Wednesday 30 November 2011

Not surprising, but wonderful

Apparently, ravens gesture to each other with their beaks: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111129112319.htm

The commentary in the above article says "Surprisingly, observations of comparable gestures in our closest living relatives, the great apes, are relatively rare."

Where does the "surprise" come from? Why does surprise often feature in such articles? It comes because the author is working within an evolutionary paradigm; he believes that all living creatures evolved out of one-celled organisms, and that human beings developed from ape-like ancestors. Thus the writer expects only to find signs like this one amongst the alleged near relatives of humans. The frequent surprise you encounter with that paradigm should bring you to question the paradigm itself.

Within a theistic and creationist framework, there is no surprise if the Creator chooses to endow any one of his creatures with these kinds of abilities. The Bible tells us that he reveals his glory in Creation, and part of that is through the wonderful variety and complexity of what he has made. So, not surprising - but wonderful, and a cause for praise.

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