Thursday, March 10, 2011
Copyright
All materials are copyright to authors and may not be reproduced except for educational purposes or expressed permission.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Manual for Training Localized Nature Guides
Image via WikipediaA very good and well written manual for training of localized Nature Guide by RARE, a NGO committed to Conservation, is reproduced below. This could be a valuable guide to those interested in providing quality training materials for Christian Tourist Guides in Malaysia which is fast becoming one of the World top ten tourists' destination because of its rich bio-diversity of its flora and fauna, the multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-racial make up of its people under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the promoter of the 1 Malaysia concept.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Federal Minister of Tourism on Front liners - Dr. Ng Yen Yen
Image by Papandreou.gr web team's via FlickrIn 2009, Malaysia managed to be one of the top 10 world favored tourists' destination, earning the country quite a sizable amount in foreign exchange but that may change as competition from the neighboring countries like Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, etc upgrade their tourists facilities and intensify their campaigns.
Another possible reason may be the bad treatment tourists received from front liners liners like taxi drivers, staff of airlines and hotels.
The Ministry is hoping for increase arrivals of tourists from China, Russia, Australia, Belgium, Holland, Britain and Middle East this year.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
PRETTY TOUGH FOR SMOKERS TO BE A GOOD LICENSED TOURIST GUIDE
 Image via Wikipedia |
| Forest Fire could be started by the un-extinguished discarded smokers' butt on the forest floor |
Among the participants in our 20 days of intensive LNG course/boot camp, four were ladies, three of them were heavy smokers - we used to lovingly referred to them as the "Chimney Ladies" because sitting near them is like sitting near a chimney.
For Local Nature Guides, one of the worst nightmares is to be connected, or blamed for, starting forest fires especially during the prolonged drought seasons. It does not happened very often in the tropical rain forest as it rains most of the year but in cases of dry spell, forest fires do occur and it will bring with it untold havoc to properties and the environment.
So our trainer, who was himself a non-smoker, played a video that illustrated his point but sadly this did not deter the smokers' habit. In the following video clip, a Jamaican professional tourist guide conveyed beautifully and comically his messages to the tourists he was guiding who were entertained, rather than took offence at his joke, because of his unique style of presentation. It had been seen by about 4.8 million YouTube viewers.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pussy Love - My way, not your way
 Image by onkel_wart via Flickr |
| The non-Professional Tourist Guide |
The traditional Kadazan families, who were mostly rural farmers and entrepreneurs, keep cats to catch or guard the house against the menace of mice; only few keep them for pets for the terrible noise they make at night when they are mating. My wife hates cats as many of her priced china bowls and plates were broken because the neighbors' cats keep coming into our kitchen to steal food. Of all my children, only Tina my second daughter seems to have a liking on cats and it was her who took pity on them and offer them food or we just shoo them away and occasionally frightened them with a stick.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
RAJA YANG AGONG DARI TIMUR : WHO IS HE?
A well known Indonesian of Chinese and javanese descent, Daud Tony, came to Malaysia and gave a powerful personal testimony of how, from the kingdom of darkness, of black magic and demon worship, feared and respected by his fans and enemies alike, became mentally and physically sick after an encounter with an Indonesian pastor. Here is his story, which we hope will bless you and deliver you from the power of darkness, deception and the deadly game of life and death, eternal death, that many are involved, including the author himself before coming into the knowledge of Christ, the Word of God who became man,to be the "huminundun" or perfect 'korban' for our sins.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
THE ONLY WAY FORWARD TO RESTORE, PRESERVE AND PROTECT OUR INVIRONMENT
 Image by Getty Images via @daylife |
| HRH Prince Charles giving a speech on Rain forest in Jakarta, Indonesia |
When Donald Stevens shouted in the KK (Jesselton) town padang, “Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka” (Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!), he was holding the very “CONSTITUTION” that outlined the vision, missions, instructions, directions, strategies and operational manual to run the newly independent Nation of Sabah, having about 55 per cent who had responded to the Father’s call for being His children – Kadazans! – the good-Spirited people (Neh 9:20) It was not just freedom from Colonial rule but also from the bondage of Satan, Sins, rebellion against the Father, Deception, Poverty, Racial Prejudices and Injustices or being consigned to self curse (Proverb 23:7a) as “Dusun (Orchard), Liwan (Valley), Sungei (River), Tuawon (Herb), and so on forever, but then why was no concerted effort made to “study, research, map out and communicate what was in the CONSTITUTION which God had given to our leaders and religious teachers, priests, catechist, bishops, pastors, professors and scientists.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
OUR RICH BIODIVERSITY
 Image via Wikipedia |
| Thick smoke over Borneo as a result of burning forest for Oil Palm |
Wildlife studies made by the National Geographic revealed that 10 square kilometers of Sabah has more flora and fauna than North America and Europe combined. The state also belongs to the Coral Triangle, comprised mostly of Southeast Asian nations, which is the center to three-quarters of the world’s marine biodiversity.
