Divine Designs God’s Creation

Divine Designs God’s Creation.

Designs and patterns in nature/God’s creation.

Can it really all be just by chance?

To me, the obvious design in nature, from things too small to see with the naked eye through to things on an astronomical scale, is a strong argument for a Designer, in the same way that behind every painting there is an artist, buildings are built by builders, and so on.

The alternative is to believe that the patterns and order we see in the universe, or even just a painting or building, happened entirely as a result of chance and time, or by accident if you like. If this is your opinion, hopefully the images of design in nature on this page will convince you that there is indeed a Creator; that He has a fabulous flair for glorious designs, and that He is well and truly worthy of our worship and obedience to His commands, including that we believe in Jesus Christ for salvation.

*

*

*

*

*

“Wonder is the basis of worship”

Thomas Carlyle.

Bear in mind also that individual created things also interact within complex, intricate ecosystems, and that there are complex interactions within living organisms at a microscopic cellular level, right through to interactions on an astronomical scale.

*

“For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God”.

Hebrews 3:4.

“I will meditate on the glorious splendour of Your majesty,

And on Your wondrous works”.

Psalm 145:5.

“Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God”.

Psalm 37:14.

*

I am thankful that I have been extremely blessed to see and experience some of the best things the natural world has to offer, including some of the most beautiful wildflowers in the world – the Cape Fynbos, and Namaqualand (in South Africa – I have also enjoyed growing hundreds of Fynbos plants in gardens), the biggest and best land wildlife in the world in the African bush (Southern and East Africa), the weird and wonderful flora and fauna of Australia, the fish and coral of the Great Barrier Reef and Pacific Islands… and so on. All this inspires me, and I hope the subjects here will inspire you too, perhaps to paint and photograph, or just to contemplate, enjoy, and give thanks to God for His wonderful creation.

The selection of subject matter is limited by a lack of knowledge on my part, and is an arbitrary and personal choice. The subjects in these photos barely scratch the surface. A left click on many of these photos will show a larger photo.

If you like nature you might like to see my videos on YouTube on the Cairns Aquarium and another on crocodiles and lizards. You should be able to find them if you search for David Clode on YouTube. See also my photos on Unsplash.com and Pixabay.

*

*

“Posterity will someday laugh at the foolishness

of modern materialistic philosophy.

The more I study nature,

the more I am amazed at the Creator”.

Louis Pasteur

*

DIVINE DESIGNS – PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS

The few paintings shown are attempts to capture the abstract essence of the design or pattern of a particular species of animal – expressed as a plan view or like a blueprint, as if you were going to manufacture them. The paintings attempt to produce a synthesis based on many individuals of the species. Most of the photos speak for themselves.

*

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made,

even His eternal power and Godhead…”.

Romans 1: 20.

*

*

*

Fish – video, painting and photos

Napoleon Fish or Maori wrasse photo below:

*

The painting below shows the design of the Clown Triggerfish, expressed like a blueprint.

An example of a Clown Triggerfish fish below, just to show that I am not making it up:

Clown Triggerfish. More fish and marine life photos further down the page.

*

*

Reptiles – photos and paintings

*

Jewelled chameleon. More chameleons further down the page – have a look, its worth it.

*

“All things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist”.

Colossians 1:16b,17.

*

“Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon

even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall;

he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish”.

1 Kings 4:33. Describing King Solomon.

*

Snakes. Snakes may not be your favourite animal, and snakes can be a symbol of evil, but they can also be a symbol of good (e.g. Moses raising the bronze serpent which people looked to and were healed, a picture of Christ on the cross – Numbers 21:9, 2 Kings 18:4, John 3:14). On this page the focus is not on symbolism, but simply and objectively on the colourful and geometric patterns or designs.

Rhinoceros viper design – the painting below is an interpretation and an attempt at a distillation of the design of the Rhinoceros viper, Bitis nasicornis, a snake found in the rain forests of Central Africa.

