Irreducible complexity
Have you ever heard of irreducible complexity?
It is a term coined by Michael Behe, who defines it as follows. “Irreducible complexity is just a fancy phrase I use to mean a single system which is composed of several interacting parts, and where the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to cease functioning.”
The human body is made up of so many complex systems that without certain functions we would cease to live or that system would cease to function. Off the top of my head I think of large parts of the system like the heart or brain. But what about tiny systems that are also vital to life. One such example is insulin. How incredibly complex our bodies are!
What is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use glucose from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use. Insulin helps keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high or too low.
The cells in your body need glucose for energy. However, glucose cannot go into most of your cells directly. After you eat food and your blood sugar level rises, cells in your pancreas (known as beta cells) are signalled to release insulin into your bloodstream. Insulin then attaches to, and signals, cells to absorb sugar from the bloodstream. Insulin is often described as a “key,” which unlocks the cell to allow sugar to enter the cell and be used for energy.
If you have more sugar in your body than it needs, insulin helps store the sugar in your liver and releases it when your blood sugar level is low or if you need more sugar, such as in between meals or during exercise. Therefore, insulin helps balance out blood sugar levels and keeps them in a normal range. As blood sugar levels rise, the pancreas secretes more insulin.
Without insulin letting glucose into the cells, the body burns its own fats as a substitute to try to energise itself another way. This releases chemical substances into the blood. These dangerous chemical substances then accumulate and can be life threatening if it is not treated. This is a condition called ketoacidosis.
So where am I going with this you ask?
The complexity of our natural world and what we can see in our own body is proof to me that we have been created. There are so many complex systems, not only in our body but in nature, that rely on every part of the system working. This has led to my belief in creation. The thought of our complex body or world all happening by accident defies logic to me. The thought that these complex systems could evolve from a basic cell into complex systems is disproved to me by these systems needing to work in harmony first time round.
My belief in creation then leads me to God and from there to the Bible:
“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Romans 1:20 (NLT)
Deciding how we got here on earth requires faith no matter which path you choose. I choose God who offers a hope for the future.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)