Sabah, Malaysia—The Malaysian state of Sabah has further bolstered its image as the world’s eco-tourism haven with the recent discovery of new wildlife species and its increased tourist arrivals.
The discovery, made by the Heart of Borneo project of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, found 123 new exotic species, 67 plants, 29 invertebrates, 17 fish, five frogs, three snakes, two lizards, and a brand new species of bird.
Most of these animals are found in Sabah, which occupies the northern part of Borneo, the world’s third biggest island.
Incepted in 2007, the project aims to conserve the rain-forests of Borneo Island, which scientific estimates place at 130 million years old, the oldest in the world, and is home to ten species of primates, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians, 10,000 endemic plants, and 10% of the world’s known orchid species.
The Heart of Borneo project hopes to conserve 220,000 square kilometers of rain-forest, described by noted evolution scientist Charles Darwin as “one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself.”
The undertaking is supported by the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei which share Borneo.
Sabah boasts of 70,097 hectares of wildlife, bird and marine sanctuaries, 909,401 hectares of forest reserves, and 265,749 hectares of parks, including coral reefs, which are well managed by the state government agencies.
According to Hector Ceballos-Lascurain, ecotourism consultant to the United Nations, the new findings will further strengthen Sabah’s position as a prime eco-tourism destination.
Wildlife studies made by the National Geographic revealed that 10 square kilometers of Sabah has more flora and fauna than North America and Europe combined. The state also belongs to the Coral Triangle, comprised mostly of Southeast Asian nations, which is the center to three-quarters of the world’s marine biodiversity.
On the tourism front, the Malaysian state was ranked as one of Southeast Asia’s top 10 tourist spots in 2009, with 5.4 million tourist arrivals, and took second spot in Global Traveler Tested Awards’ list of best travel destinations.
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s capital city, is host to the 75,370-hectare Mt. Kinabalu Park, home of Southeast Asia’s tallest peak and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the marine parks of Tunku Adbul Rahman
and Pulau Tiga.
Meanwhile, the eastern city of Sandakan has been dubbed Sabah’s nature city because of its nature-oriented attractions such as the Sepilok Urang Utan Rehabilitation Center, the Rainforest Discovery Center, Gomantong Cave, Tabin Wildlife Reserve, and the Maliau Basin and Danum Conservation Areas.
Also in the city is the Turtle Islands Park, one of the world’s most important nesting areas of sea turtles because of the massive conservation efforts by the Sabah Wildlife Department. Composed of three small islands, it is situated near the waters of the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi, where the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA) was formed in 1997, the world’s only trans-frontier protected area for sea turtles.
Sources at the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) say that the TIHPA has been inactive for the past seven years, and they are looking forward to reactivating it with their Philippine counterparts.
Sandakan’s iconic tourist spot is the 540-kilometer long Kinabatangan River in Sukau district which has the largest concentration of wildlife in all of Malaysia. A favorite site for wildlife watching and photography, it is habitat to tropical animals such as hornbills, various bird species, proboscis monkeys, and the Bornean pygmy elephant, the world’s smallest elephant species.
Sandakan hosted the second International Bird Festival in October, 2010 which gather bird watchers and conservationists from all over Asia to determine collaborative efforts to conserve the remaining endemic species in the region.
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| Bornean Bristlehead Photo credit: squiddo |
Cognizant of its biodiversity, the SWD recently set up the Wildlife Rescue Unit to undertake wildlife rescue and translocation operations throughout the state. The first of its kind in the country, it will also carry out enforcement, monitoring, and liaison with the stakeholders such as WWF Malaysia and the plantation sector.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Year of the Rabbits - Chinese lunar calendar
Image via WikipediaMalaysia is so blessed with its pluralistic cultures, religions and festivals. Except for Judaism, we have followers of the 5 great religions, that is Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and local belief systems which are combinations of animism and all or any one of the above.
