Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. -Immanuel Kant, philosopher (1724-1804) It takes an experienced eye to look at loose dirt and quickly ascertain what is rock and what is bone. Just ask paleontologist Jerry Jacene of Red Feather Fossil Excavations, Glendive, Montana. �This is hands on history,� explains Jacene. A field director with more than 20 years in paleontology, Jacene has traveled, excavated and documented historical finds in Tennessee, Wyoming, Montana and China, just to name a few places. A dirt, rocky road will take you back, literally, 12 miles to Makoshika Breaks (aka Camp Rex) and back in time to when cretaceous mammals roamed the Badlands of Montana when it was oceanfront property. Makoshika is fifty square miles of buttes (sandstone), rolling prairies, a few pine trees, and is also a working ranch. When our group first met Jerry, he showed us several fossils (bones, teeth, eggs and claws) he collected just for our benefit. The first �clue� he explained to us was that bone is porous, so if you lick it, it should stick to your tongue. This area, known as the Badlands, used to look like the Everglades, according to Jerry, resident paleontologist. Our camp consisted of a few cabins, a large tepee, and a modern single-story building which housed the kitchen, dining room and gathering place, with two bathrooms and two showers. In an emergency there was always the outhouse, (handicap accessible, but not the buttes). It was here that co-owner Lois prepared 1,500 meals in one day for television crews and ranchers when the Discovery Channel came out to make a documentary about the History of Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex). The rustic cabins are bunk style and minimal electricity. You wont need an alarm clock because daybreak comes around 4 am, and it doesn�t get dark until around 10 pm. In case you forgot yours, there are sample packs of Advil and lip balm, compliments of the owners, in the cabins and in the restrooms. In addition to daily digs, visitors can learn about branding, round-ups (even participate in their twice yearly event) and horseback ride. Approximately 500 head of cattle are on the property and 100 horses, most of them wild. Evenings are best enjoyed sitting around the campfire sharing cowboy stories and singing familiar songs. Our dig begins the next morning after a quick breakfast, buffet style. We load up on Jerry�s pick up truck to cover some ground faster. We pass through several barbed wire fences, which have to be opened and closed by hand to prevent cattle from roaming too far. During the summer some cows will find their way into the buttes, along dangerous dry, remote areas where they are prey for coyotes and other wild animals. Donning hats, sunscreen and carrying bottled water, we make our way through cathedral buttes, and rock formations holding treasures of history. Amateurs and volunteers (students to adults) play a major role in discovering, digging and cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils. �The most interesting and historical finds are not the big ones, like T-Rex or Triceratops,� said Jacene. �It�s the small finds that are the most significant. The trace fossils tell us so much more, like the environment, what they ate; the ecosystem. And how they interacted with each other.� Trace fossils � footprints, mineralized feces, stomach stones-gastroliths, and impressions left by skin or feathers. In North Dakota tracks, similar to that of an alligator, possibly 90� in length have been found. They are ripple marks, 2 1�2� apart and tracks from a rigid tail, 1 �� apart. According to Jerry, no one has seen anything like this. They don�t know what kind of animal it is. The most common finds in this area right now are turtle shells. These are easily detected because of the pattern on the shells, this tells us there must have been water nearby. You can also find small mammals in ant hills. Ants move the earth, putting sand and dirt on top of the bones, helping preserve them. Jerry knows the terrain in the immediate area better than nearby roads. As we hike he points out where certain bones have been found and how. �With a pair of 10x50 binoculars, I was able to see a (large) piece of bone protruding from a rock formation,� said Jerry. He points out the various layers, bands in the buttes. �You want to look in the dark bands,� he further explained. The layers are ironstone and bentanite. Larger bones that may be protruding are due to the erosion from weather. The excavation of one butte has brought out an arctic crocodile and a mammal bone, possibly a leg bone from a Chasmosaurus. And in another layer, Lemur teeth have been found. Oftentimes, in order to move fragile bones and preventing any further destruction, fossils are encased in a plaster jacket to preserve and relocate them. About 16 miles away from camp is a new excavation site with the possible skull and bones of Triceratops coming out of a butte. Inside these buttes are remains from Hadrosaurs, Chasmosaurus, and raptors. Jerry, like all other paleontologists