Palentological Spell

Many people understand that paleontology is the study of fossils and it would be right to say so, but it actually involves much more than that. It is actually a study of what the fossils in their many forms tell us about the past. According to Wikkipedia, paleontology, "as a "historical science" it tries to explain causes rather than conduct experiments to observe effects." As an established facet of science it began in the 1800's, but for centuries people have known some of the things the study of fossils reveal.

For example, fossils themselves are proof that things that live do die; fossils that show us things unlike any we see today tell us that animals can become extinct; and fossil sea shell beds on dry land reveal to those that observe them; that areas we might think were always dry land areas, were once under water.

After Darwin's famous theory of human evolution hit the press in 1859, paleontologists, those who took to the study of these dead things, focused in on formulating ideas about how exactly such a revelation might have taken place. After all, Darwin's concept of the origin of species, in particularly man, and anyone who was anyone knew that evolution was an outcome of events like mutations. With the fabulous story of human evolution finally in writing, so that everyone everywhere could finally understand who they are, where they came from and where they were going, like magic, the world became captivated under a weird paleontological spell that held to the notion there was no such thing as God who created man out of the dust of the earth and that the dead things proved it.

All this thinking of paleontological spells reminds me of a fairy tale.

In the 1800’s a man by the name of Hans Christian Anderson wrote a fairy tale called, the Emperor’s New Clothes. It's a story of a king who was fooled by swindling tailors. These particular tailors were different from the rest who were actually were in the business of making real clothes for people to wear so that they would not be naked or exposed to the elements. These swindling tailors didn’t really make clothes; they just pretended that they did. Eventually they had the whole kingdom looking at nothing and believing it was something real even though nothing was even there. It goes a little like this:

Once upon a time, there were some tailors who were perhaps, lazy or maybe just lacking skill, either way, they were hoping to make a quick buck from the wealthy king, so they devised a scheme. Appealing to the kings desire for greatness, they approached him and told him that they had special fabric with which they could make him the greatest king in all the land.

When they first showed the king the wonderful fabric they had to offer, he was suspicious (for he was after all a wise king, and he really didn’t see it the way they did. In fact, he didn’t see the fabric at all! (And rightly so.) You see, the tailors were simply holding forth their hands, pretending there was fabric to be seen.

The king marveled that there was nothing to be seen, yet their power of suggestion was keen and their crafty hands were sly. It sure looked as if they believed that they were holding fabric in their hands. The king looked hard.

Yes, he was certain. The tailors were certain. Certainly, the tailors believed that such a wonderful fabric was really there.

The clever tailors with deception in their hearts desired greatly to trick a trusting, somewhat gullible, but extremely wealthy man. They knew that if they appealed to his pride and told him that only the smartest people could see the fabric, he might believe them. So they countered his wisdom and apprehension, telling him that the fabric was so special that it had the unusual quality of appearing invisible to any man who was unfit for his office, or who was unpardonably stupid.

“Wow, invisible fabric!" thought the king, and as he was struck with the notion that perhaps there was some truth to what the tailors were telling him, he began to doubt in his mind what he knew to be true. He wondered, at the prospect.

“ What if they were right, and I am wrong?” he thought to himself, not wanting, of course, to look… “stupid.” But he did have a problem. He saw nothing. Wondering if maybe he was just missing something, he took another look, and the next thing he knew he thought he may have seen a little bit of fabric. Before too long, he actually started to believe that the fabric was there!
He was no doubt under the subtlety of their carefully crafted spell.

“If I were to be dressed in a suit made of this cloth, I could distinguish the clever from the stupid in my kingdom, and thus I should be able to find out which men in my empire are unfit for their jobs,” said the king to himself. Proud of his own inspiration, he complimented the gentlemen and their fine invisible cloth, and employed them to make him some designer clothes.