In the Borneo State of Sabah, we have festival celebrations of some sort almost every month, beginning in January to December of every hear, New Year, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Thaipusam, Good Friday/Easter, Harvest Festivals and Christmas.
In 2011, Chinese New Year is celebrated beginning from 4th to 5th of February, and will officially end on the 15th based on the lunar month, or chap goh mee, which falls on 19th February.
Festivals are great days for locals as well as foreign tourists as they get to visit and know their friends and neighbors during their open houses.
For the politicians, it is a hectic days for them and their party workers as they prepare for open houses, give ang pows, duit raya, harvest festivals donations, etc. In fact, one can gauge the economic health of the Nations by the way how they celebrate their various festivals.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Call for environmental stewardship
We measure our stewardship by healthy ecosystems and sustainable, responsible consumption. We are calling on all Christians to search the scriptures to better understand the heart of God in relation to His creation. The Bible says that God expects, even demands, that we be stewards of His creation. Scripture is indisputable. God created the different species of plants and animals, blessed them, protected them and made a covenant with them.
Every time we, as humans, drive a species to extinction, we are stating that what God created, we can destroy. There is no scripture to support that view. Every time a species goes extinct, we are defaulting on the account that God has called us to manage. We are at the crossroads, able to choose to save or to destroy. It is our choice. The Bible is clear that creation expresses Gods wisdom and power. Christians are called to be stewards, to nurture, to protect, to preserve His creation.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Breaking Point - words can hurt more pains than being hit by a logging truck!
Image via WikipediaBreaking Point
Saturday, January 29, 2011
4:35 PM
It all started when I overheard my daughter talking to herself in the kitchen; it was her 31st birthday and she and her son and daughter were with us as she could not bear the mental torture she was facing with her in-laws and her jobless husband. She had to work as a government medical doctor, sometimes when patients are too many to cope with, she had to be on stand by 24 hours a day; then she had to come home, do the house work and cook for the family.
"Poor me," she said, "some people had good food when it comes to their birthday, me, even last year, I had only porridge to myself" I was already fuming mad at how the illegals from the neighboring countries are allowed to have my-kad under the UMNO's projek Mahathir, when I nicely approached my wife who was having dinner with my youngest daughter and asked her what she had cooked for dinner, expecting her to at least get the children, even over a simple dinner of kangkong and blacan, to eat together as a family just to mark and appreciate the hard work our daughter, who had sacrificed a lot for many years without adequate financial support when she did her University education, had put through but instead she shouted at me complaining I have not taken back the slasher which I used to cut the overgrown grass around the house in preparation for the CNY which she celebrates without fail every year - but not Christmas as she said God had no birthday.
That was the moment of my breaking point. I could feel my blood heating and rising up. If not for the Grace of God and the fact that it was my daughter's birthday, I could have really exploded like a volcano and end up hurting myself and every one on sight. To stop her from provoking me further, I just push the chair she was seated on and quickly went off. She fell down with the chair on the floor but at least that stopped her from going hysterical.
It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and vexing woman. - Prov 21:19
It will normally take me days, weeks and sometimes months to regain my sanity but the word of God and His Holy Spirit make it possible to beyond the breaking point and be renewed spiritually and emotionally to move on. Listen to the music that nature provides, the chirping of the insects, the freshness of that spring brings, the melodies of the birds make and thousand little things to testify the greatness and love of God the Father.
The following sermon had brought healing to my tattered and bleeding heart; I pray, it will do the same for you. PTL
When You are at the Breaking Point
Somebody right now is at the breaking point. The economy is anemic and your employment is in danger. You are at the breaking point. What will you do? How will you pay your bills? You are over 45, so who will hire you at this age, in this economy? You are at the Breaking point.
