Genesis Lecture 41 (6th day of the Creation 1)
Bible passage: Genesis 1:24-25
“24. And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the 41st Lecture on Genesis.
From this lecture, I will explain the 6th day of Creation. God created land animals and human beings on the 6th day. Genesis 1:24-25 categorize land animals into 3: 'beasts of the earth,' 'cattle,' and 'creeping things on the ground.' First, 'the creeping things on the ground' refer to reptiles, such as snakes, crocodiles, and turtles; but they also include insects that creep and crawl on the ground, like ants. From the beginning God separated those that are the 'beasts of the earth' from those that are the 'cattle'. The 'beasts of the earth' simply refer to wild animals.
On the other hand, you may think of 'cattle' as livestock that people keep such as cows, horses, and sheep. They can be kept by people, and they do people good. God separated cattle from wild animals like this from the moment He created animals. He did it because He knew what animals would be necessary to people during the period of human cultivation. Surely, cattle also lived in the wild in the beginning. As Adam and Eve came down to the earth and gave birth to their descendants, this is how people began to keep cattle. Initially, they caught animals in the wild and kept them in their houses. But not all the animals can be kept by people though.
There are some animals which people can easily tame, but there are also others which cannot be easily tamed. For example, animals like cows, horses, sheep, and dogs are easy to domesticate. On the other hand, wild beasts like tigers, lions, and leopards are difficult. Even a professional keeper or trainer treats such beastly animals very carefully. Of course, there are some beasts which are highly trained for a special purpose like in a circus. However, tigers or lions cannot become the "cattle" like cows or dogs which can live with people all the time. God created cattle which could do good for people in the future, and separated them from others from the beginning. For human cultivation, God the Father considered such a delicate part as this while doing the works of the Creation. In what ways are cattle of benefit to people? Before transportation was well developed, for example, people rode on a horse to travel faster. In addition, cows have provided people with meat, and they were also a means of transportation to carry heavy loads, and they also became great help to farming. How about dogs?
Dogs are very unique in their nature to follow their masters. From old times, they have been close to people and became helpful to people in many ways. There are other animals in the group, 'cattle', which can become help to people such as sheep, goats, and donkeys. From the moment God created them, He created cattle different from the wild animals. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. God created land animals after their kind from the beginning just as He did to fish and birds. It was not that aquatic animals evolved into land animals. Let me cite an example of an animal that used to exist in the past on the earth to see which is true between evolutionism and creationism.
Those animals are dinosaurs. I will briefly tell you about dinosaurs as they have been generally known to the world. Paleontologists, who study prehistoric times through fossils, claim that dinosaurs lived on earth for about 160 million years from 230 million years ago till 65 million years ago. They also don't forget to add that dinosaurs kept on evolving during the period. Scientists say that they have scientifically identified 330 genera and over 670 species of dinosaurs. Since in a genus there can be many species, and thus there were many more dinosaurs than 670 kinds. Since dinosaurs are extinct animals, studies on them rely completely on their fossil records. Now, many problems have been found when paleontologists explain the evolution of dinosaurs based on their fossils. The first problem is that only 20% of dinosaurs among the currently known have the complete frame. In other words, most of the dinosaurs are named without their skeletons being properly completed.
To explain evolution with an example of dinosaurs, there should be many fossils of intermediary links which can present the minute changes of each body parts. Far from fossils of intermediary links, however, most dinosaur fossils are incomplete without even the basic frameworks. It shows that, even though evolutionists proclaim dinosaurs evolved, they don't have any evidence to back up their theory. The second problem is that 75% of dinosaur fossils are concentrated in 6 countries. They are Canada, the US, Argentina, Mongolia, China, and the UK. The fossils of dinosaurs are scattered over the world, but they are concentrated in these 6 countries. Even though they are not found only in Europe or Asia, but in many parts of the world, they are concentrated in some specific areas. This aspect also is in conflict with evolutionism.
It is because, if dinosaurs had evolved, they wouldn't have needed to stay in a specific area. In addition, scientists claim that tropical climate-like weather lasted for a significant period of time throughout the whole world while dinosaurs thrived. If it was so, there are fewer chances that dinosaurs would have stayed intact. Since climatic environment was the same everywhere, it would be better to live far from rivals that prey on the same animals than stay close to them. Let me compare territory of dinosaurs to that of tigers based on the amount of food. Here is the calculation of the average area of tigers' territory in 3 major habitats of tigers and their average amount of food.