and students, carry a tool kit with them and a journal for taking their field notes. In this journal they will write down the location, sometimes drawings a grid, as well as the bones themselves. Depending on where fossils are found, top, middle or lower portion of rock formations, can also help determine whether or not other bones may still be there to excavate, and if there may have been water there and other dinosaurs, or a nesting area. Bones found near the bottom usually mean most of the body of a dinosaur is not still there. These are fragments that have been eroded from the rocks and buttes over thousands, millions of years. While hiking through dry creeks, down rocky terrain, and up steep rock formations, we occasionally stop to look at fragments of turtle, and other dinosaurs from the cretaceous period. Jerry points out where T-Rex was found, and a hadrosaurus, and a bone that would be good practice for students to work on gridding, based on how it�s resting in the dirt and the deterioration. Sometimes he will have students map the bone, by the area, and then rebuild it back at the lab or in a classroom. Students, parents, kids of all ages can come out to look, learn, possibly earn a badge and take home part of history. Many of the bones from this area have been shipped to museums around the country. Local residents, businesses and paleontologists are working to keep recent, new and future findings in Montana. Jerry is also very active in helping shape the Makoshika Dinosaur Museum in Glendive. At the museum parents, kids and visitors can see, touch and learn dinosaurs through hands-on exhibits and displays. Currently under construction, the first (lower level) floor will showcase a Dino Walk, showing through models and exhibits the Triassic through the Cretaceous periods. A real working lab is located on the main level where student technicians and Jerry will work on restorations of both real and model bones for exhibit. The third floor will offer hands-on exhibits for kids and adults. All exhibits are not static or museum like. These exhibits use real bones, and the dioramas depict natural habitats of dinosaurs and their prey as best as they can based on actual findings. On display is a life-size Velociraptor, which was found in Mongolia. One wall is encased with actual bones, no model or clay replicas are housed in this section. Both the museum and ranch are on the Dinosaur Trail which consists of about a dozen �actual� dinosaur sites in and around Montana, North Dakota and Utah. There have been five great extinctions in the world and very few animals or mammals are still living today. In order to survive in the animal kingdom, it must be kept simple. They must be able to adapt in order to survive. The deer, coyote and fox are going to survive, whereas, a koala bear will not. When diet changes, so does the size of animals. According to Jerry, some paleontologists believe that man is the one destroying our own land, and we are speeding up our extinction. Loretta Lynn is a freelance writer residing in Central Florida. Her passion is being in the outdoors, living life to its fullest. She is a writer, author and publisher. Sunday, August 24, 2008
Dig This, Dinosaur Bones
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. -Immanuel Kant, philosopher (1724-1804) It takes an experienced eye to look at loose dirt and quickly ascertain what is rock and what is bone. Just ask paleontologist Jerry Jacene of Red Feather Fossil Excavations, Glendive, Montana. �This is hands on history,� explains Jacene. A field director with more than 20 years in paleontology, Jacene has traveled, excavated and documented historical finds in Tennessee, Wyoming, Montana and China, just to name a few places. A dirt, rocky road will take you back, literally, 12 miles to Makoshika Breaks (aka Camp Rex) and back in time to when cretaceous mammals roamed the Badlands of Montana when it was oceanfront property. Makoshika is fifty square miles of buttes (sandstone), rolling prairies, a few pine trees, and is also a working ranch. When our group first met Jerry, he showed us several fossils (bones, teeth, eggs and claws) he collected just for our benefit. The first �clue� he explained to us was that bone is porous, so if you lick it, it should stick to your tongue. This area, known as the Badlands, used to look like the Everglades, according to Jerry, resident paleontologist. Our camp consisted of a few cabins, a large tepee, and a modern single-story building which housed the kitchen, dining room and gathering place, with two bathrooms and two showers. In an emergency there was always the outhouse, (handicap accessible, but not the buttes). It was here that co-owner Lois prepared 1,500 meals in one day for television crews and ranchers when the Discovery Channel came out to make a documentary about the History of Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex). The rustic cabins are bunk style and minimal electricity. You wont need an alarm clock because daybreak comes around 4 am, and it doesn�t get dark until around 10 pm. In