In this article we’re going to look at some comparisons between a man-made flying object against a flying insect. In the comparisons we need to consider whether or not it makes sense which of the two had a designer and builder. We need to ask, which of the two was designed, and does either exist through chance events.
Production of the 747 jet began in 1968 with Joe Sutter and Malcolm Stamper, and their team of 4,500 members. They based the design on around 75,000 engineering drawings. It was on September 30th 1968, when the first operational Boeing 747 rolled out through the massive aircraft hanger doors at the Boeing Everett Plant in Washington State USA. The company received massive orders for the jumbo passenger jet, with Pan Am being the first to introduce it into service on January the 22nd 1970.
The 747 was a massive achievement in aviation history and still owns the title ‘Queen of the skies’ to this day. Various airliner companies operating 747’s have flown between them a total of 42 billion nautical miles, approximately the same distance traveled to the moon and back 101,500 times! It has transported around 3.5 billion people since its introduction into commercial service, that’s almost half of the entire estimated population of the world. Today there are still many of the 1,574 produced between 1968–2023 still flying. With a maximum take off weight of 440 tons, and a rear tail section close to the height of a six-storey building. The 747 can fly a distance of 8000 (maximum) nautical miles. It operates at an altitude of around 35,000 feet (just over 6 miles above sea level) at speeds of 575 MPH in outside temperatures averaging -55 degrees centigrade.
Nobody would deny the engineering skills required to build such an impressive machine was not out of the ordinary. It took teams of very intelligent people a lot of hard work and effort to design and build something that has approximately 6 million parts, and was created using materials designed and manufactured to function and serve a purpose. The Boeing 747 is just one of many aircraft, large and small, that require the same principles in design to make flight a possibility, while improving technology and safety with each new creation.
After looking at just some of the many impressive facts about this aircraft, ask yourself this question; would it have been possible for the Boeing 747 to have, over millions of years, appear by chance with no intelligent input? Try to imagine all the parts slowly evolving into components that would somehow assemble to become a large passenger airliner. There is no factory, it is missing the 75,000 engineering drawings, and there are previous versions that failed to move, let alone fly, but somehow it improves over time; all by itself. If you have any intelligence, and you do, then you’ll know that this would be impossible.
Now let’s look at something far more impressive regarding flight and ability, the dragonfly. Right now there are an estimated 7000 different kinds of true dragonflies, and these do not include damselflies. These winged insects start the early parts of their lives under water. At this stage they are called nymphs and typically remain under water for around 5 years before emerging to become dragonflies. When taking to the air they beat their wings around 30 times per second (bees beat their wings around 200 times per second, mosquitoes around 800 times per second). They can manoeuvre through the air in ways manufactured aircraft can’t match, flying at speeds of up to 34 mph. They can travel at 100 body-lengths per second in forward flight, and three body-lengths per second backwards.
It’s not just the impressive aerobatic skills that make the dragonfly an amazing creature. Let’s focus on their eyes (pun intended). These insects have what are known as compound eyes, meaning they are composed of facets, or ommatidia, which number up to 30,000 on each eye! The large compound eyes of dragonflies are divided into two sections. These are known as a dorsal (upper) region, which detects SW light directly from the sky above; and a ventral (under) region, which picks up light reflected off objects on the ground. Having these lenses and arrangements provides the dragonfly with eyesight way better than a human. Their excellent vision affords them the ability to hunt, identify predators and mates, and even orient their position during flight. Their ‘wrap-around’ eyes gives them the ability to see all around them in panoramic vision, detecting motion in all directions and able to spot prey around 12 + metres away.
There is so much more that we could discuss and learn about dragonflies, and in this article I have not touched on a fraction of the amazing facts these creatures are known for. They are way more complex than any of the 6 million parts required to build a Boeing 747, and don’t have any of the limitations the man-made machines has to deal with. After looking at just some of the many impressive facts about this winged insect, ask yourself this question; would it have been possible for the dragonfly to have, over millions of years, appear by chance with no intelligent input? Try to imagine all the parts of its body slowly evolving from crude flightless creatures, over millions of years to later become a fast aerobatic predator. There is no intelligent input, is missing the information that caused it to become perfect for its purpose, and there are previous versions that failed but somehow it improves over time. If you have any intelligence, and you do, then you’ll know that this would be impossible.
