I have always been a person who firmly believes in the existence of the greatest power that arranges all of the things going on in the universe, what I mean is God. Regardless of many variations to name it, the concept of divinities has been embedded in me since I was around 5. At that age, I remember when I was drawing scenery of city life with skyscrapers, I added a sketch above the sky to illustrate "the great power" as a finishing touch in my drawing, and that was my childhood imagination about divinity. I then realize that those concepts are getting deeper as I grow older and, somehow, it is also concurrent with my level of education and my understanding of science.
When I was in primary school, I was introduced to biology - the science that studies living things and their lives, composed of the Greek terminology of "Bios" which means life, and "Logos" which means science, my teacher said. Ever since then I was so into biology. For me, unlike math and any other subjects I learned, biology brings me clear images of the theory written in the book as well as its application. As I was turning a teenager and sitting as a junior high school student, I learned the theory of living things' creation from my favorite biology teacher, late Dra. H. Sulastri. She opened me a window of an astonishing field of science depicting the greatest power of God yet from a different viewpoint involved in Biology, particularly human creation. A big question then popped into my mind "How are living things created?".
By far, I have been collecting some theories and shreds of evidence incorporated into three interrelated domains (divinities, sciences, and arts) that I believe can be fused to explain and address that question. Here they are.
Fig 1. Interconnected domains in the creation of living things
1. Divinities
The following are some assertions from various sources of dogma that postulate the theory of living things' creation. Along with the author's scientific advancement, the link between how living things were formed and the notion of God will continue to be investigated.
Bible[1]
Genesis 2:7
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Al-Qur'an[2]
Al-Mu'minun (23):12-14
We created man out of the extract of clay, then We made him into a drop of life-germ, then We placed it in a safe depository, then We made this drop into a clot, then We made the clot into a lump, then We made the lump into bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, and then We caused it to grow into another creation. Thus Most Blessed is Allah, the Best of all those that create
Fatir (35):11
And (it is) Allah (Who) created you from dust, then (developed you) from a sperm-drop, then made you into pairs. No female ever conceives or delivers without His knowledge. And no one’s life is made long or cut short but is (written) in a Record. That is certainly easy for Allah.
Az Zumar (39):6
He created you (all) from a single soul, then from it He made its mate. And He produced for you four pairs of cattle He creates you in the wombs of your mothers (in stages), one development after another, in three layers of darkness. That is Allah—your Lord! All authority belongs to Him. There is no god (worthy of worship) except Him. How can you then be turned away?
Ghafir (40):67
He is the One Who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then (developed you into) a clinging clot (of blood), then He brings you forth as infants, so that you may reach your prime, and become old—though some of you (may) die sooner—reaching an appointed time, so perhaps you may understand (Allah’s power).
Hujurat (49):13
He is the One Who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then (developed you into) a clinging clot (of blood), then He brings you forth as infants, so that you may reach your prime, and become old—though some of you (may) die sooner—reaching an appointed time, so perhaps you may understand (Allah’s power).
Beside the written verses found in Al-Qur'an above, there are several more letters stating the processes of the development and formation of living creatures that are grouped according to the stages of creation presented in the following table below:
Table 1. The grouping of letters in the Qur'an based on the stages of the process of creating living things
Based on some of the quotations from the verses above, a summary of the creation of living things can be illustrated in the following figure:
Fig 3. Schematic Illustration of the living things' creation according to Al-Qur'an
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2. Sciences
Fig 3. Reproductive biology and reproductive biotechnology[3]
Scientifically, several events related to the process of creating living things can be explained through biology and its branches including physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, embryology, gynecology, obstetrics, etc which are grouped into reproductive biology and reproductive biotechnology. While reproductive biology involves the scientific study of the reproductive system which leads to new treatments for reproductive disorders (infertility)[4], reproductive biotechnology is used to obtain offspring as an alternative to natural mating through several techniques such as artificial insemination (AI) in conjunction with sperm preservation/cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer[5,6].
3. Arts
As interactions and reactions at the molecular level within the processes of living things' creation are difficult to visualize clearly even through real-time imaging, the use of both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional animations will be very helpful in explaining the processes that occur at the molecular level in relation to the process of creating living things, the interaction of two life germs, and the environment in which they pass. This area is actually nothing but the art domain. Therefore, given the importance of facilitating uniform interpretation and understanding in the processes mentioned above, the art domain cannot be abandoned in this regard. Then, is it possible? does a scientist not mind because of the complexity of making it? I said no! In its evolution, the scientific method is indeed more structured than the rational and free mind of philosophers. One of the distinguishing characteristics is the definite step and framework which also involves complex statistical calculations, which in the end also successfully be required almost all scientific publications.
Phenomenon/Question
A unique phenomenon occurred in the creation of Jesus (in the Bible) and/or Isa (in the Qur'an). Unlike the processes stated above, the creation of Jesus and/or Isa seems to be an exception. As stated in Hujurat (49):13, a human is created from male and female indicating the role of two germ cells i.e. sperm and oocyte (proven by science). However, Jesus and/or Isa was created without the involvement of male germ cell a.k.a sperm as the mother of Jesus and/or Isa (Mary) was a virgin when she was conceiving. This unique phenomenon is stated both in Bible and the Qur'an as follows:
Bible
Matthew 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Al-Qur'an
Al Imran (3):47
Mary wondered, “My Lord! How can I have a child when no man has ever touched me?” An angel replied, “So will it be. Allah creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, ‘Be!’ And it is!
So how can science unravel this phenomenon? can this phenomenon be engineered? and is this phenomenon reproducible?
Vision
Nowadays, there has been the development of so-called "non-conventional" methods to achieve the production of embryos in vitro i.e. parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Parthenogenesis, originally from jawed vertebrate species such as the whiptail lizard (Aspidoscelis uniparens), is a reproduction strategy in which no sperm is involved to trigger embryonic development from the oocyte and the female generates an offspring with no paternal inheritance [7]. Meanwhile, SCNT is the process of transplanting nuclei from adult cells into oocytes or blastocysts and allowing them to grow and differentiate, producing pluripotent cells. Both have the same initial process through oocyte stimulation to grow with electricity or chemicals following the removal of the adult cell nucleus and insertion of somatic cells in SCNT [8]. Parthenogenetic activation of mammalian oocytes by artificial manipulation, on the other hand, leads to early embryonic development and, in some cases, fetal early development. The absence of expression of imprinted paternal genes required for the creation of a functioning placenta prevents continued development. Whereas SCNT, considering the long and laborious process, seems impossible to occur naturally (by far) in humans; therefore is not yet able to provide shreds of evidence for the question above. All in all, the domains of religion, science, and art will be the places in which I will position myself while attempting to connect all the dots of evidence in order to unravel the genuine answer to the one-sentence question above.
[4] Nature [View]
[5] Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences [View]
[6] Hadgu A, Fesseha H. 2020. Reproductive Biotechnology Options for Improving Livestock Production: A Review. Adv. Food. Technol. Nutr. Sci. 6(1): 13-20 [View]
[7] Bos-Mikich, A., Bressan, F.F., Ruggeri, R.R., Watanabe, Y., Meirelles, F.V. 2016. Parthenogenesis and Human Assisted Reproduction. Stem Cells International. [View]
[8] Koslov, D.S. and Atala, A. 2018. Bioengineered Kidney and Bladder. Encyclopedia of Biomedical Engineering. [View]