One male and 3 female tigers, a total of 4 tigers can live in an area of 422 square kilometers. The average body weight of a tiger is 200 kilograms, and the least amount of everyday intake of food is about 10 kilograms. In case of an elephant, the average body weight is 5 tons (4535 Kg), and the least intake of food a day is 185 kilograms. Both herbivores and carnivorous should eat at least 3-5% amount of their body weight every day. In 3 major habitats of tigers, therefore, a 200 kilogram weighing tiger eats 10 kilograms of food every day in its territory which has an area of 105 square miles Based on this study, let's calculate the area of dinosaurs' territory and the average amount of intake. In order for a dinosaur weighing 20 tons to survive, which is 100 times heavier than an average tiger, it needs 1 ton of food every day. To make it possible, this dinosaur needs 10,500 square kilometers of area which is 100 times bigger than a tiger's territory. South Korea is currently 99,373 square kilometers.
Therefore, only 9 dinosaurs which weigh 20 tons can survive in South Korea. Now, a dinosaur called brachiosaurus weighed about 80 tons. It means, only two dinosaurs in this size can live in South Korea. However, many dinosaur fossils were found near Kyoung-Sang Province of South Korea, and some of them weighed 120 tons. By the way, even if a dinosaur has an enough area to live in, it should be provided with that amount of food every day. Paleontologists claim that the living environment at the time of dinosaurs was better than today to get more food. Considering this, if they can get 100 times more amount of food than today, only 6 dinosaurs which weigh 20 tons can live in the area of Seoul. If they weigh 80 tons, only two of them can stay in Seoul. However, dinosaur fossils which have been discovered so far are concentrated in specific areas.
For example, along with other dinosaur species, a pack of 300 dinosaur fossils of the same species in various sizes from babies to grown-ups were found in Alberta, Canada. A huge amount of dinosaur fossils were also discovered in the Egg Mountains of Montana in the US. In a case of a certain species of dinosaur fossils, about 10,000 fossils were found in a range of 2 kilometers. Why did dinosaurs stay together like this? If they lived on earth for 160 million years just as scientists claim, how could they find such a huge amount of food? Dinosaurs would know by instinct that they should stay far from each other to avoid competition over prey. Here is one more thing I should mention. It is the question of whether absolute dating is ever correct. Absolute dating is the process of determining an approximate age for a site or an artifact. There is a study, however, that absolute dating cannot be always trusted even though it is done by official measurement. It was actually introduced in the international science journal, 'Science', in October 17, 2003.
Scientists tried to measure the age of the same material which was collected from the same place with two official measurements for age dating. If both measurement methods are correct, the result should be identical. Even though the objects may not be precisely identical, the age measurements should show at least similar results. However, the difference of the two age measurements was very significant. One measurement showed that it was about 8 million years old, and the other, only 2 million years. There was more than 6 million years difference. The results were the same even though the experiment was repeated many times. Therefore, the time and the period of dinosaurs' survival based on such an age measurement like this cannot be considered accurate. In other words, even though scientists claim that dinosaurs lived on earth for about 160 million years from 230 million years ago till 65 million years ago, their claim may not be correct. Now, scientists say that dinosaurs became extinct all at once, 65 million years ago As you can see on the screen, all of a sudden they died out at a certain point in time.
Even though the time of their extinction was not correct, it is true that they became extinct at a certain point of time. Then, how long did dinosaurs live on earth, and why did they become extinct all of a sudden? I will tell you about this when we get to the 2nd Chapter of Genesis. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Among the animals that God created on the 6th day, there are creeping things on the ground. I said that they refer to reptiles like turtles, and the ground-creeping insects such as ants. Let me tell you about ants among the ground-creeping animals. Scientists collected very interesting facts after they studied the ecology of ants. Ants collect different amounts of food depending on seasons whether it is summer or winter. And they collect different kinds of food depending on their nutritional requirements.
For example, as there are many actively growing larvae, ants collect food which is full of protein that is a necessary nutrient for larvae. However there are many worker ants, so they collect food which is full of carbohydrates that is the energy producer. It even appears as if ants held a meeting and collected food according to the result of the meeting. How can evolutionists explain the way of survival of ants that work as a whole for the needs of a community? By the way, there is a certain species of ant that prepares food by farming. This ant is called leafcutter ant. This ant cuts leaves into pieces, brings them home, and piles them up. Then, fungus grows from the pile of leaf pieces, and these ants use the fungus as food. Scientists claim that the history of ant farming is about 10 million years old. It means ants were ahead of humans in growing fungus as food.
How could ants know fungus can grow up in the pile of leaf pieces? Ants didn't learn it by themselves, but God the Creator gave such an instinct to the ants. There is also an ant that makes use of tactics that are similar to modern military tactics. This is ection hamatum, an army ant which lives in Amazon of Brazil. This army ant shows amazing methods of reconnaissance and reactive problem solving. If enemies are low in density, they break through the enemy lines to split them into two, and attacks them from the flanks. This is a tactic that is used by modern military forces. On the other hand, if enemies are high in density, they take a fan-shaped battle formation. When the battle is matched in strength, Special Forces which are held ready in the rear are thrown into the battle. In addition, the prize from the battle is taken back to the rear by the reserved troops that wait in the back of the fan-shaped battle formation.
