Whales are fish: Biblical taxonomy

The Bible does not follow modern “Linnaean taxonomy” (rooted in the formulations of Carl Linnaeus in the 1700s). In ancient thought, classifications of creatures were grouped by movement and habitat rather than biology (e.g., sea vs. air vs. land; cf., for example, Genesis 1:28; Hosea 4:3). Consider this in regard to the modern classification of the bat as a mammal, while the Bible classifies bats with fowls of the air in Leviticus 11:13-19. Due to flight in the air, the bat is classified among the fowl of the air; due to swimming in the sea, the whale is classified among the fish of the sea. This seems to bother some modern folk. However, there is no reason for Christians to run away like frightened children just because the Bible uses its own classification system rather than following what has been developed by modern scientists. Why accept what men have said over what God has said?

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Note: “Linnaean taxonomy is a hierarchical system for classifying and naming organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus. It organizes biological diversity into categories like kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.” The fear of the difficult drives some commentators to affirm odd, unresearched, and false statements. For example, the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary states: “It is scarcely needful to note that there are no whales in the Mediterranean.” There are actually a number of whale species found in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Dung Beetle

I first heard about this from Brother Beau Hicks, pastor of Jones Prairie Independent Baptist Church, Jones Prairie, Texas.

Even the lowly dung beetle (Scarabaeoidea) is wonderfully made by the voice of God. 

“In a study published in the scientific journal Current Biology, researchers say dung beetles take ‘snapshots’ of the stars and store the images in their brains.

After conducting an experiment in which some beetles wore cardboard hats that blocked their views of the stars, researchers determined that “dung beetles can roll their balls of dung in straight lines by using the Milky Way as a compass queue.” Warrant added that the tiny waste harvester wearing the cardboard hats just “rolled around and around and around in circles. They couldn’t keep a straight path.”

This happens during the “dance,” a behavior in which the beetle climbs on top of its ball and rotates about its vertical axis.

“In order to protect their food from competitors, ball-rolling dung beetles detach a piece of dung from a pile, shape it into a ball, and roll it away along a straight path. They appear to rely exclusively on celestial compass cues to maintain their bearing.”

“In the most elaborate carry-out scenario, the dung beetles must first stake claim to their piece of poop at the main dung pile, then shape it into a sphere for easy transport, fend off other dung beetles trying to steal it, and then — using the stars to navigate — determine the fastest way to roll their prize away to a safe spot for consumption.”

From Dung Beetles Navigate Poop-Pile Getaways Using Celestial ‘Snapshots’ and “A Snapshot-Based Mechanism for Celestial Orientation,” Current Biology, Volume 26, Issue 11, June 2016.

God made all things, and all things by him are gloriously made. See Colossians 1:16 and Revelation 4:11.

Jonah and the Whale

Q. Was Jonah swallowed by a whale or a fish?

A. Both. It is a whale (Matthew 12:40, κήτος) and a fish (Jonah 1:17, דָג). The Old Testament book says God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah and Jesus said that fish was a whale. Yet scientists say the whale is not a fish; it is a mammal, and the Bible is wrong. Who shall we believe? Believe God. We should look the scientist and skeptic in the eye and say, “God is sovereign.” God is the Sovereign of the universe and the Creator of all things. He is under no obligation to categorize fish and whales by some modern classifications or man-made distinction that some modern scientists have chosen. God is the creator of the whale. He can (and does) call it what he wants.

When puny humans can place a man inside a whale and bring him out alive after three days and three nights, maybe we will have earned some right to call him what we wish against what God says. Of course, we can’t, and won’t, and don’t! This issue might become a complicated debate for some, but let us reserve the debate over technicalities to within “the family.” There is no reason for Christians to run from this issue like a frightened schoolchild. We should and must stand for the Bible, truth against falsehood.

In modern English whale may mean (scientifically) any of various large marine mammals of the order Cetacea, or (popularly) any large sea creature or something that is impressive in size. The word comes from the Old English hwæl, Old Saxon hwal, apparently going back to the German hwal/wal, and Latin squalus (a kind of large sea fish).

• Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (KJV, Jonah 1:17)

The Old Testament Hebrew is gadowl (גָּדֹ֔ול) dag (דָּ֣ג), meaning “great fish.”

