Creation’s Complexity Can Be Convicting

When we consider the amazing diversity of plants, animals, and microbes, we are bound by our very nature to ask the question:  Where did they all come from?  Our answer will likely fall under one of two claims.  Either they came into being “by time, chance, and natural causes;” or, “by the plan of an Intelligent Designer.”  If your answer is “intelligent design,” then you are in the company of most of humankind throughout recorded history.

Mechanical Cogs and Gears of the Planthopper Insect

On the other hand, those who attribute the “natural world” to “time, chance, and natural causes” are facing a higher and higher mountain of challenges to their logic.  When atheistic, naturalistic thinkers of the 18^th and 19^th centuries proposed “natural causes,” little was known of genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry.  Since then, science has been revealing an amazing intricacy and complexity within living cells.  When we view imaging and animations of living cells such as that shown in the video series, “The Secrets of the Cell—The X Factor in Life,” featuring biochemist Dr. Michael Behe, many of us have too little faith to believe such wonder could have assembled itself by “undirected natural causes.” 

The complexity of the world around us is not only amazing, it can speak conviction into our lives.  When I was a much younger man, I remember struggling with a particular pattern in my life.  I knew in my conscience and from reading my Bible that this pattern was something that I must not allow to continue.  I also knew enough about the Gospel message of God’s saving grace to know there was something more at work in my struggle than simply scoring high with God on a “checklist” of do’s and don’t’s.  For by grace are you saved, through faith, and [even] that is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2: 8-9).  I was convinced that, left unchecked, such a pattern of behavior and other similar allowances could eventually point my life in a direction away from that of a purpose-driven, God-pleasing life.

During this time of inner struggle, I remember hiking in an open meadow with scattered, large trees.  On this particularly hot day, I found it refreshing to sit beneath a large oak tree.  There I sat enjoying the cool air.  Then, I remembered that this coolness was made possible by the evaporation of water which carries heat away from the thousands of leaves on this oak tree.  This escape of heat-laden water vapor through tiny leaf pores (stomata) cools both leaves and the atmosphere around and under the tree.

While enjoying my cool comfort, I also enjoyed watching several squirrels scampering among the large branches of the giant oak.  Closer observation revealed that they were gathering acorns, perhaps to store them as a food reserve for winter.  Some of the acorns dropped to the ground near meadow wildflowers where honeybees and other insects were busily gathering nectar.

As I watched these animals and a nearby woodchuck poking his head out of his burrow, I realized that, in my state of moral conflict, I was the only living organism in this meadow that was not in tune with the purpose of God.  The oak tree had produced a fruitful crop of acorns and was functioning all the while to cool the microclimate around it.  The squirrels, insects, and woodchuck were all busily being and doing that for which they were created.  But me?  I was kicking against God’s moral guidelines—principles which He had lovingly provided to help me realize His purposes.  Yet I believed the evidence of God’s love for me, that Christ died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf (2 Corinthians 5: 15).

The choice was mine –to either continue to go my own way, or to yield to God.  I paused and remembered Hebrews 4: 12 which states that the word of God is alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4: 12).  Like using a mirror to shave and comb my hair, I needed to use God’s Word as a mirror and as a scalpel to reprove, correct, and train me in the path of God’s righteousness (2 Timothy 3: 16).

The choice is mine and yours to make. Thankfully, God led me to repent and turn from my sin, and to pursue His gracious forgiveness (1 John 1: 9).  Some people, instead of recognizing and repenting of their inner struggles and turning to God’s moral guidelines and purposes for them, choose to reject God’s plan and provisions.  By denying the reality of God and His design and purpose in creation, they may forge what seems to be a satisfactory worldview.  After all, if there is no God, then there is no accountability for our actions.  Yet, many remain unsettled every time they encounter the amazing intricacy and wonder of creation.

