Eagle Eyes and Design

Eagle Eyes and Design
Bald Eagle

Eagles are some of the most amazing creatures in today’s world. We are familiar with bald eagles and golden eagles, but there are eagles everywhere on Earth, and they have similar designs. Eagle eyes are incredible examples of design that is not easily explained by any chance hypothesis.

The human eye has two kinds of receptors in the retina – rods and cones. Rods are more sensitive and give vision in dim light. Cones provide us with color vision. We don’t see color in dim light because only the rods are sensitive enough to function. Cones are concentrated in the center of our retina in an area called the macula to help us see fine details.

A typical section of the human eye has roughly 200,000 cones, while eagle eyes have over 400,000. That means an eagle can see fine details that the human eye cannot detect. The reason for this design is obvious. Eagles are carnivores, and to see their prey while in flight, they must have incredibly sensitive vision. Experiments with pet eagles have shown they can see a rabbit in a field while flying 1000 feet above the ground.

The problem with this sensitivity is how to keep direct sunlight from damaging the cones. To solve this problem, eagle eyes are protected by an eyebrow ridge that shades the cones. All eagles have this feature and use it in hunting their prey, including small mammals and fish, which are a mainstay of the diet of most eagles.

Eagles are designed to be apex predators. They are the perfect carnivores with talons to grasp prey, wing feathers that allow amazing flight abilities, and powerful wings to lift heavy prey. Eagles keep a balance in nature and are essential in the stability of life forms worldwide.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: PBS Special on Eagles October 2024.

Superstar Lucy and Anthropology

Superstar Lucy and Anthropology
Lucy Fossil (Australopithecus afarensis)

American Scientist magazine called Lucy “Paleoanthropology’s Superstar.” Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) is a hominid fossil found in 1974. Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson named it Lucy because the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was being played on the radio that year. Lucy had a brain size of 450 cc. A modern human’s brain is between 950 cc and 1800 cc, depending on sex and location. What is special about superstar Lucy?

Lucy stood about three feet seven inches tall, weighed around 60 pounds, and had a pelvis similar to a chimpanzee. Lucy’s limbs were close to the ratio of a monkey, with the femur and humerus being about the same size. In humans, there is a 2:1 ratio between these two bones. The opening into the skull through which the spinal column sends its messages to the brain is called the foramen magnum. In a human, that opening is centered in the middle of the skull, allowing a normal vertical position. In a monkey, the foramen magnum is in the back of the skull, so vertical standing is difficult. In the case of Lucy, the foramen magnum is not in the center of the skull and not in the very back of the skull. Vertical motion and standing would have been possible, but walking long distances would be difficult.

Graduate students and anthropologists have used superstar Lucy for fundraising, with many getting support for field research. In the 50 years since Lucy’s discovery, researchers have found many other hominid fossils in better condition than Lucy. The theory of human evolution 50 years ago was a tree with something like Lucy at the base. The newer models are that hominoid history is more of a bush than a tree.

So, where do Adam and Eve fit into all of this? The Bible says that man was formed “from the dust of the Earth … and man became a living being”. The Hebrew used here is “nephesh,” which the Hebrew lexicon says means “animal soul.” The passage does not say how long God took to do that or what process He used. We can understand some of what God did by looking at the fossils. What separates the first human is not his body. Our body chemistry is the same as other forms of life. What sets us apart is our creation in God’s image.

Genesis 1:26-27 describes the unique creation of man – not his physical body. “Let US create man in OUR image” refers to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.” In other words, the image of God refers to our spiritual makeup. It isn’t our brains or our bodies that make us unique and special. All humans are created in God’s image with a spiritual aspect that can last eternally. The physical body will return to the dust from which it came (Genesis 3:19), but our spiritual body (soul) is not subject to the physical laws that govern all other life on Earth.

As anthropologists focus on superstar Lucy, The big question is, “When will we recognize the unique beauty of all humans and stop killing each other?”

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “Paleoanthropology’s Superstar” in the November/December issue of American Scientist magazine (pages 326 -327).

Making Assumptions About the Biblical Account

Making Assumptions About the Biblical Account

Bible Skeptics claim that Cain would have had to marry a sister since no other women were around. This is a classic demonstration of making assumptions about the biblical account that are incorrect both scientifically and biblically.

Even if Cain married a sister (which the Bible does not say), it would not be incest. The genome of humans at the early stage of human creation would have been perfect. Incest is when two people with DNA from the same imperfect parents produce a child. We all have mutations in our DNA from the thousands of generations of humans on Earth. Any brother having a child with his sister today would be dooming the child to genetic issues.

