The Code and the Coder: Finding God in the DNA of the Universe

What an MIT graduate and former atheist learned about DNA, Darwin, and why the most dangerous myth of our modern age is that science and faith are at odds.

By Dr. Lee C. Cordell

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For decades, Doug Ell was a convinced atheist.

He was an MIT graduate who double-majored in math and physics, followed up by a master's degree in theoretical mathematics.

He graduated magna cum laude from law school, and became known for drafting the first 401(k) plan in professional sports.

He believed what he read in a high school textbook: that life started in a dirty pond by chance. He thought religion was for people who weren't smart enough to understand science.

Then, in his early 30s, he walked into a church to have his son baptized — mostly to avoid an argument with his wife.

And surprisingly- he felt something. He sensed a peace and a joy he didn't have.

But being an MIT guy, he told himself he had to find scientific evidence to believe in God. That began a 30-year independent study, sifting through evidence the way only a trained scientist and lawyer can.

And he arrived at a conviction that changed everything: Science does not contradict God. It points directly to Him.

That is the story Doug Ell told me when I asked him to explain how a theoretical mathematician goes from atheism to writing books defending the existence of a Creator.

Doug's conclusion isn't theoretical- it's grounded in the reality of looking at the data.

It's from spending decades studying the universe, the laws of physics, and the biology of the human body, and realizing that the math simply does not support the idea that any of this happened by accident.

Because sometimes, the very thing we think will disprove God is the exact thing that reveals Him... which is why the REASON you are asking the questions really has to matter.

The Code Requires a Coder

One of the most powerful things Doug said in our conversation was this:

"If you find code, you know you're dealing with an intelligence. How can you have code without a coder?"

I want you to sit with that for a second, because I think most of us have been operating under the assumption that science has somehow disproved the need for a Creator.

We let external definitions (the textbooks, the media, the prominent atheists) tell us that faith is just a crutch for the uneducated. And when things get hard, or when we face intellectual doubts, we default to skepticism instead of leaning into the wonder of how God actually designed things.

Doug pointed out something that is universally accepted in science but rarely taken to its logical conclusion: DNA is a digital code.

There are 3.2 billion letters of code in almost every one of our cells. This code is read by microscopic 3D printers called ribosomes. It is copied, repaired, and executed with a precision that makes our most advanced computer systems look primitive.

For 60 years, scientists have been scanning the heavens with radio telescopes, looking for code coming from outer space.

Why? Because if they find code, they know they have found intelligence. That is the entire premise of the SETI project.

Yet when we look inside ourselves and find the most complex code in the universe, we are told it happened by chance.

Doug's challenge is this: look at the evidence.

And even if you don't understand all the math — you can be confident that the design points to a Designer.

The Myth of the Dirty Pond

Doug calls the idea that life started by chance in a dirty pond a "sad heresy."

In science, he says, you almost never get the full story from the mainstream narrative. You hear about Darwin's theory of evolution, and you assume it is settled science.

You rarely find out that top biologists know Darwin's theory doesn't work.

Most of the time, you just do not know.

And that is true for many of us in our faith, not just scientists. We rarely find out the depth of the evidence that supports what we believe. The historical accuracy of the Bible, the fine-tuning of the universe, the mathematical impossibility of complex information arising from random mutations.

Doug explained that Darwin's theory relies on picking the best mistakes and keeping them. The fatal flaw in that approach? You cannot get the massive amount of functional information found in DNA through random mistakes.

It requires an intelligence beyond chance, a creator orchestrating the design.

Be Skeptical of Your Skepticism

Most of us know the feeling of intellectual doubt. But Doug says there is a different way to approach it — and it is the one that changes everything.

Intentional curiosity is a deliberate, faith-rooted choice about how you are going to engage with your questions.

Doug and I talked about how people in high-stakes environments like entrepreneurs, executives, medical professionals can have their minds wired for skepticism.

And when you spend your life relying on your own intellect, it becomes your default. You stop wondering, and you just doubt.

I know this firsthand. I used to teach pathophysiology, and we would accept gaps in scientific knowledge with a simple "we don't know yet." But when it came to faith, we demanded absolute, concrete proof before we would even consider it.

Doug's framework of being skeptical of your skepticism serves as a leadership principle grounded in intellectual honesty — one that requires practice, study, and humility.

And it requires you to know that God is not afraid of your questions, so that when you have them, you are not running away from Him.

The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Wisdom

One of the most unexpectedly rich parts of our conversation was when Doug started talking about the fear of the Lord.

He walked me through what it actually means to respect God's power and design. He explained why asking "Who created God?" is like Harry Potter trying to understand J.K. Rowling — a character inside a book trying to comprehend the author who exists outside of it. He connected the mathematical concepts of quantum mechanics to the reality that God thought the universe into existence.

My kids laugh at me because I cry all the time now when I look at a flower or learn about a biological process, and even I was sitting there going, I did not fully grasp the magnitude of that.

Doug's challenge was simple: don't be afraid to ask questions.

Not to prove God wrong, nor to try to best someone in a theological argument.

Ask questions because understanding the science, the math, the complexity transforms the world around you into a living, breathing, radical invitation to know the Creator.

And for those of us who are building businesses, leading teams, and making decisions that affect real people's lives?

That kind of depth provides an incredibly sturdy foundation on which we can execute on what God has called us to build.

What Doug's Story Is Really About

Here is what I kept coming back to as I was editing this episode:

Doug Ell was an MIT graduate.
He was a theoretical mathematician.
He was a prominent attorney.
He was a convinced atheist.
He walked into a church just to keep the peace.
He spent 30 years studying the evidence.

And yet — he is not dismissive of those who still doubt. In fact, he's quite the opposite.

He is a man who has spent decades watching the science point to God, even when the culture told him it didn't. A man who can look back at every equation and say, "There was God."

So let me ask 2 questions, friend—

1. What is the intellectual barrier you've been hiding behind "for everyone else" — the one that keeps you in a posture of skepticism but leaves you feeling empty at the end of every day?
2. What is the truth that God has been whispering to you that you have not had the courage to explore (yet)?

Because here is what I know:

He created the code.
He designed the universe.
And He is not surprised by your questions right now.

Go ask Him.

Ask Him for the wisdom to see the evidence He has already placed right in front of you.

Always Rooting for You,
Dr. Lee

P.S. Read Doug's books, The God Proofs and Counting to God, and connect with him further at thegodproofs.com

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