Monday, November 08, 2010

Fireflies blink in sync! Irreducible Complexity on YouTube



Some fireflies exhibit synchronous flashing, in which large groups produce rhythmic, repeated flashes in unison -- sometimes lighting up a whole forest at once.

How can this be? "Animals have evolved to solve unique problems in many different ways, and I'm interested in how they do that," says Andrew Moiseff, from the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology of the University of Connecticut. "Fireflies have these tiny heads and these tiny brains, but they can do some complex and amazing things." His future research will focus on questions that address whether physiological constraints or behavioral decisions are driving the evolution of synchrony.

This is another example of evolutionists being stuck. Fireflies blinking in sync is a most obvious example of Irreducible Complexity! Ask yourself, how did the very first group of synchronizing fireflies evolve from their backward ancestors? Can you imagine any "intermediate forms" as expected by evolutionary theory? It is not conceivable to have a group of early fireflies who were experimenting with sync-blink, but were not quite all together. If there were no intermediate forms, there would have to be a single superfly ancestor who had a most complex mutation, and produced a large number of immediate children with the sync-blink complex... and other fireflies standing by who also happened to have just the right mutation to be attracted. If you wish, stay tuned to Andrew Moiseff et al and their stream of publications, where they will attempt to explain this.

Intelligent Design by a Creator God is a far better explanation, based on the Irreducible Complexity that is so evident here on YouTube. These fireflies are flashing witnesses to an amazing God!

References

Christine Buckley, Fireflies Blink in Synch to Send a Uniform Message, University of Connecticut, UConn Today, July 10, 2010, accessed 11/8/2010.

Electricity Forms Your Heart, Creation Evolution Headlines, July 2010, accessed 11/8/2010.

Fireflies Blink in Synch to Send a Clear Message, Science News, July 10, 2010, accessed 11/8/2010.

Remy Melina, Fireflies' Synchronous Flashes Are Booty Calls, Study Shows, July 8, 2010, accessed 11/8/2010.

Andrew Moiseff and Jonathan Copeland, Firefly Synchrony: A Behavioral Strategy to Minimize Visual Clutter, Science, July 2010: Vol. 329. no. 5988, p. 181 DOI: 10.1126/science.1190421.

Please pray for persecuted believers in Chiapas Mexico.

Bridge in Chiapas
"I will not be bullied into disobeying God. My life is in his hands."

(Voice of the Martyrs, from a persecuted believer in Chiapas Mexico, 2010)

Friday, November 05, 2010

Persecution has actually been a blessing

The mob banged drums, shouted taunts and harassed the Christians already inside the church. Some threw stones and were shouting "Allahu Akbar". Others were calling them kafirs (infidels) and pigs and yelling obscenities. Some carried sticks, and others shouted "Burn the church! Close it down!"

Tears streamed down the cheeks of late arrivers as they joined the other worshipers, who were already singing Christmas carols. People were singing and crying. Joyful Christmas songs turned to tears.

The attack on the church signals a spread of persecution in this southeast Asian country. The pastor of the church says the persecution has actually been a blessing to his church family. "Before, believers seldom came to church. But when the persecution came, the believers gained incentive to come to church and pray and gather together in unity. Maybe the Lord has allowed this so the believers will have unity. I cannot tell you what will happen, but I see that my congregation has a commitment to keep doing the service, because the church is not a building; the church is the believers."

(from Voice of the Martyrs)

The Prisoner

A young man in a southeast Asian country was thrown into prison for armed robbery. Although he was a Muslim, he wanted to learn more about Christ. A Christian inmate gave him a Bible, and he read it at night while his cellmates slept. He had nearly finished reading the entire Bible when a Muslim cellmate discovered it hidden near his bedside. He was called into the warden's office for questioning. The warden demanded to know where he got the Bible. He was then beaten for four hours following the interrogation, and was then locked in a prison isolation cell.

The prisoner became more and more committed to Christ because of his time in the isolation cell.

Before he accepted Christ, he made fun of Christians and called them infidels. Through beatings and isolation, he experienced what many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world experience for their faith in Jesus.

"There's an expensive price to be paid for being a Christian," he says. "I'm proud to have been persecuted for Christ."

(from Voice of the Martyrs)

A Man in a White Robe

While watching television one New Year's Eve in a Southeast Asian Muslim country, a van crashed into Lydia's living room!! While she was pinned beneath the van, a man in a brilliant white robe appeared as if from nowhere. Lydia, who was seven months pregnant at the time, and who years earlier quit the Islamic school where her fundamentalist parents had enrolled her, says the man gently touched her stomach and said, "You are safe. Follow Me." She says she immediately felt peaceful and free from pain.

After rescuers had pulled her from beneath the vehicle, Lydia began to search for the man in the white robe. When a rescuer asked her what she was looking for, she sat down and said, "I want to see the one who saved me." Her puzzled rescuers replied, "No, we are the ones who helped you."

Lydia told her Christian nephew about the experience, and he suggested that it was an encounter with Jesus. He gave her a Bible and taught her about faith in Christ.

"I read in the book of John the words of Jesus, who said, 'I am the true way and follow me'", Lydia says. "Those are the same words he said to me at the time of the accident."

(from Voice of the Martyrs)