• for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (KJV, Matthew 12:40)

The Greek used in the New Testament is ketos (κητος). Divry’s Modern English-Greek and Greek-English Dictionary (1974), is just a Greek/English dictionary. It has nothing directly to do with the Bible (i.e., it is a Greek language dictionary, not a Bible dictionary). If you look up the Greek word ketos, it has “whale.” If you look up the English word whale, it has “ketos.”

Notice also that the Greek LXX of the Old Testament translates (דָּג גָּדֹול) as κήτει μεγάλῳ and (הַדָּג) as κήτους – which Lancelot Brenton translates into English as great whale and whale (1:17 in the KJV, is 2:1 in LXX).

καὶ προσέταξεν κύριος κήτει μεγάλῳ καταπιεῖν τὸν Ιωναν καὶ ἦν Ιωνας ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας

Now the Lord had commanded a great whale to swallow up Jonas: and Jonas was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights.

As late as 1952, the new Revised Standard Version still used the word “whale.”

• For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (RSV, Matthew 12:40)

The modern pressure to be “scientific” has called forth a number of substitutes: great fish (ESV, NKJV, TLB), huge fish (CSB, LEB, NET, NIV), sea creature (ISV), sea monster (AMP, EXB, LSB, NASB, NRSV), and possibly others. I do not see these as wrong, in the sense that, in biblical terms the whale is a great or huge fish, and a sea creature. I see them as compromising, jellyfish translations (gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria), that bow to science when science should instead bow to God.

As if it matters, we notice that some people who attack the King James Bible in particular or the Bible in general claim that scientific terminology labeling whales as mammals predates the 1611 translation of the Bible. So the translators should have had their fingers in the wind, and not used the word “whale” (in their opinion). However, this assertion appears to be chronologically false. The information that I have found indicates that this system (re whales) dates to 1758 (of course, there were earlier folks developing taxonomic ideas, such as the Bauhin brothers, botanists). It was in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae that Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish biologist and taxonomist, classified cetaceans as mammals rather than fish. The taxonomic system of Linnaeus formed the basis of modern whale classification. That does not matter in terms of biblical truth, but the timing nevertheless seems to be a false claim that deserves debunking. Regardless, Bible translators are not beholden to modern classifications as sources for translation.

As far as a whale or fish swallowing Jonah, if we believe in a sovereign God who can do all things, and we believe that fish was “prepared by God” – that should remove all difficulties believing the story. God made a creature that, due to his preparation, was able to swallow an adult human. It was a miracle!

As far as a whale being a fish, if we believe God made all things, we allow him to call those things whatsoever he will – regardless of what anyone else decides to call them. God is the eternal sovereign Creator.

As William Jennings Bryan said to Clarence Darrow, “If the Bible said so…”

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Note: I do not have a problem with the principle of scientific classifications. I myself have engaged in a good bit of religious taxonomy – working on how to classify Baptists within their denominational landscapes. It has a place in the field of knowledge, as long as it doesn’t overstep its bounds and start overriding what a biblical classification of a church is. I recognize it is man-made, but it can help make sense out of who we are as Baptists. So with scientific classifications of plants and animals. They are derived to help us understand the world around us. Let it do that, as long as it doesn’t overstep its bounds and start overriding what the Bible says. Search the scriptures, whether these things are so. Let God be true, but every man a liar.

Unicorns in 1488

Some writers have tried to confuse a debate by claiming that “unicorn” was not an English word in 1611, and that the KJV translators “transliterated” it. However, Criminal Trials and Other Proceedings...in Scotland...During the Reigns of King James the Fourth and Fifth demonstrates this was not the case. It was a word brought over from Latin long before 1611.

Aug. 20 [1488]—Item, Quhen þe King paſt to Laneríke to þe Ayre, gevin him ſelf xx^ti Vnicornis.

The Unicorn was a gold coin struck during the reign of James III, which has the figure of an unicorn on it (yes, the mythical one, supporting a shield with the Scottish arms).

The KJV Translator and the Unicorn

Q. Did any King James Bible translator mention the unicorn, apart from their translation of the Bible?

A. Yes, William Branthwaite, KJV translator in the 2nd Cambridge company, wrote to Sir Thomas Wilson, wishing that “my letters might bear bezoar or unicorn or some other more sovereign cordial either to cure your malady or to comfort against the fits and encounters thereof.” This is recorded in Gustavus Paine’s book, The Men Behind the KJV (p. 61). In the context Paine ties it to “the mythical unicorn,” mentioning it is found in nine Bible verses. Unfortunately, Paine misunderstands. Branthwaite does not at all think the unicorn he mentions is mythical.

