In the Beginning Was Information [Paperback]

Werner Gitt (Author), Jaap Kies (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2000

“Powerful evidence for the existence of a personal God!”

INFORMATION IS THE CORNERSTONE OF LIFE, yet it is something people don’t often think about. In his fascinating new book, In the Beginning Was Information, Dr. Werner Gitt helps the reader see how the very presence of information reveals a Designer:

* Do we take for granted the presence of information that organizes every part of the human body, from hair color to the way internal organs work?
* What is the origin of all our complicated data?
* How is it that information in our ordered universe is organized and processed?

Gitt explains the necessity of information – and more importantly, the need for an Organizer and Originator of that information. The huge amount of information present in just a small amount of DNA alone refutes the possibility of a non-intelligent beginning for life. It all points to a Being who not only organizes biological data, but also cares for the creation.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3893972552
• ISBN-13: 978-3893972555
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Information Theory: Roadblock for Evolution August 18, 2002

By Joshua V. Schneider VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

In this fascinating book, the author Werner Gitt explains in detail the principle of information theory, namely defining the characteristics of information and all the observational evidence we have for the origin and formation of information. He carefully and clearly delineates what is considered information for the purposes of the theory, and the 5-level structure of information, which includes Statistics, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Apobetics. It is shown that the well-known theory of information given by Shannon is an important contribution, but can only describe the lowest (statistical) level of information, while ignoring the most crucial aspects of its higher level definition. All information, as defined by the book, has these higher level aspects, which include the structure and code (syntax); the meaning (semantics); the intended action (pragmatics); and purpose or goal (apobetics). Of course that is an oversimplification of the concept, but Gitt does a fine job of explaining it with numerous fascinating examples both from the biological and technical realm.

Gitt shows how all attempts to generate (or simulate the generation of) information apart from a mental process have failed. This is the most fundamental hurdle that the theory of evolution must overcome in order to claim validity as a complete explanation of the origin of life apart from the Creator or a mental source. DNA is undeniably information, and it is coded in such an efficient and marvelous way, that it is utterly unmatched by the greatest technological advancements of today. Even an experiment to show the formation of meaningful DNA from materialistic processes, in sufficient quantity to produce life, would still fall far short of proving this necessary step for evolution, since apart from a meaningful context of proteins and RNA to participate in the replication, transcription, and translation of the information in DNA, DNA is useless. And as it is well known in biology, the paradox goes deeper: the proteins that are required for replication, etc are coded for BY the DNA! The challenge of information theory to evolution can not be brushed aside, and this book does an excellent job of laying out the theory in a detailed yet understandable and compelling manner.

Gitt's book offers a fresh look at the creation and evolution debate by presenting a robust positive case for creation on the basis of the theorems and natural laws encompassed by information theory and the countless observations that have affirmed this theory. He discuss numerous examples that have been proposed contrary to the it, and how they have failed to falsify the theory. Gitt devotes limited time to discounting evolution, but makes reference to other writings of his that deal with it more specifically. The purpose of the book is not so much to deconstruct evolutionary theory, but to establish by scientific theorems that all known information has a mental source, and this has yet to be disproven. He is also unabashedly a Christian and a believer in special creation, which comes across clearly in his book, yet he rightly admits that the existence of God can not be proved. However, he points out the consistency of the inference of a Creator with all other observations about information.

"In the Beginning Was Information" will be a very informative book not only for creationists, but evolutionists as well, due to its thorough explanation of information. If you read this book, by all means read the appendix at the end, it contains some of the most intriguing examples in the whole book!

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound implications April 13, 2002

By Raymond F. Hendrix

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has the potential of absolutely destroying all materialistic theories of the origin of life. No book since Darwin's Origin of the Species, in my opinion, can compare with this one in its profound and far reaching implications - if it is read. No, I am not a salesman but perhaps I can influence a true freethinker and seeker of truth to see what I am talking about.

A man named Claude E. Shannon defined information on a statistical level and many atheists such as Richard Dawkins have misused the truths that he discovered as proof that the coded information contained in DNA can arise through "natural selection" or is explained by a random process that undergoes evolution and "self replication" until viable information is attained.

Professor Werner Gitt refutes that idea and similar hypotheses absolutely by the use of empirical evidence. The book is written both for the layman and the experts who require complicated formulas. The more elaborate scientific explanations are contained in the appendix. The author shows by the application of information theorems that the specified sequence of the nucleotide "letters" in DNA (ATCG) and their effectual division into triplets (codons) that is coordinated with the translation process MUST be the result of a mental process and not a material or chemical one. He shows that material explanations for the origin of the information contained in DNA and a living cell are inherently absurd and impossible. His conclusions are based not upon speculation but on scientific theorems.

The implication should be obvious. First, it becomes apparent immediately that whether the theory of evolution is true or not it cannot operate without intelligent input. Secondly, it throws a monkey wrench into all naturalistic and materialistic theories that pertain to the origin of life and its development whether through natural selection or direct creation. If a mental source must be assumed in order for information to exist then all bets are off because life is based upon the coded information contained in DNA. "RNA worlds", "self replicating molecules", and endless speculation on random self organization of amino acids and nucleotide bases becomes irrelevant because they violate established laws of science. These information laws, theorems or maxims fly in the face of all naturalistic explanations of the origin of life and the coded information contained in it.

The book is well written and is easy to read. The author simplifies the problems so that they can be understood by anyone who is capable of rational thought.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Information, Not for the Light Reader January 10, 2013

By Telos

Format:Paperback

This is a book that is very difficult to write a review on. It is so packed full of information to process and for some, might be considered controversial and offensive. Then again, some times the best books are those that stir up the pot a little. I was assigned this book when I was in college many, many years ago as part of a biological ethics course. It is not a light read by any means and at times I could only read a few pages and then have to stop in order to give myself time to process what it is that I actually read. This is one of those books where you are either really going to like what the author is trying to convey, or you are really going to hate it. The primary argument that the Gitt focuses on is the origin of information. Information is all around us from the coding of amino acids via DNA to the creation of written and spoken language. Gitt proposes that this information was created with intent, it has a purpose, and it was not an accident. He uses this concept as a jumping off point to convey that information can't just magically appear, it has to be created by someone or something. To quote his thoughts on coding he says, " The coding system used for living being s is optimal from an engineering standpoint. This fact strengthens the argument that it was a case of purposeful design rather than fortuitous chance." In the following chapters he uses both Biblical and scientific evidence to point to who this creator is. He states, "According to the laws of every piece of information requires a sender. Since the Sender cannot be investigated by human means, many people erroneously conclude that he does not exist, and thus they contravene the information theorems. This Sender, the Creator, has revealed Himself so that we do have information about Him, He, Jesus, was in the world and the world was made through Him. (John 1:10)" Gitt uses the remainder of his book providing supportive evidence for God's existence, the master creator, using "information". I hope for some these excepts will help with your decision as to if this book is for you or not. For me, I enjoyed the book despite the challenging nature of it and the complexity of His arguments. It is a thinking book and I encourage anyone who is interested in this area of science to give it a shot.