My wife has had some issues with her eyes and ears. She had one of those “sudden loss of hearing” issues and lost some hearing immediately. Steroid shots resolved it. We foiund others who had the same problem. Her eye issue is not getting worse, so we are thankful for that. But at dinner last night, she was talking about reading about the complexity of the human ear. I would just be copying stuff from some article if I tried to discuss that complexity, but I apologize if I quote AI here b/c it is so good. Probably taken from some article but I don’t know where so I can’t give credit, but here it is.

“According to religious perspectives, the complexity of the human eye and ear is often cited as evidence of intelligent design by God, with intricate features like the eye’s lens focusing mechanism, the retina’s light-sensitive cells, and the ear’s delicate system of bones that amplify sound waves demonstrating a level of sophistication that could not have arisen by chance; the Bible verse “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12) is frequently used to support this view. 

Key points about the complexity of the human eye and ear:

• Eye:
  • Multiple components working together: The cornea, iris, lens, vitreous humor, and retina all need to function precisely to produce vision. 
  • Light adaptation: The ability to adjust to different light levels, from bright sunlight to dim environments. 
  • Color perception: Specialized cone cells in the retina allow for the detection of a wide spectrum of colors. 
  • Blind spot compensation: The brain seamlessly fills in gaps in vision caused by the optic nerve. 
• Ear:
  • Sound amplification: The tiny bones (ossicles) in the middle ear amplify sound vibrations to reach the inner ear. 
  • Cochlea design: The spiral structure of the cochlea allows for the differentiation of different sound frequencies. 
  • Balance system: The vestibular system within the inner ear helps maintain balance and spatial awareness. 

Arguments for intelligent design:

• Irreducible complexity:Some argue that the eye and ear are examples of “irreducible complexity,” meaning that if any single part of the system is missing, it cannot function properly, implying a need for a complete design from the outset. 
• Fine-tuning:The precise arrangement of components in the eye and ear seems optimized for their specific functions. 
• Unparalleled engineering:The complexity of the eye and ear surpasses any man-made technology with similar capabilities. ”

I had never noticed that verse: Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,the Lord has made them both.”

From istockphoto.com

You see a human eye and it just looks simply, right?

But then you read what steps occur to have vision in that eye.

From rivertowneyecare.com

From 2eyesvision.com

We could go on and on about the design of the human body parts, like the heart, the brain, or the different systems of the body, etc. They are Integumentary System, Skeletal System, Muscular System, Nervous System, Endocrine System, Cardiovascular System, Lymphatic System, Respiratory System, Digestive System, Urinary System, and Reproductive System (Female and Male). As you know, they all have to work correctly together at the same time to have a living body. If atheism is correct, each of these parts and systems had to evolve from nothing by chance over millions of years. But back to the eye and ear: how could the complex eye and ear have evolved all the essential complicated parts and the steps needed to produce sound and sight with those parts. If you can believe that just happened by chance evolving from nothing, then you have more faith in an unproven evolutionary theory than just believing in God.

But you are probably a Christian reading this blog and you believe in God. So I don’t need to convince you that God made the human eye and ear. My point today is to just get us to sit back in awe at God’s creation of the eye and ear. He did that, along with all the other body parts and systems, in one 24 hour day (in my opinion). But even if you are a theistic evolutionist and believe that God did create them through evolution over millions of year, you still have to be in awe of God even doing it no matter how long he took to do it.

So just take a moment today to look at those pictures of the eye and ear. Google all the steps that it takes for those complex parts to produce sight and hearing. From AI: “To produce sight, light enters the eye through the cornea, passes through the pupil controlled by the iris, is focused by the lens onto the retina, where photoreceptor cells convert light into electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve, allowing the brain to interpret the signals as visual images; essentially, light enters the eye, is focused on the retina, and the brain processes the resulting electrical signals to create vision.” We have some amazing cameras that are complex, but nothing like the human eye. If you saw a camera that could do amazing things, would you not think that there was someone who designed it? Why would we not think there was a supernatural being who designed the human eye?

From AI: “The steps of hearing are:

Brain interprets signals as sound: The brain interprets the electrical impulses as sound. 

Sound waves enter the ear: Sound waves travel through the air and enter the outer ear. 

Eardrum vibrates: The sound waves hit the eardrum, causing it to vibrate. 

Middle ear bones amplify sound: The vibrations are sent to the middle ear, where three bones (the malleus, incus, and stapes) amplify the sound. 

Vibrations reach the cochlea: The vibrations are sent to the cochlea, a fluid-filled organ in the inner ear. 

Hair cells in the cochlea move: The vibrations cause the fluid in the cochlea to move, which makes hair cells move up and down. 

Hair cells send electrical signals: The movement of the hair cells creates electrical impulses. 

Auditory nerve sends signals to the brain: The electrical impulses travel to the brain through the auditory nerve.”