A “cordial” here in his letter means a stimulating medicine. The Bezoar stone is a calcified concretion found in the stomachs of some animals, prized for medicinal properties (or at least its supposed medicinal properties). The bezoar stone and the rhinoceros horn are used in Indian, Oriental, and perhaps other traditional medicine.

It is not particularly important to our subject how good these remedies were as medicine. However, it is important that they were actual medicines that were used by doctors of that time. You cannot make medicine out of a fictious animal! You make medicine out of the horn of a real animal. This shows that the KJV translator Branthwaite thought of the unicorn as a real animal, not a mythical one.

From this same period of time, a medical book called The Anatomy of Melancholy, by Robert Burton (1577-1640), mentions the unicorn. On page 143 he writes, 

“Of inward medicines I need not speak: use the same cordials as before. In this kind of melancholy, some prescribe treacle in winter, especially before or after purges, or in the spring, as Avicenna; Trincavellius, mithridate; Montaltus, piony seeds, unicorns horn; os de corde cervi, &c.”[i]

The significance here is again that Burton is talking about actual medicines that were used by doctors. Whether these are great medicines, poor ones, or otherwise, the important factor is that Burton is writing about actual medicine that was used by doctors. It would be hard to use a mythical unicorn’s horn as medicine, but unicorn horn/rhinoceros horn was used then (is still used in traditional Chinese medicine).

Whatever William Branthwaite thought of unicorns beyond this, his letter shows he believed it was a living creature.

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[i] Treacle or theriaca, a type of medicinal syrup, probably of various ingredients; Avicenna (probably something medicinal named after the Persian doctor, AD 980-1037, of the same name); Trincavellius, mithridate (used as an antidote against poison); Montaltus, piony seed (the seeds of the peony are still used in homeopathic medicine; os de corde cervi (bone of the heart of a deer).

A Re’em Resource

The Hebrew word re’em (רְאֵם) is used nine times (in slightly different forms: kir·’êm, 1; rə·’êm, 3; rə·’ê·mîm, 2; rêm, 2; rê·mîm, 1) in the Hebrew Old Testament: Numbers 23:22, 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9–10; Psalm 22:21, 29:6 and 92:10; Isaiah 34:7. The re’em is an animal, whose proper identification and translation is sometimes disputed. Below I have collected the verses in 5 translations. The first line is an excerpt of the Hebrew showing the word re’em, based on the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. The second is the Greek Septuagint translation (LXX) from the Septuagint Bible placed online by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The third (VUL) is based on the Clementine Vulgate at Bible Gateway.. The fourth (LTR) is based on 1545 Luther German Bible at Bible Gateway. at Bible Gateway. The fifth line (KJV) is the King James English translation. The sixth (YLT) is based on the 1898 Robert Young Literal Translation at Bible Gateway.

The version choices may be somewhat obvious – the Septuagint and Vulgate for their longstanding influence (for good or ill) on Bible translation. The Luther Bible is the first important Reformation-era Bible translated from the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) rather than from the LXX or Vulgate. The King James Version has held sway among English speakers for 400 years. The Young’s Literal Translation, though perhaps not so important in the grand scheme of things, nevertheless demonstrates a choice to bring over the word re’em from the Hebrew rather than translate it to an English word. The majority of modern translations show a preference for “wild ox.”

The words in brackets [] in the Latin translation of Psalm 22:21 and Psalm 92:10 are from Jerome’s “iuxta Hebraeos” translation of the Psalms. It is my understanding that this translation is supposed to be a close translation of the Hebrew, and that the Old Testament book of Psalms generally found in the Vulgate is based on the Greek LXX. Also note that the Psalm number and verse number can vary in the LXX and Vulgate from what we are used to with the King James numbering. The number in parentheses () is the number they use.

The Hebrew word and the word translated from re’em is bolded. In the LXX and Luther’s Bible, re’em is not translated as a noun in Job 39:10, but a pronoun is substituted. The LXX does not translate re’em as “monoceros” in Isaiah 34:7. Young does not translate re’em in Psalm 22:21. The Vulgate uses both “rhinoceros” and “unicorn.” The KJV translates re’em as unicorn in all nine verses.