Tactics of modern military infantry troops are even believed to be copied from these ants. When I was sick for seven years, I used to watch ants closely. If a piece of a candy was found on the ground, ants appeared from nowhere. At first, a couple of ants tried to take the piece of candy. But when they found it was beyond the scope of their strength, they quickly called for other ants. Many ants came in a line following the way messengers went to call for other ants. Then, tens of, or hundreds of ants teamed up to take the food home. Just for your information, even though there are some differences among ants, an ant can carry 50 times its own body weight. It's like a man weighing 60 kilograms carry an object weighing 3 tons! Ants have such amazing strength. Now, Proverbs 6:6-8 says, "Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest." As said, ants have no chief, no officer, and no ruler yet they form one community and live there. With a queen ant at their center, all the ants know their given duty and take care of their duty faithfully.
When ants collect food, they all work together. Even though there is no one who gives orders, they move like one in one will. How well they work in good order! An ant is weak in strength, but when they unite as one, they enjoy tremendous strength. Even a beast cannot survive when it is attacked by a group of ants in Africa or the Amazon. If all the workers of this church could unite like this, you can demonstrate much greater strength. No matter what obstacles are before you, you will keep on marching without any problem. You should learn from ants how to unite as a group, and also learn their diligence. I said ants collect food in advance without taking a rest. This way, even if it is difficult to get food, they don't worry and manage their lives without difficulty. If you work diligently, you can be set free from poverty and live well. Even though you do a job of labor, if you save even a small amount of money constantly while working with diligence, you can escape from poverty.
Moreover, if you believe in and depend on God, you will get more than what you pile up. You will be acknowledged and trusted by others around you, and whatever you do will prosper. However, chances are that many people don't try to get honest money like ants, but that they show excessive greed. They walk apart from the right path, and eventually fall into great difficulties. Some people seem to prosper even though they adopt expedience and practice unlawfulness. Even so, the children of God should depend on the word of God, and walk the right path without being swayed. Psalm 37:1-2 says, "Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb." And it continues to say in Psalm 37:3-4, "Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." God gave an instinct of survival even to weak animals like ants. How could such a God turn His back on His good children who depend on God and work diligently and ignore the desire of their hearts? Even though Joseph was wrongfully accused and imprisoned, when he depended on God and worked diligently, God made his way prosperous. Is there anyone who is in a trouble like Joseph? Is there anyone who complains that they have no way of survival because they were not properly educated or because they have no skills? Learn from ants, and get their wisdom! Believe in God from the depth of your heart, depend on God, and do any work diligently! If you do your work diligently without changing of mind and without greed, God will surely bless you. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
In this lecture, I explained how God created the 3 kinds of land animals on the 6th day of the Creation. And I took an example of dinosaurs to enlighten you on which is true between evolutionism and creationism. In addition, I told you what wisdom you can get from 'ants' among the creeping things. In the next lecture, I will explain how God created man on the 6th day. On the 6th day of the creation, God created the cattle after their kind, the beasts of the earth after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind Now, Genesis 1:25 says, "God saw that it was good." As the land animals were created on the 6th day, everything that was environmentally necessary for human cultivation was finally set. And so, 'God saw that it was good.'
Let me describe the heart of God the Father at this moment. When a newly married couple conceives their first baby, they prepare many things even before the baby is born. They prepare baby clothes, beddings, and toys - only the pretty things - and they are excited just to look at them. God the Father felt so good in His heart as He looked over the completed environment that was set on earth as the base foundation for human cultivation. God the Father created man with this thrill and excitement.
And He has endured long with hope until He gets true children. Who can become His true children! It is you who have come to know the very origin of the works of creation through this Genesis Lecture. It is you who should become God the Father's true children. May many of you become the fruit of joy to God the Father, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
Mafundisho ya Mwanzo 41 | Siku ya Sita ya Uumbaji 1
Andiko la Biblia: Mwanzo 1:24–25
“24. Mungu akasema, Nchi na izae kiumbe hai kwa jinsi yake, mnyama wa kufugwa, na kitambaacho, na mnyama wa mwituni kwa jinsi yake; ikawa hivyo. 25. Mungu akafanya mnyama wa mwituni kwa jinsi yake, na mnyama wa kufugwa kwa jinsi yake, na kila kitambaacho juu ya nchi kwa jinsi yake; Mungu akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.”
