All this week we’ve been talking about how science relates to the Bible, in one way or another. I’ve been saving the best for last. We begin by setting the Way-Back Machine to 2004, when headlines were made by a mostly intact T-Rex skeleton found in Montana. What made these fossils so special, is that the skull contained in tact blood, and the leg offered up other soft tissue – still intact. Creationists (myself included) jumped on this find stating that such things as blood vessels couldn’t survive millions of years indicating that these bones were only a few thousand years old.

Since then a hypothesis has been proposed that large amounts of iron is responsible for the preservation of the T-Rex soft tissue, which may or may not pan out. Certainly iron is not responsible for the find we discussed yesterday about the find of geochemists or other research suggesting that life may have begun almost all at once. Nor does it explain another soft tissue find from a Triceratops horn.

Also found at the Hell Creek formation in Montana, the largest Triceratops horn ever discovered made its was to California and into the hands of researcher’s. In 2013 researcher Mark Armitage found soft tissue, a discovery that shocked professors and students alike. Armitage wrote a very scientific paper about the discovery that was published in a peer journal, but did not mention his view that this discovery proves that dinosaurs lived 4,000 years ago. He kept to the science and left his Creationist views to himself, believing the implications were obvious to anyone. Evidently they were, for after reading the paper he was promptly fired by his boss, Dr. Ernest Kwoc, who stated at the time, “We’re not going to tolerate your religion in this department.” Armitage promptly sued for discrimination, and in recent days won.

While this evidence is exciting, it doesn’t prove anything definitively. It does present a compelling argument, however, and one that only the most arrogant of evolutionists can reject out of hand. Armitage was treated badly by scientists who cling to their faith in evolution beyond reason. This is expected. What surprised me is how badly some researchers have been treated by Creationists. One such researcher, Mary Schweitzer, responsible for finding the soft tissue in T-Rex in 2004 and a self-professed Christian, told the Smithsonian in an interview that, “They [Creationists] accuse her of hiding the true meaning of her data. ‘They treat you really bad,’ she says. ‘They twist your words and manipulate your data.’”

This is unacceptable. The people of God cannot disrespect those who deny God’s existence, and Dr. Schweitzer isn’t even among that group. We are to treat all people with dignity and respect, for all people are created equally and in God’s image. I cannot stress too much the importance of humility when presenting our views, lest we become the arrogant blow hard we discussed in Tuesday’s post. No one comes to Jesus by his follower’s demanding it. Every person must be persuaded of their own accord, through proposition of God’s Word and the influence of the Holy Spirit. We close this series with a little more food for thought:

“Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12.16-21