Fall/Winter 2012 Volume 1, Issue 3/4
Horse Fossil Facts With Joe Taylor Meet an Equine Veterinarian that Does Not Believe Horses Evolved
The Patient Warhorse Of South Africa
A Three Issue Quarterly Rebekah L. Holt, Editor of Equus Ex Nihilo “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He.” Deut 32:4
Contents A Three Issue Quarterly 1-2 By Rebekah L. Holt Christian Quotes
3
Some Horse Fossil Facts
4-6
By Joe Taylor Reexamining “Ancient” Spotted 7-9 Coat Color Origins By Rebekah L. Holt The Patient Warhorse 10-13 By Firn Hyde Meet Dr. Stephen Denton 14-17 Equus Ex Nihilo Interview Christian Quotes
16
What About Horse Toe 19-21 Evolution By Rebekah L. Holt A Tale From a Grandfather
22-25
Not too many quarterly publications come in threes! Despite good intentions—I have just not been able to pull together four full issues in 2012. Thus, this issue serves as a 2-for-1. Equus Ex Nihilo is perhaps unique as it is put together by volunteers who all work fulltime in other jobs. The response has been very encouraging for all contributors to consider this eZine as “worth the work”. Hopefully, more people will join the “wagon” and get involved to help this eZine continue in the future. Many hands make light work—a favorite saying in my large family’s household—certainly holds true to this laborious task of writing and preparing the pages for your viewing. If you are interested in helping out, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email (info@equest4truth.com)! Readers will find issue is a reexamination of claims surrounding horse toe evolution and spotted coat color origins. Join Mr. Joe Taylor’s paleontologist experiences as he draws out the misconceptions surrounding horse evolution according to what can be observed in the fossil record.
Toe Evolution” joins EEN’s pages as a reprint from the internet. Originally written for the Creation Ministries International website in 2008, this article exposes the false reasoning behind horse toe evolution, providing readers with scientific and Biblical explanations. Equine coat colors have long fascinated me as a horsewoman and past smallscale breeder that dabbled in breeding ponies for color as well as other desirable traits. Even in the definitions of coat colors, we find Darwinian evolution. My first article that addressed equine coat color evolution claims was on the dun Przewalski (www.equest4truth.com/ przewalski.html). “Reexamining “Ancient” Spotted Coat Color Origins” does exactly that. Once again, Firn Hyde has written an intriguing article in her series on South African horse breeds. Learn about some of the world’s most rare horse breeds: the Nooitgedachter and the Basotho Ponies. Dr. Stephen Denton has been a friend of the eQuest For Truth ministry as well as a reviewer of articles. He has graciously allowed EEN to include his interview. Dr. Denton is a full-time equine veterinarian,
One of my articles, “What About Horse
By Wilhelm Busch
(Continued on page 2)
Subscription Info 26
Equus Ex Nihilo Contributor’s Page
27
Feedback Page
28
eQuest For Truth 7238 CR 36550 Arthur City, TX 75411
Info@equest4truth.com www.equest4truth.com Editor: Rebekah L. Holt
On the Cover: Team Roping Photo by Rebekah L. Holt Boer War Horse Photo—P/D 1923 Horse Fossil Image by Joe Taylor
father and husband, so this article was a great gift in time. No doubt, you will be encouraged by his testimony mapping his journey from being an agnostic evolutionist to a dedicated Christian and Biblical Creationist. Marjan Slurink, a reader and Christian friend in Finland has submitted a thought provoking “sermonette” from German pastor, Wilhelm Busch. Pastor Busch’s history was a remarkable one. After becoming a Christian (as described in his article on page 22), Mr. Busch studied to become a pastor, working in several ministry opportunities. Working as a “missionary” to the youth of Germany, Pastor Busch was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Nazis in WWII as he rejected the theological and moral “principles” of the Nazi regime. Pastor Busch lived past the atrocities of WWII and wrote a book Jesus Our Destiny before his death in 1966. I look forward to learning more about Pastor Busch’s life and works. Hopefully you will be edified, exhorted and encouraged through this issue. Don’t forget to read the feedback from readers of the eZine and eQuest For Truth website.
Wondering why we picked a name like Equus Ex Nihilo? Well, we admit it sounds a little like a stuffy mouth full—however, in Latin it basically means, “horse out of nothing.” In other words—we chose to name this publication in accordance with our belief that God created the equidae kind from nothing but His majestic handiwork on Day 6 of the Creation week recorded in Genesis 2. Revelations 4:11 reminds us that our Lord created all things for His pleasure and for our benefit!
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11
As Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays approach, may you draw closer to the Lord.
Rebekah Holt “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).