Ndugu wapendwa katika Kristo. Haya ni Mafundisho ya 41 ya Mwanzo.
Kuanzia somo hili, nitaeleza siku ya sita ya uumbaji. Siku ya sita Mungu aliumba wanyama wa nchi kavu na wanadamu. Mwanzo 1:24–25 inawagawa wanyama wa nchi kavu katika makundi matatu: “wanyama wa nchi,” “wanyama wa kufugwa,” na “viumbe vitambaavyo juu ya nchi.” Kwanza, “viumbe vitambaavyo juu ya nchi” vinamaanisha wanyama watambaao kama nyoka, mamba na kasa; lakini pia vinatia ndani wadudu wanaotambaa ardhini, kama siafu. Tangu mwanzo Mungu alitenganisha “wanyama wa nchi” na “wanyama wa kufugwa.” “Wanyama wa nchi” humaanisha wanyama wa mwituni.
Kwa upande mwingine, mnaweza kufikiria “wanyama wa kufugwa” kuwa mifugo inayofugwa na watu, kama ng’ombe, farasi na kondoo. Wanaweza kufugwa na watu na kuwanufaisha. Mungu aliwatenganisha mifugo na wanyama wa mwituni tangu wakati alipowaumba. Alifanya hivyo kwa sababu alijua wanyama gani wangehitajika na watu wakati wa ukuzaji wa mwanadamu. Bila shaka, hapo mwanzo mifugo pia iliishi porini. Adamu na Hawa walipokuja duniani na kuzaa wazao wao, watu wakaanza kufuga mifugo. Mwanzoni, walikamata wanyama porini na kuwaleta nyumbani. Hata hivyo, si wanyama wote wanaoweza kufugwa na watu.
Kuna wanyama ambao watu wanaweza kuwafuga kwa urahisi, na wengine ambao ni vigumu kuwafuga. Kwa mfano, ng’ombe, farasi, kondoo na mbwa ni rahisi kufugwa. Kwa upande mwingine, wanyama wa mwituni kama simbamarara, simba na chui ni vigumu. Hata mfugaji au mkufunzi mtaalamu huwatunza kwa uangalifu mkubwa wanyama hao wakali. Bila shaka, wanyama wengine wa mwituni hufundishwa sana kwa kusudi maalumu, kama vile katika sarakasi. Hata hivyo, simba au simbamarara hawawezi kuwa “mifugo” kama ng’ombe au mbwa wanaoweza kuishi na watu daima. Tangu mwanzo Mungu aliumba na kuwatenga wanyama wa kufugwa ambao wangeweza kuwafaidi watu baadaye. Katika kazi za uumbaji, Mungu Baba alizingatia hata jambo dogo kama hili kwa ajili ya ukuzaji wa mwanadamu. Mifugo huwafaidije watu? Kabla usafiri haujaendelea, kwa mfano, watu walipanda farasi ili kusafiri haraka zaidi. Ng’ombe waliwapa watu nyama, walisaidia kusafirisha mizigo mizito na walisaidia sana katika kilimo. Vipi kuhusu mbwa?
Mbwa wana tabia ya pekee ya kuwafuata mabwana wao. Tangu zamani wamekuwa karibu na watu na kuwasaidia kwa njia nyingi. Kuna wanyama wengine katika kundi la “mifugo” wanaoweza kuwasaidia watu, kama kondoo, mbuzi na punda. Tangu alipowaumba, Mungu aliwafanya wanyama wa kufugwa wawe tofauti na wanyama wa mwituni. Ndugu wapendwa katika Kristo, tangu mwanzo Mungu aliumba wanyama wa nchi kavu kwa jinsi zao, kama alivyofanya kwa samaki na ndege. Wanyama wa majini hawakubadilika na kuwa wanyama wa nchi kavu. Nitatoa mfano wa mnyama aliyeishi duniani zamani ili tuone ni ipi iliyo kweli kati ya mageuzi na uumbaji.
Wanyama hao ni dinosauri. Nitawaeleza kwa ufupi kuhusu dinosauri kama zinavyojulikana kwa jumla duniani. Wanapaleontolojia, wanaochunguza nyakati za kale kupitia visukuku, hudai kwamba dinosauri ziliishi duniani kwa takriban miaka milioni 160, kuanzia miaka milioni 230 iliyopita hadi milioni 65 iliyopita. Pia hudai kwamba dinosauri ziliendelea kubadilika kwa mageuzi katika kipindi hicho. Wanasayansi wanasema wamezitambua kisayansi familia 330 na aina zaidi ya 670 za dinosauri. Kwa kuwa familia moja inaweza kuwa na aina nyingi, dinosauri zilikuwa nyingi zaidi ya aina 670. Kwa kuwa dinosauri zimetoweka, utafiti kuzihusu hutegemea kabisa rekodi za visukuku vyake. Hata hivyo, matatizo mengi yameonekana wanapaleontolojia wanapoeleza mageuzi ya dinosauri kwa kutegemea visukuku. Tatizo la kwanza ni kwamba ni asilimia 20 tu ya dinosauri zinazojulikana sasa zilizo na mifupa kamili. Kwa maneno mengine, dinosauri nyingi zimepewa majina bila mifupa yake kukamilishwa ipasavyo.
