Customer Reviews

The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator's Artistry

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Dr. Fuz Rana attempts to show that cellular biochemistry points to the existence of the Creator who designed it. Whereas most intelligent design books attempt to show the existence of design by demonstrating the existence of irreducible complexity, Dr. Rana examines the cell's biochemistry with broad strokes of how everything works together with such marvelous fidelity. So, even if a single piece or line of evidence might be dismissed as a statistical outlier, the weight of evidence makes a powerful case for design by a Creator. Each chapter begins with an analogy from the art world that relates to the topic at hand. Apparently, Dr. Rana is quite an art enthusiast.

One of my favorite sections was the discussion of how proteins are made within a cell. A large amount of the cell's molecular systems are involved in the process by which DNA is transcribed into RNA then translated into proteins. The process is like a beautifully choreographed symphony in which all the instruments come together to produce a sound that seems to be more than just the addition of the individual pieces. The protein manufacturing process is amazing in its own right. However, the quality control systems that operate at each step of the process ensure that the fidelity of the copies remain high without slowing down the process. Even so, just manufacturing proteins is not the end of the process. Many of these proteins undergo post-translational modifications, such as formation of disulfide bonds (one aspect of the protein folding process), folding of proteins into specific three-dimensional structures, addition of carbohydrate moieties, cleavage of the protein chain, and assembly into protein complexes. For most proteins, the linear structure of the protein does not define its three dimensional structure sufficiently so that it will fold properly on its own. Accessory molecules are required to ensure that the protein folds properly so that it will function as designed. How these systems co-evolved along with the proteins themselves is quite a mystery for evolutionists.

Until the last century, we humans were blissfully unaware of amazing processes operating within each cell of our bodies. Even now, recent research continues to reveal such things as epigenetic control of transcription that goes beyond the mere genetic sequences upon which it operates. With such refinements "identical" cells operate differentially within discrete microenvironments. This not a discussion of your father's biochemistry, but an up-to-date examination of the latest evidence pointing toward the design hypothesis operating within our cells. Get the book, and be awe-struck with the incredible systems operating within your body.

Fazale Rana's The Cell's Design is absolutely worth having, especially if you are an ID proponent. It certainly is the most comprehensive book to date (of which I'm aware) that gives a popular level overview of the cell's structure and how that relates to the ID argument. Much of the arguments put forward by Behe, Wells, Meyer, and others benefit from this book's support precisely because of that.

Unfortunately, that also turns out to be its biggest weakness on two fronts. First, in my view, Rana's book as a whole hardly constitutes an argument in and of itself, regardless of his opening statements. He believes that he is putting forward a positive case for ID based on what science does know rather than what it does not. Yet his entire approach of analogical pattern finding only works if naturalistic science turns out not to be able to find naturalistic causes for each of the issues he describes. On that count, the book doesn't make any major advances over others as he hopes.

In the second place, due to its very nature, The Cell's Design is a cumbersome read. The majority of the book reads like a college biology textbook with a concluding paragraph for each chapter offering thoughts toward design. Those without a background in biology will find the material itself difficult to follow.

So I give the book three stars. The very nature of the material doesn't lend itself well to popular argument and explanation (that is, the internal working of a cell), but it is material that every person who wants to truly grasp what ID is about needs to understand. It's no page turner, but if you want a great background to better understand other major ID proponents (and you don't already have a biology degree), I can't really think of a better investment.

Rana's chief argument, i.e., that the microbiological features of cells' designs are analogous to man-made machines and systems, succeeds because it is completely detailed and the comparisons fully developed. The nature of biochemistry is detail, long exotic names, and complexity. When you read this book as a layman, some of the complexity is daunting--even overwhelming at times. If you're a biochemist or even a microbiologist, you will be in comfortable territory. Because I had to struggle through much of the book's technical detail, it took me a long time to read. Yet when I was done I recognized that I had just been exposed to secrets of cellular components and systems that few laymen ever know.

The effort was surely worth the work: no one who reads this book open-mindedly could ever believe that the cell is the product of randomized evolution. The cellular machines and systems are so convincingly revealed AS machines and systems that the argument from analogy is clearly validated, each point of relevant comparison explicated and affirmed by peer-reviewed evidence.

While I was enthralled with the beauty and intricate perfection of the astounding number and complexity of just-right relations among parts, functions, timing, feedback, self-correction, and many other features of cells, I focused on the legitimacy of the argument from analogy when I was all done. Those who wish to deny that living things are analogous to man-made machines can only do so effectively when their audience is ignorant of the facts. Rana's book elucidates the facts. Yet the facts are only meaningful if they show the points of relevant comparison between man-made machines and the machines/systems within the cells. Rana here uses a leitmotif of an art mystery through the book to help us understand those points of relevance. Although I'm not sure creating this extra literary layer made it easier to read the book, it did help the layman understand the connections that make the analogy work. It may even be better to say there are many analogies, and Rana did a great job explaining them, complicated as some may be.

