The Intelligence Behind Jellyfish

Something To Think About The Intellegence Behind Jellyfish:

Because of the kind generosity of some colleagues here in Palau Kathy and I were privileged to an unforgettable afternoon trip.  We flew over one of the wonders of the world, the Rock Islands of Palau, to the site of a major World War 2 battle, Peleliu.  Again, and again, I and the other three passengers in the little plane asked, “How can you take it all in?”  The answer is, You can’t. One of the wonders we flew over is the “Jellyfish Lake.”  Actually the lake is one of several marine lakes in Palau, each inhabited by a unique strain of jellyfish.  This is the best known of the lakes because it is open to visitors.  Several years ago I was privileged to make the short hike over one of the ridges that separates the Jellyfish Lake from the lagoon, and slip into the quiet water and swim with the strange, beautiful creatures.  It’s not like you see one here or there; the delicate creatures totally surround you.  It’s like swimming in a giant bowl of soggy Cheerios. You can read more about this natural wonder here.  The symbiotic relationship of lake, jellyfish, algae-like creatures, sun, and water is utterly amazing.  The jellyfish derive nourishment from microscopic creatures that inhabit their gelatinous bodies.  To maximize the photo-synthesis of these creatures the jellyfish migrate back and forth across the lake on a daily basis.  They congregate on the sunny side of the shadows cast by the vegetation on the shore, thus avoiding the region where their prime enemy, a breed of anemone, lurks, looking for jelly for lunch.  I figure if you take all the intelligence in that lake and put it together you wouldn’t have enough smarts to learn to not look up in the rain and drown.  Yet, there it is, a precise, beautiful, delicate, complicated dance, repeated day after day, and it works.As we were flying I asked our pilot about the manufacture of the airplane.  He told me that they found it, gassed and ready to fly, on the downwind side of a junkyard after a typhoon had blown through. In case you didn’t catch that, that was a joke—a joke with a point. It’s STTA.

Where'd I Come From?

I watched the creation/evolution debate last.  It was a well done presentation, though nothing new was presented.

The matter of origins--"Where did I come from?--has become an increasingly controversial matter.  Am I merely the result of eons of random action, or am I "Fearfully and wonderfully made"?

 

If you are a reader of STTA who does not share a commitment to a Biblical Worldview, let me first say, "Thank You."  I really appreciate you hanging out with me.

I go on to encourage you to not reject the grand story you find in God's word based on a disagreement about how all this stuff--me included--got started.  I make that request based on several reasons:

1. What you have heard "the Bible says" may not be what the Bible says at all.  Some of what you have heard is put out there by those who deny the Bible.  It's like evaluating steak houses based on reviews written by vegetarians.
2. Those of us who believe the message of the Bible represent a pretty broad view of origins--all the way from those who believe the world is just over 6,000 years old, to those who find room for billions of years of earth history.  I'm not saying everybody's right.  I am saying that people with a variety of views on origins find the message of the Bible, and in particular the story of Jesus Christ, to be compelling and life-changing.  I'd encourage you to get beyond Genesis, before you reject.
3. All views of origins involve an element of faith.  We weren't there.  We trust evidence, and more importantly the interpretation thereof.  Some of us trust God and His revelation.
4. It's complicated.  Anyone who tells you it isn't, doesn't have an adequate grasp.

If you are still with me, go with me to the point of the absolute beginning, whether you see that beginning as being a mere six millennia ago, or billions of years in the past.  Step back one second before that threshold.  What do you see?  Two places in the Bible give an answer:

"In the beginning God. . . ."  Genesis 1:1, and

"In the beginning was the Word. . . ."  John 1:1  (Later verses identify the Word.)

If, and it is an "if" we reject at our peril, all that is comes from God, then it makes sense to believe that we had better consider Him.

It's STTA.  

You can find out more about God's plan here.