Molecular Motor of  a Bacterial Flagellum

An acquaintance of mine confided that his friend had confessed to him that he really didn’t believe in Darwinian evolution.  In fact, he had to admit that evolution was a means of avoiding being morally accountable to a purposeful God who will one day judge all of mankind (Hebrews 9: 27).   But God speaks through His creation and through His Scriptures like Romans 8: 20-22:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing to be wise, they became fools…

Please consider again my reflections in the meadow with the oak tree, squirrels, and insects.  Then, consider that our lives and the lives of trees, squirrels, and insects are all propelled by the intricate workings within microscopic living cells as shown in visual media like “The Secrets of the Cell—The X Factor in Life.”  Yet, above and beyond all of these intricacies, God speaks through His Word to convict us of our rebellion (sin) and to draw us into loving fellowship with Him.

To those such as this writer who have struggled with patterns of life that have competed with God’s moral purposes and plans, I pray with the Apostle Paul, to the God of purpose and design that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1: 18-20).

How About You?
Jesus taught His disciples, saying I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15: 5).  I realized that God was pointing out where I was missing the mark and that He was inviting me to repent, turn away from my rebellious direction, and yield to His path for me.  Abiding in Him and He in me!  What an amazing provision!  When we abide in Him, we can be fruit-bearers by the provision and power of God’s Holy Spirit within us.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5: 22-23).

Helpful Reading:
Lee Strobel. 2005. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence the Points toward God.  Zondervan.  Grand Rapids, MI.

A.W. Tozer.  1950.  God’s Pursuit of Man.  Moody Press.  Chicago.

God Speaks through Nature and through His Word.  Oikonomia.  May 3, 2016.

The Wonder of Witch-Hazel Blooming in Winter

If you are a careful observer of the living world around you, I suspect you will agree that this world is an open invitation to be amazed.  Whether we look through our own eyes, or through a magnifying lens, a microscope, or a telescope, the closer we look the more intricacy and complexity we see.  

Scientific theory proposes that life originated by chance”—i.e. by “undirected, natural causes.”  But some of us are unconvinced that chance events could have created the order and complexity of life.  A logical alternative is to believe that the complexity of creation is the handywork of an intelligent Designer.

Witch-hazel at Secrest Arboretum
(Photo:  Brad Will)

But let’s not be too distracted by the “origins debate.”  Instead, let’s consider just one example of the wonderful complexity found in the world of plants.  The plant in question is a tall, winter-blooming shrub or small tree known as witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana).  Did I say “winter-blooming?”  Yes!  Native witch-hazels generally bloom in late fall; whereas, hybrids may bloom in winter and as late as March.  In his Nature Notebook column, Herb Broda cites Paul Snyder, program coordinator at Secrest Arboretum (The Ohio State University, OARDC-Wooster, Ohio), who confirms that the arboretum is home to at least 50 witch-hazel plants.

Witch-hazel flowers are closely attached to its woody branches.  Each flower has four slender, bright yellow petals that can curl inward for protection during freezing temperatures.  The showy, fragrant, and nectar-filled flowers hint that one or more animal species are being attracted to accomplish pollination.  But what animal pollinator would be sipping nectar from witch-hazel flowers during winter?

For many years, scientists had been observing witch-hazel plants in bloom to determine what animal species were attracted to the flowers.  No success.  Then, two physiological ecologists, Bernd Heinrich and his mentor and colleague, George Bartholomew, took up the task.  Their approach illustrates a presupposition of “good science” and a principle of “good scientific inquiry.” 

First, “good science” presupposes that knowledge of the natural world, or creation, is discoverable.   That is, the world around us reveals itself in objective terms and invites us to come to it in order to discover its secrets.  The resulting principle of “good scientific inquiry” follows logically.   Dr. Bartholomew expressed this principle of inquiry as follows:  Become a careful observer of the plant or animal under investigation and let it “tell [you] what questions to ask.”  Because Bartholomew viewed organisms as “inseparable from their environment,” a corollary to the above principle is, “to know the organism it is necessary to know its environment.”

