God Archives

October 30, 2026October 29, 2026

Flamingo Dance

Flamingos dance while they eat. That caught the attention of Victor Ortega Jimenez, an animal biomechanics and bio-inspired design scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. He noticed ripples spreading across the water around the birds as they ate and wondered why. He discovered the flamingo dance.

Research revealed that the flamingos were doing a stomping dance. The birds bob their beaks in the water, an action resembling a sewing machine needle bobbing up and down 12 times a second. This creates a vortex in the water, trapping and scooping up algae and tiny crustaceans. While they bob their beaks to create a vortex, stomping amplifies it, allowing their beaks to scoop up algae. Inside their beaks, their tongues help them filter out the food while releasing the mud and silt.

According to Jimenez, this process, including the flamingo dance, lets flamingos filter out particles as small as a single cell. He says that by emulating flamingos’ filtering process, humans could remove microplastics and other chemicals from water. It could even lead to better designs for water-desalination systems. This is another example of biomimicry, where humans can apply principles learned from animals to accomplish important tasks.

God’s design of living creatures teaches us many things. Victor Jimenez said this about his work in animal biomechanics: “Nature is always full of secrets, and I think that’s the riddle that keeps me going, trying to understand nature. That’s my way to see science: by observation and trying to be inspired and trying to solve a problem.”

Reference: sciencenews.org HERE and HERE

October 28, 2026October 27, 2026

Neurogenesis and a Healthy Brain

The human brain is a remarkable organ, capable of many things at once. While it automatically controls all of your body’s functions, it also lets you read and process this article. Our brains can be damaged by strokes, malignancies, accidents, Alzheimer’s, and many other factors. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have neurogenesis, where our brains could generate new neurons to replace damaged ones?

Many scientists have debated whether adult brains can generate new neurons. Neurons develop in the womb and, to a certain extent, during childhood and adolescence. But many thought that, after maturity, we didn’t develop new neurons, even though adult brains do form new connections between neurons and remove those that are no longer necessary.

For seven years, molecular biologist Ionut Dumitru at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has been looking for evidence of neurogenesis in adult brains. Recent research by Dumitru’s team provides strong evidence that it does occur in the adult brain’s hippocampus, a region essential to learning and memory. Earlier research showed neurogenesis in the brains of laboratory rats, but it is unethical to experiment on the brain of a living person. Dumitru and his colleagues analyzed brain cells from the hippocampi of people who had died at various ages of life. Their analysis showed that active neurogenesis occurs in the adult hippocampus. Scientists knew that hippocampal neurons could reorganize and form new connections, helping us take in new information. But this research indicates that the hippocampus may also generate new neurons.

What is the key to keeping a healthy brain? Our brains can benefit from enriching activities like socializing, being involved in a church, and learning new skills. Thinking can be tiring, and it’s hard to make the effort when artificial intelligence (AI) can automate many tasks that require deep thought. Mental challenges like reading, writing, solving puzzles, playing chess, and practicing active listening can benefit your brain health.

Physical exercise also boosts brain health and perhaps neurogenesis. Physical exercise and mental exercise through critical thinking can help keep you sharp. Even when it is easier to avoid exercise, decision-making, or reflecting on the important questions in life, do it anyway. Your body and your brain will benefit, and so can your faith. Consider the evidence for God’s existence. Study the Bible, meditate on it, and apply it to your life. It may be difficult, but it can improve your mental outlook and psychological perspective. Knowing the evidence for God’s existence and the Bible’s reliability can help you to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). We pray that our posts and printed materials will help you do that.

References: newscientist.com and insideh o ok.com

October 27, 2026October 26, 2026

God’s Intelligence and Design in Apple Trees

The plant world demonstrates God’s intelligence and design. Plants provide food for all animal life on Earth, including insects and microbes. The nutrients found in plants vary from one species or variety to another, as do the needs of the animals, insects, and microbes that feed on them. Many plant-animal relationships are symbiotic, with each depending on the other for food, pollination, or seed dispersal.

For humans, plant variations provide dietary necessities and enjoyment. Most of us know that apples come in different varieties. We know that a Jonathan and a Fuji differ in appearance and taste, but they may also differ in nutritional value. Scientific American reported that there are about 2,500 apple varieties in the United States, but only about 100 are grown commercially, and just 15 are the most popular.

