Poetry for Palestine

 

Chemistry perspective:

 

Studying chemistry gives an insight into the closest material world that we live in; unlike physics that often ends up dealing with the macrocosmic, or the microcosmic, chemistry deals with hands on stuff. Things you can hold, test, investigate, and verify.

If so, how dare we bring God into this subject then?

What is the relevance of God here?

In perusing the search for a comprehensible and logical understanding of our existence as humans on this planet; we are bound to come face to face with the study of chemistry and biochemistry, at the end of the day, we are nothing but extremely sophisticated molecules.

My intrigued mind ponders:  how did all these billions and billions of molecules -which are me-, come together? How was I assembled?

 

The true story:

Evolutionists take me back in time hundreds of millions of years, they say: once upon the time, there was this warm acidic soup covering our planet, it contained all sorts of matter, substances, molecules, and atoms.

An accident happened!

Some atoms got together by an unplanned chemical reaction; a more sophisticated molecule was formed; an amino acid.

Then another accident, followed by yet another, and more, and more, and more……………… and more …… and more…

Then amazingly another good accident occurred, followed by another and another and another ……………………………… and more……… and more; many amino acids were formed.

And then… you won’t even believe what happened then; just by many… many more chances more molecules joint…

After these amazing random chances this murky muddy soup was overflowing with amino acids, of many forms, shapes and sizes.

Time passes you know; after many millions of years, with these amino acids swimming around pumping into each other another even more fascinating accident happened, two amino acids joined! Followed by a third, then a forth………….. then a fiftieth….

Then, guess what!! A protein came to be!

Millions of years passed by and these amazingly good chances continued. I can’t believe how lucky we are! More proteins were accidentally assembled, thousands more!

I know that mathematicians tell us that the probability of the formation of one modest protein accidentally is 1 out of 10³⁰⁰ ; they also say that the odds of forming another protein are similar.

 Now one of the smallest bacteria ever discovered, contains 600 "types" of proteins.

To work out the probability of the formation of these proteins it will be about one out of 10¹⁸⁰⁰⁰⁰.

 I know that mathematicians –moreover- say that if we have billions upon billions of years, and amounts of matter that covers billions of planets the chances for a single protein to be formed is an infinitesimally small. 

They also say any probability smaller than 1 over 10¹⁵⁰ is considered a zero probability. They also say the probability of forming one living cell with its entire complex components is so infinitesimally small that it’s incalculable, it is mathematically impossible.

Yet the possibility of the existence of God is ½, they say.

 

 I know what you are thinking now… you’re thinking how impossible our situation is, how frustrating.

Please don’t let these abstract figures confuse you, please stay focused.

I want you to know that if you have two probabilities, the first is ½ and the second is 1/near∞, they are both possible. I know that your common sense is alluring you to think that the first is more likely to happen; but by thinking purely in “scientific” terms one can go against his/her commonsense and logic (see quotation *** below).

 

 I accept that the probability of the coincidental formation of our building blocks; a single protein is "as unlikely as the possibility of a monkey writing the history of humanity on a typewriter without making any mistakes". However, I want to reassure you that you need not to worry because we were very very lucky indeed, and you know what? It already happened! In our dictionary the word impossible does not exist, except when it comes to “God” of course.

 

But obviously this is not the end of the story; luck continued to pour upon this blessed planet, and some how, other compounds accidentally -and for no particular reason- managed to arrange itself in such an order forming the amazing structure of DNA. And please don’t ask about the probability of this happening.

 

Meanwhile, many… many… many other good accidents happened and things like the nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, electrolytes and many other chemicals started -for no particular reason- arranging themselves accidentally in specific proportions, harmony, and design, in order to have a specific structures and specific functions accidentally -and for no particular reason- forming the very first known cell on this fabulous planet.

 

 Now I can see it in your wondering eyes, you want to know the probability of that happening don’t you? Now that is not my job, I am not a mathematician… I am a biologist can’t you see?

If you are so keen, go and work it out yourself; this is your homework for today.

All I can say to you that it is very possible, highly probable, it has happened!

 

I know that it was a long story, but this is how life on earth began.

 

End of Chapter One.

 By now I think you know what is the twist in the story, don’t you? If you don’t, don’t worry, it will be revealed in Chapter Two.

 

Biology perspective (chapter 2):

 

The twist of this unbelievable story is that these accidental, purposeless, functionless, complex structures known as DNA started -for some purposeless reason- making copies of itself. I am not sure if it was –at the time- making copies of itself while inside the cell or out side it!

I am not totally sure also how exactly did the first cell managed to divide itself. What was the kick? May be you can tell me!! Yes you!!

 

I think by now you know the happy ending of the story, but I’ll give you a synopsis of what happened.

This first cell continued to make copies of itself making billions upon billions of its own kind, until one happy afternoon another accident happened, the DNA got board, and for no particular reason it decided that it’s no longer happy with the way it was.

It needed something more from its life, something more fulfilling, more meaningful, so for no particular reason and by pure chance it managed suddenly to change itself.

And then hurray… a new cell was formed.

This pattern continued billions and billions of time, purposely and for no particular reason many types of life forms came to be. Some stayed independent as one-cell organism.

 

 Others –and for no particular reason- joined together, agreeing accidentally between themselves –for no particular reason- to stick together for better or for worse. They also agreed –for no particular reason- to accidentally help each other out and to form highly sophisticated, extremely organised, and beautifully structured purposeless organisms.

