Metamorphosis by Illustra Media

Posted on February 16, 2012

An Excellent Film and Evidence for Intelligent Design, February 16, 2012

This film is beautifully shot and narrated, and is a fascinating look at the amazing life cycle and migration of butterflies. My family and I really enjoyed viewing it. I came home one day and found my kids watching it on their own. The movie also explores the implications for intelligent design as an explanation for the caterpillar/butterfly development.

Francis Crick said in “What Mad Pursuit” that biologists must “constantly keep in mind that what they see is not designed, but rather evolved.” Other evolutionary biologists have made similar statements. Design itself, or at least the appearance of design, doesn’t really seem to be debatable. It is the mechanism of that design that is currently causing argument and controversy. Prior to Darwin, there was a general belief that there was a designer, going all the way back to Greek philosophy of “matter” and “forms.” What Darwin brought to the table was a purely materialistic explanation for the design we observe, through the mechanism of natural selection. In order for natural selection to “design” life, potential biological advantages (via mutations) must be passed on to their offspring through reproduction. The organism must reproduce to explain the evolution of “designed” creature. It is essential for the objective reviewer of this film to keep this in the forefront of their mind.

Why? A caterpillar is a fully functional organism that doesn’t reproduce in its caterpillar form. The only way for this species to reproduce and pass on its genome is to form the chrysalis, trigger the activation of isolated dormant genes, digest the flesh of the caterpillar, and form the highly advanced butterfly structures. Essentially, one insect dies to becomes a totally different and sophisticated insect! For evolution to be true, with respect to natural selection, all of the genes for a butterfly *must be* present, functional and regulated in order for the caterpillar/butterfly to reproduce—in the first generation.

I highly recommend this DVD, as well as the companion book that is available for purchase, or here for free, just for subscribing to the Discovery Institute (http://www.discoveryinstitutepress.com/metamorphosis/download.php)