The Resurrection of the Un-Dead

I just came across an interesting article in the Yahoo News about the recent sightings of a number of birds previously thought to be extinct. Among them are the ivory-billed woodpecker, the storm petrel, and the rusty-throated wren-babbler. It also talked about birds that have not been seen for decades, but were recently sighted.

This raises the question, "How do you prove an animal is extinct?" In short--you can't! Sure, you can determine beyond reasonable doubt that a certain species no longer exists, but the only way to know 100% for sure is to be able to check every single square inch of planet earth at the same time without finding that particular species anywhere. All it takes is one live specimen to keep the species from being extinct.

The article ended by quoting a representative of a conservation group as saying that "There is no chance of a dodo turning up." Which might very well be true. But what about other animals that we have believed all along were extinct? Animals such as...dinosaurs? Is it conceivable that an animal that is supposed to have been extinct for millions of years could still be living on earth today?

Before you make a quick answer, think a moment. Have you ever heard of the coelacanth? It is a fish that was thought to have become extinct 60 million years ago [and we thought 60 years was long!], but was found alive and kicking [well, flipping] in the 1930's. How about the "dinosaur tree", the Wollemi Pine? It too was though to have died out with the dinosaurs, but was recently found growing in Australia. Then there's the Gladiator insect, also supposedly extinct for millions of years, but found recently in Namibia. And this is just an introduction to a growing list of "living fossils", creatures alive today that are virtually identical to their fossilized counterparts that are claimed to be millions of years old.

Even more sensational is the discovery of several huge elephants in Nepal that have startling similarities to mammoths.

So the next question is, why not dinosaurs? If you can find a fish, a tree, an insect, invertebrates, even mammals that were thought to be extinct for thousands or millions of years--why would it be unthinkable to find a living dinosaur?

Think for a moment of all the dragon legends of longer ago. They come from a large variety and distribution of cultures and geographic locations. It is said that there is some truth to every legend. Why could not those dragon legends be referring to actual encounters with live dinosaurs? There are also numerous recent and even contemporary accounts of sightings of dinosaur-like creatures, from places as varied as the United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea, and the heart of Africa. There have even been several scientific expeditions into Africa in search of a strange animal called Mokele-Mbembe, that from all accounts is similar to a sauropod dinosaur.

"But," you say, "that is impossible. Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago." Think again! Remember our discussion above about proving an animal extinct? We said that the only way you could do that was to search the whole world over at the same time an not find anything. Well, people are searching the world--and they are finding things! Obviously, if you find a live dinosaur, they are not extinct!

"But we're talking 60 million years!" you object. Sixty million years or six decades--what difference does it make? Remember that the coelacanth, the Wollemi Pine, and the other living fossils were also thought to be millions of years old, but they were found alive and well, just as the ivory-billed woodpecker was found alive and well after 60 years. Again, why not dinosaurs?

In addition to sightings and legends, which admittedly can be questionable, there is recent fossil findings that would support that dinosaurs were alive at least into the recent past. For instance there have been a number of findings of unfossilized dinosaur bones [some of them weren't recognized at first, since they were so "fresh" they resembled bison bones]. Not only that, red blood cells and even soft tissue have been found in dinosaur bones! Though evolutionists have tried their best to explain this away as some kind of freak preservation, it stretches credibility to the limit to believe that these flexible soft tissues could last for 60 million years.

So there you have it--legends, cave drawings, recent sightings, other "resurrected" species, unfossilized dinosaur bones, soft tissue and blood cells in dinosaur bones--all point to the conclusion that dinosaurs were living at least into the recent past. So while the dodo may be out of the question, maybe, just maybe you might one day read about the resurrection of the dinosaur in your local newspaper headlines. Imagine the headscratching that would follow in evolutionist circles! But such a finding would be just what we would expect if we based our thinking on the Bible.

Interesting, isn't it, how recent disoveries support the Bible, which is supposed to be long dead and gone, at least by skeptics' predictions. Perhaps, along with the other recent "resurrections" of the un-dead, there will be a resurrection of belief in the Bible, which is most certainly not dead.

Welcome, 2003 UB313

How many planets are there in our solar system?

Until recently, if you had answered "Nine" you would have been correct. But that number is now wrong--a tenth planet has been discovered!

This planet, called "2003 UB 313" is about twice as far from the sun as Pluto is, and is slightly larger. The new planet seems to have a similar composition to that of Pluto, but also has some rather interesting characteristics. For one thing, it's plane of orbit is tilted 44 degrees to that of the other planets. It's orbit is also highly elliptical, and takes 557 earth-years to complete.