Bernd Heinrich applied his mentor’s principle to the question:  How are witch-hazel flowers pollinated in the dead of winter?  Finding no pollinators in daylight hours, Heinrich hypothesized that the elusive pollinator is active in the nighttime environment.  Sure enough, he discovered a number of nocturnally active insect visitors to witch-hazel flowers.  These are members of the Noctuidae, a large family of moths with dull forewings and pale or colorful hind wings (Heinrich, B. 1987. J Experimental Biol. 127, 313-332.

Next, Heinrich asked how small, “cold blooded” animals like the noctuid moths can be active in cold temperatures.  Again, by observing and letting the moths “tell [him] what questions to ask,” he discovered that noctuid moths are capable of shivering.  Because intense muscular contractions in animals generate heat, here Heinrich measured tremendous heat production by moth thoracic muscles, a process called thermogenesis.  In order for animals to be metabolically active in winter temperatures, they must either obtain heat from their environment as most invertebrates do by locating themselves in warm and/or sunny spots (ectotherms); or, they must use their own metabolic activity to generate heat within their bodies (endotherms).  The noctuid moths are considered endothermic because they generate heat by shivering. 

By initiating rapid thoracic muscle contractions at freezing temperatures, noctuid moths are able to warm the wing flight muscles of their thorax to temperatures as high 90 to 95^o F.   Heinrich discovered that “maintenance of high thoracic temperatures at low air temperatures depends on (1) the ability to begin shivering at very low muscle temperatures, (2) a thick insulating pile, and (3) counter-current heat exchangers that retard heat flow to the head and to the abdomen, respectively.”  The heat exchangers allow heat to be concentrated in the thorax where it is most needed to promote rapid beating of wings for flight in cold temperatures. 

Flight enables the moths to obtain energy-rich nectar from witch-hazel flowers or from sap issuing from tree wounds.  Food, in turn, serves as fuel for heat generation and other metabolic activity essential for winter survival.  Because food and the opportunities to obtain it are scarce in winter, both food and heat must be conserved.  Conservation of food is accomplished by conserving heat, and body heat is retained by a thick, insulating pile around the moth’s thorax where heat is most needed.  In addition, in addition to the harmonious interaction of these three interdependent bodily systems, the life cycle of noctuid moths is turned around.  The moth larvae hatch and aestivate throughout summer and then the adults emerge to be winter-active.

How such an interdependence of the noctuid moths and the witch-hazel has come to exist is difficult to explain by accumulation of chance mutations and natural selection.  Absence or malfunction of any one physiological or morphological trait or sequence of interdependent parts would jeopardize the whole.  It is one thing to describe complex, interacting systems within an animal and within a plant and how they interact in synchrony between each other. But it is quite another thing to explain how these interactions occur.  Add to this the challenge of explaining how these interacting systems could have come into existence in the first place and you have an even greater challenge for science. 

Perhaps our wonder at the complexity of the interaction of witch-hazels and winter moths ought to bring us back to the approach of George Bartholomew and Bernd Heinrich.  Become a careful observer of the plant or animal under investigation and let it “tell [you] what questions to ask.”  It turns out that Job, an ancient man of faith in God, had already adopted this approach and it caused him to gratefully worship his Creator God (Job 12: 7-10):

“But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
      And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
“Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
      And let the fish of the sea declare to you.

And what should we to learn from observing the amazing world?  Shouldn’t we also ask the beasts and let them tell us, or ask the earth and let it teach us?   And then, we may come away in awe as Job did as he humbly concluded:

“Who among all these does not know
      That the hand of the LORD has done this,
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
      And the breath of all mankind?

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God. – Romans 1: 20 NLT

God Speaks through Nature & His Word: Do We Hear?

Recently, a former student and friend¹ shared a link to a video featuring the work of Bartholomaus Traubeck.  Interestingly, Traubek, an Austrian media artist, has modified a traditional turn-table record player to generate music from thin sections sliced from the trunks of trees.  At first, I wondered how the needle of the record player scraping over a wood surface would make anything but a noisy “GrrrrChikkKrrrKtttKkkkTTtttUUuuu.”  But then, I read that Traubeck has replaced the needle of the record player with a camera which scans the anatomical “landscape” of the sliced wood sections as they rotate.  You may want to listen to Traubeck’s music for yourself before you read on.