Ili kueleza mageuzi kwa kutumia mfano wa dinosauri, kungepaswa kuwa na visukuku vingi vya viumbe vya mpito vinavyoonyesha mabadiliko madogo katika kila sehemu ya mwili. Lakini badala ya visukuku vya viumbe vya mpito, visukuku vingi vya dinosauri havijakamilika hata kwa kuwa na mifupa ya msingi. Hii inaonyesha kwamba ingawa wanaounga mkono mageuzi wanadai dinosauri zilibadilika kwa mageuzi, hawana ushahidi wa kuthibitisha nadharia yao. Tatizo la pili ni kwamba asilimia 75 ya visukuku vya dinosauri vimekusanywa katika nchi sita: Kanada, Marekani, Argentina, Mongolia, China na Uingereza. Visukuku vimesambaa duniani, lakini vimejikusanya katika nchi hizo sita. Ingawa havipatikani Ulaya au Asia pekee bali katika sehemu nyingi za dunia, vimejikusanya katika maeneo mahususi. Jambo hili pia linapingana na nadharia ya mageuzi.
Ni kwa sababu kama dinosauri zingeibuka kwa mageuzi, zisingehitaji kukaa katika eneo maalumu. Zaidi ya hayo, wanasayansi hudai kwamba hali ya hewa ya kitropiki ilidumu kwa muda mrefu duniani kote wakati dinosauri zilipostawi. Kama ndivyo, kuna uwezekano mdogo kwamba dinosauri zingekaa mahali pamoja. Kwa kuwa hali ya hewa ilikuwa sawa kila mahali, zingekuwa na nafasi nzuri zaidi ya kuishi mbali na washindani waliowinda wanyama walewale badala ya kukaa karibu nao. Ngoja nilinganishe maeneo ya dinosauri na ya simbamarara kwa kutegemea kiasi cha chakula. Hapa kuna hesabu ya wastani wa eneo la simbamarara katika makazi yake makuu matatu na kiasi cha wastani cha chakula anachohitaji.
Simbamarara mmoja dume na majike watatu, jumla ya simbamarara wanne, wanaweza kuishi katika eneo la kilomita za mraba 422. Uzito wa wastani wa simbamarara ni kilo 200, na kiwango cha chini kabisa cha chakula anachohitaji kila siku ni takriban kilo 10. Tembo ana uzito wa wastani wa tani tano (kilo 4,535), na kiwango cha chini cha chakula anachohitaji kwa siku ni kilo 185. Wanyama wala majani na wala nyama wanapaswa kula angalau kiasi kinacholingana na asilimia 3–5 ya uzito wa miili yao kila siku. Kwa hiyo, katika makazi makuu matatu ya simbamarara, simbamarara mwenye uzito wa kilo 200 hula kilo 10 za chakula kila siku katika eneo lake lenye ukubwa wa takriban kilomita za mraba 105. Kwa kutegemea utafiti huu, tuhesabu ukubwa wa eneo na kiasi cha wastani cha chakula cha dinosauri. Ili dinosauri mwenye uzito wa tani 20 aishi, uzito wake ukiwa mara 100 ya simbamarara wa wastani, anahitaji tani moja ya chakula kila siku. Ili hili liwezekane, dinosauri huyo anahitaji eneo la kilomita za mraba 10,500, mara 100 ya eneo la simbamarara. Kwa sasa Korea Kusini ina eneo la kilomita za mraba 99,373.
Kwa hiyo, dinosauri tisa tu wenye uzito wa tani 20 wangeweza kuishi Korea Kusini. Dinosauri anayeitwa brachiosaurus alikuwa na uzito wa takriban tani 80. Hii inamaanisha kwamba dinosauri wawili tu wa ukubwa huo wangeweza kuishi Korea Kusini. Hata hivyo, visukuku vingi vya dinosauri vilipatikana karibu na jimbo la Gyeongsang nchini Korea Kusini, na baadhi yake vilikuwa na uzito wa tani 120. Zaidi ya hayo, hata dinosauri akiwa na eneo la kutosha kuishi, anapaswa kupata kiasi hicho cha chakula kila siku. Wanapaleontolojia hudai kwamba mazingira ya kuishi wakati wa dinosauri yalikuwa bora kuliko ya leo na yalitoa chakula kingi zaidi. Tukiangalia jambo hilo, hata kama dinosauri wangeweza kupata chakula mara 100 zaidi ya cha leo, dinosauri sita tu wenye uzito wa tani 20 wangeweza kuishi katika eneo la Seoul. Kama wangekuwa na uzito wa tani 80, wawili tu wangeweza kuishi Seoul. Hata hivyo, visukuku vya dinosauri vilivyogunduliwa hadi sasa vimejikusanya katika maeneo mahususi.