Somebody reading this is at the breaking point. Disease has disturbed your life and/or disease has disrupted a family members life and now you have to care for them. The medical bills are piling up, your energy is fastly evaporating and you are feeling alone in all this, you are at the breaking point. Somebody else is overwhelmed with the mis-direction of this country and the Mis-education coming from the corporate controlled media. Two unwinnable wars, a hateful and mean extreme right wing boldly dismissing, disparaging and disrespecting the Democratically elected president because he is a black man. You are at the Breaking point. To make matters worse this President that you put so much hope in for meaningful change has moved at snails pace to bring about that change. He has uselessly tried to appease folks who will never like him or vote for him; he has bailed out wall street and they took your tax money to give million dollar bonuses to cronies. What are you doing, Mr. President? Why is it that your campaign pledges are piled up in some corner in the White House while you dance the two step with the people who put you in office? You are at the breaking point. What kind of world will your children inherit? Young roving and marauding gangs of no particular origin are murdering innocent young people for the thrill of it; Law enforcement can catch a would be bomber in New York in 53 hours with no picture, no name and nobody snitching but the DOA bodies of hundreds of young Black & Brown boys and girls all across the major cities of this country go unsolved. What kind of life will your babies be forced to live in? An Oil spill in the gulf has already destroyed the way of life for hard working fishermen and threatens the ecology of this hemisphere because a materialistic corporation decided that the lives of the men working on the rig, and the lives of the people in the gulf were not as important as their profit margin. You don't want to watch the news, you are tired of mindless gossip from midget minded folks and you are sick of having more month than money, you are at the breaking point.
There is some Pastor out there who has tried to do their best, tried to be faithful to the calling of our Lord, tried to empower God's people through diligent exegesis of the Biblical text but who is beginning to feel that there hard work is going unappreciated. The people of God would rather hear about their break through than Jesus building up a beleaguered life; they would rather gravitate to a prosperity gospel of "G" string spirituality by throwing money on the pulpit to get it back three fold; they would rather be stimulated by the "Crack pipe" preaching of somebody who cannot spell seminary less known than have attended one and you brother/Sistah preacher are at the breaking point.
Somebody tired of wearing the mask of make believe mouthing meaningless churchy lingo "Too Bless to be stressed." You are stressed; you are sick; You don't sleep at night wondering what will happen next? You are sick and tired of watching those who don't care about who they hurt, who don't care who they walk over, who don't care who they discourage continue to operate without impunity. You are tired of having "No Good Deed go unpunished," You are tired of doing the right thing but owing the IRS while others doing the wrong thing flaunt their fake lives in your face. Why is God playing favorites? Why is God silent? Why is God letting the tyranny of wickedness run amok? You are at the breaking point!
Well Psalm 73 shows us David, The Shepard King was also at the breaking point in his life. David says "His foot had almost slipped, he had nearly lost his foothold because he had become envious of the arrogant and prosperity of the wicked..."(vv 1-3) Now before you put your foot in the stirrup to mount the judgement saddle, you too at some time was envious of some arrogant folks. We all have fallen short.. We all have wondered why them and not me? We all have been tempted. David saw folks who did not seem to have it hard, they seemed healthy vibrant, no worries, no burdens, carefree and enjoy the adulation of thousands..." (vv 4-10)Next time you dream, fantasize or visualize your life in the place of some wealthy, extremely popular bad boy actor or actress; next time you give excuse for somebody who commands the limelight but cowers away from the cause of conscious against a corrupt industry in order to stay a hot commodity you are where David is in the text.
David felt like he had kept his heart pure in vain; he felt his altruistic honesty was a waste; He looked at his life and frowned because he had constant pain, constant misery, constant Unmerited suffering. In fact David felt he was being punished every morning for striving to Be good (vv12-16).
Beloved when you are at the Breaking point all is not lost and it ain't destined or determined that it is all over. David gives us some direction when we feel the weight of the world weighing us down.
David fist of all shows us it is at that moment that we need to go to church! In Verse 17 he says, I could not understand what was happening to me "Until I entered the sanctuary of God..." Yes you can and must worship by yourself but you also need to feel the eternal ambiance of the Almighty in His sanctuary. Going to the House of the Lord will uplift your mental Attitude while giving Ascension to your Spiritual Altitude or (as the late Dr. Frederick G. Sampson used to say) "Heightens your vision and extends your horizons." David saw in the sanctuary of God that the wicked he had been envying had an expiration date on their arrogance. In other words no matter how well they seemed, no matter how good it looked for them, no matter how prosperous they seemed "All that glitters was not gold," and "Trouble don't last always." God showed David that his Destiny had unbroken continuity in his creator. His horizon perspective was extended to see beyond the external, temporary and material. David was able to see the "big picture." When we are at the breaking point the lens of our perspective tends to narrow on us, but if we can get to the Sanctuary of God, God will Uplift your mental Attitude while Adding Ascension to your spiritual Altitude.
