DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY - Page 95 of 243 - Evidence for God In the Things He Has Made

March 13, 2021March 12, 2021

Healthy Microbiome Design

The colonies of microbes living on and in our bodies make up what is called our microbiome. The bacteria outnumber our own body cells by a ratio of ten to one. Your body is host to 100 trillion bacteria of at least 10,000 different species. Before you start to worry about that, most of the bacteria will not hurt you. More than that, you couldn’t live without a healthy microbiome.

Some bacteria are essential to make our immune system work to prevent infection. Others make it possible for us to digest the food we eat. Bacteria are on our skin, in our lungs, in our mouths, especially in our gut. Your digestive system needs a good balance of bacteria for proper digestion. Some medical experts think that an imbalance of gut flora (bacteria) leads to irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease.

There has been a boom in sales of probiotics in pills, liquids, and yogurts in recent years. These contain bacteria that may help your digestive system, but the amounts and types of bacteria may not necessarily be the ones needed for your system. Everyone has a somewhat different microbiome, and, as we recently posted, it all starts in our mother’s womb. Breastfeeding further adds beneficial bacteria to the baby’s flora.

When we take antibiotics, we can kill some beneficial bacteria resulting in digestive and other health problems. Science is trying to determine what is required for a healthy microbiome so that doctors can treat various issues that many times come from our poor choices regarding our health and diet. God designed a system that works, and we are just beginning to recognize that and learn how to take care of it.

March 12, 2021March 11, 2021

Aye-ayes Have Many Unusual Characteristics

Scientists use animal classification systems based on old evolutionary assumptions. The result is that many times an animal turns up that doesn’t fit any evolutionary model. An excellent example of this is a species of long-fingered lemurs called aye-ayes. They are nocturnal animals found only in Madagascar. Aye-ayes have many unusual characteristics giving a name that comes from a local phrase meaning something like “I don’t know.” Here are a few of the aye-aye’s traits:

1) They have large round eyes, which aid in night vision.
2) They use their continually growing incisor teeth to tear a hole in trees to reach grubs. Their teeth are so strong they can chew through cement blocks.
3) Their long middle finger is skeletal and has a ball-and-socket joint used to hook onto wood-boring grubs.
4) Their big toe is opposable to enable them to hang from tree branches.
5) They have fur with guard hairs they can raise to appear to double their size.
6) They use a unique system of foraging by percussive tapping on wood. They sense the echo with their bat-like ears to detect hollow areas where grubs are.
7) They build elaborate spherical nests made of leaves and branches.

Because of their teeth, nesting behavior, and long tail, your first guess might be that they are rodents. Despite the face of a possum, the teeth of a mouse, and the ear of a bat, they are classified as primates. This lemur is so unusual it has its own taxonomic family.

Aye-ayes have many unusual characteristics that point out weaknesses in the evolutionary taxonomic system. Systems such as cladistic taxonomy have gained weight as science discovers more animals like this in fossils and places like Madagascar. From an apologetics standpoint, it seems clear that God has created a variety of animals and given them characteristics to fill various ecological niches. Aye-ayes seem to be a special creation for a unique environment.

References: World Wildlife Federation magazine for Spring 2021, Britannica and National Geographic websites for 3/10/21.

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021

Texas Cold Snap Highlights Earth’s Design

Everyone has seen changes in climate patterns worldwide, and in the United States, a Texas cold snap highlights Earth’s design. We need to better understand the global weather systems related to how our planet gets, retains, and releases heat.

Recently an ice-breaker research ship was supposed to get as close as it could to the North Pole. Surprisingly, it was able to get all the way to the pole; something never deemed possible. In February of 2021, Texas experienced a very unusual cold snap. While the media was paying attention to the electric grid’s disruption and water availability problems, the impact on animals was largely overlooked.

In Texas, cold temperatures killed massive numbers of insects and the animals that depend upon them for food. Bats fell from the sky because they had no insects to eat and had no place to go to escape the cold. Milkweed was killed, cutting off the primary food supply for monarch butterflies. Sea turtles could not adjust to the low temperatures, and volunteers took 10,600 turtles to the South Padre Island Convention Center. There they warmed the turtles and eventually returned them to the Gulf of Mexico.

All of those events remind us of the delicate interdependence of life on this planet. We tend to minimize disasters of this magnitude, but we will be reminded later this year. When grocery prices spike because of the lack of Texas-grown fruits and vegetables, we will realize that the Texas cold snap highlights Earth’s design. It should make us aware of how connected we are to other life forms on the planet.

Taking care of Earth’s climate and resources means not allowing human waste of all kinds to upset nature’s balance. We must learn to appreciate God’s design for life everywhere we look. Indeed we can know there is a God “through the things He has made” (Romans 1:19-20).

Data from Associated Press 2/16/21.

March 10, 2021March 9, 2021

Indiana House Bill 1577 and Abortions

This month, the Indiana Senate is considering Indiana House bill 1577. In February, it passed the Indiana House of Representatives by a vote of 67 to 29. The bill would allow mental health providers to deny their services to a woman seeking an abortion if doing so would go against the provider’s ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. Present law allows other healthcare providers that option.