case you forgot yours, there are sample packs of Advil and lip balm, compliments of the owners, in the cabins and in the restrooms. In addition to daily digs, visitors can learn about branding, round-ups (even participate in their twice yearly event) and horseback ride. Approximately 500 head of cattle are on the property and 100 horses, most of them wild. Evenings are best enjoyed sitting around the campfire sharing cowboy stories and singing familiar songs. Our dig begins the next morning after a quick breakfast, buffet style. We load up on Jerry�s pick up truck to cover some ground faster. We pass through several barbed wire fences, which have to be opened and closed by hand to prevent cattle from roaming too far. During the summer some cows will find their way into the buttes, along dangerous dry, remote areas where they are prey for coyotes and other wild animals. Donning hats, sunscreen and carrying bottled water, we make our way through cathedral buttes, and rock formations holding treasures of history. Amateurs and volunteers (students to adults) play a major role in discovering, digging and cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils. �The most interesting and historical finds are not the big ones, like T-Rex or Triceratops,� said Jacene. �It�s the small finds that are the most significant. The trace fossils tell us so much more, like the environment, what they ate; the ecosystem. And how they interacted with each other.� Trace fossils � footprints, mineralized feces, stomach stones-gastroliths, and impressions left by skin or feathers. In North Dakota tracks, similar to that of an alligator, possibly 90� in length have been found. They are ripple marks, 2 1�2� apart and tracks from a rigid tail, 1 �� apart. According to Jerry, no one has seen anything like this. They don�t know what kind of animal it is. The most common finds in this area right now are turtle shells. These are easily detected because of the pattern on the shells, this tells us there must have been water nearby. You can also find small mammals in ant hills. Ants move the earth, putting sand and dirt on top of the bones, helping preserve them. Jerry knows the terrain in the immediate area better than nearby roads. As we hike he points out where certain bones have been found and how. �With a pair of 10x50 binoculars, I was able to see a (large) piece of bone protruding from a rock formation,� said Jerry. He points out the various layers, bands in the buttes. �You want to look in the dark bands,� he further explained. The layers are ironstone and bentanite. Larger bones that may be protruding are due to the erosion from weather. The excavation of one butte has brought out an arctic crocodile and a mammal bone, possibly a leg bone from a Chasmosaurus. And in another layer, Lemur teeth have been found. Oftentimes, in order to move fragile bones and preventing any further destruction, fossils are encased in a plaster jacket to preserve and relocate them. About 16 miles away from camp is a new excavation site with the possible skull and bones of Triceratops coming out of a butte. Inside these buttes are remains from Hadrosaurs, Chasmosaurus, and raptors. Jerry, like all other paleontologists and students, carry a tool kit with them and a journal for taking their field notes. In this journal they will write down the location, sometimes drawings a grid, as well as the bones themselves. Depending on where fossils are found, top, middle or lower portion of rock formations, can also help determine whether or not other bones may still be there to excavate, and if there may have been water there and other dinosaurs, or a nesting area. Bones found near the bottom usually mean most of the body of a dinosaur is not still there. These are fragments that have been eroded from the rocks and buttes over thousands, millions of years. While hiking through dry creeks, down rocky terrain, and up steep rock formations, we occasionally stop to look at fragments of turtle, and other dinosaurs from the cretaceous period. Jerry points out where T-Rex was found, and a hadrosaurus, and a bone that would be good practice for students to work on gridding, based on how it�s resting in the dirt and the deterioration. Sometimes he will have students map the bone, by the area, and then rebuild it back at the lab or in a classroom. Students, parents, kids of all ages can come out to look, learn, possibly earn a badge and take home part of history. Many of the bones from this area have been shipped to museums around the country. Local residents, businesses and paleontologists are working to keep recent, new and future findings in Montana. Jerry is also very active in helping shape the Makoshika Dinosaur Museum in Glendive. At the museum parents, kids and visitors can see, touch and learn dinosaurs through hands-on exhibits and displays. Currently under construction, the first (lower level) floor will showcase a Dino Walk, showing through models and exhibits the Triassic through the Cretaceous periods. A real working lab is located on the main level where student