Before long, the counselors to the king found themselves in an awkward position, that of having to choose between, appearing “stupid” and “unfit for office” as they were shown the fabric by the king, and admitting that they didn't see the fabric at all. Fearing for the loss of their dignity and position in the kingdom, they gave lip service to the perception that the fabric was not only there, but to impress the king, they said that it was the most exquisite, most beautiful fabric they had ever seen! They vocalized their hearty agreement with the king that the traveling tailors were certainly unsurpassed as experts in their field, and they did this when really, they knew they really saw nothing at all. It was more important to agree with the king than say something considered utterly stupid in the minds of everyone else in the room.

Before long everyone in the king’s court was talking about the tailors and the beautiful fabric, with no one daring to point out that they could not see the fabric or the suit the tailors had made. They willing suppressed the truth because “only a fool, or someone unfit for royal office” would not be able to see it (and no one wanted to be thought of as a fool.) Besides everyone in the kingdom were extremely happy fetching things here and there to help the tailors in their work and the whole process was quite lucrative for everyone.

When at long last, the clothes were made for the king, all anyone heard was how pleased he was with the marvelous fit. His new clothes were apparently so comfortable, so lightweight and so exquisite, he could hardly wait to wear them in public.

In celebration, the king arranged a feast in honor of the tailors planning that he would sport his new attire for the entire kingdom. He did this because he wanted everyone in the kingdom to be sure that they knew what an imperial and wise king they were subject to.

It was amazing when the king paraded his new, finely tailored suit for the crowds. No one could see it, but they all nodded their heads in approval as they marveled at the king. Some even declared it to be the most beautiful suit made out of the most beautiful fabric with the most wonderful qualities, colors and textures they had ever seen. No one dared to question the wise counselors on the matter as the emperor paraded himself up and down the street naked, that is, until from somewhere in the crowd a child spoke the truth as he stood in astonished wonder at the sight of a naked king. He shouted, “The king has no clothes on!”

Like the emperor’s clothes, the concept evolution is practically spun out of thin air by clever men who want to dismiss the notion of God. They have found fame, prestige and fortune presenting forth an idea of their own creation that cannot be scientifically proven, but must be believed; believed by those who are quick to be labeled as “ truly wise,” and "fit for office.” Few dare to question the theory, for fear of looking foolish. People simply nod and wave because they understand it takes a certain, special kind of wonderful wisdom, to see the world through evolutionary eyes.

Darwin’s book, Origin of Species, was a big impressive book, with big words, difficult and even revolutionary concepts to grasp not by observation, but rather with the mind, and as such it became required reading for the mind considered to be truly educated and truly scientific. By standing under such incredible intellect one could learn how, exactly, natural selection works, and how important it is to preserve the favored races in the struggle for life on Earth. Darwin’s book, void of accountability to a creator God, freeing mankind from all the dogma about God and man's need for redemption through Jesus Christ, offered a new idea to those who through such education showed they were most endowed with such incredible and superior intellect.

Creationist continue to remind them that that mutations are incapable of producing a positive informational increase and that there is no known scientific law that would allow one kind of creature to turn naturally into a completely different kind. Animals like mules and ligers, do not reproduce. No one has yet to observe evidence for this s strange science that has been concocted. Glad to be of superior intellect, glad to understand completely how life originated on earth billions of years ago by chance,yet so full of wonderment and excitement about how all things hang so critically in the balance, evolutionists continue to insist that the creationists who believe in God and a special creation are wrong.

Pride is intellectually paralyzing. The proud person only see what he wants to see, believes only what he wants to believe. The proud person, seeking to be somehow significant in the eyes of other people, will easily conform to the influence of others, often without even thinking. Like the king in the story, the proud refuse to admit the very thing they believe in cannot be seen and this, only because they do not want to be perceived as being unfit, not wise enough to be someone who is important.

We humans can believe or imagine many things, even fairy tales, but there is one thing we cannot dispute: the earth is not going to last forever. Neither are we. All things that are living today, like things that were living yesterday will end up just exactly like the paleontologists fossils; dead.

But there is another story, one with a happy ending. Like Darwin's Origin of Species, it's a story written down for posterity. In it, Jesus Christ, a man born of a virgin, born in a stable and laid into a manger came to earth and in his obedience to God who sent him, he even conquered death. It's an "old, old story of unseen things above, an old old story of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love."

Jesus himself said, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(John 3:15- 19)