Fossilized Brains of Marine Arthropods and the Bible

According to a recent study, scientists claim that the fossilized brains of two marine arthropods discovered in Cambrian rock strata in Canada can give a peek into the evolutionary history of arthropods. According to evolutionary thinking, the ancestors of arthropods (things like insects, spiders, and crustaceans) were soft-bodied creatures. Evolutionists hold that these legged worm-like creatures eventually obtained a jointed skeleton and began to look like arthropods. Apparently, researchers were wondering, “How do we go from something that looks nothing like an arthropod to something that looks completely like an arthropod?” Well, these new fossilized brains supposedly help researchers answer this question.

But what do these fossilized brains really suggest? Well, it all depends on your starting point. You see, the evolutionary scientists studying these supposedly over 500-million-year-old fossilized brains have a commitment to a belief in evolution and millions of years. They start from the perspective that arthropods had to evolve from something, so they look at these soft-bodied creatures and postulate that arthropods are descended from them despite their “look[ing] nothing like an arthropod.” When they study these brains and see that some of these extinct arthropods had an oval structure, called the anterior sclerite, which was likely associated with their eyes, but living species don’t, they assume that some evolutionary change happened. Their starting point—a belief in evolution—determines how they interpret the evidence.

But if you start with God’s Word, you get an entirely different perspective on the history of arthropods. Arthropods did not need to evolve from soft-bodied creatures or anything else—that’s why they don’t look anything alike! They were created fully formed and functioning by God at the beginning. The rock strata that these creatures are found in is not 500 million years old. Brains are difficult to fossilize. Apparently the leader of the study on these brains said, “Brains can fossilize only if the conditions are just right . . . For instance, if an animal is suddenly buried in low-oxygen conditions that are rich in certain minerals, like carbon, its neural tissue would have a chance to fossilize.” What would produce the perfect conditions for such rapid burial? The global Flood of Noah’s day! This Flood would have violently ripped up sediments and redeposited it in layers, suddenly trapping and burying organisms. The Flood provided the perfect conditions to bury creatures and fossilize soft parts—even brains!

How you interpret the evidence depends on your starting point. If you start with man’s word, you get an entirely different perspective than if you start with God’s Word. But the evidence confirms God’s Word, not man’s ideas about the past. One of the exhibits at the Creation Museum is our Dr. Crawley's Insectorium. It is full of incredibly beautiful and well-designed arthropods. The beauty and design of these creatures points toward the wisdom and creativity of the Creator. The quality of this exhibit rivals the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and includes insects from all over the world. There is even an animatronic Dr. Arthur Podd who answers your questions about these amazing creatures. If you’ve never had a chance to see the Insectorium for yourself, I encourage you to plan a trip to the Creation Museum. And when you view these incredible arthropods, you will not see any evidence of evolution whatsoever!

This year you can take advantage of our 2 Buy 2 program at the Creation Museum—buy two tickets and get two tickets of equal or lesser value free.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.