technicians and Jerry will work on restorations of both real and model bones for exhibit. The third floor will offer hands-on exhibits for kids and adults. All exhibits are not static or museum like. These exhibits use real bones, and the dioramas depict natural habitats of dinosaurs and their prey as best as they can based on actual findings. On display is a life-size Velociraptor, which was found in Mongolia. One wall is encased with actual bones, no model or clay replicas are housed in this section. Both the museum and ranch are on the Dinosaur Trail which consists of about a dozen �actual� dinosaur sites in and around Montana, North Dakota and Utah. There have been five great extinctions in the world and very few animals or mammals are still living today. In order to survive in the animal kingdom, it must be kept simple. They must be able to adapt in order to survive. The deer, coyote and fox are going to survive, whereas, a koala bear will not. When diet changes, so does the size of animals. According to Jerry, some paleontologists believe that man is the one destroying our own land, and we are speeding up our extinction. Loretta Lynn is a freelance writer residing in Central Florida. Her passion is being in the outdoors, living life to its fullest. She is a writer, author and publisher. 
Sunday, August 17, 2008
We Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself - Or Do We?
Seattle-Times, as we are so often told, have changed. We are once again seeing the American political masses racing to select a chosen few around who the voters, obediently, will coagulate. Then, we are told, the nation will be led away from eight years of toxic anemia and back to healthy circulation among the other nations of the planet. What we need, we are told, is change. Change is good, but the status quo is bad. Even the Republicans who march lockstep with the Bush administration loudly proclaim change while they simultaneously perpetuate the policies of that administration. If any words can firmly be associated with the 2008 presidential fiasco they must be "change" and "fear." Fear is a powerful motivator. U.S. General George Patton, upon assuming command of armored forces in North Africa in 1942, told his staff that he wanted his soldiers to fear him more than they feared the Germans. Fear of the right things, but not all things, has often been used to help fortify people against difficult circumstances. But sometimes a leader feels quite differently. "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke these words at his first inauguration in January 1933, and though he was talking about the economic travails of the midst of the great depression, his sentiments have resonated with innumerable people in the following years. FDR was not telling people that they didn't have reason for fear, but that they could not afford to let fear control them. Every soldier who faces combat, every EMT who encounters their first auto wreck victim, and every mother who thinks here child is drowning in a swimming pool know fear. If they give in to those fears they greatly increase the chances of fulfilling the fears, but if they push fear aside and react appropriately, they may very well "convert retreat into advance." Ever since that day, September 9th, 2001 - "a date which will live in infamy" when "the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by" terrorists, our leadership has not urged us to fight fear, but rather to see fearful things in every shadow and in every neighbor's house. We were told to fear anthrax attacks in our mail, to report suspicious persons to the authorities, to grant the administration unprecedented powers to ignore treaties and Constitutional guidelines. We are told that suspension of habeas corpus is alright because Lincoln did it-but we are not told that Lincoln did it during the Civil War and that shortly after the war the Supreme Court ruled that the action was unconstitutional. In other words, no one should do it again. We are told that voting for a Democrat, or even a "moderate" Republican is to aid our enemies, so be afraid of voting incorrectly! It is also said to aid the enemy if Americans question, let alone criticize, the Bush administration, object to torture and secret prisons on foreign soil, or even ask why the U.S. led an attack against Iraq based on completely false premises. The people are told to go shopping, protect your homes with duct tape and plastic sheeting, and vote far-right wing Republican or face dire, fearful consequences. In contrast to President Roosevelt, Mr. Bush would tell us that "we have everything to fear," and we'd better be very afraid right now. Then there is the matter of change. Every candidate seems to be using the word, pointing accusatory fingers at the Washington insiders who have led us over the brink towards social and international Apocalypse. They depend on the citizens forgetting that they are, in fact, all Washington insiders. Anyone whose first name is Senator (Thompson, Obama, Clinton, etc.), or has worked for the administration in some