God will also help us see that We (like David) are not Alone - Verse 23 "Yet I am always with you..." When you are at the breaking point get to the sanctuary of God and let God show you that he is with you, that he Holds you with his right (Mighty-Powerful) hand, let God show you that you ain't dead because his counsel has directed you even when you did not know God was leading you (vv23-24)You are not alone beloved, God has not forsaken you and God is still keeping you. You are still here; despite the evil deeds of the devil and his imps, you are still here; despite bad news all around, you are still here therefore you are Good news. My late daddy used to say "Where there's life there is Hope..." there is life in his Sanctuary; there is life in his holy temple; there is life in every prayer and there is life in you. That Breath you just took is God (His Ruach/Pneuma)therefore you have hope. "For Hope that is seen is no Hope at all, but if we Hope for that which we do not see, we wait for it patiently." That's why David could say "Wait on the Lord, for he will strengthen thine heart, Wait I say on the Lord."
Not only are you not alone but you have a divine Advocate and Almighty Assistance that is Always Available. Verse 25-26 "whom have I in Heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ...God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion forever." Everything earth bound is going to decay, lose its value or lose its importance to you at some time but God is good all the time. God is fresh every day, "Morning by Morning New Mercies I see...Great is Thy Faithfulness..." God is our holy Advocate in Heaven and our Almighty Assistance on earth. There is nothing or no one more exciting, energizing, hope facilitating or joy generating than God. And God Beloved never fails-People will fail, governments will fail, Corporations will fail, friends will fail you, family will fail you, church people will fail you But God will never fail you. He is your Portion forever! That is why David could Declare "The Lord is my light and my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid?...One thing I ask of the Lord and this is what I seek, that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple for in the day of trouble he shall hide me..."
Finally when David went into the Sanctuary of God he realized that there are others struggling like he had; Others who are ready to give up like he was; others at the Breaking point as he was and therefore he must Acknowledge and Announce God's Mighty Acts Goodness to all he encountered. Verse 28 "As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell of all your deeds."
When you go into the Sanctuary of God, God will Uplift your mental Attitude While adding Ascension to your spiritual Altitude (Heighten your Visions & Extend your Horizons); God will also show you, that you are not Alone; God will demonstrate that God is your Divine Advocate in Heaven and your Almighty Assistance that is always Available. God ultimately depends on you to Acknowledge and Announce God's Mighty Acts to All you encounter. Don't keep it to yourself; Don't try to hold Good news for you and you only; Don't let selfishness strangle your Spiritual strength, tell somebody! Somebody needs to know the Goodness of the Lord, in the Land of the Living; Somebody needs to hear from somebody who WAS at the Breaking point but now is Back on track because of the Balm in Gilead; Somebody needs to see and hear about how far God has brought you. If you love to be near God like David, If you have made the Sovereign your refuge like David, If God's Spirit put Steel in back while in the Sanctuary then "Let the Redeemed of The Lord say so..." "when you've been Blessed...Pass it on..." I don't know about you but, I just got helped by this Passage and the Hope in God's House. So excuse me, but "I just wanna say that He is near me always..." Can I tell you, that "They whispered, conspired, they told me lies (But God favored me). Get to the sanctuary like David and worship the Lord! Don't look at what other people are doing look to the Lord. don't try listen to what people maybe saying listen to the songs of Zion being sung and worship him. Don't focus on them but worship Him! God wants to me somebody at the breaking point in his Sanctuary to serenade you with his Spirit; to Saturate you in his presence; to strengthen you in your struggle!
Further reading: <http://tuccgary.blogspot.com/2010/06/when-you-are-at-breaking-point.html>
The Strangling fig tree - ficus benghalensis - Banyan or Nunuk Tree
Image via WikipediaSome authors opined that the forbidden fruit is from a fig tree, and not an apple, might have some credence as the following short documentary will reveal. The Kadazan of Sabah had a folklore of how their ancestors originated, i.e. from a red fig tree or Nunuk Ragang. It was also a common belief among elderly pagans that the nunuk trees are homes of fairies and evil spirits who can make them sick when offended so thus the practices of giving or sacrificing fowls or pigs to appease them.
Among the evangelical and born-again Christians, this is but a deception and lies of the devils to get attention and worship from the unbelievers.
Back to Nature - God's given defense mechanism.
Image via WikipediaSunday, January 30, 2011
9:02 AM
- Serpent cursed more than other animals— specifically mentions crawling on its belly and eating dust.
- Other animals are cursed; to what extent, we aren’t told.
- Increased pain and sorrow in childbearing and raising children.
