John N Clayton Archives

July 16, 2026July 14, 2026

The La Brea Tar Pits Tell Us About Life

One of the world’s most important fossil sites is the La Brea Tar Pits, located just off Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of Los Angeles, California. La Brea is Spanish for “the tar” and refers to oil that pushes up through narrow cracks in the rocks from as deep as 1000 feet underground. As the lighter-weight oil, gas, and other volatiles evaporate, what is left is asphalt, usually covered with water, creating a death trap. When an animal came to drink, it would sink into the asphalt and be unable to escape. The La Brea Tar Pits tell us about life in North America 13,000-plus years ago.

In many cases, as an animal struggled to free itself from the tar, it would be attacked by a predator. The predator would also get stuck, and both the predator and the victim would sink into the tar and die. Then, a bird that ate dead animals, like today’s vultures, would land on the carcass and also get caught.

Most of the fossil remains of the animals found in the La Brea Tar Pits are not animals that exist today. They include saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, giant ground sloths, giant short-faced bears, dwarf pronghorns, American lions, various insects, and even extinct plants. The La Brea Tar Pits tell us about life in the past, not the animals and plants that are abundant on Earth or indigenous to California today.

No dinosaur remains have ever been found at La Brea because they were already extinct. No sea creatures or plants from the age of the dinosaurs have been found. The La Brea Tar Pits provide no evidence to support a 10,000-year limit to Earth’s age nor any evidence that they resulted from the flood of Noah.

Denominational creationism based on religious dogma is not supported by the Bible or physical evidence. The dispensationalist teaching is destructive to the faith of young people who have visited places like La Brea. The Genesis account is undated and is not designed to give a detailed history of life on our planet. The very first verse of Genesis tells us that God created the Earth – not when or how. The La Brea Tar Pits tell us about life in North America during a limited time in Earth’s history. We must speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent. The Bible is God’s word, and adding to it only dilutes its value and does not help us understand the past.

Reference: Smithsonian magazine April/May 2026, pages 79-87.

July 10, 2026July 9, 2026

Why a Seven-Day Week?

An interesting question young people ask is why there are seven days in a week and why we have a weekend. The Bible gave humans a seven-day week, and that framework works very well. Genesis 2:2 tells us that on the seventh day God rested from the creation of the cosmos, and Exodus 20:11 repeats that assertion.

Skeptics have said this was copied from the Babylonians, since ancient Babylonian astronomers could see seven astronomical bodies – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. But the Babylonians had a five-day week, and Babylonian contracts from Mari (Tell el-Hariri) show there was no day of rest or Sabbath, as work was carried on continuously. Other cultures had systems based on different numbers of days, such as the Egyptian ten-day week and the Roman eight-day week.

Attempts to replace the seven-day week with an astronomical system have failed. A day is the time for one rotation of the Earth on its axis, and a year is the time it takes for the Earth to make one revolution around the Sun. The problem is that it takes 365 and ¼ days to make one revolution, so we have to add an extra day in February every four years (for a leap year).

The seven-day week is a creation of God. It is seen in every part of human activity, including mental health and bodily functions. Every other system humans have tried has been unsuccessful. God created man in a way that allows us to live longer than any other mammal. The weekend reminds us of our unique existence, and the Sabbath in ancient times and the Lord’s Day in the Christian era reinforce our faith if we will allow them to.

References: USA Today and Wikipedia.

July 8, 2026July 8, 2026

Nighttime Navigation by Ants

It has long been known that various creatures can navigate in the dark. Nighttime navigation helps them find food and mates while avoiding predators. Sand hoppers, moths, and some ant species seem to use the Moon to find their way at night.

Recent studies of nocturnal ants have shown that they use the Moon as a guide for nighttime navigation, but they can also keep track of time to know where the Moon should be. Researchers at France’s University of Toulouse captured bull ants as they were heading to their usual feeding areas and placed them in a darkened box. After several hours of complete isolation from any navigational cues, the researchers released the ants at a new location. The Moon had moved a significant distance, and the ants veered off course, indicating that the Moon was their primary guide in locating their food supply.

Many variables could disrupt this nighttime navigation system. The Moon goes through various phases over the course of a month, and for most of the month it’s not at its maximum brightness. The length of darkness varies as the Sun moves from solstice to equinox and back. None of these variables prevent the ants from finding food and thriving.

The bull ants the researchers studied could use “time-linked” lunar navigation. An entomologist not involved in the study said, “This is just a little bonkers. They need to compensate for the trajectory of the Moon. I mean, I don’t know how to do that.” Researchers also found that ants combine their use of the Moon for navigation with terrestrial and solar cues at dawn and dusk, as visibility varies throughout the lunar month.