Numbers 23:22

מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם כְּתוֹעֲפֹ֥ת רְאֵ֖ם לֽוֹ׃

LXX: Θεὸς ὁ ἐξαγαγὼν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου· ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ.

VUL: Deus eduxit illum de AEgypto, cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis.

LTR: Gott hat sie aus Ägypten geführt; seine Freudigkeit ist wie eines Einhorns.

KJV: God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

YLT: God is bringing them out from Egypt, As the swiftness of a Reem is to him;

Numbers 24:8

מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם כְּתוֹעֲפֹ֥ת רְאֵ֖ם ל֑וֹ יֹאכַ֞ל

LXX: Θεὸς ὡδήγησεν αὐτὸν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, ὡς δόξα μονοκέρωτος αὐτῷ· ἔδεται ἔθνη ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ πάχη αὐτῶν ἐκμυελιεῖ καὶ ταῖς βολίσιν αὐτοῦ κατατοξεύσει ἐχθρόν·

VUL: Deus eduxit illum de AEgypto, cujus fortitudo similis est rhinocerotis. Devorabunt gentes hostes illius, ossaque eorum confringent, et perforabunt sagittis.

LTR: Gott hat ihn aus Ägypten geführt; seine Freudigkeit ist wie eines Einhorns. Er wird die Heiden, seine Verfolger, fressen und ihre Gebeine zermalmen und mit seinen Pfeilen zerschmettern.

KJV: God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

YLT: God is bringing him out of Egypt; As the swiftness of a Reem is to him, He eateth up nations his adversaries, And their bones he breaketh, And [with] his arrows he smiteth,

Deuteronomy 33:17

ל֗וֹ וְקַרְנֵ֤י רְאֵם֙ קַרְנָ֔יו בָּהֶ֗ם

LXX: πρωτότοκος ταύρου τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῦ, κέρατα μονοκέρωτος τὰ κέρατα αὐτοῦ· ἐν αὐτοῖς ἔθνη κερατιεῖ ἅμα ἕως ἀπ᾿ ἄκρου γῆς. αὗται μυριάδες ᾿Εφραΐμ, καὶ αὗται χιλιάδες Μανασσῆ.

VUL: Quasi primogeniti tauri pulchritudo ejus, cornua rhinocerotis cornua illius: in ipsis ventilabit gentes usque ad terminos terrae. Hae sunt multitudines Ephraim: et haec millia Manasse.

LTR: Seine Herrlichkeit ist wie eines erstgeborenen Stieres, und seine Hörner sind wie Einhornshörner; mit denselben wird er die Völker stoßen zuhauf bis an des Landes Enden. Das sind die Zehntausende Ephraims und die Tausende Manasses.

KJV: His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

YLT: His honour [is] a firstling of his ox, And his horns [are] horns of a reem; By them peoples he doth push together To the ends of earth; And they [are] the myriads of Ephraim, And they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.

Job 39:9

הֲיֹ֣אבֶה רֵּ֣ים עָבְדֶ֑ךָ אִם־

LXX: βουλήσεται δέ σοι μονόκερως δουλεῦσαι ἢ κοιμηθῆναι ἐπὶ φάτνης σου;

VUL: Numquid volet rhinoceros servire tibi, aut morabitur ad praesepe tuum?

LTR: Meinst du das Einhorn werde dir dienen und werde bleiben an deiner Krippe?

KJV: Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

YLT: Is a Reem willing to serve thee? Doth he lodge by thy crib?

Job 39:10

הֲ‍ֽתִקְשָׁר־ רֵ֭ים בְּתֶ֣לֶם עֲבֹת֑וֹ

LXX: δήσεις δὲ ἐν ἱμᾶσι ζυγὸν αὐτοῦ ἢ ἑλκύσει σου αὔλακας ἐν πεδίῳ;

VUL: Numquid alligabis rhinocerota ad arandum loro tuo, aut confringet glebas vallium post te?

LTR: Kannst du ihm dein Seil anknüpfen, die Furchen zu machen, daß es hinter dir brache in Tälern?

KJV: Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

YLT: Dost thou bind a Reem in a furrow [with] his thick band? Doth he harrow valleys after thee?