- Their desire will be for their husbands.
- Ground is cursed—specifically mentions thorns and thistles and the pain and sorrow associated with working the ground. We aren’t told the other effects of the Curse.
- Death—creatures would return to dust.
- Man and animals were originally created as vegetarian (Genesis 1:29–30). Throughout Genesis 1 the Lord states repeatedly that the created order was “good” and then in Genesis 1:31, “very good.” Thus, “nature, red in tooth and claw” was not part of God’s original creation.
- In verse 30, God explicitly states, “Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food.” Literally in the Hebrew, the phrase “in which there is life” is nephesh chayyah. This phrase is translated “living soul” and is used in Genesis 1:20–21 and Genesis 2:7 when referring to man and animals. However, this phrase is never used in reference to plants (or invertebrates), thus highlighting the difference between plant life and human and animal life.
- The Curse in Genesis 3 caused a major change in both animals and plants. The animals were cursed; Genesis 3:14 says, “You are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field [emphasis added].” The plants were also cursed; Genesis 3:17–18 says, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.” (There is evidence that thorns are formed from altered leaves.7)
- It was not until after the Flood that God allowed man to eat meat (Genesis 1:29–30, Genesis 9:3).
- Later in Scripture the prophet Isaiah refers to a future time when there will be a reverse of the Curse: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, says the LORD” (Isaiah 65:25).
- The book of Revelation speaks of a time when the Curse will be removed (Rev 22:3) and there will be no more pain, suffering, or death (Rev 21:4).
The Relevance of the Issue of DAS (Defense/Attack Structures)
Many people question the goodness of God when they see “nature, red in tooth and claw,”1 and therefore, they accuse those who believe in the Bible of not seeing reality in nature’s fight for survival, which in the view of the secular scientists substantiates evolution.
In the past, many Bible-believers looked to nature as evidence of God’s design in nature and attributed the features animals possessed to kill prey or defend themselves as all part of God’s original design.
For example, in 1802 William Paley wrote the now-classic book Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature. In this work, Paley makes the argument for the design in nature being attributed to a designer—God—and included features that were “red in tooth and claw” as part of this original design.
Darwin, who read Paley’s work, realized that organisms have certain design features that make them fit for the environments in which they live. In other words, they were well designed for what they do—even the ability to cause pain, suffering, and death. However, Darwin later saw difficulties with Paley’s argument concerning design. To Darwin, a creation capable of inflicting pain and death seemed to deny a good and loving Creator God.
Darwin could see that the idea of a benevolent designer did not square with the world that he observed. How could a good God be the author of death and bloodshed? The answer of Darwin and many others was to turn from the God of the Bible to a belief in man’s ideas about the past that include millions of years of death and suffering.
A most notable adherent to this view in our present day is David Attenborough. Attenborough is the presenter of many popular nature documentaries produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation. In a similar journey to that of Darwin, he argues strongly for belief in evolution because of the suffering that the natural world exhibits. The quote below is very revealing as to what has moved Attenborough to an evolutionary position.
Eagles have pointed claws and sharp beaks.
When Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that’s going to make him blind. And [I ask them], “Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child’s eyeball? Because that doesn’t seem to me to coincide with a God who’s full of mercy.”2
The examples of Darwin and Attenborough show why the issue of defense/attack structures (DAS) is important, and how it is closely related to the existence of suffering and death in the world around us. Defense/ attack structures include anything from claws and flesh-tearing beaks on birds of prey or the claws and teeth of cats, to a wasp’s stinger or a poison dart frog’s toxin.
What Are Some Defense/Attack Structures?
Examples of defense/attack structures are numerous in the world around us, existing in plants as well as animals. Let’s look at a few.
Plant—Venus Flytrap
A great example in plants is the Venus flytrap. This plant snaps two of its lobes on any unsuspecting fly that ventures inside. The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves a complex interaction between elasticity, osmotic pressure in the cellular plant material, and growth. When the plant is open, the lobes are convex (bent outwards), but when it is closed, the lobes are concave (forming a cavity). It is stable in both the open and closed positions, but it changes states to close quickly when triggered.3
Arachnid—Spider
A good example of DAS in the insect world is the spider. Spider webs are renowned for their potential to catch flying insects, such as flies and moths. The sophistication of silk production through special glands that keep the polymer soft right up until it is exuded behind the spider is still not understood.4 Furthermore, the ability of the spider to make some strands sticky and others not, so that the spider itself only walks on the non-sticky parts is clearly a clever design feature. Not all spiders make webs, but they are all capable of producing silk in several varieties. Though the predatory nature of spiders is universal, the actual prey-catching technique of web-building is not the same for each species.
