Godless Business

In a recent discussion with some friends I made the comment that the difference between Human and Great Ape DNA was around 2%. The retort was that this amounted to a massive amount of raw data, therefore somehow nullifying the point.

In preparation for an upcoming video I decided to do a little checking. According to Biblical web sites (such as http://agards-bible-timeline.com/q10_bible-facts.html) the King James version of the Bible contains 66 books. 2% of 66 is 1.32 books. To be somewhat more accurate, the KGV contains some 783,137 words in 1,189 chapters - an average of 658 words per chapter. So if I were to change 23 random chapters this would equate to 2%.

According to the numbers on the given web site, just changing the words “Lord” and “God” to something else, say “Salami”, would account for a 1.4% change in the source text. If I were to do such a thing, then claim that the book suddenly and spontaneously appeared on my bedside table on night, you might think I was a little crazy - especially given the striking similarity to other “holy” texts.

Yet isn’t this exactly what creationists are asking us to believe? Surely such amazing coincidences in the texts of the two books points to a common ancestry? One book must have been based on the other. Statistical analysis would certainly lead one to reach this conclusion.

The same can be said for the genetic code. Such similarities are not adequately explained by a magical being poofing them into existence - both sets of DNA share a common ancestor. Just think about the many different versions of the Bible out there to choose from. Are they all the one true book? Or is it more likely that they all share a common ancestor - one root holy text from which all the others are derived. What do you think?