From the waters of Southeast Asia comes a strong testimony of the Creator’s ability to provide His creatures with all the necessary tools for survival. The intriguing archerfish has a unique method of catching its food. With amazing accuracy, it aims and fires its sniper weapon at an unsuspecting bug crawling on a leaf of a bush high above a pool of water. When the pulsating beads of water hit the mark (and the fish rarely misses up to 4 feet away), the bug falls off the foliage and into the water where it is quickly devoured by the fish.
Just how does the archerfish accomplish this feat? How did it “learn” such an ability? Could it “evolve” such amazing behavior, and the physical characteristics needed to accomplish it? The archerfish just “happens” to have a groove along the roof of its mouth. Water is forced backwards through the gills and out through a firing tube formed by the tongue and this special groove. This gives short “machine gun” volleys which pulsate to the target with a substantial force. To complicate matters further, the archer must take into consideration the fact that light beams bend as they pass from air into water “due to the different refractive indices of air and water). How do these fish learn to compensate for this and perfect their aim? And where did the fish get the idea to become a sniper anyway?
This fish is strong evidence of creation. It clearly indicates one of the attributes of a created system – that structure and function go hand in hand. Imagine how it could be possible for this unique fish to have evolved. Perhaps it spotted a bug on the branch and, being particularly hungry that day, began to figure out how in the world it was going to get that bug. It first tried the psychological approach and figured mind must prevail over matter. So it began to really think hard. “Fall into the water, bug, fall into the water.” After accomplishing nothing except for becoming a little hungrier, it tried other methods, all to no avail. Finally it began to realize that the only chance it had was to develop a sniper weapon. So it began to concentrate again. “I need a special mutation. Oh for a lucky mistake! It might not help me but it might benefit future generations.” So after much thought of trying to get a beneficial mutation, did the fish get lucky and hit upon the perfect combination? Of course not! Mutations are random happenings and have no relationship to the “need” of the individual. The odds of hitting the “right one” (actually, many “right ones”) by chance are extremely improbable.
No, this is not the product of series of lucky mistakes (mutations). YES, the archerfish is evidence of the creative design of God!
