Are Octopuses Poised to Take Over Earth?
Here's something to think about.
In the evolutionary worldview, humans are perched at the top of the evolutionary ladder, the apex beings of the “animal kingdom” (really, humans should be in a separate kingdom as they are made in God’s image). But what would happen if we suddenly went extinct? Well, I recently saw an article that presented one supposed possibility: the eight-legged octopus might somehow evolve to take our place as earth’s next “big species.” Sounds like science fiction to me.
Now, why an octopus you might wonder. Well, they’re actually extremely intelligent sea animals—able to solve complex puzzles, escape from almost any aquarium, and use tools, and “they are even ‘capable of distinguishing between real and virtual objects.’” They really are a marvel of God’s design. Because octopuses are considered among the “most intelligent, adaptable and resourceful creatures on Earth,” these evolutionists think they might somehow be able to evolve to take our place.
The evolutionists admit such a future seems “‘improbable’ at the moment,” especially given the short lifespan (six months to a year) and antisocial behaviors of the octopus, but they urge the reader not to fully discount it—after all, as some say, “it wouldn’t be the first time that an ocean-dwelling species took advantage of a land species extinction to adapt and evolve.” Of course, by that they mean us, as, in their false worldview, our “distant ancestors were initially aquatic before becoming land-based mammals.”
The piece then ends with a reminder that, because octopuses reproduce quickly and rapidly mature intellectually, they might have some kind of supposed evolutionary edge in “rapidly changing environments, thereby accelerating their evolutionary progress.” But they also include the caution that “it’s impossible to predict with any degree of certainty how evolution will unfold over extended periods.”
So they admit it’s all just speculation not really grounded in anything more than imagination! But that’s true of more than just a fanciful future in which octopuses build skyscrapers and found universities! It’s true of the entire evolutionary narrative—it’s based on imagination and is constantly changing as new discoveries are made. In other words, it doesn’t have good predictive power; it’s a model that’s so plastic it simply shifts to accommodate any and all evidence. It shows the foolishness to which man will stoop to explain life without God.
And it has major problems. Just consider a few:
How does nonlife become life? That breaks the law of biogenesis, contradicting everything we observe in nature (now, some evolutionists discount this problem by arguing that the origin of life is a separate issue—but without the origin of life, you don’t have even the possibility of evolution!).
Where does the information to evolve an octopus, or anything else, come from? Information only comes from other information. It’s never been observed to arise spontaneously. Natural selection and adaptation, the “drivers” of evolution, don’t create new genetic information; they work on already existing information.
How does one kind turn into another kind? That’s never been observed. What we do observe is variation within a kind based on already existing genetic information, but never one kind turning into another kind.
It’s worth noting that evolution isn’t just a story about the past—it’s also a story about the future. Most Christians don’t realize this! Not only does a supposed evolutionary past contradict the Bible, so does the supposed evolutionary future in which humans go extinct, life eventually ends, all the energy in the universe is used up, and everything ends in a “heat death” (or maybe octopuses take over and build a spacecraft and take their kind to a distant planet). No, you can’t mix evolution and the Bible.
Earth won’t end with an octopus invasion. God has already told us what will happen in the future. God will judge this earth with fire and will create a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells and where there will be no more sin and no more death, suffering, pain, or disease. And everyone who has placed their faith and trust in Christ will dwell with him for eternity.
That’s a much better future to look forward to than the evolutionary hope of octopus evolution!
by Ken Ham on January 9, 2025
Featured in Ken Ham Blog
Oh Good Grief!!!
In the evolutionary worldview, humans are perched at the top of the evolutionary ladder, the apex beings of the “animal kingdom” (really, humans should be in a separate kingdom as they are made in God’s image). But what would happen if we suddenly went extinct? Well, I recently saw an article that presented one supposed possibility: the eight-legged octopus might somehow evolve to take our place as earth’s next “big species.” Sounds like science fiction to me.
Now, why an octopus you might wonder. Well, they’re actually extremely intelligent sea animals—able to solve complex puzzles, escape from almost any aquarium, and use tools, and “they are even ‘capable of distinguishing between real and virtual objects.’” They really are a marvel of God’s design. Because octopuses are considered among the “most intelligent, adaptable and resourceful creatures on Earth,” these evolutionists think they might somehow be able to evolve to take our place.
The evolutionists admit such a future seems “‘improbable’ at the moment,” especially given the short lifespan (six months to a year) and antisocial behaviors of the octopus, but they urge the reader not to fully discount it—after all, as some say, “it wouldn’t be the first time that an ocean-dwelling species took advantage of a land species extinction to adapt and evolve.” Of course, by that they mean us, as, in their false worldview, our “distant ancestors were initially aquatic before becoming land-based mammals.”
The piece then ends with a reminder that, because octopuses reproduce quickly and rapidly mature intellectually, they might have some kind of supposed evolutionary edge in “rapidly changing environments, thereby accelerating their evolutionary progress.” But they also include the caution that “it’s impossible to predict with any degree of certainty how evolution will unfold over extended periods.”
So they admit it’s all just speculation not really grounded in anything more than imagination! But that’s true of more than just a fanciful future in which octopuses build skyscrapers and found universities! It’s true of the entire evolutionary narrative—it’s based on imagination and is constantly changing as new discoveries are made. In other words, it doesn’t have good predictive power; it’s a model that’s so plastic it simply shifts to accommodate any and all evidence. It shows the foolishness to which man will stoop to explain life without God.
And it has major problems. Just consider a few:
How does nonlife become life? That breaks the law of biogenesis, contradicting everything we observe in nature (now, some evolutionists discount this problem by arguing that the origin of life is a separate issue—but without the origin of life, you don’t have even the possibility of evolution!).
Where does the information to evolve an octopus, or anything else, come from? Information only comes from other information. It’s never been observed to arise spontaneously. Natural selection and adaptation, the “drivers” of evolution, don’t create new genetic information; they work on already existing information.
How does one kind turn into another kind? That’s never been observed. What we do observe is variation within a kind based on already existing genetic information, but never one kind turning into another kind.
It’s worth noting that evolution isn’t just a story about the past—it’s also a story about the future. Most Christians don’t realize this! Not only does a supposed evolutionary past contradict the Bible, so does the supposed evolutionary future in which humans go extinct, life eventually ends, all the energy in the universe is used up, and everything ends in a “heat death” (or maybe octopuses take over and build a spacecraft and take their kind to a distant planet). No, you can’t mix evolution and the Bible.
Earth won’t end with an octopus invasion. God has already told us what will happen in the future. God will judge this earth with fire and will create a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells and where there will be no more sin and no more death, suffering, pain, or disease. And everyone who has placed their faith and trust in Christ will dwell with him for eternity.
That’s a much better future to look forward to than the evolutionary hope of octopus evolution!
by Ken Ham on January 9, 2025
Featured in Ken Ham Blog
Oh Good Grief!!!
61-69, M