Traubeck's modified record player and a slice of wood.

There is no doubt that Traubeck can bring music out of the wood.  But there is no evidence that trees or other parts of “Nature” or “Creation” each have a characteristic voice or song waiting for us to record and broadcast.  Therefore, we must ask, “How much of Traubeck’s music is an objective expression of the anatomical properties of the wood, and how much is merely a subjective result of Traubeck’s method of translating wood anatomy to sound?”  The answer to this question requires that we understand two key elements of Traubeck’s music-making method. 

First, we can agree with Traubeck that each tree species has its own unique wood anatomy—its unique fingerprint.  Each species differs from another according to the width of gaps between annual rings, representing the radial growth (from center outward) for each year.  Some species have large diameter vessels and more slender tracheids (elongated microscopic tubes that carry water and nutrients upward within the trunk of trees).  Gymnosperms, including pines and spruces, have no vessels at all, only tracheids.  Species may also differ in wood color and texture. Traubeck’s scanning camera “views” the rotating wood anatomy of each tree species and creates a dynamic digital profile of the characters he has chosen to include in his algorithm. 

Ttree trunk cross section
with annual growth rings.

The second element we must consider is how Traubeck translates his chosen wood parameters into music.  Although the wood anatomy of each tree species is unique, it is Traubeck who ultimately composes the music that emanates from each species.  His modified record player with camera and a computer algorithm is designed to “see” only a selected number of traits of the “landscape” of the wood sections.  If you or I were to design a similar system with our programming, the music we bring out of the wood slices would be different from Traubeck’s music.  As Matt Weesner writes about Traubeck’s music in Colorado Public Radio, a fir tree grows quickly, therefore has larger gaps between the rings, which means the resulting music is more minimalistic (Traubeck chose the key of C minor for firs). Throw a slice of ash tree (with rings very close together) on the player and the music is more compressed and complex.

Traubeck’s method of producing music from wood sections is a fitting metaphor for the way we view the landscape of the world around us.  Every corner of nature, whether the tree rings of an old oak tree or the landscape of a forest ecosystem, represents an objective reality that invites us to observe and explore with our five senses.  However, as we observe real objects and landscapes of nature, we assign meaning and significance based upon how our particular “spectacles” filter and color our interpretation.  In other words, our worldview determines how we interpret the world around us.  For example, an artist, an ecologist, and a lumberman each view a forest from a different worldview—one sees aesthetic qualities; another sees energy and nutrient relationships; and another sees economic gain.

Let’s look at some examples of how our “worldview spectacles” are at work scanning the world around us, selecting and filtering parameters that we allow us to define our reality.  First, let’s consider how a person’s worldview influences their understanding of the origin of the universe.  Second, we will see how special or divine revelation influences worldview of those who acknowledge the existence of God as Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

How many objects of "intelligent design"
can you see?

Many of us differ in how we account for the complexity in nature or creation.  For example, relatively few people who accidentally find a music CD lying on the ground in the wild would listen to the music it contains and then attribute these complex, highly ordered sounds and the CD itself to random chance events, or undirected natural causes.  We may not understand how the CD was formed and imprinted to produce beautiful music, but we would agree that what we heard is not noise.  Instead, beautiful music is the result of design as expressed through the deliberate, purposeful, action of an intelligent agent responsible for both the original musical score and the technology of the compact disc and CD player.

If we can agree that a music CD and related broadcast technology are the results of intelligent design, then it should follow that the complex wood anatomy of a slice of tree trunk is also the result of intelligent design?  We are only beginning to understand how the specified complexity of the coded sequence of nucleotides of DNA within each living cell can produce the characteristic genetic traits of each organism including the wood properties of each tree species.  But if genetic theory is correct, Traubeck’s music based on wood properties is an expression of the unique DNA sequences of each species. And behind all of this there appears to be an intelligent designer.  I believe God through His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Intelligent Designer of creation (e.g. Genesis 1-2). 

