ONLY CREATION CAN EXPLAIN THE GOLDEN PLOVER

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THE ANIMAL KINGDOM contains many marvels that modern science has yet to fully explain. One example concerns the migration flight of the golden plover.

The Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva) is a small shorebird, about the size of a dove. It lives from northern Siberia to western Alaska. Every year, these birds leave their young and fly south to spend the winter in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia, or on various Pacific islands.

Of the Alaska-dwelling members of this species, almost all (including those stopping en route to more distant destinations) make a migratory flight to Hawaii, where the bird is known as the kolea. Alaska to Hawaii means an 88-hour, non-stop flight across more than 4,500 km (2,800 miles) of open ocean. The birds are unable to swim, and there is no land between these locations for them to stop and rest. Amazingly, for an individual plover to fly this distance would require more energy than is stored in its body.

Before departure, they put on additional weight, mostly in the form of fat reserves to sustain their long flight. On average, they gain enough to give each bird about 70 grams (2.4 oz) of consumable energy. Here is the dilemma, though; these birds in flight burn approximately 1 gram of energy per hour, so they should consume all their stored energy in about 70 hours, which is 18 hours short of Hawaii. However, each year the golden plovers make it to Hawaii. How is this possible?

As do some other kinds of birds, the plovers fly in a V-formation. This is so they can ‘draft’ off each other, which reduces the energy required to fly. This saves each bird, on average, 23% of the energy that would be used if flying unaccompanied. This is, however, not the case for the bird at the lead position, but the plovers take turns in that position and thus ‘share the load’.3 These golden plovers arrive in Hawaii every year with 6.8 g (0.24 oz), on average, left over from what they had ready for the flight. This provides insurance in case of non-advantageous winds encountered on the flight route.4

It is not uncommon for the plovers to lose 50% of their total body weight during this epic flight spanning less than four days. This is amazing. Imagine a 60 kg human losing 30 kg (65 lb) while jogging non-stop for this entire period, neither eating nor drinking—without any ill effects!

Sophisticated programming

The plovers’ innate abilities enabling them to perform this amazing migratory feat have all the hallmarks of design, engineered into their systems for migration purposes. Consider the following instinctive abilities, all of which are pre-programmed within the bird’s DNA, thus already in the fertilized egg:

  • Timing their substantial fat gain. Each bird needs to have this extra fuel already on board when the time comes for them to depart, together, on their astonishing odyssey.
  • Ensuring in advance the correct amount of fat for the distance needed. Too little, and the bird would plunge into the ocean and perish, its fuel all spent, before reaching its destination. Extra weight adds to the effort of flying this incredible distance, so with no possibility to rest, too much fat risks the bird again falling short of Hawaii, in this case from exhaustion.
  • Drafting off each other in flight. Without such a clever aeronautic strategy, even the extra fat they carry would not last the distance. Consider, too, the built-in ingenuity that causes them to alternate the ‘lead pilot’ position so that all of them share this energy-saving benefit equally.

All of this reflects a Designer with intelligence and ability beyond all human understanding. In His omniscience, He can say, “I know all the birds of the hills” (Psalm 50:11). This Designer, the Lord Jesus Christ, created all the original populations (kinds) of living things ex nihilo. He deserves our awe and praise:

“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24

The article is taken from Creation Magazine Volume 45, Issue 2, 2023. Make sure you subscribe http://www.creation.com

ORIGIN OF FIRST SELF-REPRODUCING CELL?

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A huge problem for naturalistic evolution is how life with its complex coded information could have arisen spontaneously in evolution’s very first living cell. I would suggest it is adequate proof for an Intelligent Designer and a good reason to take a look at the Bible’s account of Creation in Genesis. We learn God created a perfect world and humans made in the image of their Creator. Man’s SIN is the reason for death and suffering in this world. The Good News is that our loving Creator has provided the solution to restore our relationship with Him and overcome death. Jesus is His name.

Image result for picture of dna replication

Extract from editorial in Creation Magazine Vol 30 No.4 2017.

We have previously written about how scientists have attempted to determine the simplest self-reproducing cell (see creation.com/simple). This hypothetical cell was said to require a minimum of 256 genes. The problem for
evolutionists is that they cannot appeal to natural selection to explain the first cell. That’s because natural selection requires a living, reproducing cell to pass on any trait selected for! Further research in 2006 increased this figure to 387 protein-coding and 43 RNA-coding genes.
In 2016, the minimalist genome was once again increased with the creation of a synthetic self-reproducing bacterium: this time, to 473 genes (531,560 ‘letters’), including 65 whose function are unknown but which were essential for the survival of the cell. This is not much less than Mycoplasma genitalium (482 genes, 582,970 letters)—which itself is a parasite of even more complex organisms.

How then can evolutionists explain the origin of the very first self-reproducing cell? It is a mathematical impossibility for just one gene to have arisen by chance—much less 473.

The Bible says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the WORD” and of course we now  know that every living thing has at its nucleus, DNA, a word of thousands of letters controlling all the functions of each cell. What follows in John 1:1  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Research highlights, Nature 439(7074):246–247, January 2006 | doi:10.1038/439246a.
Glass, J.I. et al., Essential genes of a minimal bacterium, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103(2):425– 430, January 2006 | doi:10.1073/pnas.0510013103.
Hesman, T., Scientists build minimum genome bacterium, sciencenews.org, March 2016.

DECONSTRUCTING DARWINISM: A THEORY GONE BAD, A WORLD GONE MAD

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The author of the book Charles Darwin : Victorian myth-maker, A.N.Wilson was former professor of medieval literature at Oxford University and a highly acclaimed biographer.

