Articles
CREATIONIST
EXAGGERATIONS (Get Rid of the Roach)
By
Karl Priest 9-2007
(revised 6-30-15)
If you are an evolutionist reading this article you should not get
too giddy. Just read some of my other articles to see the outright
lies told by your evolutionist friends. Related to this particular
article, I have three separate non-creationist articles that state
that mayflies once grew to the size of birds as large as canaries
or sparrows. I have found no evidence to confirm that whopper.
Nevertheless there is no excuse for creationists making claims that
cannot be verified by science and/or scripture.
Unfortunately,
some great creationists have made some statements that are, at best,
exaggerations regarding insect fossils.
One
is the esteemed Dr. Kent Hovind who has stated insects once existed
that are much larger than those living today. I have no doubt that
some insects (such as dragonflies based upon fossil evidence) were
larger before the flood, but there is no evidence of anything like
Dr. Hovind claims to be a fact. In particular is Dr. Hovind's claim
about the size of pre-flood cockroaches.
To give credit where it is due, Dr. Hovind did have the courage
and manners to talk to me. He told me proof of a giant cockroach
was held by the St. Louis Zoo. Zoo officials did not verify that
claim.
Initially
in 2000 I tried to convince Dr. Hovind to make a correction. Dr.
Hovind said he only changes his presentation to please the Lord.
To which I responded, “It is not pleasing to the Lord for
you to continue to spread false information. That would be lying.”
Following is my last email to Dr. Hovind and below that is a snip
from a transcript of Dr. Hovind making the statement during a debate.
I have personally heard something similar when listening to Dr.
Hovind make a live presentation.
1-27-2006
Dr. Hovind:
I really appreciate
your ministry, but remain concerned that you have not corrected
the error of the large cock-roach fossil you have claimed exists.
The largest cockroach fossil is only 3.5 inches long.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/11/1112_TVbigroach.html
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?category=Sci-Tech&story=/news/2001/11/09/cockroach01
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=Cockroach
I do not need
to cite scientific and scriptural reasons why you should set the
record straight.
Thank you.
In Christ,
Karl Priest
Transcript
from John Ankerberg program:
Hovind: The fact is, I read the Bible and I look at science
and I see several interesting things. Insects are found in the fossil
record that are huge. Insects breathe through their skin. There’s
a real problem as an insect gets larger...it breathes through spiracles
in its skin. As you increase the size of an insect, the surface
area to volume ratio changes radically and you have a problem where
it can’t get enough oxygen. And yet we find dragon flies—they
found one in Italy here recently with a 50-inch wing span. Well,
a 50-inch dragon fly couldn’t possibly fly today. Something
was different. Two-foot grasshopper fossils were found. Eighteen-inch
cockroach fossils. In Germany this summer they found an 8-1/2 foot
centipede fossil. Something was different on this planet because
insects today cannot get that size because of the surface area to
volume ratio problem. They just don’t have enough skin to
absorb the oxygen they need. Plus the flight. You know, pterodactyls
are found with 50-foot wing spans. They couldn’t fly today.
(http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/_PDFArchives/science/SC3W0901.pdf)
I
focused on the cockroach in my comments to Dr. Hovind, but I find
no evidence of grasshoppers even approaching anywhere near 12 inches.
I did not investigate the centipede claim, because centipedes are
not insects, but Internet research reveals that living cntipedes (Scolopendra gigantea) can reach up to almost twelve inches.
There
is a fossil of a large dragon fly, but its wingspan is much less
(about 20 inches less) that the 50 inch span claimed by Dr. Hovind.
(http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/odonatoida.html)
Other giant insects probably existed, but until the fossils are
found dogmatic
statements about them only provide a legitimate opportunity for criticism from
about them only provide a legitimate opportunity
for criticism from evolutionists.
Regretably Dr. Hovind’s son, Eric, has incorporated this error into Eric’s otherwise excellent jazzed-up creation presentations. He uses a trick-photography image of a giant roach in a modern kitchen in Part 3 of his DVD Curriculum series “Beginnings”.
On October 8, 2009 I asked Eric for a citation. Receiving no response, I informed him of the error on October via the website contact form.*
The Hovind’s are not alone in committing this egregious error.
Dr. David Catchpoole, who writes extensively for Creation Ministries
International, says, (in the article “Insect Inspiration Solves
Giant Bug Mystery”) says, “Can you imagine a time when
mayflies were over five times bigger than today, and the ground
was walked by giant ants—their queen bigger than a hummingbird?