Insect—Bombardier Beetle
Another example in the insect world, and probably the most extraordinary, is the bombardier beetle. This insect possesses a sophisticated defense apparatus, which involves shooting a hot (212°F/100°C) noxious mixture of chemicals out of a special swivel nozzle in its backside, into the face of predators such as rodents, birds, frogs, or other insects.
Animals—Cats and Reptiles
Of the numerous examples of DAS in the animal world, the meat-eating lion, tiger, and other large cats (cheetah, lynx, etc.) would be the most obvious. It should be noted though that these creatures are not solely dependent on a carnivorous diet because there are known cases of large cats being able to survive on a vegetarian diet when meat has been not available in zoos.5
Alligator teeth are long and sharp.
Many animals in the reptile world also give us excellent examples of DAS. Chameleons have the ability to flick their tongues in only fractions of a second to capture their prey. Crocodiles and alligators have powerful jaws, and snakes possess poisonous fangs or deadly coils. The anaconda can kill bulls and tapirs easily with its extremely strong muscles.6
These are but a few of the DAS found around the world. If you check the plants and animals in your area, you can probably spot some of these and other defense/attack structures.
Why, Biblically, Is the World like This?
The biblical response to DAS is that the theology of Darwin and Attenborough has made a major assumption—the world is now what it always has been. The Bible, as early as Genesis 3, makes it clear that this is not the case.
The world (and indeed the universe) was originally perfect. Six times in Genesis 1 it states that what God had made was “good” and the seventh time that “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). A perfect God would make nothing less. In fact, Moses, who also penned Genesis, declared in Deuteronomy 32:4 that all of God’s works are perfect.The original creation was perfect, but we can see by looking at the world around us that there has been a drastic change. The change was a result of the Fall of man—an event which fundamentally altered the world.
The original world had no parasites boring into children’s eyes or any other part of nature being “red in tooth and claw.” The death and suffering in the past and in the present is a result of man’s sin and rebellion against God. When the first man Adam disobeyed his Creator, all of creation was cursed, bringing disease, sickness, pain, suffering, and death into the world.
When God spoke to Adam, He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17–19).
God also told Eve, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).
And earlier still, the Bible records what God spoke to the serpent: “So the LORD God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life’” (Genesis 3:14). So in essence there were several changes at the Fall.
This is not just an Old Testament doctrine. The New Testament picks up on the inseparable connection between the world’s state and man’s condition. In Romans 8:22–23, Paul states, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
While the world has been cursed because of man’s rebellion in Adam, there is coming a day—a day for the “redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23) —when at the resurrection of God’s people, the world will also be liberated from the Curse. In Romans 8, Paul makes it clear that the extent of this Curse encompasses the whole creation.
| Verse | Some of the known effects | Said to |
| | Serpent | |
| | Woman/ Eve | |
| | Man/ Adam |
When we look at defense/attack structures in the animal or plant kingdom, we must look at them in the context of a truly biblical theology. Let’s review the clear teachings from Scripture.
The Bible provides us with a big picture as we look at defense/attack structures.
Two Major Perspectives to Understand DAS Biblically
Two primary alternatives can easily explain defense/attack structures from a biblical perspective: (1) the present features used in defense and attack were not originally used for that purpose, and (2) the DAS design features were brought in by God as a result of the Fall.
The first perspective—that the present features were not originally used for defense/attack purposes—indicates that DAS were used for different functions before the Fall. Another way to clarify this perspective is to say that the design was the same but the function was different.
Let’s take sharp teeth as an example. When people see animals with sharp teeth, they most commonly interpret this to mean that the animal is a meat-eater. When scientists find fossils of creatures with sharp teeth, they also interpret this to mean that the animal was a meat-eater. But is this a proper interpretation? Not really. Sharp teeth in animals indicate only one thing—the animal has sharp teeth.
Creatures with sharp teeth do not necessarily use them to rip other animals apart today. For example, the giant panda has very sharp teeth, yet it eats entirely bamboo shoots. Also, the fruit bat, which at first might appear to have teeth consistent with a carnivorous diet, eats primarily fruit. The Bible teaches that animals were created to be vegetarian (Genesis 1:30); so, we must be careful not to merely assume what an animal ate based on its teeth.
