Roland Earnst Archives

January 6, 2026December 29, 2025

Orphan Genes Challenge Darwinism

The DNA in every cell in your body is made up of shorter strands called genes, which contain the instructions to produce various proteins. Neo-Darwinian evolutionary scientists look for genes with very similar sequences to others to show that one gene evolved from another through random genetic mutations. However, researchers are discovering genes that don’t resemble any other known gene. The technical term for these is taxonomically restricted genes (TRGs). These so-called orphan genes challenge Darwinism.

If all of life evolved from a common ancestor through small genetic mutations, orphan genes don’t fit this model. They either shouldn’t exist or should be extremely rare. A few years ago, evolutionists argued that only a small percentage of species’ DNA had been sequenced, and that with more research, the mystery of orphan genes would be resolved. However, the number of orphan genes continues to grow. The trend indicates that orphan genes challenge Darwinism.

Even closely related species that share a common trait can have their own unique orphan genes. In other words, the evidence does not support gradual changes caused by small mutations but instead points to entirely new, unique genes that have not been seen before. Evolutionists respond by saying natural selection can explain this, but they are unable to specify how. The research continues, but for now, it seems to me like an “evolution-of-the-gaps” argument.

As Jonathan Witt wrote in Salvo magazine, “Our uniform and repeated experience tells us that generating significant amounts of novel, functional information doesn’t happen by chance. It requires a mind. Our uniform experience tells us this, and probability calculations applied to everything from English text and software code to DNA confirm it.”

It’s safe to say that orphan genes challenge Darwinism and will likely continue to do so.

Reference: “Darwin’s Orphan Nemesis” by Jonathan Witt, in Salvo magazine, Spring 2025.

December 31, 2025December 23, 2025

Morality’s Design Posts in 2025

As we end 2025, we look back on some of our Morality’s Design posts in 2025. We have selected 10 that you may have missed.

Are humans hardwired for moral behavior? https://doesgodexist.today/hardwired-for-moral-behavior/

Who invented slavery and when? https://doesgodexist.today/who-created-slavery/

When you die, how do you want to be remembered? https://doesgodexist.today/how-would-you-want-to-be-remembered/

National Geographic reported on marijuana and recreational cannabis use. https://doesgodexist.today/national-geographic-cannabis-report/

The tragedy of gender transitions for children. https://doesgodexist.today/the-story-of-clementine-breen-and-gender-transition/

Fraud in scientific research data is increasing. https://doesgodexist.today/fraud-in-scientific-research-data/

Is there such a thing as free will? https://doesgodexist.today/free-will-is-it-an-illusion/

The plague of online sextortion is affecting teenage boys. https://doesgodexist.today/sextortion-scam-and-teenagers/

What is the connection between alcohol use and cancer? https://doesgodexist.today/alcoholic-beverages-and-cancer/

The lure of gambling is trapping more people. https://doesgodexist.today/the-lure-of-gambling/

December 30, 2025December 23, 2025

Physical Design Posts in 2025

As we end 2025, we look back on some of our Physical Design posts in 2025. We have selected 10 that you may have missed.

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) continues without success. https://doesgodexist.today/alien-civilizations-in-space-wow/

Is Mars designed to support life? https://doesgodexist.today/life-on-mars-in-fiction-and-fact/

What we learned from a March lunar eclipse. https://doesgodexist.today/learn-from-a-lunar-eclipse/

What is entropy, and why is it important for you? https://doesgodexist.today/why-we-care-about-entropy/

In August 2025, we had the shortest day on record. https://doesgodexist.today/shortest-day-on-record/

Why the Earth’s age doesn’t matter. https://doesgodexist.today/earths-age-is-irrelevant/

Why do we need the giant planet Jupiter? https://doesgodexist.today/earth-needs-jupiter/

Why not expand daylight by putting solar reflectors in space? https://doesgodexist.today/solar-reflectors-in-space/

What is NOTHING? https://doesgodexist.today/precisely-nothing-is-it-something/

How does the Big Bang show evidence of a Creator? https://doesgodexist.today/evidence-for-the-existence-of-a-creator-in-the-big-bang/

December 29, 2025December 23, 2025

Life Design Posts in 2025

As we end 2025, we look back on some of our Life Design posts in 2025. We have selected 10 that you may have missed.