In the end, this book contributes greatly to the general argument for the existence of God by defeating Paley's opponents with rich evidence for keen mechanical, chemical, and system-engineering designs throughout cells. More complex than any watch Paley (or Hume!) could have imagined, the designs of cells are obviously intelligently designed.

Rana is clear Who the Designer is, and he therefore goes beyond the timidity of the "Intelligent Design" movement. As such, this book is clearly a Christian apologetic. But whether atheist, skeptic, Christian, or otherwise, anyone will find the book worth reading for its novel approach to the argument from analogy, its candor, its expertly detailed descriptions, and its revelations of cellular systems and machines that astonish and awe.

I just finished. Thanks for the engaging read, Dr. Rana. Some really good points, and the thumbnail tour through the workings of the cell was excellent. With your permission, I would like to photocopy some of the sections for use in my honors high school biology classes.

Some places I found hard-hitting:
(a) Molecular Convergence (Chap 11): Theories of evolution based upon random mutation and selection have long predicted that molecular convergence should be rare. In fact, the recent discovery of over 100 such instances is yet another case where the current paradigm has made an dramatically incorrect prediction. (e.g. another case is 'junk DNA')

(b) Error Minimization (Chap 9): The coding strategy of DNA is optimal for minimization of transcription errors; computer simulations show that the strategy life currently employs is PRECISELY the right one. Darwin might argue that nature would simply explore several possible coding strategies over time, gradually converging by natural selection to the most optimal. However, two facts preclude the 'searching' of possibility space. 1) a change/mutation in coding strategy is far more lethal than simply an transcription error; and 2) there is not evidence of any 'searching' in the fossil record. It just 'appears'...just like that... in the earliest life forms. Not bad for a convenient accident...or fine-tuning...

(c) Extensive cellular structure in prokaryotes: The recent discovery that prokaryotes are not just 'bags of loose chemicals' is going to require a lot of textbook revisions. It has been awfully convenient in the past to have a simple life form to evolve...whoops...there it went. The gap between current understanding and current observation just grew several orders of magnitude.

(d) Minimum Genes for Life (Chap 3). At least 200 to 500 genes are required for the simplest life...but they require other life in order to survive. Fully independent life forms (autotrophs) take more like 1500 genes. A very good argument for irreducible complexity. It will fun to see how this line of research develops, especially as Craig Venter 'invents' new life forms...


Some of the things I didn't like:
(e) As we learn more of the workings of DNA, we are discovering lots of 'super' function to the code. Not just code for regulation and protein manufacture, but also repair. You discuss some of these. But I was also expecting a discussion of how efficient and 'deep' the code is in the sense that in the human genome, for instance, produces 20x as many proteins as there are genes...that is, individual genes serve more than one purpose, and some work in concert to produce more complicated proteins (I read this in Science recently...I think it was called the Q factor = 20, or something like that). The DNA in some species is far more profoundly coded than in others (I recall 20x for humans, and only 1x for drosophilia...I may be wrong).

(f) I think your reference and comparison with Paley weakens your argument. Most people associate Paley's argument with a SUBJECTIVE evaluation/awe of nature that leads to belief in a creator (Natural Revelation). Even though you are reasoning positively by analogy, you often employ objective and quantitative arguments, a strategy that is far more subtle and compelling than Paley's.

(g) Ok. Now for one of my pet peaves. Sorry, in advance. I liked your book...really. But, it bugs the heck out of me when creationist authors constantly keep saying, "revealing the design of the Creator," or "revealing the artistry of His handiwork." It sounds too much like, "Golly, Gee whiz, isn't God amazing." It sounds too much like you are reverting to a "God of the gaps" argument, or like you ran out of evidence or things to say, so you revert to the mantra instead of the argument.

(exhale...phew...now that's over)

OK, you are WAY better than most (left unnamed here), and you WERE making a positive argument by analogy with artists (painters). You clearly know your stuff, and you are entitled to your opinion, so I can handle a "Hallelujah, Amen, Brother!" every so often. But you need to consider your audience. If your audience is only Christians, well...some is OK. But every time you 'holler,' there is a critic or an atheist who will close the book...and his mind. Use it sparingly. Remember how you came to your faith...it wasn't the 'Hallelujah!' it was the evidence. The Hallelujahs came later...

In the end, I suppose it is a matter of preference. I would prefer it if you first laid out the evidence, and then made a summation of it later (when you formulate the argument), rather to have you repeatedly say, "See! Look there! It's his handiwork...again." (OK, I know I am exaggerating a bit...please forgive me...I am making a point.)