The bill would also prohibit an abortion-producing drug from being given to women who are more than eight weeks pregnant. Indiana House Bill 1577 would also require abortion clinics to provide the woman with a printed ultrasound image of the fetus. Promotors of ultrasound imaging say it is “the most impactful material used to change their minds.” Also, girls under 18 years could not get an abortion without notarized parental consent. Present Indiana law requires a consent form, but it does not have to be notarized.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposes the bill because it would add extra steps to women seeking abortions. They are threatening a lawsuit, saying the bill is unconstitutional. Perhaps the most controversial part of the bill is the requirement that doctors inform women that it is possible to reverse the effects of the abortion pill. An assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology testified to the Indiana House that it would be unethical because it is “untrue and potentially dangerous.” The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists support the requirement saying it is true and safe.

Our society’s rejection of God’s plan for sex, marriage, and family has caused this whole confusion about the requirements of Indiana House Bill 1577. When people reject God’s design for any aspect of human activity, there will be damage to the participants and even the innocents who are not part of the decision.

References: News and Tribune and Legiscan

March 9, 2021March 8, 2021

The Design of a Chameleon

Chameleons are lizards, and there are more than 200 species of them. The design of a chameleon displays impressive engineering.

Chameleons can change their color to show their mood, communicate, or blend with their environment to hide from predators or prey. They achieve the color change by adjusting crystals on their skin to reflect different wavelengths of light. Some chameleons can adjust their color according to the color-vision of the specific predator they want to avoid. That requires knowledge of what colors the predator can and cannot see.

Chameleons have eyes that move independently in ball sockets so they can look in two directions at once. They can also focus both eyes together for a 3-D view for accurately striking prey with their tongue. They have four toes on each foot, which they use to climb up or down with ease. Also, to help in climbing, most chameleons have prehensile tails to hang onto limbs.

Various chameleon species have adapted to live in rainforests and deserts. Since cold-blooded animals move slowly in low temperatures, you would expect a chameleon’s tongue to move more slowly when it’s cold. In that case, it would not be able to catch fast-moving insects in cold weather. However, their tongues don’t uncoil by muscle strength but by spring tension. Reeling the tongue back in is slower in cold temperatures, but that doesn’t matter for catching the prey.

The design of a chameleon speaks remarkably of a master Engineer-Designer.

March 8, 2021March 7, 2021

Factors Required to Support Life

The media often brings news about newly-discovered planets in the “habitable zone” of some star beyond our solar system. They usually mean that scientists think the planet may be the right distance from the right kind and size of star for water to exist in liquid form.
Calling such a planet “habitable” may be misleading because there are many factors required to support life.

One of those factors is that the star also has to be extremely stable, as our Sun is. Consider the fact that a change in the Sun’s luminosity of only two percent would make Earth uninhabitable. That seems hard to believe, but scientists have calculated and modeled it.

If the Sun were only two percent dimmer and everything else the same, there would be more snowfall. Because snow reflects more of the Sun’s heat than land or water does, Earth’s surface would become cooler. The cooling would cause more snowfall, resulting in more reflection of the Sun’s rays and, therefore, more cooling. The result would be a runaway freezing of the surface water, and the entire Earth would become covered with ice and snow.

On the other hand, a two percent increase in the Sun’s brightness would cause greater evaporation of Earth’s surface water. The resulting water vapor would act as a greenhouse gas, trapping more of the Sun’s heat in the atmosphere. The increased heat would cause more evaporation resulting in more water vapor and an increased greenhouse effect. The result would be global warming on a massive scale.

Either way, life on Earth would not be possible. We don’t know if there are any other planets in the universe with all the factors required to support life. Our finely-tuned Sun is only one of many features that allow life on this planet. Some people would suggest that our just-right Sun is merely an accident, but we think this is another case of design by a wise Creator.

March 7, 2021March 5, 2021

The Bible Contains All We Need to Build a Faith to Live By

How do we know that the Bible does not omit some books that should have been included? How do we know that all of the books in the Bible should be there? Skeptics and religious writers frequently raise these questions. The truth is that we don’t have to be in doubt about whether the Bible contains all we need to build a faith to live by.

When someone claims that some “lost book” should be included in the Bible, the simple answer is to read it. You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to see very quickly that the books of the Apocrypha should not be part of the canon, or accepted Bible books. The apocryphal books either contain material already covered in the Bible or contradict Paul’s writings and the teachings of Christ.

When the Church decided what books to include in the canon of the New Testament, they used four criteria:

1) APOSTOLICITY – Was the book written by an apostle or companion of the apostles?

2) ORTHODOXY – Is the writing in agreement with the teaching of Christ?

3) ANTIQUITY – Did the writing come from the generation of the apostles?

4) USE – Was the writing widely accepted and used by the early Church?

