Ok. No disrespect to those I know who take the Bible lierally, but this is getting ridiculous. Penguin migration and mating behavior is proof of an Intelligent Designer? Here is the money quote:
"To think that natural selection or even the penguins themselves could come up with the idea to migrate miles and miles multiple times each year without their partner or their offspring is a bit insulting to my intellect. How great is our God!"I'm tempted to lay out a plausible evolutionary premise as to how the penuin behaviopr could have evolved over time, but since these people don't believe in evolution, I want to take a different tack with the quote. I do like the quote ending. Kind of makes you wonder how ID can be considered science...
But if you want insulting to someone's intellect, how's this? Let's look at the kakpo, shall we. Anyone who has read Douglas Adams' excellent Last Chance to See knows that the kakapo is an endangererd, flightless parrot. They lived on New Zealand and had no mammalian predators. As such, they lost the need to fly and eventually lost the ability. If you don't believe in evolution, then we can just say they were always flightless. when the Europeans colonized, they brought predators, such as the domestic cat, with them. This nearly killed off all the kakapo. This was made even easier by the fact that kakpo have a distinctively pleasant aroma that has helped predators find them easily.
So, this strikes me as proof that they were NOT intelligently designed. After all, what can be the purpose of placing a species of birds that is tailor made to be hunted and killed on an island with no predators and then allowing predators to later come there and all but wipe them out. I know, I know. His ineffable wisdom. I can't possibly understand. But if he wanted them to survive, there had to be a better design. And if he wanted them to be wiped out, why did he need to have predators do it. I know! He put them there as a food supply for when the predatory animals arrived!
Wait. If that were true, then the kakpo would breed easily and plentifully to ensure the food supply is not lost. After all, if an animal got used to eating easy meals, they might lose some of their hunting skills. Then when the easy game was gone, they would starve. So, surely the kakapo must breed like rabbits, no? No. Males attaract females by use of a low frequency booming sound that carries for miles. You know, kind of like a subwoofer. So, it is hard to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. Assuming they get together and mate, they will produce one to four eggs. They won't do it again for another three to five years. Additionally, the males are not old enough to reproduce until around age five and the females around age ten. Sounds to me like the food supply is not even going to reach equilibrium. So, that's not intelligent.
I know! It's a test. We have to save these, the weakest amongst us, to demonstrate our compassion to the world around us. Yeah. A nice, scientifically provable test.
Why do I want it to be provable? Because you want it taught in my child's science class.
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