance of goal-directed intelligence to proofread and correct errors in digital code. The BBC News aptly calls this process debugging. Ever see an unguided debugger of computer code?

To address those defects, a host of molecular systems continuously monitor and de-bug our genetic information. The three new laureates mapped in detail how some of these mechanisms worked.
It's not necessary to use the phrase "intelligent design" to recognize it in action. Nor is it necessary to know the personal beliefs of the Nobel laureates. They made a design inference; that's what counts. Quality control, information monitoring, error correction systems -- these are phrases rich with design concepts.


We're glad that three intelligent scientists, Lindahl, Modrich and Sancar, received the world's highest scientific honors for uncovering "a molecular system that constantly counteracts DNA collapse" by what can fairly be called intelligent design. Whether or not anyone in fact calls it ID, the 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry reflects the validity and fruitfulness of the design inference for top-flight scientific research.