Creation Science Rebuttals -

Plant and Bacteria Communicate

1 March 2006

     The 1 March 06 daily feature for the young earth creation science ministry Creation Moments had to do with plants and bacteria.  At the heart of this issue is the symbiosis between two different creatures.  Plants and bacteria need each other to thrive.  The example is given of a soybean plant, and how it uses nitrogen supplied from bacteria.  The bacteria takes the nitrogen from the air, and passes it to the plant.  In return, the plant provides a "nice home" for the bacteria in nodes in its roots.

     The bacteria need oxygen and energy to "fix nitrogen into the soil."  The oxygen is supplied by heme, which can only be produced by the plant and bacteria working together.  In other words, they communicate chemically with each other.  They finish the article with the statement, "Communication between such different creatures, allowing them to perform sophisticated chemistry to improve both of their lives, shows how inadequate evolution is to explain life. This arrangement surely glorifies the Creator!"  Although they do bond chemicals to make the production of the heme, this can hardly be called "communication."

     While I agree that this is a marvelous process, and Christians can marvel and praise God for the relationship between plants and bacteria, this relationship does not provide any evidence against evolution.  There is no reason given that would prevent the evolutionary process from producing such a relationship. 

     As is typical of Creation Moments claims, this is strictly a "God of the Gaps" type argument.  Presenting such an argument in defense of creation is a pointless exercise in futility...it will strengthen those who already believe, but will do nothing to argue for your position with the atheist or old earth creationist.

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