People making assumptions about the biblical account are only guessing and may contradict other biblical passages. How many children were born in the “Garden of Eden?” In Genesis 1:28, God told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the Earth …” Some have suggested that this is the only command God ever gave that humans have completely obeyed. The point is that they either had children or they disobeyed God. The skeptic’s only alternative is to assume their time in the Garden was too short to bear children.

Genesis 4:16-17 says, “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” The Bible does not say that Cain took his wife to Nod, so he must have married a woman living in Nod. This would be a distant relative from the population that left the Garden of Eden. Genesis 5 lists the genealogy from Adam to Noah, leaving out Cain’s descendants. Genesis 6:1-5 records the increase in human population using the word “Nephilim,” meaning fallen ones. It does not mean aliens or monsters, as some have suggested, but those who rejected God.

Making assumptions about the biblical account is dangerous because the Bible does not tell us many things about early humans. Neither does the geologic fossil record give us the details we want to know. But what is actually recorded in the Bible is not at odds with the geological evidence. As in all such questions, you can intelligently and reasonably believe both the scientific evidence and the biblical record. They are symbiotic.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Thwaites Glacier and Climate Change

Thwaites Glacier and Climate Change
Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica

The rhetoric over climate change involves disagreements on both the amount and the causes. One of the main issues in this discussion is data on Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier. That glacier is roughly the size of Florida and up to 6500 feet thick. According to the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), if it were to collapse completely, it would raise worldwide sea levels by 65 cm (more than two feet).

The ITGC is an organization of scientists from the UK and the US that gather data on the Thwaites Glacier. Dr. Ted Scambos, who is a glaciologist at the University of Colorado working with this group, says, “It’s concerning that the latest computer models predict continuing ice loss that will accelerate through the 22nd century and could lead to a widespread collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd.” In the last 30 years, the melting rate of the Thwaites Glacier has been speeding up and has recently risen sharply. Whatever people think about the cause of this, we must do whatever we can to prevent the melting of the Thwaites Glacier.

However, the Thwaites Glacier is not the only melting ice sheet in the world. Many glaciers are melting worldwide, and only a handful are stable or gaining ice. Human action is most certainly not the only cause of climate change, but God’s instructions to care for the creation include controlling the collateral damage from these changes.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Thwaitesglacier.org and wikipedia.org

Sea Robin Design

Sea Robin Design
Northern Sea Robin (Prionotus carolinus)

Small fish in the subfamily Prionotinae are among the most interesting ocean creatures. They are known as sea robins because they have large pectoral fins resembling bird wings. The sea robin design makes them distinctive, and some say, “bizarre.”

Sea robins live off the coasts of the Americas in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans. In addition to having fins that resemble bird wings, they have limbs like a crab. These legs are covered with tiny protrusions, which are like taste buds that can detect mollusks buried under the sand, allowing them to find food on the ocean floor.

When a northern sea robin (Prionotus carolinus) hatches, it has webbed fins for swimming. As the fish grows, the first three rays of the pectoral fins separate into three individual appendages on each side that can serve as legs for “walking” along the ocean floor. These appendages in northern sea robins can detect chemicals released by prey hidden under the sand. Each of these six “legs” has a large nerve that branches from the massive spinal ganglia to carry information to and from the brain.

The unique sea robin design includes fins to soar like a bird underwater, “legs” to walk on the sea floor and “taste” hidden predators, armor plating, and specialized muscles to generate croaking sounds by drumming on their swim bladder. This is another example of complexity in a life form that is too complex for a chance explanation. Evolutionary theories can explain one of the unique characteristics of the sea robin design, but all of these unique features have to come together to survive.

Controlling the populations of benthic sea creatures and keeping the ocean floor clean of debris requires a unique form of life, and the sea robin design remarkably fills the need. God’s creatures offer an understanding of God’s design wisdom, care, and engineering. Romans 1:19-20 tells us that things like this fish are an apologetic for the existence of God.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Wikipedia and Current Biology

Modern Atheism Has Lost Its Momentum

Modern Atheism Has Lost Its Momentum

Evolution News & Science Today published an article by Denyse O’Leary titled “How the New Atheism Fizzled.” The point is that modern atheism has lost its momentum.

A book titled The Four Horsemen (Random House Penguin 2007) presented the arguments against faith by Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins. Hitchens and Dennett are deceased, and no one has taken their place. Antony Flew and Ayaan Hirsi Ali were atheists who could pick up the slack. Ali was a Muslim turned atheist, but she became a disciple of Christ, and Flew wrote a book titled There is a God (HarperOne 2008).

