The Brilliance of Butterfly Wings

1 John 4:6
“We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

What do a butterfly’s shimmering wings, a fish’s opalescent scales, and a peacock’s brilliant feathers have in common? None of the colors come from pigments. As an article at the Gizmodo website rightly points out, “All of their beautifully iridescent colors are produced by the physical interaction of light with sophisticated nanoscale architecture that we are only just beginning to understand.”

That is a true statement, a scientific statement describing why such striking colors come from wings that do not use pigments. Unfortunately, the writer quickly turns from science to science fiction when she states that the first color-building life forms probably date back to the Cambrian explosion over 500 million years ago – a time that, quote, “was a period of rapid evolutionary advancement, during which eyes evolved from simple light sensors to neurologically sophisticated organs that could detect color, shade and contrast.”

Where is the evidence for such a statement? And why can’t science writers stick to science? Once again, we see how science writers – and the publications they work for – seamlessly blend science and science fiction into the same sentence. Evolutionists’ brains are wired this way because of their commitment to the philosophy of evolution. So, too, should Christians be so committed to the authority of the Word of God that we can’t help but view the vibrant colors of butterfly wings as painted there by our magnificent Creator!

Truly, the brilliance of butterfly wings depends entirely on the brilliance of the God who created them!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us distinguish between truth and error in everything we read, hear and see. We rely upon Your Spirit of Truth to guide us in these dark, deceptive and troubling times. Amen.

Author: Steven J. Schwartz
Ref: M. Stone. “How Nanoscale Optics Create Nature’s Most Dazzling Colors,” Gizmodo, 2/19/15. http://gizmodo.com/how-nanoscale-optics-create-natures-most-dazzling-color-1686142700. Photo: Morpho butterfly. Courtesy of Didier Derkarts. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)