SCIENCE TRIES TO SEE
Psalm 139:14
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Scientists have tried to tackle the job of creating a machine that is able to see as well as the human eye. In the process, they are gaining a new appreciation for the wonderful gift of sight.
First of all, they have learned that no computer chip can be made today which could begin to do what the retina does. The retina is a thin membrane, like a small slip of clingy food wrap at the back of the eye. It contains the rods and cones and converts the picture from the lens into chemical signals that are sent to the brain. The retina is believed to contain the equivalent of twenty-five billion transistors! One expert has estimated that a computer chip that could begin to do what your retina does would be about half-a-million times bigger than your retina, contain over a million transistors and weigh in at about 100 pounds. It would also need a cooling system! Even with all of this, it couldn't see very well. It would only be able to resolve a square area of about two thousand pixels, while your eye can resolve five times that much!
Truly, modern science offers elegant testimony to the fact that the eye could not have been produced by evolution and that it could have only been created by a very wise Creator!
Truly, dear Lord, I am fearfully and wonderfully made! I thank You for all the senses You have given me. Even though they may not all be perfect, I ask that You would perfect them by leading me to use them to Your glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Photo: Human eye. The light circle is where the optic nerve exits the retina. Courtesy of Alexander Churkin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Psalm 139:14
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Scientists have tried to tackle the job of creating a machine that is able to see as well as the human eye. In the process, they are gaining a new appreciation for the wonderful gift of sight.
First of all, they have learned that no computer chip can be made today which could begin to do what the retina does. The retina is a thin membrane, like a small slip of clingy food wrap at the back of the eye. It contains the rods and cones and converts the picture from the lens into chemical signals that are sent to the brain. The retina is believed to contain the equivalent of twenty-five billion transistors! One expert has estimated that a computer chip that could begin to do what your retina does would be about half-a-million times bigger than your retina, contain over a million transistors and weigh in at about 100 pounds. It would also need a cooling system! Even with all of this, it couldn't see very well. It would only be able to resolve a square area of about two thousand pixels, while your eye can resolve five times that much!
Truly, modern science offers elegant testimony to the fact that the eye could not have been produced by evolution and that it could have only been created by a very wise Creator!
Truly, dear Lord, I am fearfully and wonderfully made! I thank You for all the senses You have given me. Even though they may not all be perfect, I ask that You would perfect them by leading me to use them to Your glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Photo: Human eye. The light circle is where the optic nerve exits the retina. Courtesy of Alexander Churkin. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
A BIRD ALWAYS IN FLIGHT
Proverbs 26:2
“As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.”
The small bird, known as the chimney swift, is unmatched in its flying ability. These little birds are so adapted to the air that they have only small, weak feet that do not permit them to walk or perch like other birds. In fact, their Latin name even means “without feet.”
When swifts do come to rest, they do so against a vertical surface like a wall. They are often found resting inside the protection of chimneys, which led to their English name, chimney swift. A large flock of swifts may sight a chimney and begin circling it in smaller and smaller circles. Finally, the birds closest to the chimney enter it, followed by the rest. One person reported seeing a flock of 10,000 swifts enter one chimney over a period of 37 minutes!
When David was cursed by Shimei, he realized that the curse would be of no effect because he was innocent of murdering members of Saul's family. In Proverbs 26:2, his son, Solomon, compares unjust curses to a bird which never lands, meaning that when people speak evil of us, or curse us, if what they say is untrue or unjust, their words will have no effect. It is God's wisdom to think of unjust things that are said about us as being like the swift, always in flight and never landing upon us.
Dear Lord, when people speak evil of me or wish the worst for me and their feelings are not justified, help me to remember that You are all the comfort I need. And when I really do offend someone, give me a repentant heart. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Tom Malone, “Swifts are masters of the air but nearly helpless on ground,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sunday/June 4/1989/3E. Photo: Several chimney swifts inside a chimney in Perryville, Missouri. Courtesy of Greg Schechter. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Proverbs 26:2
“As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.”
The small bird, known as the chimney swift, is unmatched in its flying ability. These little birds are so adapted to the air that they have only small, weak feet that do not permit them to walk or perch like other birds. In fact, their Latin name even means “without feet.”