A report on how pregnancy can affect a woman’s brain. https://doesgodexist.today/a-pregnant-womans-brain/

Is there really a difference between males and females? https://doesgodexist.today/male-and-female-bodies-are-different/

Comparing the DNA of fruit flies and humans. https://doesgodexist.today/fruit-flies-and-humans/

How about comparing humans and chimpanzees? https://doesgodexist.today/genetic-difference-between-humans-and-chimpanzees/

2025 was the 100^th anniversary of the famous, so-called Scopes Monkey Trial. https://doesgodexist.today/bryans-arguments-against-darwin/

Psychologists say that Darwin made a mistake. https://doesgodexist.today/darwins-mistake-according-to-psychologists/

Left- or right-handedness is crucial to the building blocks of life. https://doesgodexist.today/darwins-mistake-according-to-psychologists/

The amazing story of the orchid and the wasp. https://doesgodexist.today/hammer-orchid-and-thynnid-wasp/

What is Biosphere 2, and what is Primary Succession? https://doesgodexist.today/biosphere-2-and-primary-succession/

How did life get started? https://doesgodexist.today/to-explain-the-existence-of-life/

December 22, 2025December 19, 2025

The Shrimp and the Urchin

The oceans host many symbiotic relationships. In symbiosis, plants and animals live together in ways that benefit them and often others nearby. This is the story of the shrimp and the urchin.

Coleman shrimp (Perclimenes colemani) eat parasites they take from fish that come close to them in the western Pacific Ocean. These shrimp were not discovered until 1975, perhaps because they blend in very well with the sea urchins with which they have a symbiotic relationship. The picture shows the spotted body and striped legs of the Coleman shrimp surrounded by the striped tube feet of the fire sea urchin (Asthenosoma varium).

Coleman shrimp are known as cleaner shrimp because they remove parasites from fish. Most cleaner shrimp live in sea anemones, but Coleman shrimp prefer to live in fire sea urchins. The venom-tipped spines of the fire urchin do not harm the Coleman shrimp, and they protect them from potential predators. Meanwhile, fish infected with parasites approach the Coleman shrimp to have the parasites removed. The parasites are food for the shrimp, and the fish don’t eat the shrimp or the fire sea urchin because of its poisonous spines.

We see a balanced symbiotic relationship among various species of ocean creatures. The shrimp and the urchin, along with many fish that benefit, are just some examples of symbiosis—where different plant and animal species depend directly on each other. In many cases, a species could not survive without this mutual relationship. This is another sign of design in living creatures, and design points to a Designer.

December 18, 2025December 15, 2025

Origin-of-Life Theories and Archaea

Scientists aim to answer several very difficult questions about origins. Two of these questions relate to the origins of life and complex life. Some scientists believe they are getting closer to discovering how complex life developed from simple life, and the media often sensationalizes any origin-of-life theories.

Living things are classified into three domains. We are very familiar with multicellular life, which includes plants, animals, and people. That is the domain of eukarya, or complex life. There are two domains of single-celled life—bacteria and archaea. Most people are more familiar with bacteria than archaea. Scientists did not recognize how distinct archaea are from bacteria until the 1970s, when DNA analysis began.

The cells of bacteria and archaea are relatively simple and small compared to eukaryotic cells, which have a nucleus, mitochondria to supply energy, and other internal structures. In the 1960s, one group of microbiologists described the gap between eukaryotes and the single-celled bacteria and archaea as “the greatest single evolutionary discontinuity to be found in the present-day world.” Evolutionists seeking origin-of-life theories had to find a way to bridge this very wide gap.

In 2008, researchers discovered a new type of archaea living in hydrothermal vents on the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge. They said these archaea “seemed to be somehow closer to eukaryotes than what we knew before.” In 2015, a paper published in the journal Nature described them as “the closest known living relatives of eukaryotes,” creating a scientific sensation. Their genomes were said to contain genes that are “hallmarks of eukaryotes.”