Kwa mfano, pamoja na aina nyingine, kundi la visukuku 300 vya dinosauri wa aina moja, wa ukubwa mbalimbali kuanzia watoto hadi waliokomaa, lilipatikana Alberta, Kanada. Kiasi kikubwa cha visukuku vya dinosauri pia kiligunduliwa katika Milima ya Egg, Montana, Marekani. Katika eneo moja, takriban visukuku 10,000 vya aina fulani ya dinosauri vilipatikana katika eneo la kilomita mbili. Kwa nini dinosauri zilikusanyika pamoja namna hii? Kama ziliishi duniani kwa miaka milioni 160 kama wanasayansi wanavyodai, zingewezaje kupata chakula kingi kiasi hicho? Kwa silika, dinosauri zingejua kwamba zinapaswa kukaa mbali ili kuepuka kushindania mawindo. Kuna jambo jingine nataka kulitaja: je, upimaji wa umri kamili ni sahihi kweli? Upimaji huu ni njia ya kukadiria umri wa eneo au kitu cha kale. Hata hivyo, utafiti unaonyesha kwamba upimaji huo hauwezi kuaminiwa kila wakati hata unapofanywa kwa kutumia vipimo rasmi. Jambo hilo lilichapishwa katika jarida la kimataifa la sayansi la Science tarehe 17 Oktoba 2003.
Wanasayansi walijaribu kupima umri wa sampuli ileile iliyokusanywa mahali pamoja kwa kutumia njia mbili rasmi za kupima umri. Kama njia zote mbili zingekuwa sahihi, matokeo yalipaswa kuwa sawa. Hata kama sampuli hazingekuwa zinazofanana kabisa, makadirio ya umri yalipaswa angalau kuwa karibu. Hata hivyo, tofauti kati ya vipimo viwili ilikuwa kubwa sana: kipimo kimoja kilionyesha umri wa takriban miaka milioni nane, na kingine miaka milioni mbili tu. Kulikuwa na tofauti ya zaidi ya miaka milioni sita. Matokeo yalibaki vivyo hivyo jaribio liliporudiwa mara nyingi. Kwa hiyo, muda na kipindi ambacho dinosauri ziliishi, vinavyokadiriwa kwa vipimo vya umri wa namna hiyo, haviwezi kuchukuliwa kuwa sahihi. Kwa maneno mengine, ingawa wanasayansi hudai kwamba dinosauri ziliishi duniani kwa takriban miaka milioni 160, kuanzia miaka milioni 230 iliyopita hadi milioni 65 iliyopita, huenda dai hilo lisiwe sahihi. Sasa, wanasayansi wanasema kwamba dinosauri zote zilitoweka kwa wakati mmoja miaka milioni 65 iliyopita. Kama mnavyoona kwenye skrini, zilitoweka ghafula wakati fulani.
Hata kama tarehe ya kutoweka kwao si sahihi, ni kweli kwamba zilitoweka wakati fulani. Basi, dinosauri ziliishi duniani kwa muda gani, na kwa nini zilitoweka ghafla zote? Nitawaeleza tutakapofika Mwanzo sura ya pili. Ndugu wapendwa katika Kristo, miongoni mwa wanyama aliowaumba Mungu siku ya sita kulikuwa na viumbe vitambaavyo juu ya nchi. Nilisema kwamba hao ni wanyama watambaao kama kasa na wadudu wanaotambaa ardhini, kama siafu. Ngoja niwaeleze kuhusu siafu. Wanasayansi walikusanya mambo ya kuvutia sana walipochunguza ikolojia ya siafu. Siafu hukusanya kiasi tofauti cha chakula kulingana na majira, iwe kiangazi au kipupwe. Pia hukusanya aina tofauti za chakula kulingana na mahitaji yao ya lishe.
