THE AMAZING COMPLEXITY OF OUR HUMAN BODY
Selected Facts About Human Body Functions:
See National Geographic Human Body Video HERE.
- There are 10,000 miles of blood vessels in the body.
- There are 100 billion nerve cells in the Brain. The total number of connections in the brain approaches a thousand million million.
- There are 100 million nerve cells in the digestive system.
- Healthy lungs have 300 million alveoli.
- 100 miles of blood vessels filter blood within the kidney.
- There are 100,000 miles of blood cells.
- The human body has about 50 trillion cells.
- The main conduit between the brain, body & the spinal cord, transmits millions of impulses per second at speeds exceeding 270 miles per hour.
- The human nervous system uses billions of interconnected nerve cells to regulate all the body’s vital functions while also serving as the seat of all feeling and thought.
- Every drop of blood passes through the heart once per minute.
Selected Human Body Functions
- Examples of sophisticated bodily functions include digestion, excretion, sex, rejuvenation with sleep, brain functionality, and much more.
- Examples of complicated body parts include Eyes, Nose, Ears, Hands, Arms, Legs, etc. These body parts are incredibly complex and involve a variety of interacting components ordered in such a way that they accomplish functions beyond the individual component.
- A specific example of the body’s amazing sophistication is the ability of the eye to focus on different objects at different lengths and to work in perfect and instant synergistic harmony with the brain to provide sight.
- Childbirth is a miracle that perfectly combines the DNA of two people into a new, unique person. From that single cell created at conception, a complete human being develops with all of its complex organs and systems and is born alive, and functioning. Just hold a baby in your arms and sense God’s presence!
- Biologists have learned that each cell in the body contains numerous ultra-sophisticated molecular machines - there are literally trillions of such machines in the human body. Each cell contains more information than in all thirty volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. These molecular systems provide information storage and transfer, functioning codes, sorting and delivery systems, self-regulation and feedback loops, signal transduction circuitry, and complex arrangements of mutually interdependent and well-fitted parts to perform specific functions. The absence of any single component of these molecular machines would cause them not to work. See Video HERE.
- The amount of information that could be stored in a pinhead’s volume of DNA is equivalent to a pile of paperback books 500 times as tall as the distance from the Earth to the moon – each with different yet specific content.
- Scientists have discovered many human body structures that are incredibly complex and involve a variety of interacting components ordered in such a way that they accomplish function beyond their individual components. The body’s overall interdependence upon all of these parts and systems, and the fact that without any one of them, they’d all be nonfunctional, also make it difficult to believe the body has not been designed.
IS THE STUNNING COMPLEXITY OF THE HUMAN BODY POSSIBLY THE RESULT OF RANDOM EVOLUTION AND EVENTS?
REMARKABLY COMPLEX & DIVERSE ANIMALS & PLANTS
Scientists estimate there are approximately 8.7 million animal species on the earth (see https://tinyurl.com/yd42wu76 ), all unique in their design, and a total of over 10 billion billion individual animals. Creatures range from all different types and sizes and characteristics, such as tiny ants, birds, insects, dogs, cats, tigers, giraffes, massive elephants, hippopotamuses, pigs, rabbits, monkeys, whales, fish, dolphins, and many, many more. All of these creatures have incredibly sophisticated designs, bodies, and biological systems. Amazingly, Scientists also estimate that 86% of existing species on Earth and 91% of species in the ocean still await discovery and description. To experience just a small sampling of this amazing creation and complexity simply visit your local zoo and/or aquarium.
The following are just a few examples of some of the incredible mind-blowing capabilities of some of these animals that raise the question- where did they all come from and how did this happen?
- Monarch Butterfly: Monarch butterflies embark on a marvelous migratory phenomenon every year. They travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more from the northeast United States, and southeast Canada to the mountain forests in central Mexico, where they find the right climate conditions to hibernate from the beginning of November to mid-March. Scientists are not sure how long the monarch’s spectacular annual migration to Mexico has been occurring; it may be as old as 10,000 years or as young as a few centuries.
- Wood Frog: The wood frog has developed a bizarre way to hibernate during winter -by freezing to death and returning to life in the spring. It can be found as far north as Alaska, where it survives winters by freezing for up to seven months straight. The frog's heart stops beating and its respiration ceases. Biologically speaking, the frog is dead.
- Reindeer: Reindeer have eyes that change from brown to blue to promote better vision during dark, arctic winters. In summer, their eyes are brown and adjusted to the long hours of sunlight. But in winter, reindeer live in near-constant darkness. In response, pressure in their eyes increases, which dilates the pupils, offers better night vision, and compresses the collagen in the lens of the eye. This decreases how much light is reflected, and changes the appearance of the eye from brown to blue.
