philosophy – The Bible and Modern Pterosaurs

August 6, 2021

Why Believe in the Ropen or Modern “Pterodactyls”

sketch of two flying pterosaurs - "In reality, not all species are extinct."

By Jonathan Whitcomb

Why are some skeptics so insistent that somebody must force them to believe in non-extinct pterosaurs before they will believe? The following is part of a comment made under a Youtube video on my channel Protect Animal Life, and it’s from a young man who used to live in Florida:

Several years after moving to a northern state (during a family get-together) I met a man, and we engaged in conversation. One of the topics included outdoor activities, of which I related my frequent encounters with alligators and how I would attempt (sometimes successfully) to feed leftover food to the “small” (3-4′) who would come into my yard periodically (my property bordered a grown in waterway.)

Well, he practically called me a liar. As it turned out, this man has never visited any southern state nor took any opportunity to leave the boundaries of his home state. To him, what I related regarding my experience was a fantastically fictitious story, and he vocalized this to his chagrin, as several family members and a few guests (who were listening to said conversation) who were fortunate enough to have either lived “down south” or vacationed there (including Florida) collaborated my story, especially with the alligators intruding into “backyards”.

This to me highlights the limited mindset of people when told something outside the scope of their experience, for example ropen. I believe the ropen exist without seeing one, as a substantial amount of creditable people worldwide have experienced and importantly reported the sighting of them.

Thank you for all your painstakingly investigative research and your most valuable time in sharing and enlightening us & those who seek the truths of our world.

Reply from Jonathan Whitcomb (under that Youtube video)

Thank you so much, Nix! How relevant! It reminds me of a desert nomad with much experience moving around a huge desert but with no experience with any whale. Such a person might disbelieve in whales. On top of that, such a nomad might also disbelieve in the possibility of an ocean.

Why we Believe

Eyewitnesses from around the world report large featherless flying creatures, and their descriptions contain significant similarities in details. Keep in mind that those eyewitnesses come from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, languages, and educational experiences. How could those countless hundreds of sightings have been from hoaxes or hallucinations or misidentifications when the persons who saw the similar apparent pterosaurs are so different from one person to another?

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Modern-Pterosaur News – July of 2021

. . . relates to the formation of a nonprofit organization that will specialize in research into reports of non-extinct modern pterosaurs, including the long-tailed featherless ropen . . .

Pterodactyl Sightings – 170+ Videos by mid-2021

This is a Youtube channel trailer video for “Protect Animal Life”, with brief excerpts from seven living-pterosaur videos, out of about 170 total videos on this channel, almost all of which relate to pterodactyl sightings . . .

Short Mini-Documentaries on Modern Pterosaurs

A playlist of many videos on these astonishing featherless flying creatures, videos on the Youtube channel “Protect Animal Life”.

New Youtube Video: “Pterodactyl” Sighting in California

The video is titled “A confession about a pterodactyl” and gives my account of an ironic twist in my life: from a severe skeptic to a firm believer in modern pterosaurs.

Ropen

Duane Hodginson’s description of the giant “pterodactyl” heand his buddy saw in 1944 demonstrates to recent researchersthat the two soldiers had seen a ropen.

January 18, 2018

Online-Radio Interview With Dave Scott (Spaced Out Radio)

By (imperfect) living-pterosaur expert Jonathan D. Whitcomb

Late on the night of January 16, 2018, (9:00-11:45 p.m. Pacific time) I, Jonathan Whitcomb, was interviewed by Dave Scott on Spaced Out Radio (online radio broadcasting from British Columbia, Canada). One of my associates phoned me, the next day, unhappy with my neglect: For one thing, I had said nothing about the importance of the Ark of Genesis in living-pterosaur investigations. I am sorry for my imperfections, and I now plan to correct that neglect with the following steps, and possibly with more:

I’ll be prepared to mention the Ark in future talk-show interviews
I’ll mention the Biblical perspective more in my writings, incl. on Flood-of-Genesis (dot-com)
I’ll write at least one book emphasizing the Ark’s importance regarding living-pterosaurs

At the beginning of this interview on Spaced Out Radio, Mr. Scott referred to me as a man of faith. I hope that I, imperfect as I am, will live up to that. Near the beginning of the discussion, I mentioned my Evolutionary Boundary simulation many years ago, although I may not have mentioned the name of it. To be brief, it showed me that Darwin’s concept of survival of the fittest actually makes his concept of evolution impossible: Small simple forms of life cannot evolve into larger complex forms of life BECAUSE of natural selection.