Nevertheless, congrats, and thanks for a fun afternoon. I've got the flu, and you definitely livened up my day... ;-)

Regards,
Dr. Frank

I'm writing as a person some might say is "in the choir being preached to." Nonetheless, I offer these words in gratitude to the author.

Dr. "Fuz" Rana has just released what he calls a sequel to his earlier work, Origins of Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2004). In this new volume, Dr. Rana highlights what he notes are "hallmark characteristics" of a Creator's work within the confines of the living cell. More than a dozen particular features at the molecular level are discussed in detail as to their particular design attributes. These include many types of molecular motors, chicken-and-egg conundrums, and quality control checkpoints. Dr. Rana employs an argument based on converging, independent lines of evidence that, when looked at individually might not be impressive; yet, when taken in conjunction with one another, builds a strong case for supernatural causation. Truly beyond "irreducible complexity," the term so closely identified with the Intelligent Design movement, the examples set forth in The Cell's Design create a compelling case. Fuz also takes the step most ID proponents are unwilling to: he identifies the designer with the God of the Christian Bible. Many secular scientists and skeptics will be satisfied that he is not trying to hide something from his audience, nor is he trying to dismiss the direct theological implications of his reasoning.

The Cell's Design acquaints the reader with a comparative look at the world of Art and the world of cellular biology as a basis for Dr. Rana's point: the biochemistry of the cell reveals the Creator's artistry. He identifies specific examples of this artistry and answers some of the challenges about the validity of supernatural causation raised by a skeptical science community. The fundamental charge of the book is to reassert the "watchmaker" argument of William Paley, natural theologian of the 18th century. Paley argued by analogy, that just as a watch, when found along the ground, would be an obvious indicator of a designer, so life denotes a Creator. This argument has fallen out of favor for more than two centuries within the science community; given philosopher David Hume's exacting critique of weak analogies: Life is not close enough to a watch to use analogy to reason from. Recent science, however, is reviving the notion of the watchmaker analogy, since actual "motors, timers, pumps and ratchets" are literally a part of the cell's functional components. The analogs to human invention is striking - considerably so, when there is multiple, independent and identifiable components to this analogy.

One feature worth the price of the book is the table starting on page 207 of the examples of molecular convergence. This table is listed as neither comprehensive nor exhaustive, yet there are one hundred specifically referenced research articles. This highlights research done by scientists around the world, identifying a feature of reality that the evolutionary framework cites as improbable and was, until recently, considered extremely rare. Convergence at the molecular level is explained in chapter 11, and identifies 5 different types: functional, mechanistic, structural, sequential, and systemic. The pervasiveness of molecular convergence creates a compelling stage for Dr. Rana's argument for a supernatural designer.

Chapter twelve addresses the very important developments in what were once considered to be "bad designs." The challenge of designs that are `unbecoming' of an intelligent creator is a formidable one; one which Fuz considers extremely valuable for the ID community to answer. Here he cites several examples of where current research is uncovering valuable components of previously contemptible patterns in nature. He addresses five examples: glycolysis, bilirubin production, uric acid metabolism, junk DNA, genetic redundancy. Each of these has acquired the reputation of a bad design, yet over time, scientific advances have "rehabilitated their image."

Dr. Rana concludes his book with a strategic note, extending the significance of the duly noted evidence to imply that humans were intended to be in a relationship with their Creator.

The purpose Fuz has in mind-to reveal the Creator's artistry-is certainly met in this piece. I appreciated his style that speaks to both the reader of interest and the reader of expertise. His deep respect for the science of his profession and for his profession of the Christian faith rings clear. Dissenting scientists or their positions are not belittled. He did not assert that his Christian foundations were somehow above the scrutiny of inquiry. Rather, Dr. Rana simply takes a pro-active position: creating a case for supernatural intelligent design by the God of the Bible; he demonstrates how this position satisfies key points where standard evolutionary positions are problematic. He includes predictions and specific areas for future scientific inquiry that are essential to any scientific agenda. He recognizes that small amounts of data are insufficient ammunition when arguing for a minority position. So he makes his points with relevant and weighty material. Dr. Rana sets an example of how respectful engagement within the science community should be conducted. I recommend the book as a useful tool for educational resource, for professional discussion, and for enjoyable enrichment.

Dr Rana's book provides a very insightful examination of the mechanisms of the cell. If it were available sooner, it would have saved me a considerable amount of work in preparing a DNA lecture at Palomar College.

