Nature Has Its Say -- DVD Series Lets Animal Behavior, Design Undermine Evolution
by Ed Vitagliano
September 13, 2006
(AgapePress) - - What do giraffes, woodpeckers, beavers, spiders and geckos all have in common? According to one video series, they all clearly demonstrate the variety and creative brilliance of nature's God -- and in the process undermine the theory of evolution. Titled Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, the series from Exploration Films drives a stake through the heart of the evolution monster by arguing that the complexity of animal design and behavior cannot be the result of chance and random mutations. Instead, it is proof of creationism, which states that the God of the Bible is the Creator -- and the mind behind the natural world and the universe. This view takes the Bible's Genesis account of creation literally.
The video series features Dr. Jobe Martin, founder of Biblical Discipleship Ministries, who has an enthusiastic delivery as he explains the arguments of creationism to viewers. He has spent the last 20 years exploring the differences between evolution and creationism.
Dr. Martin was a traditional evolutionist, the video says, "but his medical and scientific training would go through an evolution ... rather a revolution when he began to study animals that challenged the scientific assumptions of his education. This was the beginning of the evolution of a creationist."
One remarkable example of the creationist perspective in Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution focuses on a particular mussel that lives in the streams and rivers in the American Northwest. It attracts a specific type of fish with an appendage which looks like a minnow -- complete with an eye -- and which wriggles like a fish.
At the precise moment when the fish approaches and opens its mouth to attack, the mussel discharges tiny mussel larvae, which then cling to the fish's gills. These tiny mussels remain as parasites, where they grow until they're large enough to detach and begin their own lives on the riverbed.
Dr. Martin argues that evolution can't explain how a mussel could evolve such an instrument by random mutations, then figure out how to use it effectively as a lure, and subsequently learn how to -- or even why it should -- discharge its larvae toward the fish. Moreover, Dr. Martin asks, how do the tiny mussels know what to do once they are discharged?
These and other provocative questions are asked about numerous animals.
Christians who watch any of the volumes of Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution will be pleased with another aspect of the series. While some critics of evolution are careful to detach their theory from religion in general, this video series is unapologetic in its proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, each video gives a brief explanation of redemption through the Incarnation, cross and resurrection of Christ.
Dr. Martin said the series is meant to help believers understand creationism. "There is a growing desire on the part of a good many Christians to learn more about what the God of the Bible says He did during that creation week" in Genesis, he told AFA Journal.
The well-crafted series, which so far consists of three volumes, available in both DVD and VHS formats, contains beautiful and fascinating footage of the animal life under discussion. It is further enhanced by the easy-going, engaging style of host David Hames.
While the videos have limited bonus features, Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution is perfectly suited for home-viewing as well as Sunday School and other church gatherings. The series was the recipient of the International Telly Award and Communicator Award.
Exploration Films also offers a number of other video resources, such as The Search for the Real Mt. Sinai, The Mystery of the Ark of the Covenant, and First Love, a retrospective on the lives and music of the Christian artists who helped launch the Jesus People movement.
Ed Vitagliano, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is news editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. This article, printed with permission, appears in the September 2006 issue.