Not all readers will agree that music from a musician, or from a songbird or Traubeck’s wood slices, owes its existence to the God of the Bible.  But all of us must recognize that our opinions are ultimately influenced by our worldview--our way of interpreting the world around us and our place and purpose (if any) in the world.  It also determines the quality of our life on Earth and the destiny of our eternal souls.  Thus, a theistic worldview is based on faith in a “higher power” and divine revelation.  The Bible represents the divine revelation from the Judeo-Christian God (Yehweh) and affirms that “nature” is God’s creation which represents a general revelation of His truth and existence.

The atheist and the agnostic are also persons of faith.   Instead of divine revelation, their faith rests on human reason which either denies the existence of God or simply dismisses the notion of a divine being.  The Greek philosopher Protagoras summarized the atheistic worldview when he proudly stated, Man is the measure of all things.  Much of current thinking in the natural sciences today is based on atheistic, naturalistic philosophy which acknowledges no reality beyond the bounds of the five senses.  In contrast, Martin Luther King Jr. articulated the Christian worldview when he wrote²:

Christianity affirms that at the heart of reality is a Heart, a loving Father who works through history for the salvation of his children. Man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity is not God.  Bound by the chains of his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior.   

Why should we think it odd that a human artist like Bartholomaus Traubeck could produce inspiring music from the “anatomical landscape” of a section of wood?  Even without the aid of camera and computer, the landscapes of creation have from the beginning been inspiring those whose spiritual and aesthetic senses are attuned to our Creator.  The psalmist David wrote, as recorded in Psalm 19: 1-3:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.

But God’s Voice also comes to us through the inspired words of Scripture—words that speak of human origin, the fall into sin, and the only Way of reconciliation through the shed blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  Consider the following words from 1 Chronicles 16: 30-34 and notice the powerful Voice of God and how creation responds—indeed, how we ought to respond:

Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

The Voice of God in creation and His inspired Word through the Bible are continually streaming toward mankind from every corner of His creation.  So evident is God’s revelation that the Apostle Paul wrote, in Romans 1: 20:  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Expounding on John 1: 1 (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”), A.W. Tozer writes, The whole Bible supports the idea.  God is speaking.  Not God spoke, but God is speaking.  He is by His nature continuously articulate.  He fills the world with His speaking Voice. …The Voice of God is the most powerful force in nature, indeed the only force in nature, for all energy is here only because the power-filled Word is being spoken. (The Pursuit of God (Regal, 2013), p. 72).

God is near unto all of us.  Creation itself awaits His coming as the Righteous Judge of all the Earth and mankind (Romans 8: 19).  How then is it that many do not “hear” His Voice in creation and respond when even creation responds as we have just noted:  the sea roars, the field exalts, and the trees sing for joy before the LORD?  Tozer answers,

Scanning electron microscope view
of wood vessels & tracheids

I venture to say that the one vital quality which [men and women of faith in the past] had in common was spiritual sensitivity…they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives (Pursuit…p. 66).

The “landscapes” of creation from the genetic and epigenetic structures inside living cells to the microscopic anatomy of tree wood, to the landscapes of forest and woodland; all proclaim, without the hindrance of language translation, that God is Creator and Designer, and that He is and has been speaking with a powerful Voice since creation. 

What about you?  What do you see and hear as you walk in creation, view the intricacies of God’s creatures, read God’s Word, or hear it proclaimed?  May the God Who gives us physical life and (by faith in Christ) Eternal Life, enable us to become more spiritually aware of His love, plan, and purpose.

----------------
Footnotes:
¹ Thanks to my former student and friend, Dan Delancey, for referring me to the work of Bartholomaus Traubeck.

² From:  M.L. King, Jr. “How Should a Christian View Communism?”