A few examples of what the Rhinoceros viper looks like below, with many subtle variations in colour and pattern in different individuals (many more variations than shown in these photos):

*

*

*

Gaboon Viper design:

A sketchy, pastel impression of the essence of the pattern of the Gaboon Adder. Perhaps the pattern of this snake was the original inspiration for modern day Ndebele art. One example of what the Gaboon Adder looks like below (there are variations):

It is amazing how well this strong geometrical pattern, with mostly straight lines, works as camouflage among the curved lines of fallen leaves in its African rain forest habitat. Of course the straight lines become curved on the round body of the snake, which is also normally coiled up in some form of an “s” shape. Spot the snake below:

Believe it or not, this one is relatively easy to see, as it is lying on top of the leaves. They are often half-hidden beneath the leaves, which makes them almost impossible to spot.

The Western Barred Spitting Cobra Naja nigricollis nigricincta. Black and white or black and yellow/orange bands are usually a warning signal in nature – e.g. wasps, Coral snakes, the back of tigers’ ears, etc. The contrasting tones of light and dark can be seen by other animals even if they do not have good colour vision. In North Queensland Australia, people have experimented with wet suits with broad bands of black and white, and painted the underside of Kayaks in broad bands of black and white in an attempt to deter sharks… and apparently, so far so good.

Instead of a venom canal which goes straight down, spitting cobras have a canal which is “L” shaped. The venom is forced out under pressure, and the “L” shape directs the venom in a forward spray. They can “spit” up to 2.5 metres, and normally aim for movement. If the venom gets into your eyes it can result in at least temporary blindness.

*

Mammals

“Am I cute or what!”

*

Birds

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Amphibians

*

*

Painted Reed Frog below:

*

Perhaps this type of amphibian was the original inspiration, or at least one of the things which inspired the “dot” style in Central Australian Aboriginal art. It also reminds me of Georges Seurat and Pointillism.

*

Reptiles continued…

“Am I hot or what!”

Male Panther Chameleon.

*

*

*

Of course the chameleon’s tongue is another example of divine design.

*

*

Fish and marine life continued…

Marine life can be beautiful, bizarre, or both.

I have been very lucky to see one of these while scuba diving at Portsea Pier (Melbourne, Australia).

*

*

*

*

*

Newly discovered Rainbow fish, Papua New Guinea.

*

*

*

*

*

If nothing like a Nautilus shell existed, and this was a piece of hand-crafted jewellery in gold or silver, it would be considered a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship, created by a genius. Surely this could not have come about merely by chance and time.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Insects and other arthropods

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

A recently discovered species from Mount Mabu, Mozambique, Africa.

*

The pattern on the wings is probably a mimic of the eyes of a much larger animal, and used as a defensive display.

A newly discovered species from Brazil.

Dragonflies:

The intricate design of a dragonfly’s wings. Austrogomphus prasinus.

“Dragonflies are loaded with biomimetic potential, says engineer Michelle Lee… humans are avidly copying dragonfly wings to design robots, anti-aircraft missiles, drones, micro wind turbines, and micro-air vehicles. Dragonflies will be owed billions in royalties“.

Booth, C. and Thynne, J. “Celebrating the dragons of the sky”. Wildlife Australia magazine, Spring 2015 vol. 52 no.3, pg 24.

The intricate design of dragonfly eyes:

*

A gorgeous dragonfly – a Jewel Flutterer, Rhyothemis resplendens.

Dragonflies (and hummingbirds) are sometimes compared to helicopters. However, unlike helicopters, “when one pair (of dragonfly wings) beats down, creating a vortex, the other pair can capture its energy to create lift. Dragonflies can fly backwards, forwards and sideways, hover and glide, accelerate rapidly and turn almost instantaneously. They can do a slow 90 degree yaw in just two wing beats.” Perhaps the dragonfly’s closest but still distant competitor for aerobatic ability would be the British Westland Lynx helicopter.

Ibid, page 22.

*

*

*

More insects:

A stick insect mimics its habitat. On the left, tail at the bottom left.

