In 1985 we took a teenager from the German church as our guest on our home leave to the USA along, as we were granted home leave back then once every three years. The young man was from a rural area in northern Germany, and on his trip with us he experienced cable TV for the first time, which at that time had more than 50 channels. After watching TV a couple of hours, his comment was: "Back home we only have 3 channels with a lot of nonsense. You have more than 50 channels with a lot of nonsense!"

Yes, there is a lot of nonsense on TV, today as well (but some worthwhile things, too). And there is sometimes unrecognized nonsense on channels that are professional and produce high quality programming. One example would be the "Nat Geo" channel of "National Geographic Channel International", which produces fascinating programs about the wonders of nature. This channel can be seen in many countries and in several languages.

More than once my wife and I watched a program on this channel and were amazed at the unbelievable complexity of what appear to be just simple life forms. We have also been amazed at the display of finely tuned interdependence evident in nature. And more than once we had trouble understanding the rationale behind the commentator's statement – after having just presented facts that confirmed this complexity and fine tuning: "Evolution did a wonderful job in producing this life form!"

Knowing that the natural laws of biogenesis and thermodynamics show us that neither life nor matter could have originated on their own, you can only be amazed at such utterances of nonsense in these programs. But that is the spirit of the time, the "Zeitgeist", which was already present during the apostle Paul's day and has only gotten more evident since then, climaxing in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution: the creatorless creation.

The unmitigated praise of evolution shows how many people "became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things" (Romans 1:22-23). Of course, modern man is not so crude as to kneel down in front of an image of some animal. Instead, he worships the nature that supposedly originated all by itself.

It is hard to identify with this modern viewpoint when you know that the extracted information stored in human DNA would take up about 12 complete editions of the "Encyclopedia Britannica" – 384 volumes of detailed information that would take up about 15 meters of shelf space in a library!

King David did not have the technical know how in his day to produce a fascinating nature program for cable television. He kept it pretty simple: "You formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well" (Psalm 139:13-14). And: "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions" (Psalm 104:24).

David's comment about some of the things you can hear today in high quality nature programs would be a bit different than the comment made by the young man who experienced cable TV on his trip with us: "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 14:1)

With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!