Kwa mfano, mabuu yanayokua kwa bidii yanapokuwa mengi, siafu hukusanya chakula chenye protini nyingi, kirutubisho kinachohitajika na mabuu. Lakini siafu wafanyakazi wanapokuwa wengi, hukusanya chakula chenye wanga mwingi, unaotoa nguvu. Inaonekana kana kwamba siafu hufanya mkutano na kukusanya chakula kulingana na uamuzi wa mkutano huo. Wanaounga mkono mageuzi wanawezaje kueleza jinsi siafu wanavyoishi kwa kufanya kazi pamoja kwa ajili ya mahitaji ya jamii nzima? Kuna aina fulani ya siafu inayolima ili kupata chakula. Wanaitwa siafu wakata-majani. Hukata majani vipandevipande, huyabeba hadi nyumbani na kuyarundika. Kisha fangasi hukua kutoka kwenye rundo la vipande vya majani, nao siafu hutumia fangasi hao kuwa chakula. Wanasayansi hudai kwamba kilimo cha siafu kimekuwepo kwa takriban miaka milioni 10. Hii inamaanisha kwamba siafu walianza kukuza fangasi kwa chakula kabla ya wanadamu.
Siafu wangewezaje kujua kwamba fangasi wanaweza kukua kwenye rundo la vipande vya majani? Hawakujifunza wenyewe; Mungu Muumba aliwapa silika hiyo. Kuna pia siafu wanaotumia mbinu zinazofanana na mbinu za kisasa za kijeshi. Hawa ni siafu aina ya Eciton hamatum, wanaoishi Amazon nchini Brazili. Siafu hawa wa jeshi huonyesha mbinu za ajabu za upelelezi na kutatua matatizo wanapokabiliana nayo. Adui wanapokuwa wachache, hupenya safu zao ili kuzigawanya mara mbili kisha hushambulia pembeni. Hii ni mbinu inayotumiwa na majeshi ya kisasa. Kwa upande mwingine, adui wanapokuwa wengi, siafu hujipanga katika umbo la feni. Vikosi maalumu vilivyowekwa tayari nyuma hutumwa vitani pale nguvu zinapolingana. Zaidi ya hayo, askari wa akiba wanaosubiri nyuma ya safu hiyo ya umbo la feni hubeba nyara za vita kuzirudisha nyuma.
Inaaminika hata kwamba mbinu za askari wa miguu wa majeshi ya kisasa zilinakiliwa kutoka kwa siafu hawa. Nilipokuwa mgonjwa kwa miaka saba, nilikuwa nikitazama siafu kwa makini. Kipande cha peremende kilipoonekana ardhini, siafu walitokea kana kwamba wametoka popote. Mwanzoni, siafu wawili walijaribu kukibeba kipande hicho. Walipotambua kuwa kilizidi nguvu zao, waliwaita siafu wengine haraka. Siafu wengi walifika kwa mstari, wakifuata njia ileile ambayo wajumbe walipitia kuwaalika wengine. Kisha siafu kadhaa au mamia walishirikiana kubeba chakula hadi nyumbani. Kwa taarifa yenu, ingawa kuna tofauti kati ya aina za siafu, siafu mmoja anaweza kubeba uzito unaozidi mara 50 ya uzito wake. Ni sawa na mtu mwenye uzito wa kilo 60 kubeba kitu chenye uzito wa tani tatu! Siafu wana nguvu ya ajabu namna hiyo. Mithali 6:6–8 inasema: “Ewe mvivu, mwendee chungu, zitafakari njia zake ukapate hekima; ambaye hana akida, wala msimamizi, wala mtawala; huandaa chakula chake wakati wa hari, na kukusanya chakula chake wakati wa mavuno.” Kama Neno linavyosema, siafu hawana kiongozi, msimamizi wala mtawala, lakini huunda jamii moja na kuishi pamoja. Wakiwa na siafu malkia katikati yao, kila mmoja hujua wajibu wake na kuutimiza kwa uaminifu.
Siafu wanapokusanya chakula, wote hushirikiana. Ingawa hakuna anayetoa amri, husonga pamoja kana kwamba wana nia moja. Wanashirikiana vizuri kwa utaratibu! Siafu mmoja hana nguvu, lakini wanapoungana wanapata nguvu kubwa sana. Hata mnyama mkali hawezi kunusurika akishambuliwa na kundi la siafu barani Afrika au Amazon. Kama wafanyakazi wote wa kanisa hili wangeungana namna hiyo, mngeonyesha nguvu kubwa zaidi. Haijalishi vikwazo gani viko mbele yenu, mtaendelea mbele bila shida. Jifunzeni kwa siafu jinsi ya kuungana kama kikundi na pia bidii yao. Nilisema kwamba siafu hukusanya chakula mapema bila kupumzika. Kwa njia hiyo, hata chakula kinapokuwa kigumu kupatikana, hawahangaiki na huendelea kuishi bila shida. Mkitenda kazi kwa bidii, mnaweza kuwekwa huru kutoka katika umaskini na kuishi vizuri. Hata mkitenda kazi ya mikono, mkiweka akiba ya kiasi kidogo kwa uaminifu na bidii, mnaweza kuondoka katika umaskini.
