If you haven’t seen it, there is a video on Godtube, Youtube, and probably any other tube out there. It is of some preacher named Louie Giglio. He claims to have spoken to a “molecular biologist” from a “local university” who told him about the protein called laminin. This supposed molecular biologist told him that laminin is a cell adhesion molecule that “holds the body together.” Then, he shows his audience a “scientific illustration” of what laminin looks like. Here is basically what he shows the audience:

He goes on to say that this is confirmation of Colossians 1:17, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” So…because the “scientific illustration” of laminin looks like a cross, God is using science to remind us that Christ holds all things together. Just in case the “scientific illustration” doesn’t convince you, he shows you an electron microscope image of laminin. He shows this:

Now I have to admit that someone who knows little about protein chemistry could easily be taken in by such tripe. Thus, even though this video upsets me, I am not upset with the people who send me this video. Neither am I upset with Louie Giglio for talking about this in his sermon without really understanding it. Preachers talk about things they don’t understand all the time, including the Bible. Thus, it doesn’t surprise me that a preacher would talk about protein chemistry even though he doesn’t understand it. What bothers me is that Louie Giglio claims he got this information from a molecular biologist.

No molecular biologist who understands his field would EVER suggest that there is some spiritual connection to the shape of laminin. Thus, someone in this story is lying. It might be Louie Giglio. Perhaps he stumbled across this and invented the story of a molecular biologist to give it more weight. It might be the guy who came up to him claiming to be a molecular biologist. Perhaps that person was some student who really doesn’t understand molecular biology but saw a simplified drawing of laminin and wanted to impress Louie Giglio. Perhaps the person really was a molecular biologist, at which point the university that gave him his degree is the liar, as a degree means a level of competency that this person clearly doesn’t have. I don’t know who the liar is here, but I guarantee you, there is a liar somewhere, because any molecular biologist would know the following facts:

1. Simplified drawings are never accurate pictures of protein shapes. Proteins have several levels of hierarchy to their structure, and even the best three-dimensional representations of proteins are mere approximations. God’s engineering is far beyond the understanding of man. Thus, the way we visualize proteins is oversimplistic at best.

2. Proteins change conformations. That’s what they must do in order to do their job. Thus, they don’t hold to a given shape. Indeed, the electron microscope picture that Louie Giglio gives in his sermon represents just one possible shape for laminin. Consider this image, which contains two different electron microscope images of laminin:

It looks to me like the bottom one is the one that Louie Giglio used, rotated 90 degrees. This makes me wonder if he intentionally edited out the other image. In any event, the top one shows what any molecular biology graduate student would know: proteins change conformation in order to do their job. The shape at any given time is most likely transitory.

3. There are just as many (if not more) Satanic (or otherwise evil) shapes in the human body. Consider this: DNA is the molecule that contains all the information that determines who you are. Here is a simplified drawing of the detailed structure of DNA, getting rid of the helical shape and just concentrating on what makes up the backbone of the molecule:

Do you see the blue shapes? Those are pentagrams. They represent the sugar deoxyribose that makes up the backbone of DNA. Indeed, deoxyribose is what gives DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) the “deoxyribo” in its name. Thus, the molecule that makes the backbone of DNA and gives it part of its name is a Satanic symbol. What does that mean?

It gets worse! In every nerve cell of your body there are potassium channels. They allow your nerve cells (like those in your brain) to conduct action potentials, which is what makes them work. Guess what those potassium channels look like? Here you go:

What does that look like to you? To me, it looks like a swastika. So the cellular structure that allows you to think is an homage to Hitler?

Obviously, there are a variety of molecules in creation. In an attempt to understand them, we draw simplified illustrations that allow us to learn something about their structure and function. To say that there is some hidden “message” in these shapes is just nonsense.