The complexity of nighttime navigation makes it difficult to believe it’s a product of blind chance. Proverbs 6:6 advises us to “Go to the ant, consider its ways and be wise.” We have much to learn by looking at the wisdom we see throughout the insect world. It shows God’s wisdom and design and fulfills the statement of Romans 1:20, “…since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so men are without excuse.” We can know there is a God, and the creatures using nighttime navigation demonstrate that.

Reference: Scientific American, June 2026, page 19, and Current Biology.

July 7, 2026June 30, 2026

Plant Seeds Hear the Sound of Rain

We often think of the trees in our yard as solid collections of molecules that grow and die robotically, and that is all. As scientists investigate plants more deeply and apply new technologies, they are learning that plants seem to “think,” “see,” “hear,” and even make sounds. A new study shows that plant seeds hear the sound of rain.

Plants have cellular structures called statoliths that enable them to sense changes in their environment. These structures are starch-filled envelopes that shift and settle to the bottom of plant cells. They help the plant determine which direction to grow and help germinating seeds know when to grow and which direction to send their roots.

The sound of rain jostles the statoliths in plant seeds, causing them to germinate 30 to 40% faster than seeds in the same environment without the sound of rain. The researchers exposed 8,000 rice seeds to rain sounds and compared them to seeds in the same environment without the sound. The result was that plant seeds hear the sound of rain.

The more scientists study the world around us, the more they find processes that cannot be the result of blind chance. The Bible doesn’t go into detail about the methods God used to set the world around us to work. The reason is obvious when you consider that the Bible was written for ancient humans who could not understand the processes God used, and they didn’t need to.

Everywhere we look in the world, we see a wonder-working hand has gone before. This is not only true of the natural world but also of the instructions God has given in His word about how we should live.

Reference: Scientific American, July/August 2026, pages 14-15.

June 26, 2026June 23, 2026

The Euphrates River

“A river watering the garden (of Eden) flowed from Eden, and from there it divided; it had four headstreams. The name of the first is the Pishon … the name of the second river is the Gihon … the name of the third river is the Tigris … and the fourth river is the Euphrates.” (Genesis 2:10-14)

Skeptics have maintained that everything in the Genesis account is a myth with no evidential support. Now, seismic imaging can create 2D and 3D maps of the Fertile Crescent’s subsurface using sound waves reflected by rock layers beneath the ground. The technique is similar to using ultrasound to create a detailed image of a baby in the womb. The maps can show the land and the Euphrates River as they were in biblical times.

We now know that the Euphrates River was as the Bible describes it. The Euphrates was the longest river in southwest Asia, flowing some 1,700 miles. It originated in present-day Turkey and flowed through Mesopotamia before emptying into the Persian Gulf. It flowed by Babylon and the ancient city of Uruk in present-day Iraq. Uruk was the world’s first metropolis and the birthplace of written language.

In today’s world, the Fertile Crescent has changed due to seismic activity and political turmoil. Dr. Simon Lang from the University of Western Australia, working with a petroleum company, used sensitive seismic tools to trace the origin of the Euphrates River to two ancient rivers in Turkey.

The claim that there is no evidential support for the Genesis account is simply not true. As more technological tools become available, the credibility of the Biblical account will increase. You can read your Bible and have confidence in what it tells you. You can also be confident that obeying what it tells you for eternal life is true.

Reference: msn.com

June 25, 2026June 22, 2026

Underground Fungal Networks

We often take for granted that plants grow just about anywhere. However, as more research is done on our planet’s fauna, we get a clearer picture of what plant growth requires. Underground fungal networks sustain virtually all plant life on our planet.

Scientists have discovered gigantic underground fungal networks that connect plants and store vast amounts of carbon in the soil. Known as mycorrh i zal fungi, they partner with the world’s plants, supplying water and nutrients in exchange for sugars produced through photosynthesis. These networks span some 68 quadrillion miles underground and make the plant life we depend on possible.

The Genesis account simply says that God created vegetation (Genesis 1:11). It does not explain the complexity of plants and their networks that enable them to survive the variations in climate and soils on planet Earth. We know more about what it took to create the conditions for the plants that supply us with food. The magnitude of mycorrhizal fungi is hard to comprehend and beyond any chance explanation. God’s wisdom, power, and intelligence are a testimony to our Creator.

