Dinosaurs and Meat-eaters
Dear Bro. Don,
Some thoughts concerning the existence of dinosaurs in this present creation.
There seems to be scriptural evidence for the existence of sea serpents, coelacanths [primitive fish] and Plesiosaurus [marine animals] in Genesis 1:21…
What if the English text had read “dragons” or “sea-dwelling dinosaurs” in place of “whales?” Would this affect our belief? The Hebrew word taneen is translated “dragon” in describing the nation of Egypt (Ezk. 32:3 RV). In Genesis 1:21, the revisers rendered the Hebrew “great sea-monsters.” Now “sea” was inserted by the context with only “monsters” being in the Hebrew, so that these great monsters, whatever they be, are what “the waters abundantly brought forth.”
The creature caught by Japanese fishermen near New Zealand in 1977 measured 10 meters, weighed two tons and resembled a Plesiosaurus. The catch certainly surprised those who felt the species last lived 70 million years ago.
Since 1938, a number of coelacanths, whose fossil remains supposedly go back some 50 million years, have been caught off the coast of Madagascar.
Recently, National Geographic aired a documentary film on a herd of 40 Equus caballus being bred by Tibetans. Drawings of this three-foot horse appear with mammoths in cave paintings found in France. The paintings are supposedly the work of Cro-Magnon man (or should we say the descendants of Jabal who domesticated “behemoth?” Gen. 4:20).
We should not ignore the exposed mammoth discovered on the bank of the Beresovka River in 1901 whose photo, number 83-2243 in the Smithsonian, depicts a frightened animal. Blood samples from this specimen established a relationship with the Indian elephant. Now we learn that everything that had the breath of life was given every green plant for food (Gen. 1:30). This animal had 24 pounds of undissolved and identifiable plants in its stomach. Was Job describing a typical mammoth in 40:15 which ate grass as an ox and is said to have been made on the sixth day “with thee?” If man can hunt mammoths with “his sword” and can draw out Plesiosaurus with a hook (41:1) then perhaps we might consider how many other “kinds” in God’s good creation are no more.
“Scientific” conclusions need to be treated with a certain skepticism. There is a fir tree being cultivated in a conservation area located outside Peterborough, ONT which was supposed to be extinct based on finding its fossilized needles and stumps in rocks. Yet there it is today surviving the Canadian winter. It also thrives in China.
Carnivores before the flood
Genesis 9:3 reads: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” But what was included in this? After the flood was Noah allowed to eat the flesh of the unclean as defined in Leviticus 11? I think not. All the unclean animals mentioned were carnivores. A distinction was made between clean and unclean things taken on the ark no doubt in accordance with their eating habits, proving that carnivores existed from the descent of man.
John Drywood, Hamilton, ONT
The Truth in Germany
Dear Bro. Don,
I read with interest Bro. Eyre’s article about the origins of the Truth in Germany and wondered whether, in view of my family’s personal connections since the 1920’s with several of the brethren mentioned by him, your readers would be interested in some additional information.
Bro. Albert Maier originally went to America from Reutlingen in Germany in the 1880’s. He had been brought up a Methodist but gradually drifted away seeking for the Truth. Eventually he met a man who said he would show it to him, and this we believe was a Bro. Thomas Rogers of Oregon. A note in The Christadelphian for January, 1887 from Portland, OR also mentions the immersion of two other Germans at about the same time.
After spending some time with Bro. A.H. Zilmer in Waterloo, IA, Bro. Maier returned to Hamburg, Germany in 1890 where he spent time with his sister and brother-in-law, who did not accept the Truth, before returning to his mother in southern Germany, who did. In 1893, Bro. Maier translated Bro. Porter’s important booklet on “The Millennium” and distributed over 1,000 copies of these to various friends and contacts. He then sold his house in Oberturkheim, near Stuttgart, intending to find work in England. Before doing so, he visited a friend in Uhlbac, Mrs. Weber, whose son, Frederick, was so impressed by what he had heard that he asked to be baptized. This took place on April 30, 1899, leaving Bro. Maier with only two other Christadelphians in Germany.