Here in the Midwest, different varieties meet the needs of various animals. Deer eat some apple varieties and shun others. The nutrients in these varieties vary, and deer are programmed to eat those that benefit them. As Americans’ diets have changed, so have the kinds of apples we eat. The chemicals in our foods affect what we like.

Humans have worked with apple trees over centuries to develop apples with the desired characteristics of taste, appearance, and disease resistance. This incredibly complex system is a great example of God’s design. We can call the development of new cultivars microevolution, but they are still apples. Enjoy the varieties you prefer, knowing they are not the way they are by accident. They express God’s intelligence and design in the genetics of apple trees.

October 26, 2026October 25, 2026

Questions Science Will Never Be Able to Answer

Scientific American magazine addressed an old argument between science and faith. The article asks whether there are questions science will never be able to answer. This will irritate atheists and skeptics who claim that religion was invented by humans to explain what they didn’t understand. That claim has been true in some past cases. When people didn’t understand volcanoes, they invented Pele or Vulcan to explain them. People invented Neptune to explain things in the ocean. Minerva explained rain, and Thor explained lightning.

When science could explain these things, people ridiculed the gods of the past, though in some cases people abandoned belief in them slowly. While I was in Hawaii, I picked up volcanic rocks to bring home. A local man chastised me for it and warned that taking the rocks would bring me bad luck and misfortune. He showed me a letter and a rock from a lady in Ohio who had taken a rock home and had disastrous fortune until she sent it back. I have brought back a dozen rocks from Hawaii over several visits to the islands, and my life has been blessed with good health and happiness.

Are there questions science will never be able to answer? Sarah Scoles, writing in that Scientific American article, addresses some possible ones. They include: “What came before the Big Bang? What causes consciousness? Why are we here? What happens when we die? How did life begin?” It is important to understand that scientists have opinions about these questions, but they are faith statements, not science. In our quarterly publication, we have a column called “Scientists and God” that quotes prominent scientists who have expressed their belief in God. We have literally hundreds of testimonies to choose from.

Romans 1:20 says that we can know there is a God by the things He has made, and 1 Peter 3:15 tells Christians to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have.” Our “Dandy Designs” columns, plus our booklets and Facebook page, provide strong evidence that intelligence is the cause of what we see.

References: “Impossible Questions” in the October 2026 issue of Scientific American, pages 28-37, and our Facebook page. You can see current and back issues of our printed publication on doesgodexist.org.

October 23, 2026October 22, 2026

Molecules Exist as Mirror Images

Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, your body uses left-handed amino acids to build proteins and right-handed sugars in DNA. What does that mean? This molecular “handedness,” known as chirality, means molecules exist as mirror images—left- and right-handed versions of the same molecule. Practically all of life’s amino acids are left-handed, and its sugars are right-handed. Why? Scientists don’t know. No natural process explains this bias because in nature the mixture is generally 50:50.

This chirality matters for drugs. One chiral form may treat disease while the other may be inert or even toxic. Historically, drugmakers produced racemic (50:50) mixtures, sometimes causing unwanted side effects. Thalidomide is an example, with one handedness (enantiomer) causing birth defects. However, even if this drug is homochiral (single-handed), it can become racemic in the body.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry honored Henri Kagan (Paris-Sud University) and Kenso Soai (Tokyo University of Science) for developing “asymmetric catalysis,” enabling the selective synthesis of homochiral (single-handed) molecules. Kagan pioneered chiral catalysis in the 1960s, and Soai refined it in 2003. Their work enabled the pharmaceutical industry to produce homochiral drugs. For example, Eli Lilly produced a left-handed cough suppressant, Novrad, and a right-handed version called Darvon, an opioid painkiller. The molecules (and their names) are mirror images of each other.

The work of Kagan and Soai solved “how” to make single-handed drugs—not “why” life itself is homochiral. That remains unexplained. In nature, molecules exist as mirror images in roughly equal numbers. That means the formation of life from non-living matter (abiogenesis) faces a paradox. Random chemistry yields equal left- and right-handed forms, yet life requires near-perfect homochirality to fold functional proteins and replicate DNA. No known natural mechanism can do that. Is it reasonable to suggest that an external influence, an intelligent agent, was involved? We think this is another indicator that life is not an accident but God’s creation.

