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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?

The scientific works of Isaac Newton are not dismissed because of his belief in the Bible; why dismiss the work of modern cryptozoologists who investigate eyewitness accounts of apparent living pterosaurs? Newton believed in Biblical prophecies, in their literal fulfillments. Most of those who have searched for ropens in Papua New Guinea (including me and my associates Paul Nation, David Woetzel, and Garth Guessman) have faith in literal aspects in Biblical scriptures, including the Flood of Noah. But our interviews of eyewitnesses should not be dismissed with the insipid excuse that we are biased because of our religious beliefs. Almost everyone who has graduated from the diaper stage of life has some religious or pseudo-religious ideas or assumptions about life. We are all human, with various beliefs that may influence our choices. Christians are probably no more biased than non-Christians.

How important that we carefully examine the testimonies of eyewitnesses, for they seem to be of various beliefs and backgrounds! And many of them describe similar things about apparent living pterosaurs. Let us investigate and encourage others to investigate these accounts of apparent living pterosaurs.

Is “living pterosaur” a creationist idea?

What is a living pterosaur? It’s a presently-living animal, with pterosaur ancestors, and with features making it an obvious pterosaur. It presently lives as a cryptid in the realm of cryptozoology, according to Western classification. According to critics, it lives only in the imagination of some creationists.

What is a creationist? It’s a human, with a belief in Adam and Eve as their original human ancestors on earth. Disbelief in the General Theory of Evolution (GTE) is one feature of a creationist. Not all cryptozoologists believe in living pterosaurs, and not all creationists are convinced. Some who belief in GTE assume that universal pterosaur extinction cannot be successfully challenged and that those who mention eyewitness sightings are misguided in a severe bias. The problem with that position becomes obvious when we examine the eyewitnesses: Few of them are creationists.

So is “living pterosaur” a creationist idea? From 1993 to early 2010, most expeditions were led by creationists, most research was done by creationists, and most writings were written by creationists. But no, the idea that pterosaurs continue to fly through our skies–that comes from openly considering testimonies of eyewitnesses of various beliefs, various languages, and various cultures. But the living pterosaur as part of a support for literal interpretations of many events recorded in Genesis–that is a creationist idea.

See also Monsterquest and Flying Monsters