capacity (Giulianni, Huckabee, etc.) is an insider. Voting for one of them will create change of party in the Executive Branch, or change of the names of the people extending the influence of the Bush administration, but none of them can really "change Washington" or they way government does business. The best the citizenry can hope for is a government that actually protects, supports, and adheres to the Constitution, puts checks and balances back into place, assures accountability of the government to the people, and enforces what pass for ethical rules in government. Frankly, accomplishing any one of those items would call for massive change, but none would really "change Washington." It would also be satisfying to see a government that thought lying to Congress about an oral sex incident in the White House was really far, far less consequential or criminal than lying to Congress about doctored intelligence that presents a false case for invading a sovereign nation; revealing the name of a CIA operative and, by extension, everyone who was working covertly through that agent; disassociating from the Geneva Convention (is there a World War II movie that features a POW sequence and doesn't have a scene where the Nazi or Japanese officer tears and tosses away the American or British officer's copy of the Geneva Convention?); establishing secret prisons off U.S. soil for the express purpose of torturing foreign nationals; or for providing non-bid contracts to cronies in war zones and natural disaster areas. But, hey, I'm still a wee bit idealistic. This election will be more of the same as earlier elections, but if issues come into play it will also be quite different. Yes, there will be race and gender questions (if the GOP had decided to run Condi Rice, they could have one candidate that represented race AND gender questions), but also questions of senility, experience, idealism, and, most important, electability. Because, by golly, we can't have a president who doesn't look good on TV. Dr. Sprackland is a biologist, former anatomy and physiology instructor, and long-time student of human ecology. As a result, he is applying for membership in a different species. His blogs present a view of human nature as might be observed by a visitor from another world, or by a very observant dog.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The Importance of the Intellectual Struggle Against Darwinism
Darwinism, by arguing that life and the entire universe are the work of blind chance, is easily the most dangerous ideology confronting us today. It formed the basis of all harmful movements, including communism and fascism, devastating mankind. Despite its scientific refutation time and again there are still those who seek to keep Darwinism alive purely for ideological reasons. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing when it comes to Darwinism. People equipped with factual or analytical want of the discussion, unaware of the grave danger that it actually represents, unaware of the terrible social and moral disasters the theory of evolution has brought with it, unaware of the damage wreaked by Darwinist thinking over the last century and a half, may also look down on such a vital intellectual struggle against it. By denying the existence and oneness of God and the responsibility of each man and woman to Him, Darwinism prepares the groundwork for destruction by indoctrinating people with the idea that human beings are irresponsible products of blind chance and are no more than yet another species of animals. The most obvious heritage of the dominance of Darwinism and its symbiotic partner, the materialist philosophy, radically is the distorted answer to the fundamental question, "what is man?". Some people who would previously have answered "man is a being created by God to live by the moral values revealed by Him," have now, as a result of deceptive indoctrination, fallen into the erroneous thought "man came into being by chance, and is an animal that developed through the struggle for survival." There is a grave price attached to such a grave error in thinking, from which ruthless ideologies such as racism, fascism or communism, as all violent worldviews, have been feeding. Darwinist Thinking Lies at the Root of All Harmful Ideologies A look at the general history of the 20th century, a period of war, conflict, anarchy and chaos, and thus of terrible human suffering, should be enough to realize disastrous results of Darwinism. In the last century millions of people were killed, slaughtered, abandoned to starvation and death, and left neglected, homeless and defenseless by the same perverted ideologies, and all for nothing. Millions more were subjected to inhuman treatment that should not even be inflicted on animals. Ruthless dictators with Darwinist mindsets led vast masses of people into conflict, turned brother against brother, ignited wars, initiated bombings, brainwashed masses, and by placing guns in the hands of the ignorant caused countless deaths of men and women and the young and the old. Fascism and