Psalm 22:21

אַרְיֵ֑ה וּמִקַּרְנֵ֖י רֵמִ֣ים עֲנִיתָֽנִי׃

LXX: (21:22) σῶσόν με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου.

VUL: (21:22) Salva me ex ore leonis, et a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam.

LTR: Hilf mir aus dem Rachen des Löwen und errette mich von den Einhörnern!

KJV: Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

YLT: Save me from the mouth of a lion: -- And -- from the horns of the high places Thou hast answered me!

Psalm 29:6

כְּמ֣וֹ בֶן־ רְאֵמִֽים׃

LXX: (28:6) καὶ λεπτυνεῖ αὐτὰς ὡς τὸν μόσχον τὸν Λίβανον, καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος ὡς υἱὸς μονοκερώτων.

VUL: (28:6) et comminuet eas, tamquam vitulum Libani, et dilectus quemadmodum filius unicornium [rinocerotis].

LTR: Und macht sie hüpfen wie ein Kalb, den Libanon und Sirjon wie ein junges Einhorn.

KJV: He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

YLT: And He causeth them to skip as a calf, Lebanon and Sirion as a son of Reems,

Psalm 92:10

וַתָּ֣רֶם כִּרְאֵ֣ים קַרְנִ֑י בַּ֝לֹּתִ֗י

LXX: (91:11) καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὡς μονοκέρωτος τὸ κέρας μου καὶ τὸ γῆράς μου ἐν ἐλαίῳ πίονι·

VUL: (91:11) Et exaltabitur sicut unicornis [monocerotis] cornu meum, et senectus mea in misericordia uberi.

LTR: Und macht sie hüpfen wie ein Kalb, den Libanon und Sirjon wie ein junges Einhorn.

KJV: But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

YLT: And Thou exaltest as a reem my horn, I have been anointed with fresh oil.

Isaiah 34:7

וְיָרְד֤וּ רְאֵמִים֙ עִמָּ֔ם וּפָרִ֖ים

LXX: καὶ συμπεσοῦνται οἱ ἁδροὶ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ κριοὶ καὶ οἱ ταῦροι, καὶ μεθυσθήσεται ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στέατος αὐτῶν ἐμπλησθήσεται.

VUL: Et descendent unicornes cum eis, et tauri cum potentibus; inebriabitur terra eorum sanguine, et humus eorum adipe pinguium.

LTR: Da werden die Einhörner samt ihnen herunter müssen und die Farren samt den gemästeten Ochsen. Denn ihr Land wird trunken werden von Blut und ihre Erde dick werden von Fett.

KJV: And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

YLT: And come down have reems with them, And bullocks with bulls, And soaked hath been their land from blood, And their dust from fatness is made fat.

In addition to these verses (above), the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate use “monoceros/unicorn” to translate the Hebrew word rā·mîm. Luther, King James, and Young’s do not follow.

Psalm 78:69

רָ֭מִים rā·mîm (heights?, high, uplifted)

LXX: (77:69) καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ὡς μονοκέρωτος τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

VUL: (77:69) Et aedificavit sicut unicornium [monoceroton] sanctificium suum, in terra quam fundavit in saecula.

LTR: Und baute sein Heiligtum hoch, wie die Erde, die ewiglich fest stehen soll.

KJV: And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.

YLT: And buildeth His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it to the age.

Tae a Moose

I thought I had once posted "To a Mouse," but I discovered it was To a Louse instead.

To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough
By Robert Burns

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murdering pattle.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
An' fellow mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't.

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's win's ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.

That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turned out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld.

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

The Green Heron and Evolution

I was reading today about one of God's amazing creatures, the green heron (a "fishing" bird). It is a bird that knows how to use tools. The green heron uses insects to bait or lure a fish in so it can grab it in its beak.

When the green heron catches the fish, it flips it to swallow the fish head first. This protects the heron's throat from the fish's fins and scales. The fins would poke out going down tail first, but folds up when going down head first. 

Smart bird, eh? Wonder where he learned this? This is much harder to accept in evolutionary theory than with creation. In evolution we must believe that two green herons -- a male and a female -- just happened to evolve at the same time in history, and that they were both smart enough to figure out to swallow the fish head first before killing themselves swallowing the fish tail first!