What is Life?
Life is
OBVIOUS
Organisms are made from cells, and cells are made from proteins. What makes proteins is life.
It's as simple as that. Cells need proteins to exist. What's more, the proteins in a cell degenerate. And so to prevent the cell itself from degenerating, and ultimately disintegrating, cells constantly replenish their proteins with new ones. Cells can do this because they contain their very own protein generator. This protein generator, is what we call life.
A protein.
Life is
DNA, RNA & Protein
The protein generator within each living cell is the DNA, RNA, protein communication system. Therefore, this is life itself.
Producing, or generating, proteins may not sound like a particularly riveting answer to life - which we have come to expect for life - but in fact DNA, RNA and protein is the most sophisticated system in the natural world. Not only is information specifically communicated, but it is done using a code - the genetic code. There is nothing like DNA, RNA and protein anywhere else in the natural world. This is precisely what we would expect for the answer to life.
Life is the
Image of the Holy Trinity
The reason why the DNA, RNA, protein communication system is so sophisticated and unlike any other object or physical system in the universe, is because it did not come from within the universe, it came from eternity. This is not mere speculation, it is a concrete, scientific fact. Because the DNA, RNA, protein system is the image of God - the Holy Trinity. This means life is the image of the Holy Trinity.
The Bridge Between Physics and Biology
Why is the image of the Holy Trinity necessary for life?
This seems excessive,
like using a hammer
to break an egg.
Why not just use physics and chemistry instead?
THE CHASM
Organisms are governed by the laws of physics, just like everything else in the universe. However, the laws of physics are unable to produce organisms, because physics cannot make the molecules which compose cells - proteins. Proteins require information for their construction - this information is not contained in any law of physics or chemistry. As far as physics and chemistry are concerned, organisms should not exist. A vast physical chasm separates biology from physics.
THE BRIDGE
In order for living things to exist, the physical chasm which separates biology from physics must be bridged. This is the whole purpose of life. Life is not physics or biology, it is something other than physics and biology which connects them together. This something other, is the image of the Holy Trinity.
What Life is NOT:
Physics, Chemistry or Biology
Since life is the bridge between physics and chemistry on the one hand, and biology on the other, life is none of these, it is something else. But what else is there besides physics, chemistry and biology? There doesn't seem to be anything. Except there is...
Schrodinger's Prediction
In 1943, the Nobel Prize winning quantum physicist and polymath, Erwin Schrodinger, made a fascinating prediction about life in his book, What is Life? Schrodinger claimed that life is "other physics".
This was a stroke of genius because it shows how life can be within the bounds of science, and yet be outside of conventional science (physics, chemistry and biology), but without veering into mysticism.
Schrodinger didn't actually know the answer to life, but the answer was literally written on the walls around him: Schrodinger made his famous prediction about life during a series of three talks given at, none other than, Trinity College, Dublin.
Erwin Schrodinger
Life is
EXTRA PHYSICS
To make living matter, the Holy Trinity did not insert spirit into matter, but rather extra physics. The God of Christianity is a physicist!
Genetic information, communication, the genetic code, functions - the things that make the image of the Holy Trinity - these are not physics or chemistry or even biology. They are extra physics. The image of the Holy Trinity is a bundle of additional physics which is not separated from the ordinary laws of physics and chemistry, but rather seamlessly connects to them, like an extension on a house.
The image of the Holy Trinity is extra physics.
Life is
QUASI-MIRACULOUS
Usually, a miracle involves (i) divine intervention, (ii) suspension or violation of the laws of physics.
Life clearly involves divine intervention. However, it doesn't suspend or violate any laws of physics, precisely because the Holy Trinity added to them. The origin of life was miraculous, but life itself is not miraculous, it is extra physics. Life is both miraculous, and not miraculous. Life is quasi-miraculous.
Why did the Holy Trinity choose
itself to be the template for life?
THE LIVING GOD
There is a reason behind everything God does. Life is no exception to this. Which means there must be a very good reason why the Holy Trinity chose itself to be the template for life. But surely to know this reason is to know the mind of God, and who knows God's mind?
As impenetrable as this reason might seem at first sight, it is actually rather obvious: the Holy Trinity chose itself to be the template for biological life, because the Holy Trinity is Life itself. We see this throughout the Bible, where God is specifically referred to as the Living God. So, biological life is the image of eternal life.
Life at a Glance
Organisms are made from cells which are made from proteins.
Physics and chemistry cannot make proteins - biology is unreachable.
Life is a protein generator: the chasm is bridged, biology becomes a reality.
Life - the protein generator - is the DNA, RNA, protein communication system.
DNA, RNA and protein consist of information, communication, code and functions - life is extra physics.
Life is DNA, RNA and protein, which is extra physics, which is the image of the Holy Trinity.
Clarifications and Consequences
.
Life is not Information Technology
Life is communication and genetic information is digital, however, life is not (organic) information technology. The difference comes down to the relationship between information and matter. In the digital realm, information and matter are separate, and communication is merely the transfer of information between different points in space. In life, matter and information are fused together: genetic information forms the molecular structure of DNA. As a result, in life, communication is not merely transfer but a production.