communism head the list of these ideologies that cast such a shadow over mankind. On the surface they appear to be movements that are diametrically opposite seeking to destroy one another. Yet these ideologies are all fed and draw strength from the common intellectual source-the materialist philosophy and its natural sciences version, Darwinism-which pay the service of attracting vast masses of people into their ranks. Shortly after it was first put forward, the theory of evolution expanded beyond such fields as biology and paleontology, and began exerting an influence in many other spheres, from human relations to historical interpretation, from politics to social dynamics. In particular, when the Darwinist falsehood "nature is the arena of struggle and conflict" was applied to society, a supposedly scientific guise was bestowed on Hitler's master race perversion, Marx's error that the history of man is nothing but a "class conflict," the capitalist view that "the strong grow stronger by crushing the weak," the ruthless exploitation of third world countries by imperialist nations, and the racist attacks and discrimination to which people of different color are still subjected today. Those who regarded human beings merely as an advanced species of animal kingdom had no qualms about trampling on others in order to elevate themselves, eliminating the sick and weak, or slaughtering races they regarded as different and inferior. Because their theories, with their scientific masks, tell them that their acts were a "law of nature." As we have seen, Darwinism, the social harm wreaked by which many people are unaware of, has inflicted terrible disasters on mankind. The theory of evolution, which is devoid of any scientific evidence and goes no further than being an outdated dogma, is still blindly supported today solely for the sake of propagating atheism, despite the lack of any scientific findings to back it up. Terrorism Can Be Eradicated through the Intellectual Elimination of Darwinism Everyone knows what a horror terrorism is; yet most people are unaware that its ideological foundation is no other than Darwinism. It is clear that the falsehood that "man is a fighting animal," inculcated in people's subconscious minds by Darwinism, is a highly influential one. Darwinism sets out a worldview and a method. The basic concept underlying this worldview and method is "conflict with anyone not of one's own." This may be explained as follows; there are different beliefs, worldviews and philosophies on Earth. These may regard one another in one of two ways: 1) They may respect the existence of others, seek to build dialogue with them and follow a "human" path. 2) Alternatively, they may prefer the path of conflict with others, pursuing their own benefit by harming them, in others words behaving "like animals." The horror of terrorism is nothing more than an expression of this second perspective. Therefore, what needs to happen in the context of the fight against terror is to eliminate terror's basic foundation, in other words the waging of an intellectual struggle against Darwinism. Once Darwinism has been intellectually eradicated, terrorist organizations will collapse and the horror of terrorism will be brought to an end. However, so long as there are endeavors made to keep Darwinism alive, so long as people are indoctrinated with Darwinist falsehoods, terror can never be brought to an end. No wonder young people sign up to terrorist cells while schools and universities are dominated by Darwinism. In order for a person to become a terrorist he or she must first believe that their targets are not human, that conflict is a law of nature, that killing and murdering are legitimate, and that they are not accountable to God. In other words, they have to be Darwinists. There is no point in talking about "love, tolerance, compassion and peace" to someone raised for years to think that unconscious atoms came together to produce life, and that progress is impossible without conflict. Nor will questioning how they could execute ruthlessly murdering of innocent people do any good. It is pointless to expect such people to respect others, abide by the laws and obey the state. Fighting terror without waging an intellectual struggle against Darwinism will be of no more use than trying to eliminate mosquitoes in a swamp. The only way of eliminating these harmful parasites is to dry out the mosquito-infested swamp. That is why we need to move against Darwinism with courage and knowledge. This Great Intellectual Struggle Must Not Be Ignored The facts we have touched on in brief here clearly show the grave danger that Darwinism represents, and the importance of the intellectual campaign to be waged against it. Even so, some people still underestimate the impact of this intellectual struggle under the false logic of saying, "What is so important about Darwinism?" or "Nobody believes in Darwinism any more, so there is no need to bother about it." Such objections in effect become obstacles to Muslims campaigning against Darwinism. These and