Modern atheism has lost its momentum as more evidence for design has become available. The challenges include the fine-tuning of the universe and simple things like the fact that the existence of beauty is not part of survival. We now see books and articles about why there is something instead of nothing.

To add to the challenges to modern atheism, evidence shows the growth of suicide among atheists. Atheist Staks Rosch, writing in the Huffington Post (December 8, 2017), noted that depression leading to suicide is a significant problem in the atheist community. The fact that atheism offers no purpose for existence while faith does is a factor in how modern atheism has lost its momentum.

One of the leading proponents of modern atheism has been the work of the late brilliant scientist Stephen Hawking. However, believers with the academic credentials to address Hawking’s complaints against faith have responded. For example, Dr. John C. Lennox of the University of Oxford directly addressed Hawking in 2011 in the book God and Stephen Hawking – Whose Design Is It Anyway? Atheists have been unable to respond to Lennox’s material. Books by other scholars have addressed the claims of Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, and Dennett.

Even though modern atheism has lost its momentum, there have always been and will always be those who reject the existence of God. The bottom line is you don’t have to put your brain in “park” to be a believer. Jesus challenged the people of His day to look at the evidence. Those of us who believe in God and the Bible should follow His example.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “How the New Atheism Fizzled” by Denyse O’Leary in the September 30, 2024, issue of Evolution News & Science Today

We Need to Know What a Museum Is

We Need to Know What a Museum Is

People seem to believe that if something is in a museum, it is automatically accurate and factual, while some use museums to promote their religious or doctrinal beliefs. Wikipedia lists 13 creationist museums in the United States and four in other countries. Some of these “museums” are really presentations of dispensational beliefs, and some are theme parks that charge significant entry fees. We need to know what a museum is.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services in the United States has the legal definition of “museum.” It is: “A public, tribal, or private nonprofit institution which is organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational, cultural heritage, or aesthetic purposes and which, using a professional staff: Owns or uses tangible objects, either animate or inanimate; Cares for these objects; and Exhibits them to the general public on a regular basis” (Museum Services Act 1976). We need to know what a museum is and most of these “creation museums” do not meet this definition.

The American Alliance of Museums has a list of criteria required to participate in their Accreditation Program. It states that a museum must: “Be a legally organized nonprofit institution or part of a nonprofit organization or government entity; Be essentially educational in nature; Have a formally stated and approved mission; Use and interpret objects or a site for the public presentation of regularly scheduled programs and exhibits; Have a formal and appropriate program of documentation, care, and use of collections or objects; Carry out the above functions primarily at a physical facility or site; Have been open to the public for at least two years; Be open to the public at least 1,000 hours a year; Have accessioned 80 percent of its permanent collection; Have at least one paid professional staff with museum knowledge and experience; Have a full-time director to whom authority is delegated for day-to-day operations; Have the financial resources sufficient to operate effectively; Demonstrate that it meets the Core Standards for Museums; Successfully complete the Core Documents Verification Program.”

Before taking our children or church group to a “museum,” we need to know what a museum is. First, establish the museum’s purpose: is it biblically and educationally sound, and will it help build the faith of those who attend, or will it raise questions about the credibility of faith? If you are concerned about what is available within driving distance of where you live, please contact us, and we will send you the information we have available. We also remind our readers that the Clayton Museum of Ancient History at York University in York, Nebraska, fits the United States Museum Services Acts of 1976 and is a part of this ministry.

— John N. Clayton ©2024
References: wikipedia.org, The Institute of Museum and Library Services, and The American Alliance of Museums

Rivers and Streams Neglected

Rivers and Streams Neglected

We take for granted many of the things God has created that our lives depend on. The classic example is neglected rivers and streams. Many rivers have become dumping grounds not only for human waste but for agricultural waste and chemical disposal. Scientific studies have shown us how destructive this is.

One-third of the American population depends on rivers and streams for drinking water. Seventy-five percent of commercial fisheries depend on rivers that run into the oceans or the Great Lakes. These include shrimp, clams, oysters, salmon, walleye, catfish, lake trout, cisco, grunions, and a host of rough fish used for cat food and fertilizer. Rivers and creeks, if adequately cared for, store billions of gallons of water annually. Much of the flooding in America is caused by the neglect of rivers and streams or the misuse of them by straightening, paving the stream bed, or narrowing the stream channel.

