Who was Neandertal?

Creation Moments

Who was Neandertal?

September 10, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Romans 14:13

“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

When we hear about the "cave man" and the "Stone Age" most people think of Neandertal man. Popularly called "Neanderthal," the preferred usage today is Neandertal. When we think of Neandertal, most people think of a large, brutish, hairy, bent-over creature that looks like a cross between an ape and a human. Who, in fact, was Neandertal?

The first Neandertal bones were found in a cave in the Neander Valley, near Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1856. Evolutionary anthropologists of the day thought that they had finally discovered the so-called "missing link" between apes and humans. So when they reconstructed the bones into what they thought Neandertal looked like, he was portrayed as a hairy brute that could not stand fully erect.

Since that first discovery over 300 Neandertal skeletons have been discovered. Evolutionists today recognize that the first Neandertals that were found suffered from rickets and arthritis, giving their bones only a superficial appearance of being less than human. Today's science has reclassified Neandertal as Homo sapiens. It is said that given a modern haircut and clothes, he could walk down any street and not attract attention.

There is one more fact that speaks eloquently for Neandertal's humanity. Neandertal practiced religion. He buried his dead with flowers and sometimes other possessions. He cared for his sick and the weak. Clearly, Neandertal offers no support for evolution.

Prayer: I thank You, Lord, that the truth has finally been learned about Neandertal. I ask that the other so-called evidences that doubters use to deny You would quickly be shown to be weak crutches so that no one may find anything in science a stumbling block to faith. Amen.

Photo: PD

Tasteful Data Preprocessing

October 18, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Computer engineers are learning how to speed up computers and make them more efficient by using a number of processors instead of just one. They have also learned that designing computers that process some results and then send those results to another, larger processor for more complicated processing, helps them solve even more complicated problems. But computer scientists recognize that they were not the first to use this principle. Though these systems are much simpler than the human brain, they mirror the brain's basic structure. God has filled His creatures with biological preprocessors. Even your tongue, scientists have now learned, has preprocessors to help your brain sense a multitude of flavors. The old theory that taste buds could only sense salt, sour, bitter and sweet has now been replaced by a more complete understanding. Each of your taste buds is made up of about 40 taste sensing cells that can detect each of the four flavors in various combinations. These cells communicate with each other, in effect deciding what signals to send to the brain about flavor. Your brain then further processes these signals before you learn that the chocolate ice cream you're eating is extra tasty. Computer scientists have been applying their best knowledge for decades in order to arrive at computers that are this well designed. This helps illustrate the point that even our tongues were designed by a great intelligence so that we could have the blessing of taste. Job 12: 9-12 "Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient [is] wisdom; and in length of days understanding." Prayer: Dear Father, I thank You for the gift of taste and the ability to enjoy flavors. But do not let me become so centered on my senses that I misuse Your blessings by overeating. In Jesus' Name. Amen. Notes: Weiss, Rick. "Taste buds engage in cross talk." Science News, Vol 136, #20, p. 317. Photo: Envato.

The Christmas Star

October 17, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Around Christmastime it is common to hear some authority trying to explain the star that the wise men followed to find the infant Jesus. It is commonly explained as a comet or the conjunction of two or more planets or stars. The question is, are these and similar theories possible? About all you need to evaluate these theories are a Bible and a map of the Holy Land. Matthew 2:1 tells us that the wise men came from east of the Holy Land. Verses 2 and 9 further tell us that these men had seen the star indicating His birth in the eastern sky. They had not followed the star to Jerusalem, as often depicted in Christmas cards. We learn from Matthew 2:9 that when they arrived in Jerusalem, the star they had seen in the eastern sky moved to lead them to the Christ Child. By this time Mary, Joseph and the Child may already have returned to Nazareth, or they may still have been in Bethlehem. No matter which was the case, the movement of the star was now from the eastern sky to either the northern or the southern sky. That is very un-starlike. In fact, the movement of the star was even more un-starlike in that it directed them to a specific house! No comet, conjunction or other natural object of the night sky will do that. These wise men from the East were accustomed to the sights of the night sky. They could easily identify the unusual. This star was clearly created by God to announce the birth of the Savior to the world He came to save! Matthew 2:9 "When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, You create and control powers I could never comprehend. I thank You that You led the wise men to the infant Jesus, clearly showing that His birth was for all of us on Earth. Thank You for bringing me into His kingdom. Amen. Photo: Stars, Envato.

Nature's Shark Repellent

October 16, 2024 • Ian Taylor

Over the centuries humans have tried different strategies to protect themselves from sharks. But it's no secret that most shark repellents simply don't work. But scientists have learned, from a lowly fish no less, that repelling a shark is as simple as washing his mouth out with soap – released from a squirt gun, of course. The Moses sole, a slow swimming, apparently defenseless little fish, lives in the Red Sea. What puzzled scientists was that such seemingly easy prey never seemed to be bothered by predators. Researchers wanted to know what the Moses sole's secret was, so they offered one to sharks in a laboratory tank, knowing that sharks will eat anything. Sure enough, the sharks grabbed the sole, but just as quickly they let it go. More study showed that the sole releases a milky, detergent like substance from the pores in its skin. As soon as the shark got a little of the detergent in its mouth, it wanted nothing more to do with the sole. While the sole's detergent is poisonous, researchers found that it's the detergent and not the poison that drives sharks away. They have found that a commercially available detergent works even better than the sole's defense. Just as the shark cannot be tamed, neither can our sinful deeds. This is why God encourages us to stay away from opportunities to sin. He doesn't want us to suffer the necessary consequences of sin. 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour…" Prayer: Lord Jesus, I know that sin is wrong because it hurts me and drives me away from You. Create in me a clean heart that has no desire to flirt with sin but seeks to draw ever closer to You, in Whom I am washed clean. Amen. Photo: Moses Sole by Christian Wittmann, CC 4.0