Ignorance, Sasquatch and Evolution.

"Your ignorance may be bliss for you but to me it's like fingernails on a chalk board." My thought today as I listened to the radio.

I was listening to the radio as I was driving to the doctor this morning. (I'm OK. Thanks for asking.) The morning show hosts were talking about today's report of finding a Sasquatch body. (It's the first I heard of it.) The hosts were complaining that there's supposed to be a news conference but no one was saying when or where it will be. Then their conversation went something like this:

First host: "Why are we even talking about this? It's not news. I mean if Sasquatch were to stop the war in the Middle East or something ... "

Second host: "Oh yes, it's news. If they find Sasquatch, well, uh, it's like the missing link."

First, what a stupid comment about whether or not finding Sasquatch is news. Of course it is. I personally don't believe Sasquatch really exists. The reports are very sketchy and it seems unlikely a creature like that could remain hidden. However, I'm open to new evidence. Finding such a creature would be very interesting.

The second host's comment is far worse. I just finished a leading a small group at church on the subject of science and the Bible. Basically the Bible tells us what God does, not how things are done. Science is more concerned with how things are done. Unfortunately we Christians have some bad history of reacting negatively to science. Currently there is a huge movement against evolution and the idea that the earth is billions of years old. I used to be part of it. However, I've come to realize that it is full of ignorance and does not look at the facts clearly. I've blogged about related issues before and discussed issues like this in the "Science and the Bible" small group.

One of the areas of ignorance about evolution has to do with missing links. Yes, evolution says that there were species similar to but slightly different from those we see today. It says man and chimpanzees are closely related and that they had a common ancestor about 10 million years ago. At first glance it seems reasonable to assume that we should find the missing or transitional forms between that common ancestor and modern chimps and modern humans. However it is also true that since these ancestors lived in the past the only real way to "find" them is to find fossils. Fossils only can be produced under special conditions and they are rare and hard to find.

What does this all mean? First, there was not just one "missing link". There were many different related species, some of which are our direct ancestors, some cousins, some uncles, etc. To assume we need to find that one, special missing link is very misinformed. Christians make this mistake a lot and apparently we are not alone. Second many "links" have been found. Of course not all have been found. It's unrealistic to expect to find every transitional form.

I suppose it's possible that Sasquatch is a closer relative to human than any other creature. That indeed would be an interesting and mind blowing discovery. But finding such a creature would not automatically prove evolution and change the world. The evidence for evolution is already massive. People who chose to ignore it will probably still find an excuse to ignore Sasquatch evidence as well.


What's grating to me is so many people confidently assert facts that they really don't know. It's especially bad when we Christians (who are supposed to be set free by the truth) do it. I don't mind ignorance as such. If you don't care about science and don't want to spend the time to know about it, no problem. If you don't wish to study your Bible in depth, OK. But don't make huge claims about stuff you don't really know.

So why the picture of the dinosaur? Young earth creationists (YEC) like to point out Job 40:15-18 as referring to dinosaurs. The pictured dinosaur has become part of a YEC museum. Here is Job 40:15-17:

Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.

They especially point out that what else but a dinosaur could have a tail "like a cedar." However, the word for tail is a euphemism. Stephen Mitchell suggests this translation.

Look now: the Beast I made: he eats grass like a bull. Look: the power in his thighs, the pulsing sinews of his belly. His penis stiffens like a pine; his testicles bulge with vigor.

Not exactly a dinosaur tail! Perhaps not all ignorance is grating. Some is downright amusing.