
16 Steps to Generating Advanced Life
By Dr. Hugh Ross May 15, 2014
Sixteen steps punctuate the history of life on Earth. Each of these steps is critical for making possible the entry of advanced life. The likelihood of all these steps occurring from a naturalistic perspective is essentially zero. This zero probability does not take into account either life’s origin or the origin of the mind and the human spirit.
Why does the history of life appear the way it does? Naturalists, materialists, deists, and most theistic evolutionists would answer that the chemicals on early Earth spontaneously self-assembled into a simple cell that was able to reproduce. From there, the cell's daughters evolved to produce all the life-forms that have ever existed throughout the past 3.8 billion years. Such a history requires that life make at least 16 transitional steps in order to generate advanced life-forms.
- Cells containing only a few hundred gene products must transition to cells containing several thousand gene products.
- Respiration systems must transition from anaerobic to aerobic.
- Cells must develop nuclei.
- Cells must develop mitochondria.
- Cells must transition from free-floating to colony life.
- Single-celled organisms must transition into multicellular organisms.
- Asexual organisms must transition into sexual organisms.
- Organisms must develop eyes or eye precursors.
- Organisms must evolve differentiated organs and appendages.
- Organisms with ectoskeletons must evolve into organisms with endoskeletons.
- Very-small-bodied organisms must become large-bodied organisms
- Non-animal life must transition into animal life
- Non-vascular plants must transition into vascular plants
- Non-chordate animals must evolve into chordate animals
- Animals must develop a mind, free will, and emotions.
- Advanced animals must develop a spirit, symbolic cognition, and symbolic relational capability—in other words, they must become human.