Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution

Incredible Creatures = That Defy=20 Evolution

By Andy Butcher

Bugged by = a beetle, a=20 scientist changes his beliefs on how the world began. =

CBN.com=20 -=20

3D"Incredible Creationists used to bug Jobe Martin, until a bug = helped make=20 Jobe Martin a creationist. Only half an inch long, the Bombardier = Beetle=20 may not be very big, but it helped chew great big holes in his = long-held=20 views on evolution. Or, more accurately, burn them.

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For on closer inspection the modest = beetle is a=20 marvel of nature, a sort of six-legged tiny tank. It defends = itself by=20 mixing chemicals that explode; firing through twin tail tubes that = can=20 swivel like gun turrets. The bubbling liquid that shoots out at = 212=20 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to deter most predators.

The force of the "round" fired = should be enough=20 to blast the little beetle into orbit,if not pieces, and it would = be if it=20 was discharged at one time. But 3D"Incredible slow=20 motion photography has revealed that the crafty beetle actually = lets go=20 with a stream of up to 1,000 little explosions. Together they are = enough=20 to put off would-be attackers while leaving the small defender = with its=20 feet still on the ground.

As Martin marveled at the intricate = design, he=20 realized that there was simply no way the Bombardier Beetle could = have=20 evolved its sophisticated defense system over time, adding = swiveling "gun=20 barrels" or its "repeater" firing mechanism at different stages. = It needed=20 them all in one package, at the same time. A beetle that blew = itself up=20 would not be around to develop a more refined firing system. A = beetle that=20 could not keep the enemy in firing range would not survive to work = on more=20 maneuverable firepower. "There's simply no way a slow, gradual = process=20 will produce this beetle," says the former science major who, over = a=20 five-year, period made a complete about-face in his beliefs about = the=20 origins of the earth. Now in an entertaining and enlightening new = video he=20 shows how the Bombardier Beetle and a host of other remarkable = members of=20 the animal kingdom undermine Darwin's widely accepted = theory.

The Bombardier Beetle is one of the = unlikely=20 stars of "Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution," = a=20 50-minute Discovery Channel-style documentary that encapsulates = Martin's=20 years of research for church, school and family viewing. Host = David Hames,=20 who experienced firsthand the firepower of the Bombardier Beetle = and said,=20 "It felt like someone put a cigarette out on my leg!" guides the = film crew=20 as they capture animals on film and as Martin explains their = various=20 intricacies.

3D"Incredible There is=20 the giraffe, whose long neck necessitates a powerful heart to pump = blood=20 all the way to the brain. By rights the blood flow should blow its = brains=20 out when it bends to drink water, but the lofty animal has a = delicate=20 series of spigots and a sponge that dissipate and absorb the rush = of=20 blood. "How could that evolve?" muses Martin. "He needs all these = parts=20 there all the time, or he is dead..."

Then there's the woodpecker, whose = rat-a-tat=20 hunt for tree grubs should send it home each night with a mighty = migraine. Instead it is studied by surgeons who want = to learn=20 more about head trauma in humans. The bird has a piece of = cartilage that=20 acts as a shock absorber and an extra-long tongue that can reach = into the=20 tree to pluck out its meal. It also has a glue factory that makes = the bug=20 stick until it is in the woodpecker's throat and produces another=20 secretion to dissolve the glue on swallowing.

A college professor, Martin had = been a=20 Christian for several years when two students challenged him to = examine=20 the validity of evolutionary theory. His gradual complete switch = of views=20 eventually led him out of dentistry and into ministry. For more = than a=20 decade he has shared some of his discoveries at churches and = conferences=20 through his Rockwall, Texas-based Biblical Discipleship=20 Ministries.

Through his studies he has = developed cogent=20 biblical answers to the typical questions thrown out against=20 creation-about the age of the earth, the flood, fossils, dinosaurs = and the=20 missing link. But he points to the world around him to challenge = the=20 central claim of evolution.

The Australian incubator bird, the = beaver and=20 the gecko lizard are among the other subjects of Martin's video, =
produced by Monument, Colorado-based Reel = Productions, who=20 specialize in on-location documentaries. Although it is well = filmed and=20 paced, Martin maintains "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution" = is far=20 more than just an entertaining diversion. It actually providing = clear=20 examples of what creationists call the "irreducible complexity" of = life=20 that challenges the idea of slow development.

He believes it is part of a crucial = battle not=20 just for Christians' minds, but their hearts, too. "It comes down = to a=20 matter of how you decide you are going to interpret the = Scriptures," he=20 says. "Will you take it in its literal, historical form or are you = going=20 to say these early chapters are probably poetry, probably written = from the=20 perspective of some guys who lived between the Tigris and the = Euphrates=20 rivers? How will you take Scripture? If you can't take these early = chapters literally, for just what they mean, well then, how do you = know=20 what to do with the rest? When it comes right down to it, it = interferes=20 with our view of doctrine. The foundational doctrines are all = there in the=20 early chapters of Genesis: man, sin, the family, and all that." = Martin=20 says that the academic world knows the big and difficult questions = the=20 likes of the Bombardier Beetle ask of evolution, but conveniently = ignores=20 them. In the rarefied scientific circles most lay people don't = follow or=20 understand, he says, more and more people are admitting that, like = an=20 attractive jar with a hole in the bottom, Darwin's theory just = doesn't=20 hold water.

3D"Incredible "There=20 are changes going on in the evolutionary community because of the = growing=20 evidence for design and it is beginning to realize there's no way = mindless=20 chance processes could create an ordered, artistic, complex = universe like=20 we have; explosions don't create order. The problem is, once = people start=20 to talk about a designer, are they willing to name him?" And it is = the=20 name Jesus and Martin=92s love for his Savior, not some dry = scientific=20 debate, that motivates him. Martin presents his evidence not with = the=20 pinched determination of a fussy academic, but with the delight = and wonder=20 of someone who sees the marvelous hand of a brilliant creator in = the world=20 around him. His appreciation makes his video defense of the=20 trustworthiness of creation not just a considered explanation, but = a=20 considerable celebration.

To order: Incredible Creatures = That Defy=20 Evolution, go to: http://www.pagecafe.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi= ?reelSTORE:Adventure%20Videos++++CATEGORY