MY AFRICAN TRIP CONTS. Nov.14th, 2009

AFRICA AT OLDUVAI GORGE, November. 14th, 2009
We left for the Serengeti right after we finished breakfast, around at 9:30 a.m. Yeah! We got to sleep in. We visited the Olduvai Gorge, located in the Great Rift Valley, on the way to our next destination. We also took part in a game drive as we drove to Serengeti. At this point in time there were animals roaming all over the Great Plains.
The Olduvai Gorge is known as the cradle of man. It is where the famous Leakey family discovered ancient hominid fossils and fossilized footprints. We also had a lesson on the proud, colorful and fascinating Maasai people. I continually learned something new about the Maasai people. They believe they are directly descended from the northern tribe of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel.” Although, they are not sure which tribe, they continue with research to find out exactly which one. It is their belief the sandals they wear, the staff they carry, the cattle they attend to, their nomadic life style, and their type of clothing is similar that which was worn by the northern tribe of Israel, distant relatives of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel.”
There was a small museum at Olduvai with displays showing the evolution of man’s ancestors, the development and refinement of his tools, and the animals that shared this environment during the different periods. Excavations are on going and continue to produce splendid specimens of extinct hominids, animals and plants.
Some Paleontologists believe that early man flourished at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge in the eastern Serengeti Plains, not far from Ngorongoro Crater. In 1960, Mary Leakey discovered the 1.75 million-year fossilized remain of Homo habilis (nicknamed “The Handyman” for his tool making skills). Then in 1978 at Laetoli, 3.6 million-year-old fossil footprints of an extinct human ancestor were discovered during and expedition led by Dr. Mary Leakey. The footprints are claimed to be human in appearance and scientific and public attention was immense.
Not everyone in the scientific world believes in evolution. When I went to school we were taught “The Theory of Evolution.”(emphasis on the word Theory) Somewhere along the way that seems to have changed and it is now being taught as scientific fact. I believe there is a lot more scientific evidence, supporting creationism, contained in the Bible and the writings of the Hebrew Prophets (dating back to 1400BC), which were collected and kept in the Tabernacle and then the Temple of Israel.
Paleontology – witnesses the validity of the Genesis’ account. When we refer to paleontology we are alluding to the fossil record. If some were not so closed minded they would appreciate that the biblical account of creation and the science of paleontology are in harmony. For instance, there is a mixture of the simple and the complex (Gen. 1: 1, 2 "without form," 3-25, and earth with all the complexities, consummating in man, vss. 21, 27).
In the account of creation, life suddenly appears, fully formed (Gen. 1: 20, 21, 24, 27, 28). Paleontology also teaches the sudden introduction of mature life. There is no intimation of gradation, either in Genesis or the fossil record. Life was created mature and ready to reproduce (ibid.).
In this same vein, the record in Genesis explains why there are no transitional forms (a tadpole developing into man, i.e., all the progressive developmental stages...). The fossil record also presents evidence consistent with Genesis – no transitional forms.
Just think how the Genesis’ flood would have and did impact the fossil record (Gen. 7; 8). You would have universal fossil evidence of life forms being suddenly fossilized, often in stratum of dense mud, rock, and/or ice. Paleontology reveals fossil facts that are consistent and corresponding to the effects of the Genesis’ flood. Indeed, there is undeniable paleontological evidence of severe geological, atmospheric, and hydrological changes to the earth – just as would have been produced by such a great catastrophe as the flood described in Genesis chapters seven and eight.
Is It Time to Revise the System of Scientific Naming?
Lee R. Bergerfor National Geographic News
December 4, 2001
A team of researchers led by paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey sparked a controversy among evolutionary scientists and the press alike earlier this year when they announced the discovery of a new genus and species of ape-man. They named their find Kenyanthropus platyops, the "flat-faced man of Kenya." Ordinarily, the find itself would be enough to spark a flame of controversy in the heart of any follower of human origins research. But this find also highlighted an ongoing debate within the scientific community over the adoption of a new system for naming, ranking, and classifying organisms. The debate is not confined to ivory tower scientists. The fossil discovery was widely reported. The New York Times referred to the new genus as a hominid, National Geographic reported on the find as a hominin. National Geographic subsequently received several hundred e-mails complaining about the poor editorial work of the staff that had clearly erred by replacing a "d" with an "n." So what's in a name? The classification debate is not just a debate for the purist; it cuts to the very core of our understanding of human's place in nature and our evolutionary relationships. All hominins are hominids, but not all hominids are hominins...MORE TO FOLLOW