What about if insects looking somewhat like gigantic flying cockroaches
with 43–cm (1½–ft) wingspans came into your kitchen?
Would you have felt uneasy with gargantuan dragonflies—wingspans
as wide as a hawk’s—darting around you? “Sound impossible? In fact, all of these examples are known
from actual fossils—so at some time in the past such creatures
were living on this earth.” (http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/4686/)
Dr. Cathpoole did not respond to my contact efforts.
In Creation News (vol. 15, No. 1, 2001), John Mackay (of the group
Creation Research) wrote, “Alongside such giant preserved plants
are fossil cockroaches, forty times bigger than the ones we see
today.” Mackay, also, would not respond to my contact attempt.
Note: I reached someone in the office of both organizations who informed
me they would relay my message (which I clearly stated) to both
men.
Alas! These fine men, all of whom can easily defeat evolutionists
in debate, for some reason, cling to this unnecessary and incorrect
claim.
I really think they picked up the idea in some evolutionist material,
interjected some Biblical references to giants, and are too proud
to admit error.
As soon as these men make the appropriate corrections I will revise
this article.
I received a tip that Dr. Don Patton had unearthed a giant roach fossil. During a presentation Dr. Patton said, “I excavated a cockroach from near Oblong, Illinois several years ago. [It was] a foot-and-a-half long. [My] wife wouldn't let me bring it in the house." (“The Laws of Science Part 2 of 6” about 34:12 at http://www.bible.ca/tracks/video/don-patton-evolution-refuted-creation-science-flood-geology-laws-of-science.htm ) I contacted Dr. Paton via two October 29, 2012 emails and asked for verification of this fossil. Dr. Patton replied, “Due to several unfortunate circumstances, I no longer possess the fossil but I excavated it near Oblong, IL about 1978. To a follow-up question, asking if he had photographs or independent citations, Dr. Patton answered, “I'm afraid not. It was effectively stolen from me.”
There is plenty of cockroach facts that confound evolutionists. Unless we have verifiable facts creationists should not use the giant roach unless it is clearly a humorous point in a presentation.
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For convenience of readers I have added some snips from pertinent
citations.
Giant Roach Fossil Found in Ohio Coal Mine
Bijal P. Trivedi National Geographic Today November 12, 2001
Geologists at Ohio State University have discovered a fossil of
a giant prehistoric cockroach that roamed North America about 300
million years ago.
The
cockroach is about 3.5 inches long (9 centimeters)—twice as
large as the average modern American roach but slightly smaller
than some specimens found in the tropics.
(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/11/1112_TVbigroach.html)
Largest cockroach fossil predates dinosaurs
November 13, 2001 CBC News
An(sic)
geology student in Ohio has found the largest-ever complete fossil
of a cockroach, a nine-centimetre long insect that lived 300 million
years ago, well before the first dinosaurs. Cary Easterday, a master's
student at Ohio State University, found the fossil roach, more than
twice as big as a common American roach, in 1999.
The
fossil is an unusual find because insects don't have bones or hard
shells, parts that are usually preserved in fossil. Easterday credits
unusual chemical properties of the site for preserving the insect.
The
fossil reveals a lot of detail about the roach. The veins in the
insect's wings, the bumps on its shell, its legs, its antennae and
its mouth parts were all preserved in the fossil.
(http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2001/11/09/cockroach011109.html)
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Evolutionists also exaggerate the size of a roach fossil. In “ Why Giant Bugs Once Roamed the Earth” (National Geographic, August 8, 2011) Ker Than (See “Let’s Squash Natural Selection” for more from Than) said that fossils of “huge cockroaches were common during the Carboniferous period.” I emailed Mr. Than and asked if he had a citation for the largest fossil roach. He did not respond.
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For further reading about giant insects see my article “Large
Little Creatures”.
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* Brother Eric:
I asked for a citation for the existence (in the past) of the giant cockroach that is mentioned in Part 3 of “Beginnings”. I wanted you to realize that there is no proof of the existence of a roach that size.
I unsuccessfully tried to convey this to your father.
I am your friend and co-laborer in the cause of Christ the Creator.
We have enough criticism from evolutionists without providing easy targets like this.
Please correct this situation.
Sincerely,
Karl
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