Q: What do millipedes and cyanide have to do with evolution?

A: One would think that cyanide-producing millipedes would be killed by their own poison. But surprisingly, they aren’t!

Located within the sides of each segment of this type of millipede are small chambers that produce a deadly cyanide liquid. The poison is activated when the millipede is threatened, and forms little droplets along the millipede’s side.

The cyanide is strong enough to make most predators seriously ill if they touch the millipede. And it’s strong enough to kill many small predators if they eat it. Since the cyanide gives off a peculiar odor, most animals will just avoid the millipede altogether.

The millipede has a special kind of mitochondria that helps prevent it from poisoning itself. But if evolution were true, then how many millipedes poisoned themselves before they developed the mitochondria that protect them? The system that produces the cyanide is extremely complex and would have had to evolve at the same time, otherwise none of it would have worked.

This type of millipede had to be specially designed to do what it does, and what it does do, it does do well.

We should always remember that merely rejecting evolution in favor of a generic notion of intelligent design does not go far enough. Our purpose as a ministry is not just to convince people that there is a Creator, but that He is far more than that—that the Creator is Christ, and that He is the only way to be saved. Please see It’s intelligent, but is that good enough?

Quote of the week

“Insect resistance to a pesticide was first reported in 1947 for the Housefly (Musca domestica) with respect to DDT. Since then resistance to one or more pesticides has been reported in at least 225 species of insects and other arthropods. The genetic variants required for resistance to the most diverse kinds of pesticides were apparently present in every one of the populations exposed to these man-made compounds.”

– Francisco J. Ayala. “The Mechanisms of Evolution,” Scientific American, Sept. 1978, p. 65.

This week’s After Eden cartoon:

October 1
Adrian, Michigan
Buddy Davis
 
October 1
Florence, Kentucky
Daniel Lewis
 
October 1
Tullahoma, Tennessee
Dr. Robert "Tommy" Mitchell
 
October 1–2
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Carl Kerby
 
October 3
Decatur, Alabama
Coordinators Lynn & Miriam Klopfenstein
Video Conference
 
October 4–6
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Ken Ham
 
October 7–13
Nassau, Bahamas
Mike Riddle
 
October 7–8
Winter Park, Florida
Carl Kerby
 
October 8
LaGrange, Kentucky
Dr. Robert "Tommy" Mitchell
 
October 8
Moores Hill, Indiana
Daniel Lewis
 

October 8–9
Pontiac, Michigan
Dr. Terry Mortenson
 
October 14
Rockford, Illinois
Carl Kerby
 
October 15
Winfield, Illinois
Carl Kerby
 
October 15
Rockford, Illinois
Carl Kerby
 
October 15
Columbia, Kentucky
Dr. Robert "Tommy" Mitchell
 
October 15–16
New Port Richey, Florida
Mike Riddle
 
October 15
Fargo, North Dakota
Dr. David Menton
 
October 15
Moorhead, Minnesota
Dr. David Menton
 
October 15
Jefferson City, Tennessee
Coordinators Pat & Tammy Butler
Video Conference
 
October 15
Downers Grove, Illinois
Carl Kerby