The Creator’s Fingerprints in Design

At the end of the summer my wife Amy and I had the privilege of leading a creation mini-camp at RMCC for Grades 4, 5 and 6 focused on the “Science of Design.” We took a close look at two animals: the Bombardier Beetle and the Monarch Butterfly. Over the course of the mini-camp we studied the design of both these animals using a combination of teaching and hands-on experiments. We wanted the kids to come to their own conclusions of whether these animals could reasonably have been formed by God or evolution.

We were impressed as the kids navigated both their rational minds and their faith during the three weeks and we wanted to share some of the responses from our “mini-campers.”

For example, here is the conclusion of Melissa O. to the question of whether the Bombardier Beetle could be made by evolutionary processes:

“No, because it doesn’t make sense, and isn’t possible to have evolved, because it would need all the traits at once. For example, a turret, cuticle, and chambers, but it wouldn’t make a difference if it didn’t have the chemicals – it would be as good as dead.”

Despite not teaching the name of this complex term during the class, Melissa perfectly described the issue of irreducible complexity in animals, where if all the pieces of an animal are not present all at once, there will be catastrophic failure (i.e. death) of an animal. Therefore the “one piece at a time” evolutionary process cannot account for creation of this animal.

The biggest surprise for me was that the kids quickly arrived at the simple conclusion that I often overlooked in university: Creation is a reflection of its creator. Zoe writes,

“… its design is flawless. If it evolved, or came from an explosion (Big Bang), chances are, it would have many flaws. God took time designing the beetle perfectly…”

It is interesting to note that as a university student I went along with the evolutionary assumption of flawed creation, even though I was attributing it to a Perfect Creator. It wasn’t until later in life that I recognized the conflict this causes.

Creation is intrinsically tied to its creator. Flawed creation reveals either an incompetent creator and/or a disinterested creator, and if this is the case, is He a God we should trust our lives with? However, our study of the Bombardier Beetle and Monarch Butterfly during creation camp revealed creatures with sophisticated, intricate, efficient, and beautiful design, reflecting a loving God who cares for His creation.

It was so encouraging to see these excited kids quickly make these connections for themselves. Here is a quote from Ana T. who wrote a very good summary statement:

“God is brilliant and He is the perfect creator! God created us in his own image and He created animals each according to their own kind. Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. I believe that the Bombardier Beetle could not (have) been created by Evolution…”

These kids expressed what they plainly see in creation: the fingerprints of the Creator. And they don’t hesitate to attach the character of Jesus to His purposeful creation. Laurel K. writes,

“… evolutionists say nothing (including) animals (has) a purpose, but the Bible says everything has a purpose.”

As adults we can be so quick to reason away the simple truths that God has placed around us, but kids are able to see and receive God’s truth revealed in His Word, and in His creation. Maybe that is why Jesus said,

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3-4, NKJV).”

It was truly a joy to spend time with these kids and very encouraging to see so much fruit from the teaching and nurture they have received from both their parents and Sunday school teachers. Good job parents and teachers!