• A Mathematician Explains His Faith
    Awake!—2015 | November

    • A Mathematician Explains His Faith

      Dr. Gene Hwang, born in 1950 in Tainan, Taiwan, is a retired professor of mathematics at the National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. He is also professor emeritus at Cornell University, U.S.A., where he taught and did research in statistics and probability. For years he was one of the most published authorities on statistics, a field in which he is still involved. As a young man, he believed that life began by evolutionary processes. But he later changed his view. Awake! asked him about his work and religious beliefs.

      What teachings were you exposed to as a youth?

      My school taught the theory of evolution, but no one explained how life itself began.

  • A Mathematician Explains His Faith
    Awake!—2015 | November

    • The more I thought about the origin of life, the more I became convinced that the first living thing must have been very complex. For example, it had to be able to reproduce, which requires genetic information and a mechanism for accurately replicating that information. Also, even the simplest living cell needs molecular machines for building all the parts of a new cell, as well as the means to harness and direct energy. How could such complex mechanisms assemble randomly from nonliving matter? As a mathematician, I could not accept that assumption. It asks far too much of random processes.

  • A Mathematician Explains His Faith
    Awake!—2015 | November

    • Does your faith conflict with your secular studies?

      Not at all! In recent years I have provided mathematical support for scientists who study gene function. The study of genetics provides insight into the mechanisms of life​—an insight that fills me with awe for the Creator’s wisdom.

      Give an example of that wisdom.

      Consider reproduction. Some organisms, such as amoebas, don’t have male and female counterparts. These single-cell microbes simply make a copy of their genetic information and divide​—a process called asexual reproduction. Most animals and plants, however, reproduce sexually, combining genetic information from male and female parents. Why is sexual reproduction remarkable?

      Why would a system of reproduction in which one organism simply divides into two​—and has done this very well for who knows how long—​develop into a system in which two things combine to form one? The mechanisms required to take half the genetic information from the male and half from the female and combine them are immensely complex, presenting a huge problem to evolutionary biologists. In my view, gender-based reproduction points unequivocally to the mind of God.