Other DAS can also be explained in this way. Claws could have been used to grip vegetarian foods or branches for climbing. And chameleon tongues could have been used to reach out and grab vegetarian foods, etc. This perspective has the advantage of never having to suggest that God designed a structure or system feature to be harmful to another living creature of His creation.
Bears have sharp teeth, but they eat many vegetarian meals.
It is evident that for the silk-producing structure in spiders, it is hard to establish an alternative function for these glands, though spiders have been shown to catch and eat pollen.8 The evidence seems to point to such structures being designed as they are to effectively catch things like insects. However, we may simply not know the original harmless function of these structures.
Consequently, many have suggested the fact that some creatures have continued to eat plants, which actually indicates that predatory habits came due to altered function. Bears commonly eat vegetarian foods. There have been lions and vultures documented to refuse eating meat.9
Even viruses (genetic carriers that infect a host with almost always deleterious results) may have originally been used in a different and beneficial role before the Fall. In a similar manner, harmful bacteria may have had a different and better purpose than their current function.
However, this perspective does have some shortcomings, especially when we apply it to the whole of DAS. One such problem is that of thorns. It can be argued that trees, bushes, etc., use thorns solely as a defense mechanism. But the Bible indicates that thorns and thistles came as a result of the Fall (Genesis 3:17–19). So, something indeed changed at the Curse.
Thorns and Thistles
This first perspective avoids God designing DAS in a perfect world for the purpose of harming something that was alive.
The second perspective—DAS design features were brought in by God as a result of the Fall—calls for design alterations after the Fall to allow such attack and defense structures. To clarify, this was the result of man’s sin, not God’s original design, and the consequences of sin still remain. Such “cursed design” is from God’s intelligence as a punishment for the man’s, the woman’s, and the serpent’s disobedience. This second perspective would then better explain some things like sharp teeth, claws, the special glands that make the spider silk, etc.
There is some warrant for this view in Scripture since we know that plants have been made such that now some of them have thorns (physically changed form) and that the serpent changed form to crawl on its belly (physically changed form). Since there was a physical change and this was passed along to offspring, then there had to be genetic alterations. Some of these changes could have been immediate, and others could have been slower in revealing themselves.
Regardless, the genetic blueprint of these systems must have changed such that DAS became evident. Remembering that God knows the future, it is possible that under this scenario the devices were placed latently in the genetic code of these creatures at creation and were “turned on” at the Fall.
Another possibility is that God redesigned the creatures after the Fall to have such features as DAS in them. Thus, the latter possibility still allows for the existence of such latent features in the design still being “very good.” However, since defense/attack structures are a reminder of a sin-cursed world full of death and suffering, it was more likely changed at the Fall as opposed to being simply dormant.
Scripture that gives implied support to this perspective is that after the Fall, man would know pain and hard work and would eventually die (Genesis 3:19). Some biological change is experienced. Pain and sorrow in childbirth are a direct result of the Fall, and the serpent is radically redesigned after his rebellion. So this overall position may be the better of the two, though we wouldn’t be dogmatic.
Conclusion
Both biblical perspectives explain the changes that occurred when man sinned and the world fell from a perfect one to an imperfect one, and both positions have merits. But the Bible doesn’t specifically say one way or another. In fact, there could be aspects of both perspectives that may have happened. Not all creatures with DAS need to be explained in the same way. For some it may have been that their existing functions adapted, while there seems to be every indication that other mechanisms came in after the Fall.
Regardless, the accusation that a loving and perfect God made the world as we see it today ignores the Bible’s teachings about the results of the Curse. A proper understanding of why there are defense/attack structures in the world today should be a reminder that the world is sin-cursed and that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
After the Fall, God acted justly. He did what was right. But during the curses in Genesis 3, God did something that only a loving God would do—He gave the first prophecy of redemption. He promised a Savior. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
The One who would crush the head of the serpent would be born of a virgin, the seed of a woman. This is the first of many prophecies of Jesus Christ coming as the seed of a woman—a virgin birth. It was truly a loving and gracious God who came to earth in the form of a man and died for us and paid the penalty of our sins on the Cross.
DAS should remind us that when God says something, it will come to pass. When one receives Christ as their Savior, they will one day enjoy eternal life in a world that no longer has any curse or death or suffering or pain (Revelation 21:4, 22:3).
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16–18)
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