Reference: smithsonianmag.com

October 22, 2026October 21, 2026

Bird Migration System

Yesterday we looked at bird migration, particularly why birds migrate, and noted several reasons. The facts indicate a bird migration system that defies a chance explanation.

According to the All About Birds website, “On a single autumn night with favorable winds, there can be more than one billion birds in the air over the United States alone.” That is more birds than people in the U.S. There are more than 300 species of birds in North America that migrate long distances, which has a major effect on life on this planet.

To prepare for a long-distance flight, a bird must bulk up. The bird must be in top physical condition for flying, with energy stored for a grueling flight with infrequent or no stops. The timing also must be right. That means the bird must assess the weather and know when it’s right. Many other factors are involved in the bird migration system.

An interesting fact about bird migration is that they can travel thousands of miles, often along the same route, and arrive in the same place year after year. Even young birds migrate on their own just a couple of months after they hatch. So how can they find their winter home even though they’ve never been there before? Birds use many navigation methods, including the magnetic field, the sun, the moon, and stars. They also use familiar landmarks like ridges, rivers, and other features. They even use their sense of smell. With all that in mind, they must avoid predators and handle storms, strong winds, and sometimes human-made threats such as artificial light, communication towers, wind turbines, and tall buildings.

To learn more about what’s happening in bird migration today, check out the BirdCast website. There, you can see how many birds are moving across the lower forty-eight United States. The more we examine it, the more we see that the bird migration system defies a chance explanation. It’s another evidence of God’s design.

— Roland Earnst

Reference: allaboutbirds.org

October 21, 2026October 20, 2026

Why Birds Migrate

Each spring and fall, billions of birds migrate. In autumn, they head south from North America. Most birds travel at night because the winds are calmer and there are fewer predators. Raptors migrate during the day, giving songbirds and others a chance to stay safe at night. Have you ever thought about why birds migrate?

Birds migrate for several reasons, but some benefit ecosystems more than the birds themselves. One reason for migration is food. In North America, during spring and summer, there can be plenty of food from insects and the seeds and fruits of plants. When fall comes, it gets colder, most insects disappear, and plants stop growing, so the birds head south to find more food.

In the spring, birds migrate northward to breed. Northern forests and areas of open land in North America are less crowded than tropical forests. So, birds can more easily find suitable nesting sites to raise their young. A factor that we often overlook is the amount of daylight. During the breeding season, birds need plenty of daylight to care for their young, feed them, and teach them to fly. At the equator, daylight lasts around 12 hours year-round. But farther north, especially in Arctic areas, summer daylight lasts much longer. This benefits nesting birds. Longer days and more sunshine also mean that plants grow and produce seeds, and insects are abundant for the birds to eat.

Avoiding cold temperatures is another factor in why birds migrate, but it is not as important as you might think. In fact, some birds migrate not to areas closer to the equator, but farther south, where there’s more daylight. When the Northern Hemisphere is in winter, the Southern Hemisphere is enjoying summer. So, some birds—such as Arctic terns and bar-tailed godwits—travel from one extreme of the Northern Hemisphere far down into the Southern Hemisphere.

There is another factor in why birds migrate. In some cases, migration benefits the ecosystem more than the birds. As birds migrate, they benefit other plants and animals along the way. That doesn’t fit the “survival of the fittest” concept of evolution. Migrating birds can also help other animals by serving as prey and help plants by scattering seeds.

The bottom line is that birds migrate for several reasons. Migrations benefit birds directly, but they also benefit other plants and animals along their migration route and in the areas where they stop. Looking at the whole picture, we see a designed system. It is a system that provides for the birds and nourishes the ecosystems of planet Earth. There is more to bird migration that indicates system design, and we’ll look at other factors tomorrow.

October 20, 2026October 19, 2026

Engineers Look to Nature for Solutions

We have noted before that many times engineers look to nature for solutions to design problems. This biomimicry helps us create new or more efficient devices. We imitated birds to achieve flight. Now aeronautical engineers are imitating a particular bird to create drones and aircraft that can maneuver in difficult situations.