When swifts do come to rest, they do so against a vertical surface like a wall. They are often found resting inside the protection of chimneys, which led to their English name, chimney swift. A large flock of swifts may sight a chimney and begin circling it in smaller and smaller circles. Finally, the birds closest to the chimney enter it, followed by the rest. One person reported seeing a flock of 10,000 swifts enter one chimney over a period of 37 minutes!
When David was cursed by Shimei, he realized that the curse would be of no effect because he was innocent of murdering members of Saul's family. In Proverbs 26:2, his son, Solomon, compares unjust curses to a bird which never lands, meaning that when people speak evil of us, or curse us, if what they say is untrue or unjust, their words will have no effect. It is God's wisdom to think of unjust things that are said about us as being like the swift, always in flight and never landing upon us.
Dear Lord, when people speak evil of me or wish the worst for me and their feelings are not justified, help me to remember that You are all the comfort I need. And when I really do offend someone, give me a repentant heart. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Tom Malone, “Swifts are masters of the air but nearly helpless on ground,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sunday/June 4/1989/3E. Photo: Several chimney swifts inside a chimney in Perryville, Missouri. Courtesy of Greg Schechter. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
BIRDS HELPING BIRDS
Luke 10:33-34
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
Altruism – helping one another – is a real puzzle to those who explain the world of living things in terms of materialistic evolution. Evolution is supposed to work on the selfish survival-of-the-fittest principle, so there should be no reason for any creature, including man, to develop a helping attitude. In fact, there is no way to explain how the genetic code could possibly develop and pass on a trait such as altruism.
Researchers have studied a bird called the white-fronted African bee-eater. Members of this species help each other, sometimes even at the sacrifice of their own life. For example, one bird will face a spitting cobra to defend another, and scientists have been puzzled to know how this altruistic trait can possibly be passed on, when it often results in death. Another common altruistic habit of the African bee-eater is that one female will put off starting her own family to help another bee-eater raise her young. Some argue that such behavior is limited to birds that are related. But they admit that even adopted orphaned bee-eaters will help their adopted parents in this way.
While it is often denied, the theory of evolution has yet to adequately explain altruism. Altruism is a demonstration of that commandment given by our Creator to “love our neighbor.”
Dear God, I ask that You would help me so that I would not adopt the selfish and cold behavior of so many in today's world. Let my life be an example that draws others to You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Kathy A. Fackelmann, “Avian Altruism,” Science News, Vol.135, June 10, 1989, pp. 364-365. Photo: Courtesy of Luc Viatour. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation 1.2 License.
Luke 10:33-34
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
Altruism – helping one another – is a real puzzle to those who explain the world of living things in terms of materialistic evolution. Evolution is supposed to work on the selfish survival-of-the-fittest principle, so there should be no reason for any creature, including man, to develop a helping attitude. In fact, there is no way to explain how the genetic code could possibly develop and pass on a trait such as altruism.
Researchers have studied a bird called the white-fronted African bee-eater. Members of this species help each other, sometimes even at the sacrifice of their own life. For example, one bird will face a spitting cobra to defend another, and scientists have been puzzled to know how this altruistic trait can possibly be passed on, when it often results in death. Another common altruistic habit of the African bee-eater is that one female will put off starting her own family to help another bee-eater raise her young. Some argue that such behavior is limited to birds that are related. But they admit that even adopted orphaned bee-eaters will help their adopted parents in this way.
While it is often denied, the theory of evolution has yet to adequately explain altruism. Altruism is a demonstration of that commandment given by our Creator to “love our neighbor.”
Dear God, I ask that You would help me so that I would not adopt the selfish and cold behavior of so many in today's world. Let my life be an example that draws others to You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Kathy A. Fackelmann, “Avian Altruism,” Science News, Vol.135, June 10, 1989, pp. 364-365. Photo: Courtesy of Luc Viatour. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation 1.2 License.
DAVID LIVINGSTONE’S LION
Philippians 4:6-7
“Be careful for nothing … And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Here, medical missionary Dr. David Livingstone speaks to us from his diary, written in 1872. He tells about God’s mercy as he experienced being the intended victim of a lion, “red in tooth and claw.”
“I heard a shout. Starting and looking half around, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. I was on a little height; he caught my shoulder as he sprang and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake by a cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking around at the beast. The peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by carnivora; and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death.”
