The Loch Ness Monster

[quicksand]

Browsing on the web this morning I found this interesting little nugget of information about Nessie and Christianity.

 

The story is that a Christian missionary, Columba, later canonized as a Saint, drove away the beast in God's name. The story is retold 100 years later by another Staint, Adomnan in 690. (This alleged event was supposed to have taken place in 565 a.d.)

 

"Also at another time, when the blessed man was for a lumber of days in the province of the Picts, he had to cross the river Nes [Ness]. When lie reached its bank, he saw a poor fellow being buried by other inhabitants; and the buriers said that, while swimming not long before, he had been seized and most savagely bitten by a water beast. Some men, going to his rescue in a wooden boat, though too late, had put out hooks and caught hold of his wretched corpse. When the blessed man heard this, he ordered notwithstanding that one of his companions should swim out and bring back to him, by sailing, a boat that stood on the opposite bank. Hearing this order of the holy and memorable man, Lugne mocu‑Min obeyed without delay, and putting off his clothes, excepting his tunic, plunged into the water. But the monster, whose appetite had earlier been not so much sated as whetted for prey, lurked in the depth of the river. Feeling the water above disturbed by Lugne's swimming, it suddenly swam up to the surface, and with gaping mouth and with great roaring rushed towards the man swimming in the middle of the stream. While all that were there, barbarians and even the brothers, were struck down with extreme terror, the blessed man, who was watching, raised his holy hand and drew the saving sign of the cross in the empty air; and then, invoking the name of God, he commanded the savage beast, and said: "You will go no further. Do not touch the man; turn back speedily". Then, hearing this command of the saint, the beast, as if pulled back with ropes, fled terrified in swift retreat; although it had before approached so close to Lugne as he swam that there was no more than the length of one short pole between man and beast.Then seeing that the beast had withdrawn and that their fellow- soldier Lugne had returned to them unharmed and safe, in the boat, the brothers with great amazement glorified God in the blessed man. And also the pagan barbarians who were there at the time, impelled by the magnitude of this miracle that they themselves had seen, magnified the God of the Christians."

 

What gets me about this account (other than being at least a third hand account and a 100 years later - like the New Testament anyone?), is the fact that Columba had to go back to the scene and order another man to disrobe and swim out to the crime scene to fetch the other boat even though there another boat was available. Anyway, his companion, swims out to fetch the boat and now Columba can now mumble his magic words and perform this miracle. Of course, the pagans (celtic Picts in this case) are impressed by the missionaries magic and nonetheless Christian-god.

 

This is an age-old tactic of conversion and it's so transparent. However, the apologist finds this compelling evidence of the truth of their god when its really a comment about humanities will to belief despite evidence to the contrary.

[Taphophilia]

They also use Nessy to disprove evolution. Nessy is actually a species of dinosaur that lives in Loch Ness and other places where sightings have occurred. This species didn't make it to the Ark, but survived the flood because it's aquatic. Loch Ness used to be open to the sea, but during the Flood, it closed off trapping the dinosaurs who have been breeding there ever since.

 

Also, the fossil record of human evolution is actually Big Foot.

[quicksand]

They also use Nessy to disprove evolution. Nessy is actually a species of dinosaur that lives in Loch Ness and other places where sightings have occurred. This species didn't make it to the Ark, but survived the flood because it's aquatic. Loch Ness used to be open to the sea, but during the Flood, it closed off trapping the dinosaurs who have been breeding there ever since.

Doesn't this line of reasoning that Nessie survived the flood contradict the Bible? Wasn't all supposed to be destroyed, except that which made it on the ark? Doing a quick re-read of Gen 6, all flesh is destroyed. Fish are fleshy. "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh..." Although, Gen 6 does is not explicit about things in the sea, so I suppose this could give the Creationist some wriggle room to cherry pick. I guess Taph this is another example where Christians do not read their Bible.

 

I doubt that Nessie, if indeed ia an extinct plesiosaurs, actually exists and is swimming happily in the Lake of Ness. From what I read, you'd need a least 10 breeding pairs and the lake does not have enough food for that many, or even one single plesiosaurs to survive in. And let's say that a plesiosaur did exist up to this account, I doubt that it would have attacked a man. They were probably bottom feeders or ate small fish.

 

Also, whales and other big fish wash up on the ocean all the time. By now a Nessy carcass would have washed up on the shore from the time of Columba's account. No such body has ever been recovered.

 

Also, the fossil record of human evolution is actually Big Foot.

I find crypto-zoology quite fascinating. I've read books by Micheal Cremo, a creationist in the Hindu tradition. He cited big foot and the other variants as evidence against evolution. I put the book down after that, just like Hoagland's book The Face of Mars where he cited crop circles as evidence that the "face" is something real.

[Luke Wolf]

Well, if Nessy does exist, that tale explains why it's hiding. I wouldn't want to be found either if people claimed the Christian God's name alone could drive me away.

Allthough I have seen several accounts (on History Channel/TLC/Etc.) showing various hypothesis of what Nessie descended from, and that while those creatures did exists, it's not likely any of them existed in Loch Ness.