Unable to find employment in Birmingham and Coventry in England, Albert Maier returned to the States where he was joined by his mother in 1900. As Bro. Eyre stated, it was during the period 1907 to 1909 that several American brethren organized the translation into German of The World’s Redemption by Bro. Thomas Williams and this was to become the foundation of ecclesial life in Germany. Armed with this book, and a trunk load of other literature translated into German, Bro. Maier returned to Germany in 1912 at a time when there were ominous signs of the oncoming 1914-18 war. He rejoined Bro. Weber and arranged several preaching efforts in the course of which he met with the mother of Bro. Ludwig Knupfer -whose knowledge of English was of great help in translating The Declaration and Thirteen Lectures on the Apocalypse…
[S is. Ramsden has two paragraphs regarding Dr. Ludwig von Gerdtell which covers information presented in more detail in Tidings, 2/96, pg. 60]
As Bro. Eyre states, in 1927 my two grandfathers, Bre. H.C. Ramsden and John Owler (who were also both personal acquaintances of Bro. Thomas Williams, Bro. Owler having conducted his burial service) visited Berlin and Stuttgart in order to make a first-hand assessment of the progress of the Truth’s activities in that country. I still have Bro. John Owler’s personal diary recording his meetings with all of the various individuals concerned…
So in 1934, at the time of the rise of Hitler and the start of what was to become “The Holocaust,” my father, the late Bro. Stanley Ramsden, visited Bro. Maier and many other brothers and sisters in Germany. As a result of -the contacts he made on that visit, he was able to assist the Unamended brothers and sisters in the United States in their generous provision of food parcels under the CARE relief scheme which immediately followed the 1939-45 war. Together with Bro. Ernest Kendal, he made a further “pastoral” visit to Bonn and the ecclesias of southern Germany in 1948; and three years later in 1951, I was also able to make a similar visit (together with my brother, Bro. John) in the course of which we had the great pleasure of spending time with both Bro. Frederick Weber and Bro. Johannes Reich, to whom Bro. Eyre refers.
Mary Ramsden, London, UK
Dear Bro. Don,
Bro. David Sutcliffe of Huddersfield, UK has drawn my attention to the item on pg. 25-27 of Tidings 1/ 96 regarding Germany. I have been involved in matters in Germany over many years.
I have recently issued the enclosed history, the result of long research, including personal contact with many of the brothers and sisters referred to… Roy Waddoup Weston-Super-Mare, UK
We are very grateful indeed for the information provided especially for the “limited edition” history of the German ecclesias. It presents in considerable detail events that have been highlighted in the various letters.
Depression
Dear Bro. Don,
I read with interest the April “Discussion Correspondence” letter “Depression.” I agree with most of what was said and admire the faith and fortitude with which the writer overcame the heavy trials.
The depression suffered by the sister is called “reactionary depression” which is caused by exposure to emotional or physical trauma in the environment. There is also a condition called “chronic depression” which is recognized as an illness, is insidious and can strike without any apparent reason. To expect the victim to pull himself out of it is akin to saying to a diabetic, “cure yourself.”
Both types of depression may need medication and sometimes the help of a psychiatrist who is an expert in treating the problem and the related consequences of the illness. Chronic depressives may need on-going medication just as a diabetic needs insulin. One of the most useful anti-depressives used today is a drug called Prozac (I can almost feel brothers and sisters cringing at the word). Unfortunately Prozac has been much maligned. It is undoubtedly an effective medication with few side effects.
Current medical opinion indicates there is a neuro-chemical basis for depression. Research has shown that when the naturally occurring substance seratonin, which is necessary for the transmission of messages along the nerves is too low depression occurs. Prozac assists the body to adjust the seratonin balance. It also seems there is an hereditary factor. Some families have many members who have a genetic pre-disposition to depressive episodes.
The lack of self esteem, loss of confidence and self hatred triggered by depression is inhibiting. It often prevents the person reaching out for help. What is most devastating is the profound inability to concentrate, thus making thinking, reading and prayer almost impossible. This is when it becomes overwhelming. It is most certainly not lack of faith.
A positive approach for brothers and sisters is to pray for the sufferer. Let the individual know that you understand and care; visit for short periods; offer to do the readings (remembering that concentration and memory are poor).
Perhaps the most helpful thing is to absolve the person from guilt. It is not their fault! There is a longing to be well and free from the black cloud that engulfs and eclipses all other emotions.
I know, I have been there!
Strong’s Concordance