When a manuscript is not included in the biblical canon, it is easy to see why. A good example is the gnostic writings which include elements of Greek mythology, astrology, food taboos, ascetic practices, and intermediary beings. Gnostics liberalized sexual morals, and some even questioned marriage.

The Bible contains all we need to build a faith to live by. Its clarity and completeness stand unique. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us that scripture provides all we need to be “completely furnished to all good works.” That excludes attempts by opponents of the Bible to dilute or modify the teachings.

— John N. Clayton ˆ 2021

Reference: “Canon of the New Testament” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press.

March 6, 2021March 5, 2021

Why Do We Need Wetlands?

A giant wetland called the Pantanal is located mostly in Brazil and partly in Bolivia and Paraguay. It’s the world’s largest tropical wetland covering as much as 75,000 square miles (195,000 sq km). You might think that such a vast area is a lot of wasted space that should be drained and used for other purposes. Why do we need wetlands anyway?

The Pantanal is located in a depression in the Earth’s crust surrounded by highlands. Several rivers flow into the Pantanal, bringing sediment and making it an inland river delta. In the rainy season, up to eighty-percent of the floodplain is covered with water. In the dry season, the floodplain becomes dry. Forests of trees grow in the higher areas of the Pantanal. In the lower seasonally inundated areas, grasslands are growing.

The area’s topography creates various biome regions supporting plants that are native to rainforests, savannahs, and semi-arid lands. There are 3,500 plant species in the Pantanal, 1000 bird species, 480 reptile species, 400 fish species, and 300 mammal species. In other words, the Pantanal supports an incredible variety of aquatic plants and a very diverse menagerie of animals.

Some of the animals living in the Pantanal are rare or endangered. We need wetlands like the Pantanal to support these various plants and animals, plus thousands of invertebrate species. More than that, wetlands are natural water treatment systems that remove pollutants and chemicals, purifying and replenishing the groundwater. Wetlands also provide a buffer against flooding in other areas.

Why do we need wetlands? They are an essential part of the hydraulic system God created for planet Earth described thousands of years ago in Job 36:27, 28, “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture, and abundant showers fall on mankind.” That ancient book describes the water cycle with scientific accuracy.

We need wetlands for what they do for our water supply and the support they provide for plants and animals essential to the balance of nature. Human activity threatens the Pantanal, as well as many other wetlands. We must become better stewards of the blessings God has placed in our care.

— Roland Earnst 2021

March 5, 2021June 1, 2021

Beer Goggles and Young People

“Beer goggles” is a slang term that refers to how alcohol consumption lowers a person’s sexual inhibitions. The ignorance of high school and college students about sex and alcohol is appalling. Dr. Miriam Grossman M.D. has written a booklet titled “Sense and Sexuality” to help college and high school students better understand the relationship between alcohol and sex. It also advises women about “hook-ups” and their ultimate result.

The beer goggles phenomenon is not new. There is a scientific reason why a person seems more physically attractive after you have had a few drinks. Drinking affects the nucleus accumbens, the area of the brain that determines facial attractiveness. Both men and women may be more attracted to a member of the opposite sex at a party serving alcohol. Intimate behavior releases a hormone called oxytocin, which triggers “the biochemistry of attachment” making a person vulnerable.

Grossman references a study from Princeton University in which 91% of women admitted to having feelings of regret about a sexual relationship, and 80% said they wished the sexual experience had never happened. God created sex to be a special bonding agent in marriage. When used as God intended, it makes it one of the most positive experiences humans can have. When it is misused, the result is overwhelmingly negative. First Corinthians 15:33 tells us that “bad company corrupts good morals.” Associating with those who don’t follow God’s intended use of our bodies leads to destructive results.

Dr. Grossman’s book is available from the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, 112 Elden Street Suite P, Herndon VA 20170. Website cblwomen.org or phone 888-891-4288.

March 4, 2021March 2, 2021

Madagascar Huntsman Spiders and Leaf Traps

Spiders are incredible creatures. There are more than 45,000 known species of spiders, and each of them has unique features that allow them to prosper in a wide variety of environments. We usually think of spiders making webs to catch insects, but spider silk has other uses. Researchers have seen Madagascar huntsman spiders using silk to make leaf traps.

These huntsman spiders (Damastes sp.) take two leaves about the same size and fasten them together with silk to make a pocket. The pocket creates a cool and dark environment that is attractive to small frogs escaping the Sun’s heat and seeking refuge from predatory birds. What the spider has done is design a trap to catch frogs as a source of food. The spider hides in the back of the pocket and ambushes any frog that ventures in.

Biologists are still researching this case where Madagascar huntsman spiders appear to be intentionally capturing and eating vertebrates. In the natural world, there are many instances where life-forms survive even though their survival seems unlikely.

A spider eating frogs certainly doesn’t fit the evolutionary theory of progression, but it does speak eloquently of a unique design built into a particular ecosystem. It is just one more case where the more we know of the creation, the closer we get to understanding the Creator’s wisdom.

For more information about interesting spider species, click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Reference: Science News, January 30, 2021, page 10.