Look at how a cochlear implant works: From AI: “A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing to perceive sounds and understand speech. It’s surgically implanted in the inner ear and consists of two parts: an external device and an internal device. How it works: The receiver sends the signals to the cochlear nerve, which then sends them to the brain. A microphone picks up sound from the environment. A speech processor analyzes the sound and converts it into electrical signals. The signals are sent to a receiver implanted in the inner ear.” That is nothing compared to the human ear, but you would automatically think that someone designed the cochlear implant, would you not? How could anyone not see that a supernatural being designed the human ear?

Romans 1:¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made (like the human eye and ear). So they are without excuse.”  An atheist is not just unaware of intelligent design of the earth. He is “suppressing the truth” that there is a supernatural being who created and designed everything. His pride in his own intelligence and his faith in science had blinded him to the truth that there is a creator God.

So, again, this morning, get you cup of coffee (I drink only chicory now) and sit back, look at the pictures, and praise God for his awesome creation. In one way, you think “how could God even do that complex design of the human eye and ear? Why did He make it so complex?” Maybe it was simply to amaze us at His power if we ever question belief in God. Maybe it was to give us irrefutable evidence that there is a creator God so we can give a defense of the hope that is within us. 1 Peter 3:¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” The Greek word for “defense” is apologia: Defense, Answer, Apology: a verbal defense (particularly in a law court). The term implies a reasoned argument or explanation like a defense attorney would use to try to defend someone accused of a crime. We get the word “apology” from apologia, but the defense of our hope of believing in God and eternal life is not an “apology”: “I’m sorry that I believe in a creator God instead of atheism like many believe today. I’m sorry if that offends you or if that makes you think that I am not very intelligent or scientific.” No, it is firm rational, reasonable arguments and the design of the human ear and eye alone should be enough to convince someone that there is a creator God. So, let us praise that God.

From AI: “Charles Darwin considered the complexity of the human eye to be a significant challenge to his theory of evolution, stating that “to suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances… could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree” (from On The Origin of Species) – essentially acknowledging that the eye’s intricate design appeared almost impossible to explain through gradual evolution alone; however, he still believed that the eye could have evolved through natural selection given the existence of numerous intermediate stages of eye complexity in different species.” In other words, he says that it is “absurd in the highest degree” to believe that the human eye could have evolved by chance, but then he still believes it happened! That is “suppressing the truth”.

Darwin also said: “ If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ (like the ear or the eye or he brain or the heart, NF) existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” (From On the Origin of Species). Now to be honest, he did add: ““But I can find out no such case.” Can someone honestly believe that the human ear and hearing could have been formed by random, numerous, successive (over millions of years), slight modifications? Darwin, in spite of his own admission, accepted evolution.

So was Darwin a theistic evolutionist? Did he believe that God over millions of years controlled evolution to produce the design of the human body (and everything)? From AI: “Charles Darwin’s religious views were complex, and he was not a strict theistic evolutionist. He was a sincere Christian when he set sail for the Galapagos Islands in 1831, but by the time he died in 1882, he described himself as an agnostic.” “He also said that science and religion were separate, and that he didn’t believe in revelation.” So he came to doubt the Bible, especially the Genesis account of creation from nothing in six 24 hour days. The theory of evolution, even theistic evolution has caused many to become “agnostic”, which means doubt in the existence of God and in the Bible as God’s word. I contend that Genesis claims that God created everything in six 24 hour days. The Hebrew word yom always is used as a 24 hour day when used with a numerical adective (1st day, etc.), or with “day and night”, which is how it is used in Genesis 1. On day 4, God creates the sun and the moon to “rule” over night and day. Genesis 1:¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule (memshalah: Dominion, rule, authority, government)the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night.” In other words, the sun and moon dictated what a day and night would be from that time forward. You might question whether days 1-3 were 24 hour days, but even those were described as “evening and morning” so we believe they were 24 hour days also. But even if day 4 started 24 hour days and nights, then day 4-7 were 24 hour days according to Genesis. This account does not look like figurative language or symbolic. It looks like historical narrative, just telling in plain language how God created everything in six 24 hour days. If days 4-7 were 24 hour days, then on days 5 and 6 it says that God created all fish, birds, land animals, mammals, man, etc: all in two 24 hour days. You can simply say this account is simply a myth or an allegory, but it is hard to deny that the Genesis account claims everything was created in six 24 hour days. So, even if you believe in theistic evolution, that God used evolution over millions of years to create everything, you might end up being an agnostic, doubting the plain, lieteral, historical narratives of God’s special revelation in the Bible, especially in the creation account in Genesis 1. You might start doubting all the historical stories, like Jonah in the fish for 3 days. You might start doubting any of the miracles of the Bible. You might end up an agnostic (like Darwin), which is one step from being an atheist.

I have ended up on evolution and didn’t mean to, but it just flowed there this morning. Praise God for the creation of the human ear and eye.

Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.”