The Bible has many references to streams and rivers. The Psalmist pictured rivers as places of retreat and recovery (Psalms 1:3 and 65:9). Rivers and streams were involved in various biblical historical events. The book of Revelation uses rivers to portray the message of God concerning the future. (See Revelation 8:10, 9:14, 16:4, 16:12, and especially 22:1 & 2.) In Acts 16:13-15 we see people gathering at the riverside to worship.

The home of this ministry is located on the edge of the St Joseph River in Michigan. I moved to this area in 1959 to teach science in South Bend. In one course, the students took water samples and studied what the river was like in the past and what it might be like in the future. My students found used toilet paper, dead animals, bottles of chemicals, and rotten food. When a Notre Dame professor joined us, he pointed out that the city cemetery drained into the river. An oxbow lake that was part of the river was the city swimming hole. The professor suggested that the fluids from the cemetery in the water meant,” You are swimming in grandpa’s juices.”

The home where I live in retirement is on the river downstream from all of that. Five cities empty the overflow from their sewage treatment plants into the river. Like most rivers in America, the one I live by carries bacteria, chemicals, waste, and sewage. Rather than identify the human role and clean it up, our culture wants to blame God for the diseases that afflict innocent people.

God gave us rivers and streams as places of beauty and solitude, reflecting God’s creative wisdom. We see muskrats, peregrine falcons, beavers, turtles, deer, eagles, herons, swans, and a host of shoreline birds along the river. They all speak of God’s wisdom and planning and His desire for us to live as He called us to live. Romans 6 gives a great call for all of us. Please read it.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: american rivers.org

Alcohol Addiction Today

Alcohol Addiction

For Christians, the reason for not doing drugs or smoking is that you are damaging the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.) We would add modern versions of alcohol to the list of drugs that contaminate our bodies. In Jesus’ day, wine involved adding alcohol from grapes to water, avoiding water-borne pathogens. The distillation process was many years away, but today, distilled alcoholic drinks (whiskey, etc.) are recreational drugs that lead to alcohol addiction.

Modern medical research shows that alcohol, like smoking, stimulates the release of endorphins, the “feel good” chemicals that generate sensations of pleasure. People who want instant gratification use alcohol as a crutch, but it can lead to the point where we can’t live without it. Stopping its use results in withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, tremors, and poor sleep. Alcohol is as addictive as nicotine.

Proverbs 23:31-35 graphically describes the effects of alcohol: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around; At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And you will say absurd things. You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. ‘They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it. When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.’”

If you realize that you have a problem with alcohol addiction, there are Christian organizations that can help, as well as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Health

Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Health

Who doesn’t want better health? What if you could achieve better physical and mental health without spending money? At a time when people are facing depression and anxiety about inflation, wars, and even elections, here are some suggestions for easy, low-cost ways to improve your health.

The first suggestion is to move your body. Studies have shown that physical activity can sometimes do more to reduce mild to moderate depression, anxiety, and stress than medications can. Medications also have their side effects. Sitting in a chair for many hours each day can lead to various health problems, but even a small amount of exercise can make us feel better. Physical activity strengthens your bones and muscles, including your heart, while brightening your outlook on life. Gardening or housework can be rewarding. Bicycle riding or walking can allow you to see things you won’t see while sitting at home.

The next suggestion for easy, low-cost ways to improve your health is to go outdoors. Seeing the beauty of God’s creation can be very soothing. Walking in the woods, away from traffic and noise, is stress-relieving. Oceans, lakes, and rivers bring a soothing calm and relief from everyday pressures. Our daily postings on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) show design and beauty in God’s creation. Watching animals and birds in the wild can inspire you with their various activities. Bird songs and the sounds of nature can be soothing. The beauty of plants and trees, especially in the fall and spring, reminds us that God created beauty for us to enjoy. Studies have shown that exposure to nature can improve cognitive function, blood pressure, and sleep.

While considering easy, low-cost ways to improve your health, we must recognize the value of connecting with others. God designed us to be together and support each other, and living in isolation can lead to mental depression and anxiety. First and foremost, families are important, but family members are often far away or estranged. It is also essential to have friends outside of family members. In a church congregation, you can find friends who will give you love and support. Clubs and community groups can provide fellowship with others, but there is nothing as close as sharing life and faith in the fellowship of a solid biblical church.

We encourage you to try these suggestions and see what positive changes they can make in your life and health.

— Roland Earnst © 2024

DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

Evidence for God In the Things He Has Made

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