similar claims form the bulk of excuses to avoid taking part in the intellectual struggle. There are various reasons why such excuses are made, foremost of which being a strange kind of fear of Darwinism fuelled by lack of information. People who imagine that the theory of evolution rests on scientific evidence may well imagine that in fighting against Darwinism they are effectively fighting against science. Since they imagine that science proves evolution, they may fear that if they begin taking an interest in the subject they will be influenced by such indoctrination, their own beliefs will be weakened and their worldviews will change. Such fears are groundless. Evolution is an unscientific theory. Every new discovery in every branch of science over the last 50 years has proved that evolution is a fabrication and that Creation is the manifest truth. The truth revealed by science is that God created the universe out of nothing and that the theory of evolution is of no scientific worth whatsoever. One of the mistakes that those who are unaware of Darwinism's defeat in the face of science make is to try to reconcile Darwinism and Islam. Since they imagine resistance is futile, they seek to come up with their own "middle grounds" and imagine that they can thus neutralize the danger. However, this is a very dangerous and mistaken approach to adopt. First and foremost, as we have already stated, the invalidity of the theory of evolution has already been proven. Not a single reference can be shown in the Qur'an pointing to evolution, contrary to what may be claimed, and it is instead revealed that our Lord brought life and the entire universe into existence by commanding it to "Be!" Therefore, instead of avoiding the intellectual struggle against Darwinism or producing imaginary scenarios such as "Islamic evolution," Muslims today, when information is so easy to obtain, must educate themselves on this subject and support the great intellectual campaign. It needs to be made clear that this intellectual struggle is a very wide-ranging one; it must be waged through the use of all technological means, by following all scientific developments, collecting the facts revealed by scientific progress and by presenting clear and evident proofs. The idea that Darwinism can be defeated by repeating a few objections (for example "since human beings are descended from apes, why are there still apes around and why have they not turned into human beings?", etc.) that have become very familiar over recent years, without offering sufficient information and evidence, stems from a failure to reflect sufficiently on the scale of the phenomenon. A person exposed to constant doses of Darwinist propaganda from a variety of sources will obviously be unable to alter a clich�d way of thinking with such facile objections. For that reason, people who imagine that science actually supports evolution need to be shown that evolution is unscientific by being given the results produced by science. That is the essence of the intellectual struggle against Darwinism. The Intellectual Struggle against Darwinism Calls for Unity In order for such a comprehensive intellectual campaign to be effective, it is of utmost importance that Muslims should act in a spirit of unity. God has revealed in the Qur'an that Muslims needed to be united in their struggle against denial. One verse describes how corruption appears on Earth unless Muslims act as one: Unbelievers are the friends and protectors of one another. If you do not act in this way there will be turmoil in the land and great corruption. (Qur'an, 8: 73) At a time when atheism is widespread in many parts of the world, when terror and anarchy threaten all mankind, when many defenseless and innocent people are oppressed, what true believers must do is to use all the means at their disposal to wage this intellectual struggle against godlessness. If Muslims fail to establish unity among themselves, citing different ways of thinking, this will reduce the effectiveness of this great intellectual campaign. It is essential that they set their differences of opinion aside and work together to disseminate religious moral values. All Muslims must play their part in the intellectual struggle against Darwinism. All Muslim civil society organizations, associations, foundations and societies must act within a common awareness, without thinking whether the struggle against Darwinism and materialism is inscribed in their organization's constitution and must contribute to the campaign against Darwinism. Ignoring all other activities than those engaged in by their own foundations, societies or organizations, and thinking along the lines of "not part of our community, no importance to us" is an attitude ill-befitting Muslims. Avoiding the intellectual struggle against Darwinism under such circumstances, advancing various kinds of excuses, failing to act in a spirit of unity and togetherness may be behavior for which they will be held responsible both in this world and in the Hereafter. It is exceedingly important that sincere