.
Evolution has nothing to do with life
The idea that evolution has nothing to do with life will no doubt seem unthinkable, if not preposterous, to many people today, not to mention biologists. Yet it is true. Life is not evolution, it is the image of the Holy Trinity; life is not the result of evolution, it originated from the Holy Trinity; life does not evolve because the image of the Holy Trinity is immutable just like the Holy Trinity. In fact, evolution could not be more opposed to life.
.
Life does not change
There is only one Holy Trinity, therefore, there is only one life. All life in the universe is the image of the Holy Trinity, this includes the life forms at the origin of life. Life was not simple in the beginning as is unquestionably presumed by science today, it was no different to the life which exists within cells today, precisely because life does not change. Life doesn't change because it is the image of something immutable: the Holy Trinity.
.
The origin of life was instantaneous
The origin of life is widely believed to have been a long, drawn-out process spanning millions of years. This view could not be further from reality. The Holy Trinity did not need time to construct its own image in matter. The image of the Holy Trinity was not gradually built-up over time, it was imprinted instantaneously. The origin of life happened in the blink of an eye, it truly was the Big Bang of biology.
.
Organisms are not machines
It is widely accepted today within science that organisms are complex machines, an idea that goes back centuries, but it is false. Machines are objects with functions, and organisms are also objects with functions. However, there is a fundamental difference: machines have to be made, whereas organisms make themselves. Machines are autonomous in their action, but not their construction. Organisms are autonomous in both activity and construction. Organisms have a higher level of autonomy than machines. Not only do organisms make (generate) themselves, they produce their own parts - proteins. The source of this self-generation is the protein generator: life itself.
.
Viruses are not alive
Biology also contains non-cellular biological entities, the most famous of which is the virus. Viruses consist of genetic material, DNA or RNA, encapsulated by protein and are prolific mutators. The scientific community cannot decide whether viruses are alive or not. With TRINITY in BIOLOGY, it is simple: viruses do not contain the image of the Holy Trinity. As a result, viruses cannot produce themselves. Viruses are parasites - they infect living cells with their genetic material and cause the life processes within a cell to reproduce the virus en masse. Some argue that viruses are an example of quasi-life, that is, a juxtaposition of life and non-life. However, this view is flawed since life is black and white: an object either has life, or it doesn't, there is no in-between. Viruses are not living, nor living machines, nor quasi-life, they are machines. This means the first mass-produced machines were produced, not by human beings, but by the image of the Holy Trinity.
.
Only cells are alive
What exactly is alive? Numerous objects have been proposed so far in the academic literature, some more surprising than others. The Earth (Gaia hypothesis), anything with complexity including mere crystals, computer programs, water spouts or any vortex because they are self-sustaining structures, the list goes on. As diverse as the list of proposed living beings is, they all have one thing in common: they can be described by the ordinary laws of physics. This immediately rules them out as alive, because the essence of a living being is that physics is not enough to produce them, they need something more than physics, and that something is life. Hence why they are living. There is only one object which falls into this category: the cell. There is, of course, another criterion we can use to identify a living being and that is the image of the Holy Trinity. Again, the cell is the only which satisfies this criterion. Note that organisms are alive because they are composed of cells which contain life, not because of any particular properties of organisms.
1.
There is only
ONE LIFE
There is only one Holy Trinity, therefore, there is only one life. All life in the universe is the image of the Holy Trinity, this includes the life forms at the origin of life. Life was not simple in the beginning as is unquestionably presumed by science today, it was no different to the life which exists within cells today, precisely because life does not change. Life doesn't change because it is the image of something immutable: the Holy Trinity.
2.
EVOLUTION
Has Nothing to do With Life
The idea that evolution has nothing to do with life will no doubt seem unthinkable, if not preposterous, to many people today, not to mention biologists. Yet it is true. Life is not evolution, it is the image of the Holy Trinity; life is not the result of evolution, it originated from the Holy Trinity; life does not evolve because the image of the Holy Trinity is immutable just like the Holy Trinity. In fact, evolution could not be more opposed to life.
3.
The Origin of Life was
INSTANTANEOUS
The origin of life is widely believed to have been a long, drawn-out process spanning millions of years. This view could not be further from reality. The Holy Trinity did not need time to construct its own image in matter. The image of the Holy Trinity was not gradually built-up over time, it was imprinted instantaneously. The origin of life happened in the blink of an eye, it truly was the Big Bang of biology.
4.
Organisms are
NOT MACHINES
It is widely accepted today within science that organisms are complex machines, an idea that goes back centuries, but it is false. Machines are objects with functions, and organisms are also objects with functions. However, there is a fundamental difference: machines have to be made, whereas organisms make themselves. Machines are autonomous in their action, but not their construction. Organisms are autonomous in both activity and construction. Organisms have a higher level of autonomy than machines. Not only do organisms make (generate) themselves, they produce their own parts - proteins. The source of this self-generation is the protein generator: life itself.
5.