*

*

*

*

Plants and flowers

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

“God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,

but also on the trees, and in flowers

and the clouds and the stars”

Martin Luther

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Aloe polyphylla.

*

The water lily Nymphaea caerulea.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Sarracenia leucophylla, a plant which traps insects in a leaf formed into a pitcher.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Contrast the beauty of these flowers with the fungus below.

Alien life forms

Some things just look like they belong on another planet.

The shape and large surface area of the fungal fruiting body would ensure that the bad smell is effectively dispersed, and that the visiting flies would get their feet covered in spores, and then disperse the spores.

*

The wood-rotting fungus, Geastrum saccatum.

The strange flowers of the yellow earth ginger grow straight out of the ground. Achasma macrocheilos, from S. E. Asia.

Ghost squid.

The skeleton of the diatom Arachnoidiscus.

*

*

*

*

Minerals

*

*

*

Divine designs on a microscopic scale

The structures which cause iridescence in butterflies, usually blue or violet.

*

Each “bookshelf” or “Christmas tree” like structure which causes iridescence is about one hundredth of the width of a human hair. Could these intricate nanostructures really have evolved by chance? Followed by mimicry of poisonous butterfly species by non-poisonous and unrelated butterfly species evolving exactly the same structures? And evolving the same structures, within an assumed time frame of millions of years, at the nearly the same time?

Diatoms

Diatoms have skeletons of silica. If the structures above and below were the size of a tennis ball they would be amazing, however diatoms generally range in size from less than the width of a human hair, through to the width of a few human hairs.

*

*

*

In the photos below, the mycelial threads of a soil fungus are able to sense the nearby presence of a nematode (small, often microscopic, worms). As the nematode goes through the trap, the three single cells instantly fill with water and the nematode is trapped. The fungus then grows threads into the nematode, extracting nutrients, especially nitrogen.

 *

Snowflakes

*

*

*

Divine designs on an astronomical scale

*

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork”

Psalm 19:1.

“He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,

And the chambers of the south.

He does great things past finding out,

Yes, wonders without number”

Job 9:9,10.

*

*

Photo: NASA.

*

*

The Red Rectangle Nebula. 2,300 light-years from Earth.

The “Pillars of Creation”. 6,500 light-years from Earth.

*

*

“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

Or loose the belt of Orion?

Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season?

Or can you guide the Great bear with its cubs?

Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?”

God questioning Job. Job 38:31-33.

*

*

Constellation Orion. 1,600 light-years from Earth.

Orion’s Belt, three blue supergiant stars. 1,600 light-years from Earth.

*

About the Artist

The creations of any creative person, for example painters, musicians, architects, engineers, authors, poets, etc., usually provide some clues about the personality and character of the artist. However, if there is an artist’s biography, the biography will tell you a great deal more about the artist, so that you aren’t left guessing. To find out more about God and His character and personality, you can learn a great deal more by simply reading and studying the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, along with good commentaries, and attending a church where the Bible is taught faithfully and accurately.

Meet The Artist

To meet a great artist is an honour and a privilege.

Amazingly, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe wants to meet us, and us to meet Him, and have a personal relationship with Him: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” Revelation 3:20. This is an open invitation to all, which we are free to accept or decline. However, because God is holy and righteous and we are not, a personal relationship with God requires that we first accept His offer of righteousness and salvation through Jesus Christ. Choose to accept, and you can spend eternity in heaven with the awesome Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

*

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen – even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.”

Psalm 8:3-8.

*

*

Hopefully more to come – if you have a photo that you think might be suitable, or artwork, you can contact me at daveclode@hotmail.com.

References/resources

http://www.cornwallalliance.org/ An excellent site promoting a Christian approach to stewardship of the environment.

http://evolutionvsgod.com

Reitz, C. J. 1978. Poisonous South African snakes and snakebite. Department of Health. Perskor Printers.

*

*

*

***

Resources

Home

http://www.icr.org/

http://www.oldearth.org/

http://www.creation.com/

*

Tracts4free.WordPress.com