Replica of the Ark of Noah, in the Netherlands

Biblical Ark and Modern Pterosaurs

Let’s keep this short and simple. The primary foundation for belief in scriptures, and belief in the literal ark of Noah, is in faith. That does not mean blind faith, believing without any reason to believe, but it can mean taking one or two steps onto the path ahead, even when the light does not yet quite reach that far.

The Ark we read about in Genesis was constructed to protect basic forms of life that would not have survived without protection. Birds and pterosaurs could have flown above the flood waters for a time, of course, but they would not generally have been able to survive long without a place to rest. I believe a number of species of pterosaurs were kept on the Ark, as well as a number of dinosaurs.

Why do I believe in modern-day living pterosaurs? Because many persons, from many cultures and backgrounds and from many areas of the planet, have seen those flying creatures.

(The photo shown above is not to be confused with the Ark replica in Kentucky.)

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Spaced-Out Radio interview of Jonathan Whitcomb

(audio) Host Dave Scott and guest (JW) discuss living pterosaurs

Ark Encounter in Kentucky

Ark Encounter features a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. Spanning 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, this modern engineering marvel amazes visitors . . .

Where Living Pterosaurs Have Been Reported

Africa
Australia
Canada
England
Papua New Guinea
United States of America
and many other countries worldwide

Reply to a Newspaper Article in North Carolina

The News & Observer published an article, earlier this week, about a sighting by Cynthia Lee and about my ideas on non-extinct “pterodactyls,” including pterosaur sightings in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Texas and Living Pterosaurs

They only appear a few times each year, but they always come back. Sometimes a ball of light seems to split into two, with a separation and eventual reunion [Marfa Lights]

Replica of Noah’s Ark

Asked how Johan’s Ark compares with the Ark Encounter project planned for Kentucky, Zovath said that while both arks are built to biblical measurements, the Ark Encounter project addresses the shipbuilding processes Noah likely used. Huibers utilized steel barges welded together and then covered with wood, and he also modified the design to accommodate a more “free-flowing” crowd.

Living Pterosaurs – a proclamation

The second part of PLP goes into more details, regarding encounters with apparent extant pterosaurs, compared with DLP, and there is limited overlapping of what sightings are covered. Here in PLP are more of the earlier reports that I, Jonathan Whitcomb, received in my earlier years of my investigation.

April 22, 2016October 1, 2023

Religious “Bias” and the Ropen

A few years ago, I was the guest on a radio or podcast talk show of the Merseyside Skeptics Society. The two hosts were polite and appeared to be fair, even though my declarations about modern pterosaurs surely would have had few believers among the listeners of the broadcast. Ropens would not likely be given much belief from those who would listen to such a radio or podcast broadcast.

One point I remember clearly. I was asked about the possibility of religious bias in the thinking of those who believe the eyewitnesses of apparent living pterosaurs. I replied that bias is not restricted to those who are religious. Why should Christians be singled out for potential bias? Any person of any philosophy may well be biased about particular ideas.

Is it reasonable to assume that someone coming up with a revolutionary idea, not yet proven, must be thinking unclearly? Must a person with a strange-sounding new idea be wrong? Of course not.

Bias Against Albert Einstein

Remember the plight of Albert Einstein soon after the end of World War I. How might we have reacted, if we were citizens of England at that time? Many of our friends and family members could have been dead from the bullets and bombs and poisonous gas from German soldiers. Now some obscure German Jew is telling the world that the great English scientist Isaac Newton was wrong about how the universe behaves? How could Einstein have responded to that bias?

Are Eyewitnesses Biased?

Those who have seen featherless flying creatures that were obviously not bats—those persons live in various countries, come from various backgrounds, believe in various religious or irreligious ideologies, and have grown up in various cultures and family backgrounds. I dare any skeptic to proclaim that all of those eyewitnesses are plagued by bias related to Christian young-earth creation ideas. I have interviewed persons from five continents, and their answers sometimes reveal the obvious: Most of the eyewitnesses did not have any special attraction toward young-earth-creation ideology, when they saw a flying creature that looked like a “dinosaur bird” or “pterodactyl” or “flying dinosaur.”

Yet the descriptions are strikingly similar:

Long tails on the flying creatures (41%=yes and only 2%=no)
Lack of feathers (21%=positive on featherlessness and 25%=probably no feathers)
Tail flange suggesting a Rhamphorhynchoid (28.5% reported a tail flange)
Long neck (shooting down the Frigate bird conjecture)
Head crest (24%=head crest seen and only 3.5%=not seen)
Many sightings are of flying creatures larger than birds

By the way, the great majority of apparent pterosaurs are not the ones commonly portrayed in science fiction movies and television programs. They are not short tailed Pteranodons but long-tailed Rhamphorhynchoids, what my associates and I call ropens.