Life is NOT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Life is communication and genetic information is digital, however, life is not (organic) information technology. The difference comes down to the relationship between information and matter. In the digital realm, information and matter are separate, and communication is merely the transfer of information between different points in space. In life, matter and information are fused together: genetic information forms the molecular structure of DNA. As a result, in life, communication is not merely transfer but a production.
6.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Will Never Be Alive
Machines and living things are separate categories - a machine cannot be alive, and living things are not machines. Nothing can change this, there is no threshold of sophistication or functionality beyond which machines start to become alive. The concept of a living machine is self-contradictory. If, hypothetically speaking, a mechanical object somehow acquired life, it would no longer be a machine, it would be a living being. Conversely, a living being where life has disappeared, but still manages to function mechanically, is a machine. No matter how advanced machines become, they will always be machines, that is, functional and non-living objects. This is why Artificial Intelligence is not alive, nor will it ever be, no matter how advanced it becomes. Because AI runs on computers, which are machines.
7.
VIRUSES
Are Machines
Biology also contains non-cellular biological entities, the most famous of which is the virus. Viruses consist of genetic material, DNA or RNA, encapsulated by protein and are prolific mutators. The scientific community cannot decide whether viruses are alive or not. With TRINITY in BIOLOGY, it is simple: viruses do not contain the image of the Holy Trinity. As a result, viruses cannot produce themselves. Viruses are parasites - they infect living cells with their genetic material and cause the life processes within a cell to reproduce the virus en masse. Some argue that viruses are an example of quasi-life, that is, a juxtaposition of life and non-life. However, this view is flawed since life is black and white: an object either has life, or it doesn't, there is no in-between. Viruses are not living, nor living machines, nor quasi-life, they are machines. This means the first mass-produced machines were produced, not by human beings, but by the image of the Holy Trinity.
8.
ONLY CELLS
Contain Life
What exactly is alive? Numerous objects have been proposed so far in the academic literature, some more surprising than others. The Earth (Gaia hypothesis), anything with complexity including mere crystals, computer programs, water spouts or any vortex because they are self-sustaining structures, the list goes on. As diverse as the list of proposed living beings is, they all have one thing in common: they can be described by the ordinary laws of physics. This immediately rules them out as alive, because the essence of a living being is that physics is not enough to produce them, they need something more than physics, and that something is life. Hence why they are living. There is only one object which falls into this category: the cell. There is, of course, another criterion we can use to identify a living being and that is the image of the Holy Trinity. Again, the cell is the only which satisfies this criterion. Note that organisms are alive because they are composed of cells which contain life, not because of any particular properties of organisms.
9.
Life Can Exist
WITHOUT BIOLOGY
Life is not a consequence of biology, it is the other way round: biology is the consequence of life. Biology is the result of the image of the Holy Trinity entering space-time and matter. Life precedes biology. This order between life and biology can be demonstrated experimentally. Biology cannot exist without life, however, it is possible to switch biology off, leaving only life. This strange phenomenon is commonly called suspended animation. Microscopic organisms can be cooled to almost Absolute Zero using liquid nitrogen. At such low temperatures, all chemical reactions and biological functions have long ceased, all that is happening are quantum fluctuations. There is far more happening in a corpse, yet suspended organisms are not dead because the entire process can be reversed by carefully thawing the organisms. The fact that they can come back to life means they were never dead in the first place. Suspended animation is life without biology, the image of the Holy Trinity without biology. This is another way in which life reflects the Holy Trinity, since there is no eternal biology as such, the Holy Trinity is pure Life, or life without biology.
10.
THE ABSENCE OF ALIENS
Is Easy to Explain
Where are all the aliens? This is one of the great paradoxes of the universe, but the answer is rather straightforward: aliens shouldn't even exist in the first place, because no life should exist in the universe, The laws of physics and chemistry cannot produce life. The real paradox is not aliens, but the existence of life here on Earth: how can life exist on Earth even though live cannot be produced by natural processes? The reason you and I exist is all because physics and chemistry had a helping hand from the Holy Trinity. The image of the Holy Trinity is nowhere to be seen in the cosmos, but the entire cosmos confirms life to be the image of the Holy Trinity.
11.
WE ARE THE ALIENS
You and I, along with every other living being on Earth, are the real aliens in this universe, because, according to the laws of physics and chemistry, we shouldn't exist. Life on Earth did not come from another planet in the solar system. Nor did it come from another star-system within our galaxy. Nor even another galaxy. Life on Earth came from the furthest possible location: outside the universe altogether, indeed, outside all space and time: eternity.
12.
We Are the
CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE
Do living beings exist elsewhere in the universe? This is not a scientific question, but a theological question. Since the origin of life is not a natural process but requires the intervention of the Holy Trinity. The existence of any life in the universe is therefore entirely down to the will of the Holy Trinity. It has nothing to do with statistics, exoplanets, water, organic compounds, favourable conditions or other such natural criteria. Does the Holy Trinity want life elsewhere in the universe? According to Christianity, God became man here on Earth. This is a once in a universe event - unprecedented and unrepeatable. This strongly suggests we are the only intelligent beings in the universe, and Earth is an oasis of life. A pessimist might say we are alone in this universe, an optimist would say we are the centre of attention.
Biology based on the Trinity not blind chance
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