Zaidi ya hayo, mkimwamini na kumtegemea Mungu, mtapata zaidi ya yale mnayokusanya. Watu walio karibu nanyi watawakubali na kuwaamini, na kila mfanyalo litafanikiwa. Hata hivyo, watu wengi huenda wasijaribu kupata fedha kwa uaminifu kama siafu, bali huonyesha tamaa iliyozidi kiasi. Hupotoka katika njia iliyo sawa na hatimaye huingia katika shida kubwa. Watu wengine huonekana kufanikiwa ingawa wanatumia hila na kufanya mambo yasiyo halali. Hata hivyo, watoto wa Mungu wanapaswa kutegemea Neno la Mungu na kutembea katika njia iliyo sawa bila kuyumbishwa. Zaburi 37:1–2 inasema: “Usikasirike kwa sababu ya watenda mabaya, usiwahusudu wafanyao ubatili. Maana kama majani watakatika mara, kama miche mibichi watanyauka.” Kisha Zaburi 37:3–4 inaendelea: “Umtumaini Bwana ukatende mema, ukae katika nchi, ufuate uaminifu. Nawe utajifurahisha kwa Bwana, naye atakupa haja za moyo wako.”
Mungu aliwapa hata wanyama dhaifu kama siafu silika ya kuishi. Mungu huyo angewezaje kuwapa kisogo watoto wake wema wanaomtegemea na kufanya kazi kwa bidii, na kupuuza haja za mioyo yao? Yusufu alishtakiwa kwa uongo na kufungwa gerezani, lakini alipomtegemea Mungu na kutenda kwa bidii, Mungu alifanikiwa njia yake. Je, kuna yeyote aliye katika shida kama Yusufu? Je, kuna yeyote anayesema hana njia ya kuishi kwa sababu hakupata elimu nzuri au hana ujuzi? Jifunzeni kutoka kwa siafu na mpate hekima yao! Mwamini Mungu kutoka ndani ya moyo wenu, mtegemeeni na mfanye kazi yoyote kwa bidii! Mkitenda kazi kwa bidii bila kubadilika nia na bila tamaa, Mungu hakika atawabariki. Ndugu wapendwa katika Kristo.
Katika somo hili, nilieleza jinsi Mungu alivyoumba makundi matatu ya wanyama wa nchi kavu siku ya sita ya uumbaji. Nilitumia mfano wa dinosauri kuwasaidia kutambua ni ipi iliyo kweli kati ya mageuzi na uumbaji. Zaidi ya hayo, niliwaeleza hekima mnayoweza kupata kutoka kwa “siafu” miongoni mwa viumbe vitambaavyo. Katika somo lijalo, nitaeleza jinsi Mungu alivyomuumba mwanadamu siku ya sita. Siku hiyo Mungu aliumba wanyama wa kufugwa kwa jinsi zao, wanyama wa mwituni kwa jinsi zao, na kila kiumbe kitambaacho ardhini kwa jinsi yake. Mwanzo 1:25 inasema: “Mungu akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.” Wanyama wa nchi kavu walipoumbwa siku ya sita, mazingira yote yaliyohitajika kwa ukuzaji wa mwanadamu hatimaye yalikuwa tayari. Ndiyo sababu Mungu “akaona ya kuwa ni vyema.”
Nieleze moyo wa Mungu Baba wakati huo. Wanandoa wapya wanapotunga mimba ya mtoto wao wa kwanza, huandaa mambo mengi kabla mtoto hajazaliwa. Huandaa nguo za mtoto, matandiko na vitu vya kuchezea—vitu vizuri tu—na hufurahi hata wanapovitazama. Mungu Baba alifurahi moyoni mwake alipotazama mazingira yaliyokamilika duniani, yaliyowekwa kuwa msingi wa ukuzaji wa mwanadamu. Mungu Baba alimuumba mwanadamu akiwa na msisimko na furaha hiyo.
Naye amesubiri kwa muda mrefu kwa tumaini la kupata watoto wa kweli. Ni nani wanaoweza kuwa watoto wake wa kweli? Ni ninyi mlioupata ufahamu wa asili ya kazi za uumbaji kupitia Mafundisho haya ya Mwanzo. Ninyi mnapaswa kuwa watoto wa kweli wa Mungu Baba. Ninaomba wengi wenu muwe matunda ya furaha kwa Mungu Baba, katika jina la Bwana Yesu Kristo! [Amina!]