Reference: earthweek.com

June 15, 2026June 14, 2026

Sunflowers Are Amazing

When we stock our bird feeders with sunflower seeds, many birds come and crack open the hard shells to reach the nutritious kernels inside. Humans do the same, though we prefer them already shelled. When you look at the sunflower head, with its center surrounded by petals, you are actually seeing a cluster of flowers surrounding a cluster of seeds. Sunflowers are amazing not only for the nutritious seeds they produce but also for the way they track sunlight.

Phytochromes are pigments within plant cells that sense light and help maintain a plant’s biological clock. This “circadian rhythm” helps a plant determine the passage of 24-hour periods. It can persist for days, even when sunlight isn’t present. The sunflower head moves during the day to track the Sun. On a cloudy day, it may even “see” the Sun using wavelengths outside the visible light spectrum. Because of the circadian rhythm, the sunflower head turns to the east to await the morning sunrise.

It is hard to believe that this incredible design is a product of blind chance. It seems that the sunflower design is not the result of any fortuitous accident. Sunflowers are amazing, with their nutritious seeds and the plant’s relationship to the Sun exemplifying God’s design.

May 27, 2026May 26, 2026

There Is Nothing Like an Elephant’s Trunk

Mechanical engineer Andrew K. Schulz at the Max Planck Institute says that elephants are like aliens. He made this claim after leading a study of elephant trunks and concluding that there is nothing like an elephant’s trunk in the entire animal kingdom.

An elephant’s trunk has over 40,000 muscles and is covered with unique “whiskers.” Most mammals have whiskers, but none are like the ones on an elephant’s trunk. The elephant’s whiskers are flexible at the tips and stiffer closer to the skin. For protection, elephants have rough, armorlike skin, but that reduces sensitivity. The elephant’s whiskers are designed to provide sensory detection of its surroundings.

Elephants use their trunks to breathe, smell, grab things, communicate, and perceive objects that are not within their line of sight. The trunk is strong enough to rip a tree out of the ground, but it can also gently pick up a leaf or fruit that it wishes to eat. There is nothing like an elephant’s trunk, with whiskers that have a stiffness gradient to sense the difference between hard and fragile objects. Schulz and the research team suggest that this stiffness-gradient detection can be applied to robotics, where machines must maintain sufficient strength to handle materials yet be gentle enough to avoid damaging the object.

Elephants are not related to any other creature, so attempting to formulate an evolutionary sequence is exceedingly difficult. It seems that elephants were uniquely designed by God to support their environment in various ways. We have noted in previous articles that elephants dig waterholes that provide water for other creatures in desert environments. The more we learn about life on this planet, the more we see that there is nothing like an elephant’s trunk. Living things are the care agents that balance the environment, allowing us to exist.

Reference: Scientific American for May 2026, pages 10 & 11, and scientificamerican.com

May 19, 2026May 16, 2026

The Sound of Rainfall

Researchers in the U.K. and at MIT have found that seeds sprout faster when exposed to the sound of rainfall on the ground. When raindrops hit the ground, they create vibrations strong enough to jostle microscopic structures called statoliths inside the seeds. That sets off a biological chain reaction that triggers germination. The study shows that seeds can germinate 40% faster when exposed to rainfall sounds.

This new research helps explain why seeds germinate faster in jungle-like environments than in areas with very little rain. Researchers have had great success with rice seeds exposed to rainfall sounds, compared with rice without them. With all other factors identical between the two groups, rice seeds exposed to the sound of rainfall grow 40% faster.

This discovery can be applied to other food crops and should be a valuable tool for addressing food shortages worldwide. It is difficult, if not impossible, to attribute this design characteristic to chance. The extensive design in nature is a strong apologetic for God’s existence.

Reference: The Week for May 15, 2026, page 21.

May 18, 2026May 16, 2026

Africa’s Massive Size

How big is Africa? With Africa’s massive size, you could overlay the United States, China, India, Eastern Europe, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Japan on top of Africa with no overlap among the countries.

Many misunderstandings stem from the way maps are drawn. Mercator maps, which we are familiar with, show the United States as a very large landmass, and we know it has many natural resources. How blessed Africa is in terms of natural resources remains unknown because of Africa’s huge size and human exploitation. Wars have been fought over much smaller areas of land.

The implications of Africa’s massive size are enormous, with the greatest being an abundance of natural resources along with an abundance of people who need to hear the Gospel. Nearly every element necessary for technology can be found in Africa. However, the exploitation of the people in Africa has prevented the extraction of most of these resources, and many are still unexplored. Human greed has prevented us from using the abundant resources God has provided, but the problem all begins with the exploitation of other humans.

Reference: Skeptical Inquirer, volume 50 #3, pages 52-59