Dear Lord, We know that the general rule in nature is to be eaten alive and we are reminded that many of Your people suffered horrible deaths as martyrs. While all this is the result of man’s sin, we thank You for this insight of Your mercy, revealed to us through your servant, David Livingstone. Amen.
Livingstone, David, 1872. Adventures and Discoveries in the Interior of Africa (Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers. pp. 96, 102, 103). Photo: David Livingstone memorial at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Courtesy of Tim Rogers. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation 1.2 License.
Philippians 4:6-7
“Be careful for nothing … And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Here, medical missionary Dr. David Livingstone speaks to us from his diary, written in 1872. He tells about God’s mercy as he experienced being the intended victim of a lion, “red in tooth and claw.”
“I heard a shout. Starting and looking half around, I saw the lion just in the act of springing upon me. I was on a little height; he caught my shoulder as he sprang and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake by a cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation but feel not the knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking around at the beast. The peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by carnivora; and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for lessening the pain of death.”
Dear Lord, We know that the general rule in nature is to be eaten alive and we are reminded that many of Your people suffered horrible deaths as martyrs. While all this is the result of man’s sin, we thank You for this insight of Your mercy, revealed to us through your servant, David Livingstone. Amen.
Livingstone, David, 1872. Adventures and Discoveries in the Interior of Africa (Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers. pp. 96, 102, 103). Photo: David Livingstone memorial at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Courtesy of Tim Rogers. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation 1.2 License.
IT’S NOT A SPIDER!
Genesis 1:25
“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
What has eight legs, fangs, ridges on its underside, and is one of the “creeping things” that God created? No, it’s not a spider, it’s a daddy-long-legs.
More than just the ridges on its underside have set the daddy-long-legs apart from the spiders. Spiders have two body sections, while the daddy-long-legs have only one. Under a microscope, you would find that while spider fangs have two sections, the fangs of a daddy-long-legs have three sections.
God has also given the daddy-long-legs some very special abilities to protect itself. When it is attacked, it is most likely to be grabbed by one of its long legs, but its legs detach quite easily. A young daddy-long-legs will be able to re-grow the missing leg, while still getting around quite easily on the other seven. It has very good eyesight, and those eyes are placed on top of its body so that it can better see attackers. Most attacks are likely to come from above. The daddy-long-legs can also spray a nasty-smelling gas to protect itself.
God made three varieties of daddy-long-legs and gave this insect the important job of cleaning the forest floor of dead insects and decaying vegetation. Death and decay are the result of sin, so God must have anticipated Adam’s sin and created the daddy-long-legs, one of the creeping things, just before He created Adam.
Heavenly Father, I give thanks to You for Your great wisdom in providing for every detail of the creation and its needs, and for doing so in such wondrous fashion. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Joanne E. DeJonge, Bats & Bugs & Snakes & Slugs (Baker Book House), pp. 7-9. Photo: Courtesy of Charlesjsharp. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Genesis 1:25
“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
What has eight legs, fangs, ridges on its underside, and is one of the “creeping things” that God created? No, it’s not a spider, it’s a daddy-long-legs.
More than just the ridges on its underside have set the daddy-long-legs apart from the spiders. Spiders have two body sections, while the daddy-long-legs have only one. Under a microscope, you would find that while spider fangs have two sections, the fangs of a daddy-long-legs have three sections.
God has also given the daddy-long-legs some very special abilities to protect itself. When it is attacked, it is most likely to be grabbed by one of its long legs, but its legs detach quite easily. A young daddy-long-legs will be able to re-grow the missing leg, while still getting around quite easily on the other seven. It has very good eyesight, and those eyes are placed on top of its body so that it can better see attackers. Most attacks are likely to come from above. The daddy-long-legs can also spray a nasty-smelling gas to protect itself.
God made three varieties of daddy-long-legs and gave this insect the important job of cleaning the forest floor of dead insects and decaying vegetation. Death and decay are the result of sin, so God must have anticipated Adam’s sin and created the daddy-long-legs, one of the creeping things, just before He created Adam.
Heavenly Father, I give thanks to You for Your great wisdom in providing for every detail of the creation and its needs, and for doing so in such wondrous fashion. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Joanne E. DeJonge, Bats & Bugs & Snakes & Slugs (Baker Book House), pp. 7-9. Photo: Courtesy of Charlesjsharp. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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