Let’s look at some direct comparisons between the 747 and dragonfly; a check list if you like:
- The Boeing 747 did not have, over millions of years, all the parts appear by chance, and then improve the design and quality before assembling into a massive passenger jet airline; without any intelligent input.
- The dragonfly could not have, over millions of years, had all its parts (apparently originating and upgrading from far more crude designs beforehand) appear by chance, improving in design along the way, before assembling to create a flying insect.
- The Boeing 747, although an amazing machine, is not a living creature, it does not have the ability to think for itself (only relying on man-made computer software for Flight Management Systems), nor can it navigate without human input. It requires fossil fuels to operate, pollutes the environment with exhaust fumes, noise, and scrap materials at the end of its service life. If not handled properly, poor maintenance, fuel starvation, it will become dangerous to fly and likely crash.
- The dragonfly is an amazing creature, it does have the ability to think for itself, it has a brain that can navigate, hunt, and reproduce. It has amazing all-round vision and does not require fossil fuels, will not pollute the environment, has a better design than the man-made 747, and is far more agile in the air. It does require intelligence to help it plan and make flights, but does not require air traffic controllers, nor does it need to be concerned about mid-air collisions. If it runs out of food it will not crash, it self-maintains and handles better than any man-made aircraft.
Using just the four points above, it has to be obvious that there is no way the dragonfly could have evolved. Evolution suggests that by some form of amazing chance events, over millions of years, that all life somehow came about from a crude primordeal soup. When we compare anything man-made to living creatures, even something such as the impressive Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, it’s clear that without intelligent design there is no way that something will appear, self assemble, and then function in a way that makes sense; living or non-living. All design and creation requires intelligence, the 747 is just one example of input from intelligent beings that if were missing would mean we’d have never even heard of the Jumbo Jet.
Why is it that so many people understand the simple logic that is present when asked was something designed and created. Look at any building and you will immediately know that during some point, there was an architect and builders. Anyone doubting that needs help. But when something far more complex and advanced, a dragonfly for instance, is presented to them, they somehow lose their logic and common sense departs from their mind. I usually place scriptures throughout the article, but this time left them out until the last paragraph. The reason for this is to offer anyone who doubts creation that chance to look at the information without seeing Bible reasoning. Even without scripture a person can surely reason that both the 747 and dragonfly had a designer and creator.
The Bible does talk about creation, the intelligence of God, and how He designed all living things, and in the time frame it took him to do so. The entire first chapter of Genesis is clear about what God wanted to do, for Him and for us. Through scripture there are many references to design and creation, but never once is there a lack of logic and common sense, the idea of evolution is not once mentioned in the Bible, in fact it says to deny this would be foolish: Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Satan has used evolution to con so many people, intelligent ones who are being misguided by an idea that makes absolutely zero sense when properly examined. I spent over 30 years studying evolution, using very detailed books and research for hours each day, geology, paleontology, and lots of other subjects ending with ‘ology. My conclusion? There is just no way such complex life and our universe could have appeared by chance, no way. When studying the Bible it makes far more sense, it is simple to understand, presents with logic and wisdom, and destroys the idea of evolution.
I hold a pilot’s license, and whenever I am at the controls of an aircraft I always think about the amount of thought and design that went into the machine I am flying, there is just no way it could have appeared by chance events. When I go outdoors and am surrounded by nature, I can see intelligent design everywhere, from a blade of grass to a crow, and everything else. When we look up during the night sky and see all the stars, planets, nebula, and other galaxies, it screams of intelligent design: Isaiah 40:26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. To deny the existence of a creator when observing and studying these things would be far removed from our ability to think in a way that employs logic and common sense. We are given a clear choice; be conned by Satan and secular education regarding how life exists, or trust in the most intelligent being to ever exist, one who knows what we think, the number of hairs on our head, and knew us in the womb: Psalm 139 13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. We all have a choice to believe whatever we want; what will yours be?
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mark@truthministry.co.uk