After watching the video Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, I couldn’t help exclaiming to my sister, husband, mother and anyone who would listen: “You have to watch this fascinating video!”
As the mother of two young children, I was captivated by this video presentation which explores the miraculous complexities of life before birth. “Did you know…?” I exclaimed as I referred to all sorts of details which I had either forgotten, or never knew, about the development of new life in the womb.
In this video, anatomist Dr. David Menton, leads us on a captivating journey through the human reproductive system as he describes the processes from the release of an egg, to conception, to birth. Through the steps necessary for new life, Dr. Menton discusses the many possible problems that are so wonderfully solved?- these he points out are examples of irreducible complexity.
A system which is “irreducibly complex,” is one which will not work if any one component is missing or malfunctioning. Without these clever solutions, new life would not be possible. Chance processes could never have resulted in the complex and carefully orchestrated system necessary for a baby to be born. Dr. Menton sheds light on the awe-inspiring design and declares that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139: 13-14).
Not only is Dr. Menton an expert in this field, he has a Ph.D. in cell biology, has served as a biomedical research technician at the Mayo Clinic and as an associate professor of anatomy at Washington University School of Medicine, but he is also a dynamic and humorous speaker. In addition, diagrams, animation, ultrasound stills and scanning electron microscope images make the information easy to understand. (Female interior anatomy only is illustrated in ultrasound images and diagrams.)
Anyone interested in human biology and, of course, in babies will find this video exciting. High school students, who are studying reproduction, will benefit greatly from watching the presentation. Biology teachers will find this to be a very useful and tasteful tool for inspiring students’ interest in this area as well as communicating the concept of irreducible complexity.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Answers in Genesis. 2005. DVD 63 minutes.
Tina Bain
July 2007
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