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YouTube Video Introduces Viewers to the Ropen

This video begins with images of farm animals, and the sound is a combination of those farm animals and an orchestration of the old piano piece by Robert Schumman: “The Happy Farmer.”

Are Religious People More Biased?

How often have I encountered the objections of critics who would dismiss the work of creationist living-pterosaur investigators because of assumed bias! The critics assume that belief in the Bible causes bias. Why not look more carefully?

Ropen on Creation Wiki

An old online page on the modern long-tailed pterosaur:

According to the recent investigators David Woetzel, Garth Guessman, and Jonathan Whitcomb, over 90% of the sightings of the ropen on Umboi Island are of the “ropen light.” Whitcomb’s book (Searching for Ropens) suggests that most of these sightings are of one giant creature that sleeps in the island interior during the day; at night it feeds on reefs (at least on the northern and southern coasts where the three investigators explored). The two expeditions of 2004 independently interviewed eyewitnesses who reported that the bright glow of the ropen lasts for about five to six seconds.

Ropen of Umboi Island

This island appears ideal for the species and large ropens may claim the interior mountains of some similar islands. The nocturnal creatures may do better when they can sleep in daylight in secure nesting areas on mountains close to the reefs of the coastlines.

Eyewitnesses of the Ropen

Reasons to believe eyewitnesses who claim to have seen a giant ropen and describe it in terms suggesting a pterosaur

January 30, 2015

The Flood of Genesis

I’ve noticed that few of my posts on this blog have related directly to the Bible, at least with Biblical quotations included (except regarding the “fiery flying serpent”). This may have been a major weakness in my writings, in particular for readers who had no previous experience with the writings and lectures of my associates, who sometimes make up for what I have lacked. I’ll take a step to correct that now, since the name of this blog is, after all, The Bible and Modern Pterosaurs.

I have never doubted the Biblical account of the Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind into the mortal condition in which we now live. I have also never doubted the reality of the Flood of Genesis, and that deserves attention here. Yet we need to take all of this in context: The Savior Jesus Christ accomplished the great atonement to save us from all the negative aspects of the Fall, a subject deserving a library of books. With that in mind, let’s now look at the Flood of Noah.

Genesis 7: 1-3 (King James Version)

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Old depiction of the animals and birds leaving the Ark, but where are the dinosaurs?

Genesis actually gives us few details about the Ark and how eight humans and many creatures were saved by living on it for many months, at least few details compared with all that must have taken place. Let’s use a bit of human reasoning here, even though our limited abilities make the best of our reasoning inferior to what we can learn from the words of scripture.

Apparently even back in the time of Noah animals were divided into “clean” and “unclean,” meaning some were approved for human consumption and others were not. In the number of creatures to be taken into the Ark, a balance was necessary: predatory animals must be greatly outnumbered by the prey animals on which they would feed after the Flood was abated.

Regardless of what kind of animals Noah’s family ate (if any) before the Flood, and regardless of what they would eat afterwards, prey animals needed to be much more numerous than lions, eagles, and snakes, for example. Otherwise animals like deer, rabbits, and rats might become extinct, an event not completely tragic to all humans.

Details absent in Genesis

Did every variety of every type of creature enter the Ark of Noah? Why should they? Take the obvious example first: Would Noah have taken every breed of dog into the Ark, if all the present-day varieties existed in his day? No. Only a few genetically-healthy dogs would be needed, for they would have all the traits that could later become active in our modern breeds, even though the countless traits would not be outwardly visible in those original ancestors.

What about dinosaurs and pterosaurs? From eyewitness accounts over the centuries, at least some varieties of dinosaurs and pterosaurs must have been preserved on the Ark. For example, one of my associates, Brian Irwin of Australia, spoke with natives in the New Britain area of Papua New Guinea, and they described an encounter with an apparent Therizinosaurus. That is not to say that all types of dinosaurs were preserved from extinction in the Flood of Genesis, but not all of them became extinct.

Many eyewitness reports that I have received, over the past eleven years, suggest a narrow range of characteristics are common in modern pterosaurs. Many sighting reports include descriptions that include two or more of the following:

Lack of feathers
Long tail
Flange (“diamond”) at tail end
pointed horn-like head crest

The combination of a head crest and a Rhamphorhynchoid tail is uncommon in pterosaur fossils (but not totally absent from all types); yet that combination is common in eyewitness reports in the past 100 years. For some reason, long-tailed ropens (like Rhamphorhynchoids but sometimes much larger than fossils) may account for more than 60% of all modern pterosaurs, perhaps much more.