Scientists theorized that the Asgard archaea, as they came to be called, absorbed bacteria that became mitochondria, but there was still no evidence of a nucleus. Research and debate on this are expected to continue for years, but it has sparked new speculation about extraterrestrial life. Some have suggested that unicellular life on other planets could evolve into eukaryotic, advanced life. But that assumes there is unicellular life on other planets.

Scientists proposing origin-of-life theories still have no idea how non-living matter could turn into living, reproducing cells. Be cautious when you see media stories about scientists being close to discovering the origin of life or the origin of complex life. Even simple cells are far too complex to have arisen by chance without a Designer.

Reference: sciencenews.org

December 15, 2025December 14, 2025

Expressing Biblical Beliefs

In the past, we have written about Christians who have been penalized by government institutions because of their faith. (For example, see Here and Here.) Now, we see that a University of Oklahoma student received a failing grade for expressing biblical beliefs. Samantha Fulnecky, a junior pre-med student, was assigned to read and give her opinion on an article dealing with “gender binary and mental health issues and gender stereotypes in early adolescence.” Her task was to give a thoughtful discussion of the article.

The grading standard for the assignment included three criteria totaling 25 points. Up to 10 points could be awarded for “does the paper show a clear tie-in to the assigned article?” The other 10 points depended on whether the paper presented a thoughtful reaction or response to the article rather than a summary. Finally, five points could be given for the clarity of the writing. The graduate teaching assistant who graded Fulnecky’s paper gave her a 0 out of 25.

The assignment required students to share their own subjective opinion on the article, which Ms. Fulnecky did, expressing biblical beliefs. She wrote that “God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose.” She also stated that “gender roles and tendencies should not be considered stereotypes.” She declared that “pushing the lie that everyone has their own truth and everyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want is not biblical whatsoever.”

Her words did not sit well with Mel Curth, the graduate student who graded the paper and who uses she/they pronouns. She/they gave Fulnecky 0 out of 25 possible points and said that she was not showing empathy and was not providing evidence for her statements. Curth also said that the concept of only two sexes is not supported by science.

Samantha Fulnecky said that she thought nothing would have been done “if it had not blown up on social media the way it did.” Due to the attention, the university placed Curth on administrative leave and is supposedly reviewing the situation. To the university’s credit, they appointed a full-time professor as the course instructor for the rest of the semester.

Fulnecky encourages other students to stand up for what they believe. She said, “I would rather have my integrity and give my true opinion and get a zero on an assignment than to have to lie about what I really believe.” This is another example of the challenge to free speech and freedom of religion that are guaranteed in the United States Constitution. More than that, it is a challenge to Christians to not be afraid of expressing biblical beliefs even when it’s not popular or easy.

Reference: foxnews.com

November 26, 2025November 23, 2025

The Prodigal Son and Modern Atheists

One of the best-known stories Jesus told was about a farmer with two sons. The story is often called the parable of the prodigal son, but I think it should be better called the parable of the father’s love. I see a similarity between the prodigal son and modern atheists.

In the story, the extravagant or wasteful son (that’s what “prodigal” means) wanted his father to give him his inheritance. Basically, he was saying, “You are as good as dead to me. Give me what’s mine so I can waste it.” That’s exactly what the father did, and the son quickly forgot about the father and showed no respect for what he had received. The pleasures of the world became all he cared about, and the father’s gifts were quickly wasted and destroyed.

The son’s attitude could be summed up as, “Give me what you have, and I will enjoy it.” Isn’t that what atheists say to God? While the son was at home with his father, he could enjoy everything the father provided, but he wanted to enjoy his father’s blessings on his own terms, without being bound by his father’s rules or expectations. The heavenly Father provides abundant blessings for us to enjoy, but many adopt the prodigal attitude. The pursuit of pleasure often becomes the main goal for those who reject God.

As the story unfolds, the prodigal realizes that the father’s loving care wasn’t so bad after all. Wasteful extravagance leads to despair and a dead end. Meanwhile, the father’s love never wavered, and he was watching for his son’s return. When he saw his son coming back, he didn’t wait for him to arrive to scold him for his foolishness. The father ran to meet his son with loving forgiveness.