Muslims avoid making such a mistake. Muslims' struggle against atheism, employing all the means at their disposal in order to gain the approval of God, will, by the will of God, result in the best possible outcome for all mankind. Sincere endeavor in a spirit of unity and togetherness will be a means whereby "the truth will conquer and falsehood be vanished," as promised by God. This promise of Almighty God's is a source of enthusiasm and excitement for all believers: Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through it and it vanishes clean away! Woe without end for you for what you portray! (Qur'an, 21: 18) The Ongoing Darwinist Deception Research shows that Darwinism is still continuing to deceive. Surveys carried out in European countries in particular, especially in France, Germany and Britain, have revealed that the great majority of people imagine that the theory of evolution is a scientific fact. People taken in by the evolution deception turn their backs on believing in God and religious moral values. A survey carried out by the United Nations made this abundantly plain. According to the survey, only 18% of Europeans believe that God created man, whereas 82% imagine that man evolved from other species. Country by country the situation is as follows: - Germany - only 14% of the population, of whom 35% are Catholics and 36% Protestants, believe in Creation. - France - Around 18% of people believe in the fact of creation. - Britain - 20% of the public believe in Creation. - Spain - In Spain, with a vast majority of Catholic population, only 13% believe in the fact of Creation. - Norway - Believers in Creation make up 19% of the population. - Finland - 80% of the population are evangelical Christians though only 16% believe in Creation. - Sweden - 12% of people believe that God created man. - Denmark - 9% of the population believe in Creation. - Belgium - The level of believers in Creation is 10%. - Switzerland - 24% of the public believe in the fact of Creation. This picture once again reveals the importance and urgency of explaining how the scientific evidence refutes evolution and why Darwinism is no more than a figment of imagination, and that the scientific truth points to Creation. ABOUT THE AUTHOR, HARUN YAHYA Born in Ankara in 1956, Adnan Oktar writes his books under the pen name of Harun Yahya. The works of Harun Yahya have been translated into 41 languages. To date, his books have been purchased by 8 million people, and an equal number have been provided free to readers by various newspapers and magazines. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites http://www.harunyahya.com
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Best Medicine
It seems to me there has been an unusual lack of sun in Northern Michigan this winter. It has felt exceptionally drab and dreary. My observation was confirmed last night on the evening news. 120 inches of snow makes for a lot of overcast skies. But wait! There are hints that something is breaking loose. This too-long quite winter is getting noisy. I hear a giggle coming from the woods around my home. Could it be the longer daylight is beginning to make a difference? I think so. It's starting with the red squirrels and the blue jays. They have always been the leaders. They're taking personally the job of waking up the woods. They've been here all winter. And just a week ago, they were scurrying and flitting about, quietly and seriously searching for food. Now they sit on the tree outside my bedroom window with no other purpose but to chuckle. By March, today's chuckles will become guffaws as everyone gets in on the act. I can take a hint. I can make my own sunshine. So each day I will sit quietly and let the laughter come to me. I'll let it bubble up from the bottom like a long suppressed, runaway spring. I'll let the corners of my mouth turn up and the fizzy turn into involuntary giggles. I won't turn back. I don't even need something to laugh about. All it takes is a willingness to risk losing a little control. Laughter is free. And it takes nothing away from the seriousness of other activities. We don't need to delay laughter for an earned day off. Can I become as contagious as those rowdy jays and disruptive red squirrels? Can I pull in the curious who will be unable to leave me without their own little chuckle? I hope so. The jays and squirrels have brightened my surroundings and broken the long silence of winter. I'm eager to pass it on. Take some time each day to laugh out loud and let the gifts that laughter brings come to you. Then snatch up those gifts and giggle at what has presented itself. The world outside you and the world inside you will appreciate it. Deb Martin at http://www.portagecoach.com loves the outdoors and nature. "I think exploring oneself while in nature is one of the most powerful things we can do," says Deb. With Mother Nature as the inspirational background, Deb loves to introduce "The Wilds" to others through her writing and her Adventure Coaching Retreats.
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