- Humpback Whales: Pods of humpback whales can corral fish using cooperative feeding patterns and columns of air bubbles called "bubble nets." To trap schools of krill or salmon, one whale will swim in a wide circle while expelling air bubbles from its blowhole. Other whales below the surface guide the fish into the "net" using vocalizations and swimming patterns. Finally, the entire pod will swim to the surface with their mouths open to feed on the trapped fish.
- Sea Stars: Sea stars have bizarre stomachs that can extend out of their mouths. This adaptation allows them to prey on large mussels and clams that they would not be able to consume using their mouths alone.
- Hippopotamus: The hippopotamus can produce a secretion on its skin that acts as a natural sunscreen and antibiotic. These chemicals emerge from hippopotamus skin in colorless sweat but react with the air to form a viscous, crimson goo that blocks ultraviolet light. Hippopotamuses are also the second largest land animal, just behind elephants, but amazingly, they can still run faster than a human
- Dung Beetle: Relative to its size, the dung beetle is the strongest animal in the world, capable of pulling 1,141 times its own body weight.
- Axolotl: When an axolotl loses a limb to a hungry predator, the missing appendage can regrow with bone, blood vessels, and muscles all intact.
- Lyrebird: The superb lyrebird is a large Australian songbird that's capable of mimicking nearly anything it hears. In the wild, they mostly mimic other birds, and a single lyrebird can imitate an entire flock of another species. Captive lyrebirds, meanwhile, have been reported to mimic various noises, including car alarms, chainsaws, camera shutters, and flutes.
- Dolphin: Dolphins emit high-pitched whistles and clicks and use the returning echoes to orient themselves, hunt for food, and even locate things behind walls or under the ocean floor. Each dolphin has a uniquely identifying signature whistle, much like an individual name. Dolphins will also stay with injured or ill pod mates, even helping them to breathe by bringing them to the surface if needed.
- Elephants: Elephants can smell water up to three miles away. They live in matriarchal societies with strong social bonds that endure for decades. Elephants grieve at the death of a family member or friend. An elephant can lift up to 770 pounds with their trunk, but it can also be used for delicate tasks like wiping an eye. When underwater, an elephant uses his or her trunk as a snorkel.
- Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds have wings that beat up to 200 times a second. They are also the only birds able to hover, and they can fly backward and even upside down!
- Dogs: Dogs have a sense of smell ranging from 100,000 to 1,000,000 times more sensitive than a human’s; 100 million times greater in bloodhounds.
- Rabbits: Rabbits can see behind themselves without turning their head.
- Horses: Horses have the unusual trait of being able to sleep both standing up and lying down.
- Lions: A lion’s roar can be heard as far as five miles away.
For further detail please see https://tinyurl.com/dx6z8zt7 and https://tinyurl.com/ysmnnffm.
Additionally, there are an incredible number of varied and sophisticated plants on the earth. For example, estimates suggest approximately 1.2 million species of plants, protozoa, and chromists on the earth.
THE INCREDIBLY EXPANSIVE UNIVERSE
Selected Key Universe Statistics:
See Universe Video HERE.
- There are 10 million billion billion stars.
- You could put 1.2 million Earths plus 4.3 million moons in the sun.
- Venus is 26 million miles away, Mercury is 50 million miles away, Jupiter is 367 million miles away, Saturn is 790 million miles away, and Pluto is 2.7 billion miles away.
- The nearest star is 20 billion miles away, the north star is 400 hundred billion miles away, and the star Betelgeuse is 880 quadrillion miles away and has a diameter of 250 million miles.
- Scientists & philosophers agree, that from nothing - nothing comes. Something must have caused the universe into being.
- The universe is running down and extending outward. For example, the sun is burning off its own mass at a rate of 4 million tons per second. All other stars are as well.
7. Everything in the universe is fine-tuned to support life on earth. Galaxies are moving away from the Earth ( See https://www.space.com/hubbles-law ) at a phenomenal speed of 100 million miles per hour as the result of the original Big Bang creation. This is precisely the rate necessary to enable the formation of galaxies. If it expands too slowly, it will collapse into a big lump. If it works too fast the matter would disperse. If our moon were larger or we had multiple moons, its gravitational pull would cause tidal waves and severe climate instabilities. If the earth was closer to the sun it would be too hot to survive. There is just enough oxygen on Earth (21 percent of the atmosphere) for creatures to breathe. If it were lower humans would suffocate, if it were higher, fires would erupt spontaneously. The size of Juniper is large enough to attract asteroids that would otherwise hit the Earth. If there were more or less water vapor in our atmosphere it would be too hot or too cold to survive on earth.
8. Big Bang Theory: The majority of astrophysicists and cosmologists today believe the Big Bang represents the beginning of the universe some 13-15 billion years ago. It was a massive cosmic explosion that exploded the universe into existence from a tiny dot size. Something had to cause this big bang.
