Another Theory on the Origin of Life

Genesis 1:20
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”

Deep beneath the waves of many of our oceans, superheated water gushes from the ocean floor. The water is so loaded with minerals, especially with black iron sulfide, that it looks like black smoke.

As the hot, mineral-rich water encounters the colder ocean water, some of the minerals precipitate, forming a black chimney around the escaping water. These chimneys are literally honeycombed with hollow compartments. Evolutionary scientists have proposed that these hollow compartments provided a kind of nursery shelter for the first life forms forming from the exotic chemistry of the hot mineral water. They know that living cell walls have an extremely complex structure, and this proposal is thought to solve the problem of the first life forming without its own cell walls. Some research has shown that iron sulfide may be able to support some of the chemistry related to life. However, one must assume that the right mix of ingredients for life had to be present. One must assume that amino acids were somehow available. Nor is there an explanation in the proposal of how biologically meaningful DNA information developed in these circumstances, nor any hint how cell walls would have developed.

Life is made possible by a very complex information system and the complex chemistry it controls. The Bible still offers the best explanation for the origin of life.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You for life and especially for eternal life through the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 4/26/03, pp. 264-266, Kendall Morgan, “Rocky Start.”