I just finished reading the book Foresight
by Marcos Eberlin. In his book he gives numerous examples of features of life
which are both wonderous and complex. He argues (correctly, imho) that these
features of life required foresight to create them. This in turn points to them
having been made by a great, Intelligent Designer.
One of the examples Eberlin discusses is relatively new
research on bird migration. It has long been known that some birds possess an amazing
ability to travel long distances, in some cases over open ocean with no landmarks,
with a high level of navigational precision. It has also been known for some
time that somehow birds are able to sense and use the earth’s magnetic fields
to help them navigate.
Whatever method the birds are using to detect magnetic
fields must include some type of sensing mechanism, the ability to transmit
signals from the sensing mechanism to the bird’s brain, and then the brain must
have a complex system for interpreting these signals so that the bird can use
them to navigate. Any system like this is amazingly complex and points to the
great wisdom of our Creator. It is exceedingly difficult to imagine how such a system
could evolve because the sensor without the signal transmission system and a
section of the brain designed to process and interpret the signals would be
worthless. Likewise, a complex brain program able to interpret signals and use
them to navigate would be useless without a system to produce those signals and
transmit them to the brain. Such systems are irreducibly complex (a term introduced
by Michael Behe) and thus require foresight from an Intelligent Designer to
create.
Scientists still are not sure how bird navigation systems
work, but recent research is pointing to a possibility that may indicate that
their amazing navigation systems are even more advanced than anyone would have
dreamed even a few decades ago. It appears likely that the bird’s magnetic
sensing system may be using quantum entanglement!
For a more detailed explanation of how birds may be using
quantum entanglement to navigate, you’ll want to either purchase and read Eberlin’s
book (recommended!) or read this article on the PBS Nova website: A Bird’s Eye View of Quantum Entanglement. I’ll come back to both the PBS article
and Eberlin’s books momentarily, but first I’ll offer my own brief, non-expert
attempt at explaining what quantum entanglement may have to do with bird
navigation (feel free to skip the next paragraph if you are not interested in my
attempted explanation which unfortunately manages to be both too technical and too
vague at the same time).
Quantum entanglement happens when two electrons are
paired in an orbit. If they are then separated, they can temporarily remain
entangled, meaning that whatever happens to one affects the other. One way they
can be separated is if the atom they are in absorbs a photon of light. The
separated, but entangled, electrons can then somehow (this part is really a bit
cloudy to me) potentially sense minute differences in magnetic fields. This in
turn might cause the molecule they are in to produce electro-chemical signals
which could be transmitted to the brain. In order for all this to work, the
electrons have to stay in an entangled state long enough. Scientists think they
have identified a protein called Cry4 in bird’s eyes where this is happening.
What’s surprising is that this protein appears to be capable of maintaining the
electrons in an entangled state longer than physicists have been able to do in
experiments even when the physicists are using temperatures close to absolute
zero. Since the protein is located in the bird’s eyes it is possible that the
birds are somehow, in some way, “seeing” the earth’s magnetic field. That’s
mind blowing!
Back to the big picture and the glory of God!
The Nova article I mention above does a lot better job
explaining what is happening than I can do. While overall the article is well-written
and interesting, it stumbles in two ways in which Eberlin’s book does not stumble.
In the second paragraph of her Nova article, Katherine Wu
writes:
“But some researchers say they have a good working
theory—and it shows that avian evolution has tapped into quantum mechanics.”
This mention of evolution is gratuitous. It appears to be
nothing more than an obligatory bow to the false religion of naturalism (a
belief system that says nature is all there is and that all important truth is
found by assuming only natural causes are at work in our world). Wu provides
zero evidence or even speculative ideas as to how blind evolutionary forces
could have produced a navigation system in birds that uses quantum entanglement.
There is good reason to believe that producing even a single protein (like
Cry4) is beyond the resources of a blind process like evolution. But as
mentioned above, Cry4 would be useless for navigating if it were not part of an entire set of stunningly
complex systems all working together to produce beneficial navigation for the
bird. Eberlin, on the other hand, is right to see any bird navigation system,
and especially a super-advanced one using quantum entanglement, as evidence for
a great Designer whom we worship as God.
Crediting evolution rather than intelligent design is the
first way in which the Nova article stumbles. The second is closely related. Wu
ends her article the same way that Eberlin ends his book: with a quote from a
physicist. Both quotes point to the unavoidable sense of awe and wonder which
new scientific discoveries often bring. But at this point the quotes diverge.
Wu quotes quantum scientist Erik Gauger as saying: “nature
is an ingenious architect.”
That quote makes me sad. Nature is not an intelligent
being that can do anything “ingenious.” Architects are intelligent beings. They
plan. They have foresight. Nature does not plan or have foresight. Attributing
the great works of God to His creation robs Him of the worship He deserves. The
Apostle Paul pointed out how suppressing the knowledge of God which can be seen
through the world He created leads down
a dark path for humanity:
CSB Romans 1:18 For God's wrath is revealed from heaven
against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their
unrighteousness suppress the truth,
19 since what can
be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible
attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly
seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has
made. As a result, people are without excuse.
21 For though they knew God, they did not
glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless,
and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Thankfully not all people, and not all scientists, have
chosen to bow to the dominant materialist view of the universe. There are some
who, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to bow. Marcos Eberlin is one
of these courageous people. He is himself a highly accomplished scientist “having
published close to 1,000 scientific articles” (from the back cover of
Foresight). Marcos closes his book, Foresight, by quoting from J. J. Thomson.
Thomson was a Nobel laureate in physics who discovered and described the
electron. Thomson wrote these words regarding the ever-expanding horizons of
scientific discovery:
. . . we do not see the horizon;
in the distance tower still higher peaks, which will yield to those who ascend
them still wider prospects, and deepen the feeling, the truth of which is
emphasized by every advance in science, that “Great are the Works of the
Lord” (J. J. Tomson, as quoted by Eberlin in Foresight, pg. 147. I put Tomson’s
quote from Psalm 111:2 in bold).
Tomson was right about each new scientific discovery
opening doors to further discovery. His own discovery of the electron and some
of its basic properties paved the way for great advances in chemistry and
physics. These in turn led to the recent research which shows that birds may be
using quantum entangled electrons as part of a super-complex set of integrated
systems that allow them to navigate. But Tomson was not merely right about
scientific discoveries leading to more discoveries. He was also right about the
feeling that such discoveries should stir and the effect they should have. They
should lead to the worship of our great Creator.
To God be the glory (for bird navigation systems and
everything else)!
For Further Reading and Study
I enjoyed Marcos’s book Foresight,
which led to this blog post. His book has many examples of aspects of our world
and especially living things which required foresight to create. While I
recommend Foresight, if you are relatively new to the topic of the scientific
evidence for God seen in nature as explained by the intelligent design
movement, I would recommend reading a couple of other books before Foresight.
Although the following two books are a little bit older, they are very well
written, tightly reasoned, and provide a great foundation for understanding
intelligent design evidence and arguments:
Darwin’s Black Box by Michael Behe
Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyers
Both Meyers and Behe have
written other books that are also excellent. I give a big picture overview of
the cumulative argument in Behe’s three books here:
I have written other blog posts
related to this topic. Specifically, I’ve written posts about how the following
show evidence of design and give glory to God:
And here are a few devotional
blog posts inspired by the natural world God created:
Sunflowers and Sonpeople
Spiritual Lessons from Elephants and Water Buffalo
Three Lessons from the Beautiful Bloom of the Ric Rac Plant
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