9. There are numerous improbable factors that must be precisely in place and balanced for the survival of life on Earth. As one Scholar puts it: “The astonishing intricacy, harmony, and organization of the cosmos in allowing for human life is evidenced from the fine-tuning of the fundamental constants of physics to the “just so” nature of the galaxy
10. In 2022, the first pictures from the James Webb Space Telescope, an ambitious scientific endeavor that explores the universe in more detail than previously possible, further demonstrate the incredible magnitude and grander of our world. The first images and spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unprecedented and detailed views of the universe. For example, there are thousands of galaxies in the photo to the right on this page. The red galaxies are the most distant. This amazing display further demonstrates that the universe had to be the work of a God designer and creator. See many more incredible pictures on the following link, all which scream of God’s presence. https://webbtelescope.org/news/first-images/gallery .
EVOLUTION VS GOD DEBATE
The Theory of Evolution, originally presented by Charles Darwin, essentially states that all forms of life are constructed from the same basic elements and that humans are the result of a long series of evolutionary changes. Thus, humans were not created by God, they simply evolved from other life forms over a very long period of time. If this is true, does it prove that God does not exist? There is a lot of debate about this topic by many evolutionists and many creationists.
We now explore a variety of facts and logic about this most important topic. We begin by suggesting you review all the above amazing facts and statistics on this website about Humans, the Animal kingdom, and the Universe. Then proceed to review the following high-level observations and logic. Note this is not intended to be a detailed scientific analysis but rather is intended to provide a perspective on the issues - allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Some great references are then provided for further, more detailed analysis if desired.
When reflecting on all the amazing facts and statistics on this website, one questions whether human life and our world could truly be the result of an arbitrary and random process of Evolution. The following provides some more specific logic and questions to ponder and consider:
1. While there is no question individual life forms evolve by natural processes over time and one should not question the related science, there is no clear scientific evidence that one life form (ie. a dog, cat, bird, etc.) can actually evolve into another materially different life form (ie. monkey, donkey, tiger, etc.). All the specific scientific evidence generally cited refers to microevolution within one species, even though some of the evolutionary changes within a species can be quite significant. Also, it’s hard to buy the argument that it’s just a matter of time for this type of species-to-species macroevolution evolution to occur. This just does not seem like a logical or realistic possibility.
2. Aside from the scientific debate, does it really make sense that initial very simple life forms or basic cells evolved into over 8 million different animal species - with materially different characteristics, mind-blowing capabilities, totally different physical sizes, and appearances, etc. - described above on this web site? Can we really believe that all these dramatically different creatures in the world – worms, bunnies, dogs, cats, giraffes, elephants, tigers, lions, hippopotamuses, cows, snakes, birds, monkeys, whales, seals, and on and on – evolved completely randomly? For example, can you really believe a dog could have evolved into an elephant or a bird could have evolved into a lion? Or that any of these creatures could have evolved into a Human Being?
All of these amazing facts scream out the following key question: Where did all these creatures and mind-blowing capabilities come from? Could this possibly be the result of a random process of evolution, or do they point to a creator who designed everything to function as it does? If you believe this is the result of natural evolution, which certainly does occur on a microevolution basis within species, where did the first life forms come from? Could microevolution and all the above incredible capabilities be the result of God's design and plan?
Can you really believe macroevolution, creating one species (or even Humans) randomly from an entirely different species, is really logical or possible? Or does it make much more sense that all of the incredible above facts are the result of a creator God? Also again, in any case, where did the very first life forms come from?
3. Can we believe that the Human body - with billions of nerve cells, thousands of miles of blood vessels, trillions of cells with sophisticated molecular machines, eyes, nose, hands, feet, sexual organs, brains, and so much more - all working together in a harmonious manner evolved randomly and was not designed to function as it does? Can you believe the miracle of how a child is created and childbirth could just be the result of random evolution?
4. Even if you consider accepting all of the above was caused by Evolution, where did the first life forms come from? Where did the universe come from? And if you believe in the Big Bang Theory, which can make logical sense, how did that happen and where did that come from? Accurate science is certainly true, but it doesn’t answer everything. Could what we understand about science simply be how God chose – and continues - to create and develop our world?
The above questions at the very least point to the possibility that there is a God who created and designed the world and all its life forms. In fact, it may even make a very compelling case as you continue to contemplate and explore this topic.
This Evolution debate is perhaps the single biggest reason for not believing in God and for Atheism in today’s world. For further detailed debate topics regarding the above issues, we refer you to Ron Rhodes's book “The Ten Things You Should Know About the Creation vs. Evolution Debate” (See https://tinyurl.com/sr4kxmcx ). We also refer you to William Dembski’s book “Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology” (See https://tinyurl.com/82jy5fsa ). It is also important to understand there are many more reasons beyond the Evolution debate to consider the possibility that there is a God. We refer you to explore the rest of this website for further information.
PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD
The following summarizes various philosophical arguments that have been suggested in favor of the existence of God through the centuries. This section is derived from Ron Rhode's book “Why Do Bad Things Happen if God Is Good?” and complements all the other facts and analyses provided on this website.
1. The Cosmological Argument. This argument says that every effect must have an adequate cause. Since the universe is an "effect" reason demands that whatever caused the universe must be greater than the universe. That cause is God (who Himself is the uncaused First Cause). As Hebrews 3:4 puts it, "Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."
2. The Teleological Argument. This argument highlights the obvious purposeful and intricate design of the world. If we found a watch in the sand, we would assume that someone created the watch because the parts obviously didn't just jump together. Similarly, the perfect design of the universe argues for a Designer, and that Designer is God.
3. The Ontological Argument. This argument says that most human beings have an innate idea of a perfect being. Where did this idea come from? Not from man, for man is an imperfect being. Some perfect being (God) must have planted the idea there. God can't be conceived of as not existing, for then, one could conceive of an even greater being that did exist. Thus, God must in fact exist.
4. The Moral Argument. This argument says that every human being has an innate sense of "righteousness" or moral obligation. Where did this come from? It must come from God. The existence of a moral law in our hearts demands the existence of a moral Lawgiver.
5. The Anthropological Argument. This argument says that man has a personality (mind, emotions, and will). Since that which is personal cannot derive from the impersonal, there must be a personal cause- and that personal cause is God.
Of course, some people, even when aware of some of these arguments, still reject belief in God. Perhaps Reformer John Calvin was right when he said that the unregenerate person sees this evidence for God in the universe with blurred vision. It is only when one puts on the "eyeglasses" of faith and belief in the Bible that this evidence for God's existence comes into clear focus and becomes convincing.
If Calvin is right, then Christians do well to offer not only evidence for God's existence but also evidence that demonstrates the reliability of the Bible as well as a broad variety of other facts. Specifically, if we add to the above philosophical arguments the overwhelming historical and archaeological support for the reliability of the Bible, the historical support for Jesus Christ (including the resurrection), the pinpoint accuracy of biblical prophecies, the testimony of innumerable Christians down through the centuries, and all the other facts, logic, and perspectives provided on this website, a very strong and convincing case for the existence of God can be made to any reasonable person that is willing to listen.
In addition to all of these facts, the following also supports the existence of a God:
Creation, Nature and The Universe - the probabilities of the scope and scales of the universe and the complexities of its contents (humans in particular), as noted in the above, make random coincidental creation impossible to accept. A correct evaluation of this evidence supports the fact that everything in nature, in fact, proves God exists as Creator. The summation of this is contained in the statement that all these aspects of creation simply could not have come into existence apart from the activity of an all-powerful God.
Humanities Inner Intuition & Sense of God - HistoricalThere and testamentary documentation supports the notion that mankind has demonstrated a desire for, and an awareness of, existence beyond itself.
Sense of Right & Wrong: We all have an inborn sense of right and wrong that must have come from a higher power.
People & Love: There is a natural desire for the love of others.
Philosophical – A variety of philosophical arguments, as provided above in more detail, support that it is not rational to reject the idea of God's existence:
- Cosmological - everything has a creator
- Teleological - all creation has purpose and therefore design
- Ontological - if it is greater to exist than not exist, the greatest existence is God
- Moral - sense of right and wrong demanding ultimate justice
- Anthropological Argument -We have a mind and personality
Personal and Corporate Testimony – there are numerous individual historical confessions of specific and direct encounters with God both within and outside the context of scripture.
Conclusion:
Based on all of these facts and considerations, do you now believe – or are you open to the possibility – that God Really Exists? If so, after reviewing the rest of this web site, we encourage you to also contemplate the Next Steps section of the web site.
References
The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel (Book & DVD’s): https://tinyurl.com/y2jen976
Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace: https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Case-Christianity-Homicide-Detective-Investigates/dp/1434704696
The 10 Things You Should Know About the Creation vs. Evolution Debate by Ron Rhodes: https://www.amazon.com/Things- Should-Creation-Evolution-Debate/dp/0736911529
Answering the Objections of Atheists, Agnostics, and Skeptics by Ron Rhodes: https://www.amazon.com/Answering-Objections-Atheists-Agnostics-Skeptics/dp/0736912886
You Tube Video: 209 Seconds That Will Make You Question Your Entire Existence
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9rrG5Nppaew
The Body Revealed Exhibits
Amazing Molecular Machines in Your Body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tYrnv_o6A
Molecular Machines: http://www.windowview.org/sci/pgs/28mol.machine.html