Wilson was a Darwin believer when he started research for his book. His conclusions were unexpected, both to others and most surprisingly, to him. What may have begun the firestorm against his book was Wilson’s prelude, in which he said,

“Darwin was wrong. That was the unlooked for conclusion to which I was inexorably led while writing this book”

Charles Darwin : Victorian Mythmaker - A N Wilson

He added that this conclusion “certainly was not my intention when I began detailed reading for this book”. But the result of his historic research was “to part company from the mainstream of scientific opinion which still claims to believe, the central contentions of Darwin’s famous book, On the Origin of the Species.

Wilson’s conclusion was based on the fact that “there is no consensus among scientists about the theory of evolution”, even the central parts of the theory. He added that until he began his research he had assumed “scientific opinion accepted the truth of Darwin’s central theories, and that objections to it were motivated not by scientific doubts but…. most likely religious ones”

He then illustrates this contention by quoting the leading evolutionary scientists, including Harvard’s E.O. Wilson and Oxford’s Richard Dawkins. One familiar with the field will recognise most of the heated evolution controversies which Wilson accurately relates.

A major problem Darwin had which is still true of Darwinism today was coming up with evidence for his view that nature changes little by little. If this was true , all life would be ” in a state of infinitely slow evolution into something else”, and as Darwin taught, taxonomy classification would only be temporary – a condition the fossil record simply does not support. This problem is why some leading evolutionists argued for punctuated equilibrium, in which life forms, in geological terms , change rapidly while at other times they are in a state of stasis.

Wilson documents that the discovery of the laws of genetics were “lethal to Darwinism”. The reason it was a lethal nail in the coffin for Darwin was the problem that Mendelism created for Darwin’s gradualism. We now know that because nearly all mutations are near neutral or lethal, and variation is not unlimited as Darwin proposed his theory is without foundation.

Wilson also documents that Darwinism has become a religion. Evolution is the doorway to atheism. It was spoken of as a faith, and those that rejected the view that the origin of humans was purely natural, including the co-founder of the theory, Alfred Russel Wallace and St George Mivart were excommunicated from the tribe, the loyal circle of Darwin supporters.

Regardless, there is no doubt that it is Darwin, more than any other man, that persuaded much of the academic world that “special creation” was wrong and ‘evolution’ was right. Furthermore, “Darwinism as is shown by the current state of the debate, is resistant to argument because it is resistant to fact”.

TO LIVE AS IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST IS ABSURD

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And yet, our educational establishments lead the way with this foolishness. clinging to the notion that nothing can produce something, even more obtuse, a big bang can produce the complex universe in which we live.

Image result for beauty of God's creation pictures

Our children are taught there is no right or wrong, no meaning or purpose in life, despite the fact that our Creator God has revealed the true history of the universe through His prophets, His covenant people Israel, His Word, and finally stepping into history just over 2,000 years ago as the God/Man, Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder that false science is now a major problem when people call evil good and good evil.

The Bible gives us an accurate record of this world and even more important reveals to us the end of the story. Twenty five percent of the Bible is prophecy and just as it accurately predicted Jesus first coming to earth, it also tells us of His second coming. Moreover, the events unfolding on earth at this time indicate we are fast approaching the final seven years prophesied by Daniel in the 70 Weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24).

It is now inconceivable to think that nations would repent of their past godless actions as President Abraham Lincoln  did just one hundred years ago. His April 30, 1863, call expressed timeless sentiments that remain applicable to us today, including:

“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognise the sublime truths announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. 
. . . We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God; we have forgotten the gracious hand which served us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behoves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness…”
We know this: the Lord will do His part. As He sees “His people called by His name” turning from our sins, He will hear once again, will forgive our personal and national sins, and will heal our precious land.”
Sadly, as mentioned, we know the end of the story, for Christians the last six years of history this side of the Millennium will be a serious challenge, but also exciting for those who stand firm, who overcome. “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21

EVOLUTION’S BLUNDERS, FRAUDS AND FORGERIES

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“Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion—a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. … Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today. … [it] came into being as a kind of secular ideology, an explicit substitute for Christianity.”  Would you believe this is a quote in National Post, May 13, 2000 by leading anti-creationist philosopher (and self-proclaimed “ardent evolutionist”) Michael Ruse.

How efforts to prove Darwinism have led to many blunders, frauds and outright forgeries

Evolution's Blunders, Frauds and Forgeries by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D.

In this eye-opening new book, Jerry Bergman documents an amazing array of frauds, forgeries, blunders and embarrassments that have marred the history of palaeontology—all in the name of ‘science’—and helped to turn countless people away from their Creator. Available from http://www.creation.com

This should be no surprise, given that the stakes are so high. The evolution-creation debate deals with some of life’s most important issues—such as, were we created and thus have purpose, or are we and all other living things a spontaneous effervescence of nature, destined for nothing nobler than organic manure? This tour de force by Dr Bergman plunges head-first into this emotion-charged arena. It confirms Ruse’s point ‘in spades’ by dealing with an amazing array of not just frauds and forgeries, but blunders and embarrassments of all types by evolution’s practitioners and promoters. And—importantly—it reveals the way in which they were so readily accepted and believed by some of the biggest names in academia. Many of these examples will be unknown to most; a good number of facts were completely new to me, despite decades of familiarity with the literature in the debate.
The book will be a very significant eye-opener for all who read it. It relentlessly exposes things that most evolutionists would probably rather not discuss, or hope stay forgotten. Readers are free to draw their own conclusions as to what could possibly drive and motivate such a sorry parade, but it becomes blatantly obvious that ‘science’ is no longer a good answer.

Taken from Foreword by Dr Carl Wieland former CEO of CMI.