Do any of the recently-seen types closely relate to the “fiery flying serpents” of the Old Testament? Who knows? Yet with all of the wonderful possibilities, how much we need to learn by future discoveries, and how dearly we need the help of biologists in the search for these wonderful flying creatures!

Are these dragons flying away from the Ark of Noah? Apparently so.

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What was the Fiery Flying Serpent?

Another problem with the snake interpretation strikes me to the heart. What is the usual symbolism here? Who does the snake usually represent in the Old and New Testament? Satan, of course. Does it seem likely that a true serpent would be used to symbolize Jesus Christ? If the “fiery flying serpent” were a snake, Moses would have killed one of them and dragged the dead snake on the ground, to symbolize God’s victory over Satan. He would not have given the Israelites the symbol for Satan, to look up to a common snake for healing or salvation.

Let us be Fair to the Young-Earth Creationist

For years I have worked with Young Earth Creationists in bringing to light evidence for modern living pterosaurs. For years critics have dismissed the possibility of live pterosaurs because the idea is promoted by YEC’s who believe in the Bible. This unfair approach, commonly accompanied by bulverism, now deserves attention.

Honestly, I Told the Truth

For eleven years, I (Jonathan Whitcomb) have been a cryptozoologist, with a special interest in eyewitness accounts of flying creatures that look like pterosaurs, commonly called pterodactyls. I have given my opinions honestly about various levels of credibility in the individual reports that I have received from eyewitnesses . . .

The Ropen and the Fiery Flying Serpent

Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs are well known from fossils: long-tailed . . . If the fossils were really all we had to go by, members of the Rhamphorhynchoidea suborder would be consistantly small; but modern versions of those long-tailed pterosaurs can be almost any size, and that means a few are huge: bigger than fossils yet discovered.

August 12, 2014

Modern Pterosaurs and Suicide Prevention

The complexities of depression and human despair—those should not be taken lightly, nor shoved aside with a simplistic poem or cute phrase of advice. And the best response to suicide is not to grab onto an impulsive and severe judgment of those who have chosen to throw away their lives. With all the lonely suffering in this world, however, we can each find some way to bring something positive into the life of another person, however small our lone attempt may appear on the surface, in this big world of ours.

Like many others, I was sad to learn of the passing of Robin Williams. Yet I suggest we each now focus on someone, among the billions of persons now living, who can benefit from something we can do or say positively. My own part may seem especially weak and indirect to some skeptics, perhaps, but I’ll be satisfied if only one person will benefit.

Living pterosaurs—what a discovery! Not in a biology textbook do we now see them but in the words of eyewitnesses of different races, religions, and languages. How many millions of years ago were they all supposed to have gone extinct? Look to the future, not to an imaginary past, for those flying creatures can be seen by almost anyone, almost anywhere on this big wonderful planet that we share with them. With few exceptions, they live in the shadows of nocturnal flight, with only the reported sightings being rare, not the nightly sorties of featherless wonders. They fly overhead every night.

Consider now what is written about suicide, and also about hope, in the book Searching for Ropens and Finding God:

After reading this book, if one person finds a reason to live and abandons thoughts of suicide, what a reward for all of us involved! This is not a textbook for preventing suicide, yet I suggest each of us can find ways to bring meaning into the lives of persons around us, motivating all of us to keep living and learning. [second paragraph of the introduction]

I remember an earlier shock from suicide. My sister Cindy came home from junior high upset about what happened with the science teacher. I tried to imagine what tragedy could have lead to such despair. He had appeared full of life. . . .

I would not mention any of that here, except to emphasize what we all need. It was far more than adventure, the hope that my associates and I shared, a hope that carried us to a remote tropical island to search for a living creature that almost all scientists had set aside as if dead for millions of years. How dearly we all need the mother of that little hope: a sense of a worthy purpose to live!

What did I hope to accomplish? What was that little hope that I shared with a few other Americans who were about to explore a remote tropical island? How dearly we need good news! The discovery of a living pterosaur—wonderful news to a zoologist—could spark somebody to abandon despair and grasp the hand of hope, to be sure. How worthy a purpose, even if only one human life is saved!

If anyone might be lifted out of some degree of depression, even if only with a little lifting, I would be willing to send that person a free copy of my book, as long as I have the ability to do so (my finances have been stretched, with very few sales of late). Please contact me.