 

Every now and then, these accidental, purposeless structures of life-forms keep popping out and/or changing producing the millions of different varieties that we see today.

 Until today, and accidentally… for no particular reason they continue to produce life-forms of specific proportions, harmony, design, intelligence, awareness, morality, and beauty that are perfect in terms of structure, adaptability,  and function.

 

And for no particular reason life on earth goes on.

 

THE END

The Gospel of St. Darwin

 

WARNING: if you don’t believe this story, then you must be a creationist or an Intelligent Design supporter; you have no right to get involved with any real scientific research, teaching or discussion.

 If you insist on denying this Gospel we will summon you to court. If you ever try teaching children anything else; then be prepared to lose your job. If you try doing your PhD on something controversial that does not conform to this Gospel your failure is guaranteed.

 

Dear Sam, I’m sorry for going off the track, I just couldn’t help trying to imagine being on the other side. I guess it didn’t work… heh.

 

Back to normal now:

 

From a human rights perspective:

 

 As people of faith we stand next to you -as atheists- on equal footing, in our right to believe, and our right to discuss Intelligent Design as a plausible scientific theory, our right to seek evidence that gives our hypothesis more credence; as much as you have the right to discuss naturalism, and to seek proof to help you obliterate God from your lives.

 

What you don’t have the right for –however- is to silence us by imposing new laws that takes away those rights from us.

You don’t have the right to claim to be the sole holder of the candle of science.

 You don’t have the right to prevent us from presenting our knowledge and view point to the public.

 You don’t have the right to stop us from being part of the scientific community.

 You don’t have the right to claim the minds of our children and to stop them hearing our side of the story.

 

The days of discrimination, thought blackmailing, and persecution against people who have a different out look to life than yours are over.

 We do not want secular fundamentalism to dominate our lives, and our children’s lives, to force its own beliefs upon us, or to deprive us from our natural right to make choices and think freely.

 We have the RIGHT to believe that there is a God as much as you have the right to BELIEVE that there is no God.

 The rigid reaction and the irrational adamant refusal of investigating, discussing, teaching of Intelligent Design as a “theory” is puzzling; Darwinists resorted to courts to stop scientists from pursuing their right to teach their hypothesis and their line of investigations!

Will they manage to produce new laws and punishments against those rebellious free thinkers?

 Does that remind you of something- I wonder?

 

Insisting that faith (the belief in God) should be cast out from the public life (education, science, research, and politics) only gives the secular more rights to influence, shape and control people’s lives, despite the fact that all they have is also nothing but faith (belief in no God- materialism instead).

 

Instead of turning your back on God; why not be more daring: investigate, scrutinize, explore, and ask questions like: why do people have faith? What do they get out from their faith?

They are not a bunch of uneducated, brainless, or deluded people. They have brains just like you; they can think.

They are not a misguided bunch of ignorant people, or brainwashed individuals living in superstitions.

 

They are people… just like you.

 

Darwinian Fundamentalist Manifesto:

Richard Lewontin’s Commitment to Materialism

Richard Lewontin’s January 9, 1997 article, Billions and Billions of Demons, which is a review of Carl Sagan’s book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark contains the oft-quoted line about not allowing “a Divine Foot in the door.” The entire paragraph in which this line appears is worth quoting. It seems to me to be the best statement of the philosophical foundation for the Darwinian fundamentalist perspective.

 

“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense***  is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”

 

Wow!! What a great devotion, what an unshakable faith!! What a firm believer in… Materialism

 

From a psychological perception:

 

Now, I can talk about this point from a purely personal perspective; my faith gives me inner strength; I don’t need rely on anything; people, things, or mind-blocking substances to cope with the adversities of life, pain, worries or sorrow. My faith is my inner strength.

It gives me a sense of purpose, it gives my life a meaning, it gives my mind a sense of direction, it gives my heart endless fulfilment and fills it with boundless love, and it gives my soul everlasting joy and delight

 

My faith brings to me none but the most pleasant, most amazing feelings of contentment, tranquillity, peace; that life could be raging around me but I am sitting there ever so calm, ever so still, ever so safe, as if forever sitting in the eye of the storm.

 

My faith enthuse me with hope, happiness and bliss that nothing, absolutely nothing in this life I’ve ever experienced can be weighed against, measured up to, or compared with those intense wonderful experiences.

It is like trying to describe the feeling of your magnificent love to some one who’s never been in love before, who’s only experienced the enjoyment of intellectual muse, but never tasted love.

 

The feeling of excitement of intellectual stimulation, and the delight and pleasure of being in love and feeling loved are absolutely insignificant compared to the overwhelming enchantment and ecstasy that the soul enjoys in one moment of inspiration

 

Can I ever give it up for anything? Can I ever swap it with the whole material world with all of what’s in it?

Never

 Not even if I were to be chopped and diced into pieces or burnt at the stake.

Dear Sam, you can imagine the implications (on some people) of believing that life is nothing but some blind purposeless random events.

The implications of the concept of survival of the fittest; do you think that has any thing to do with the rise of capitalist imperialist fascist, and even Nazi’s  ideologies?

 

Finally dear Sam, I want you to contemplate on the possibility (no matter how tiny to you) that our narrative might be true. That God might exist. What are the implications of that?

With all my prayer

And lots of love

Nahida

 

© Copyright 2006 Nahida Izzat & Sam Semoff -PoetryforPalestine – All Rights Reserved