The father symbolizes God, and as far as I can tell, that’s the only time in the entire Bible when God is described as being in a hurry. God runs to meet the returning son. The atheist who has rejected God’s love and comfort and refused His authority can be immediately welcomed home by the Father’s love.

The similarity between the prodigal son and modern atheists is clear. When the pleasures of the world fade and their so-called friends abandon them, God is still waiting to welcome the wasteful, unworthy, but repentant wanderers back into a loving home.

Reference: Luke 15:11-32

November 17, 2025November 16, 2025

Bamboo Alarm Clock

Although bamboo grows in forests and can look like trees, it is actually the largest type of grass. Bamboos are also the fastest-growing plants in the world, with some growing 3 feet (91 cm) in just 24 hours! The most fascinating thing about this unique grass is the bamboo alarm clock.

Bamboo is an important building material in many parts of Asia because it has a higher compressive strength than wood, brick, or concrete, and a tensile strength that rivals steel. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of bamboo is its reproductive method, often called mass, gregarious, or synchronized flowering—the bamboo alarm clock.

Bamboo doesn’t flower or produce seeds every year. Depending on the species, it may take 20, 35, 65, or even 120 years to flower. Then, the entire forest blooms, produces seeds, and dies all at once. Even more amazing is that if you take one plant from the forest and move it halfway around the world to a different climate, it will still flower at the same time. Even if you transplant it just a few weeks before its normal bloom time, it will still flower, produce seeds, and die at the same time as its original neighbors.

This raises two questions: “Why?” and “How?” Survival needs may explain the “why.” Synchronized flowering ensures effective pollination. They flood the air with pollen, so even isolated plants have a high chance of pollination, as the pollen cloud can travel hundreds of miles. Additionally, synchronized pollination and fruiting prevent predators from consuming all the fruit, securing the species’ survival.

Scientists are still trying to understand the “how” behind the bamboo alarm clock. Various theories have been proposed and dismissed. What we do know for sure is that bamboo has an internal clock that signals when it is time to reproduce. Only the Creator fully understands how this mechanism works. All we can do is marvel at this system’s design, as it seems impossible to be purely the result of chance.

Reference: wikipedia.org

October 31, 2025October 28, 2025

Earth Needs Jupiter

Jupiter is by far the largest planet in the solar system. Its mass is 2.5 times greater than the combined mass of all other planets in the solar system. It divides the planets of the inner solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) from the outer planets (Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). We have previously mentioned that the gravity created by Jupiter’s mass acts as a shield to protect our planet from comets coming from outside the solar system. Additionally, Jupiter influences Earth’s climate cycle. More than that, Earth needs Jupiter for its very existence.

As the solar system was formed, Jupiter’s massive gravity prevented gas and dust in the inner solar system from being pulled into the Sun. These materials coalesced into the inner planets, including Earth. As the planets formed, Jupiter’s gravity helped stabilize the orbits. A recent study co-led by Andre Izidoro of Rice University in Houston demonstrated that Jupiter shaped the structure of the solar system. Earth needs Jupiter today, just as it needed it at the beginning.

According to Izidoro, “Jupiter didn’t just become the biggest planet—it set the architecture for the whole inner solar system. Without it, we might not have Earth as we know it.” As gas and dust swirled around the newly formed Sun, Jupiter’s massive gravity created ripples that formed rings of material which clumped together by gravity to form the inner planets. Earth needs Jupiter because, without it, the material that formed the planet would have spiraled into the Sun.

Genesis 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth,” but it doesn’t specify the process God used or how long it took. If the Bible included every detail, it would be an enormous book. But the Bible is not a science book, and scientists are still exploring the processes God used in creation. It is fascinating to consider how complex the creation process must have been, yet the first verse of the Bible contains the essential facts. There was a beginning. God did it. The creation of a functioning universe, a solar system, and a planet for human habitation is summarized in five Hebrew words—“reshith elohim bara shamayim erets.”

References: space.com and science.org