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May 21, 2014November 14, 2014

Religion and Science in the new Ropen Book

Four copies (front and back covers) of nonfiction cryptozoology science/religion - "Searching for Ropens and Finding God"

How much religion and science are found in the nonfiction Searching for Ropens and Finding God? It depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s quantities of Biblical quotes or complex scientific concepts that prove the Bible is true, this nonfiction would compete poorly with at least two books available on Amazon. But for true-life adventures of Christian explorers who live their faith by getting actively involved, Searching for Ropens and Finding God may be a step above any other book in the religion/science-and-religion genre.

Noah’s Flood

If you look for references to the Flood of Genesis, notice fourteen pages listed in the index. Yet no detailed analysis of geologic strata will you find in this book. The Biblical account is taken as a foundation:

The model of Noah’s Flood suggests that some of them survived into the time of Noah’s descendants, and whatever conditions threatened some species, within several thousand years, some dinosaurs and pterosaurs should have survived. [page 16]

Fiery Flying Serpents in the Old Testament

Look up “fiery flying serpent” in the index and notice four pages on that Biblical animal. Yet no detailed analysis of Hebrew word-meanings will you find. The modern-winged-creature interpretation is explained in simple English:

My associates and I believe that the fiery flying serpent of the Old Testament was a “basal” pterosaur, perhaps related to the long-tailed ropen of Papua New Guinea. We believe they called it “fiery” because of its glow, which we attribute to bioluminescence. “Flying” is literal, with wings. [page 44]

Evolution

Why not look up “evolution” in the index? Seventeen entries you’ll find, but without any obscure scientific words or baffling concepts, mostly just the basics:

Is this a tool for promoting Biblical Creation and ridiculing evolution? Clear thinking we need, without fear, allowing us to discover both truth and error in whatever camp we find ourselves, entrenched or visiting, at the moment. I suggest we beware of simplistic labels. That said, expect explanations for why my associates and I have rejected extreme naturalism philosophy and Darwin’s unlimited common ancestry philosophy, what some call the General Theory of Evolution. [third paragraph of the Introduction, on page 7]

In my childhood, nobody insisted to me that small simple life must have changed into large complex life long ago. I had read of ideas contrary to the General Theory of Evolution by my mid-teens, after our family had moved to Pasadena, California. But I was brought up to believe or disbelieve what I chose. My own feelings, perspective, and belief in God raised my doubts about Darwin. [page 13]

(3rd edition shown above) Searching for Ropens and Finding God – Buy ropen book on Amazon

Science, Mathematics, and Common Ancestry (Unlimited Evolution)

Not all references to scientific investigation are that simple, yet basic explanations of results—that is what you’ll find in this book:

Late in 2002, I began working on what I called an “Evolutionary Boundary.” I wanted to force one step in the evolution of a new biological structure. That would demonstrate how unlikely it would be for all life on this planet to have arisen through evolving from simple organisms in countless steps. It surprised me when my mathematical models failed to produce such a step, even after half a year of work. It proved to me that Darwin’s ideas about the origin of life were even more unrealistic than I had thought.

Conclusions

For those who are offended at ideas contradicting popular standard models in Western science, avoid this book if you don’t want to be offended. For those who want only details that support all Young Earth Creationism ideas, you can be inspired by the faith promoting expeditions of Young Earth Creationists, although only a limited number of the 353 pages directly support a very young earth, and none of them support a young universe.

For those who simply want to know what can fly over our heads at night—you should find this book inspiring, entertaining, and instructive.

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The most recent edition, number four: Searching for Ropens and Finding God by Whitcomb

The Fiery Flying Serpent

If the Israelites had been attacked by an animal well known to us, with a clear label, we would feel no need for oblique interpretations. And if we were always humble enough to admit that our modern science might not include knowledge of every dangerous animal encountered by ancient Israelites, we would feel no need for continuous obliqueness.

“Pterosaurs Alive in, Like, the Modern Day”

I’ve written elsewhere about this paleontologist, about his extensive criticism of the concept of modern living pterosaurs (“Pterosaurs alive in, like, the modern day”). His lengthy writings, on that one page, about questionable reports—they ring like strawman arguments to me, for the credible accounts are entirely neglected by Darren Naish.

Recent Pterosaur Sightings

The wingspan was around 30 feet, according to the sailor. The ship was doing target practice at an island in the Pacific. It looked like their ship was found by a Japanese plane, but the men came to realize that it was a flying creature, after it flapped its wings.