Dr. Tom English
Adjunct Professor

One of the most amazing books I have ever read! This is the kind of stuff you will NEVER see in the mainstream media. Dr. Rana provides SOLID biochemical evidence that absolutely invalidates ANY attempt to explain the origin of life in random, undirected, materialistic terms. Employing extensive empirical data, Dr. Rana neither speculates nor hypothesizes in dismantling naturalistic explanations for the incredibly complex biomolecular machinery that we find at the subcellular level. I strongly recommend this book as a companion to Dr. Michael Behe's "Darwin's Black Box" for any reader who is objective and intellectually honest enough to approach this topic with an open mind. - John Donahue, BA, History and Philosophy of Science, Princeton University

Rana takes the design argument to a new, scientific level. He delves into details of the cell finding complexity that only design can explain. This book, perhaps more than any before it, show how design is indeed a scientific enterprise. Packed with science and the latest research, this book tends to be technical, but stick with it and you'll find its undeniable conclusion. This book continues Rana's work in his books Who Was Adam? A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Man and Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off.

During the last decades several books supporting Intelligent Design have appeared. Their basic argument usually has been this--living components and structures are so complex and specified that they never could have appeared by mere chance. Therefore, they must be the result of Intelligent Design. This basically is a negative argument: there is no way to explain this apart from some divine intervention.

Critics call this the "God-of-the-gaps" argument. If there is a gap in our knowledge, then God must account for what we see. The obvious problem with the God-of-the-gaps argument is that similar gaps in the past often have shrunk and then disappeared as scientific knowledge has increased. Now that natural causes are known, we no longer are required to use the "God" explanation.

Microbiologist Fazale Rana, an openly Christian scientific apologist, is keenly aware of this weakness in the traditional ID argument. Yet, he also is aware of even greater positive evidence for design in living systems. He seeks a positive argument from the data to design.

Recent science in cellular biology and chemistry has made astounding leaps and discoveries about the inner working of the basic building block of all life, the living cell. All cells of plants and animals are basically the same in their components and method of operation. Yet they are ideally suited in their differences for the different kinds of organisms and the different tasks the cells must perform within each organism.

Rather than starting from apparently inexplicable complexity, Rana starts from actual examples and types of human design. Recently it has become apparent that the cell's processes are largely mechanical and electrical, as the various proteins interact with each other within the cell. This is biochemistry at its most basic level. In the last few centuries humans have developed technology using these same forces on a larger scale.

Rana builds a positive argument, using "abductive reasoning." Wikipedia defines this type of reasoning as follows: "Abduction means determining the precondition. It is using the conclusion and the rule to assume that the precondition could explain the conclusion. Example: `When it rains, the grass gets wet. The grass is wet, it must have rained.' Diagnosticians and detectives are commonly associated with this style of reasoning." As the definition states, abduction is most useful when explaining why the present circumstance is the way it is. This is the situation when we wonder about how living things got the way they are.

Rana's argument is abductive rather than negative. We see humans designing mechanical and electrical items all the time. What thinking and processes do they go through when they design and manufacture these items? The products they make are the actual fruits of design. Rana describes many of these features of design in the main part of the book, taking one chapter for each main design feature. He introduces the chapters with paintings by famous artists, each of which makes an interesting and pointed illustration of the design feature being discussed. Along with mechanical and electrical design, Rana sees artistic expression as well in the cell's workings ("the Creator's artistry" is part of the subtitle of the book).

The heart of the book takes these various design features and shows how they are employed in the makeup and workings of every individual cell. Cells show even more exquisite design and precision than the best human engineering and technology. Rana writes for a mature reader who can take time and effort to learn some details of microbiology. He explains these processes as clearly as possible for those of us not trained in biology. There are many well drawn illustrations. An introductory chapter helps a lot by explaining the basic parts and workings of the cell, and a glossary in the back is handy for checking the technical terms. Many of the processes Rana describes are complicated, and sometimes are difficult to follow; but Rana's explanations are as clear as can be expected in view of the complexity of the subject. Sometimes I had to read a section several times before getting the main point, but the effort was worth it!

It will be interesting to see how The Cell's Design will be received. Will it simply be disregarded as a disguised ID or creationist work, or will evolutionary scholars interact with the actual positive examples of design? Many think that the very idea of allowing the possibility of God's design in creation denies the scientific method. However, if God really exists, how can such a presupposed position lead to the truth about the cell's design? To follow the evidence, using sound logic, is the best way to reach the right conclusion. Rana provides an excellent case for an intelligent, skilled, and artistic Creator.

I read the whole book in five days, and it was just a wonder to behold, the detail, and the machinery (which resembles human machinery) of a living cell is amazing. I was looking for a book like this for awhile and was glad this one came along. The approach is using an art comparison rather than just using irreducible complexity. It builds a foundation of many functions in a cell and it's reasoning on why it would considered intelligent design. It also covers new discoveries which indeed have made intelligent design even stronger. Even junk DNA was found to have an important function where years past it was considered a crutch for the creationist, or believer in intelligent design. I wish it spend a little more time in this area of some of these arguments, but understand the author's focus and massive detail on the living cell and it's design.