A small Australian falcon called the nankeen kestrel (Falco cenchroides) can perform aerial maneuvers that outpace even advanced aircraft. It is among the world’s most stable flyers, able to make fine adjustments in flight when wind conditions try to blow it off course. Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), have limited maneuverability because of weight, cost, or mechanical limitations. An international team of researchers has been experimenting with robot replicas of the nankeen kestrels to create more versatile UAVs.

Matt Penn is a co-author of the study and an engineer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). He explained, “Birds don’t rely on a single response to wind gusts. They constantly adjust their wings and tails to stay balanced, while the natural flexibility of their feathers and joints helps absorb sudden changes in airflow.” The goal is to create UAVs that can mimic these subtle adjustments in flight.

Giving a robotic flying device the ability to emulate all the fine movements of the nankeen kestrel will be a design and engineering challenge. It seems to me that such a UAV would also need artificial intelligence to make subtle adjustments in real time while in the air. Think about the intelligence needed to design such a UAV. Then consider the intelligence needed to design the kestrel. It is not just a machine, but a living creature with everything it needs to sustain life while flying. This bird is no accident of natural selection, but an intelligently designed engineering marvel.

Another co-author of the research report, RMIT engineer Abdulghani Mohamed, said, “This research shows what’s possible when engineers look to nature for solutions.” I suggest it shows what is possible when we look at the handiwork of the Designer of life.

Reference: popsci.com

You can find previous articles about biomimicry HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE

October 19, 2026October 18, 2026

Viewing Earth from Space

In 1987, Houghton Mifflin published a book by Frank White titled The Overview Effect. White based the book on the perspectives of astronauts who have experienced what it’s like to view Earth from outer space. He described an “inner cognitive shift in awareness” that comes from seeing Earth from space. He has since interviewed more astronauts, including some who are retired and others who were in space when he interviewed them. These additional interviews led to the publication of a fourth edition of The Overview Effect in 2021.

Recently, the astronauts on SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission, which ran from February 13 to October 8, 2026, shared their reflections after returning to Earth. Mission commander Jessica Meir said in a press conference: “I wish that I could bring all the eyes of all the humans to look back at the Earth in this extraordinary way that we are so privileged to have. I think it really does change you philosophically and how you see each other, how you see yourself, how you see the human race when you look on it down from the vantage point that we have from above.” She said that it “gives everybody this understanding that we need to protect our planet, that it’s not only so beautiful, but it’s so precious.”

As we look at all the turmoil, wars, and crimes happening in the world, it would be good if everyone could see our planet from the perspective of space. However, that alone won’t change human nature. A temporary overview of Earth from space can’t change sinful hearts. The real solution to our Earthly dilemma requires a permanent change that only God can give.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight” (James 4:1-20). “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you” (James 4:7). Viewing Earth from space might bring a new perspective on our planet, but looking at humans from God’s point of view is the overview effect that we need to have.

References: space.com HERE and HERE

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026

“Do I Have To?” and Church Attendance

Our congregation offers numerous opportunities for members to get involved. We have a Bible class on Sunday morning, a worship service, another Bible class on Sunday night, and a Bible class on Wednesday night. We also have an area-wide devotional at another preacher’s home on Thursday night. Plus, we have a variety of work projects, including highway clean-up, food pantry activity, and phone calls when a member or their loved one is sick or has died. A member recently asked me, “Do I have to attend all services of the church?” I responded with an article by Steve Higginbotham that I think answers that question very well. We all need to consider this:

Do you have to hug and kiss your little children?

Do you have to remember your wife’s birthday?

Do you have to call home when you are going to be working late?

Do you have to buy Christmas presents for your family?

Do you have to attend programs your kids are in?

Do you have to attend the funeral of a close friend or relative?

Do I have to say “I love you” to my spouse?

We don’t have to do many of those things, but we are blessed to be able to do them. We get a great deal of personal joy and/or satisfaction from these things. The same is true of church activities. Steve comments, “When my relationship with God is based on what I have to do and what I do not have to do, I need to take a look at that relationship.”