It is interesting to note the rather heavy evolutionary emphasis in the secular reports about the new planet. For one thing, there is a rather strong debate going on about whether the new astronomical body should be considered a true planet, or only a large "Kuiper Belt Object" (KBO). According to one astrophysicist, "The Kuiper belt is a hypothetical massive flattened disc of billions of icy planetesimals supposedly left over from the formation of the solar system." Note that it is only hypothetical. Yet nowhere in the three articles I read (from Sky and Telescope, Astronomy Magazine, and Space.com) does it give any hint of the Kuiper Belt being only hypothetical. Rather, it is regarded as fact, despite the fact that the objects they have discovered differ considerably from what such a belt would contain, according to the first source above.

Also, the article from Sky and Telescope almost automatically assumes that the planet's orbit was not as tilted originally, calling upon "an encounter with some massive object " "at some point in its history" to explain the tilt. Interestingly enough, such a tilt would raise questions for the standard evolutionary explanations of solar system formation, were it indeed original. The same kind of impact is drafted in the article from Astronomy Magazine for explaining the unusual tilt of the axes of Uranus and Neptune.

Such imaginary and highly problematic explanations for our observations of the heavens would not be needed were we to just take God at his word when He said that He created the heavenly bodies on Day 4 of Creation week.

It is exciting to think of the new discoveries that are being made in astronomy today. Truly indeed, "the heavens declare the glory of God."

Trampling the Temple

I was reading in Isaiah last night, and came across this passage:

Thy holy people possessed thy sanctuary a little while; our
adversaries have trodden it down. We have become like those over whom
thou hast never ruled, like those who are not called by thy name. O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence!

Isaiah 63:18 - 64:2

I was struck by the resemblance to what is happening in our culture today, especially in regard to the Ten Commandments in public places issue. In a sense, it can be said that God's people--Christians--possessed the "sanctuary"--public forum--for a while, since the founding of this country. Now, that is being reversed, and the "sanctuary" is being "trampled" by those who do not share our values, but rather are trying to destroy them. The unfortunate part is that many are reacting to this in the wrong way, becoming just like those "over whom [God] never ruled", like those "who are not called by [God's] name." They are, in effect, trying to call down the fire of God upon their adversaries [albeit through the roundabout way of political clout]. They seem to think that by forcing that "sanctuary" to remain in the public forum, it will ensure a godly society in the future. [I know they don't actually believe that, but that is what their actions imply.]

But what did Jesus say about this? Didn't He promise that such things would happen, that we would be rejected by the world, that God's message to man would be ridiculed and outlawed? We live in the last times, and things are going to get a whole lot worse in the long run, not better. And it certainly won't get better through politics. What is happening in our culture today is a reflection of a shift in foundations--from the Word of God to the word of man. Nothing short of another foundation shift will change it back to the way it was. And foundation shifts don't happen through the courts or the legislature--they happen in the hearts, minds, and lives of the people. This is, after all, government by the people. To change the government, you need to change people. To change the people, you need to touch their hearts--not bang their heads!

Finally, we each need to realize our own iniquity and uncleanness, as shown in verse 6 of chapter 64, and allow the cleansing fire of God to purge our lives, so we can be moldable and usable in the hands of the Master Potter. Only then can the sanctuary be restored, and we can truthfully say, "we are all Thy people."

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to my blog.

Now what? Hmmm...

I am quite new at this, so please bear with me as I learn in the weeks and months ahead.

Let me briefly introduce myself, and this blog. You can call me Nate. That's not my real name, but I've been using it on some web forums elsewhere, so I'm rather used to it by now. I am a young-adult male, and I live in the midwest [which I think should properly be called the mid-east, considering it's location on the continent; but anyway]. Other than that, there's not much to say about me.

Ok, so why start a new blog, when there are already millions out there? Well, of the many things I enjoy doing, the top three [or somewhere right in there] are reading, writing, and argui--I mean, debating. This blog is a way to hit all three birds with one stone. The idea is to take what I have read, am reading, and will read and write my thoughts about it up here; and hopefully we can have some stimulating discussions in the process.

I must warn you beforehand, though, that I come from a rather unique position, being a young-earth creationist Mennonite Christian. I believe the Bible is the ultimate authority in every area of reality, and I strive to understand anything and everything in light of its inspired teachings. Hence, the name of this blog. So, whether I'm reading the newspaper, or National Geographic, a devotional book, or a novel; I always go back to God's Word to get a proper understanding of the issues involved.


A few more words of warning. I have a very hit-and-miss style of writing, meaning I might write every day for a week, then miss a whole month. I'm working on that, but don't hold your breath. :) Also, I tend to use sarcasm a teensy bit too much. Just so you know ahead of time. I'm working on that too, so feel free to tell me to "chill". One more warning, and this might be the most important--my posts tend to get very, extremely long. Yeah, I'm working on that too [hey, nobody said I was perfect!]. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Now, let's post this and see what happens. If nobody shows up, I guess I'll just have a stimulating conversation with myself. :)


Nate

a newbie blogger