The Purposes of Equus Ex Nihilo 1. To proclaim the Glory of God 2. Provide a Christian Equestrian Resource 3. To provide Christian Equestrians an opportunity to share their talents to bless other Christians 4. To expose doctrines and philosophies in the horse world that are contrary to Scripture
May Christ be Glorified in How We Celebrate His Bounty, His Benevolence, His Birth, His Life, His Salvation, His Vicarious Death, His Resurrection, His Plans and Purposes for Our Lives in this Year and the Next. The Holt Family
5. To encourage, exhort and edify the brethren
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . —Matthew 11:29
Whom the Lord loves He chastens . . .” (Hebrews 12:6). How petty our complaining is! Our Lord begins to bring us to the point where we can have fellowship with Him, only to hear us moan and groan, saying, “Oh Lord, just let me be like other people!” Jesus is asking us to get beside Him and take one end of the yoke, so that we can pull together. That’s why Jesus says to us, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Are you closely identified with the Lord Jesus like that? If so, you will thank God when you feel the pressure of His hand upon you. Oswald Chambers Page 3
Some Fossil Horse Facts By Joe Taylor
Photo of Joe Taylor Courtesy of Joe Taylor; Drawing by Rebekah L. Holt
Joe Taylor’s father, Dennis Taylor Aboard “Bullit”
My Pa and brother were rodeo cowboys, I was just an artist and future paleontologist. But I grew up with them and horses were the first thing I learned to draw when Pa showed me how at age five. We were all taught in public school that horses evolved from the little rock hyrax, falsely called eohippus. It was not a horse at all. Though I never believed the lies about horse evolution it was not until 1980 that the facts were revealed to me by two paleontologists. They laughed about the fact that evolutionists knew there was no horse evolution and admitted that they knew all those fossil horse skeletons were found together and just arranged "little to big", not old to recent! And yet, that same ridiculous lie is taught in museums, schools and on TV to this day!. In the San Bernardino County Museum in San
Drawings of Eohippus are often Barnardino, California, a embellished by artists to make them look related to a horse.
beautiful gray skull of a three-toed horse was shown to me that was found near Manix Lake, California. It was completely replaced by volcanic ash and was crushed so that it was but two inches thick. Some of the animals living with it were mastodons, camels, and other larger horses.
When I started fossil collecting in earnest in 1980, one of the first sites I found was the Blancan Type Locality, so named in the 1800s for the canyon near my home farm community of Mt. Blanco, Texas seventeen miles north of my hometown of Crosbyton, Texas. What is a "Type" locality? It is the first place where a certain group of fossil animals are found and it is given the name of the local area, in this case, the name of a small white mesa near the bones called "Mt. Blanco" probably named by Coronado in the (Continued on page 5) Page 4
1500s. So, all the bones from that locality become the "type" or the typical of that species. Then when another location is found with approximately the same fossils in it, it is called a "Blancan" locality, even though the bones may be a different color and like at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California, the bones are not petrified at al, but are rather soaked with brown tar.
mom's little fingernail. And that splint bone is almost paper-thin in the middle, but strong enough to move the hooves. It is joined at the top (the proximal end -- that means 'closest to the body') to one of the bones in both the horses 'ankle and wrist'. Apparently these three toes on each foot allowed it to walk out on the reed and sedges mats in the ponds that used to grow here. Below the level of the bones, I found flat one quarter inch layers of white rock with the impressions of reeds and sedges in them.
To show that these evolutionist scientists were right, I personally found full-sized Equus scotti horse bones at a lower depth than the three-toed horses. Evolutionists teach that the three-toed horse existed before the one-toed larger horse. Yet, here was proof that the little horse that was supposed to have gotten buried long before the large horse, was not, but he was rather buried after.
At my favorite three-toed horse dig site, I found the left calcanei or heel bone, of seven juvenile three-toed horses all in an area smaller than your bed. How did I know they were juveniles? All the epiphyseal plates on the calcaneii were not fused. What does that mean? All mammals have thin rounded almost flat bone plates called 'epiphyseal plates' at the end of each bone such as on the limbs, ribs and vertebrae.
Photo courtesy of Joe Taylor
(Continued from page 4)
How did I know there were seven individuThe other thing about our little als? Well, most of the bones were gone beequid, Nannipus phlegen, was that cause there had been an old cow trail that instead of being a simpler animal, he had cut right through the white clay hillside was in fact much more comwhere they were buried and over the plex than the modern full-sized This is the complete left hind leg years, the bones were exposed, damof a three-toed horse Nannipus horse, our Equus. Little Nanaged and then covered by rains and phlegen. From the Blancan Type nipus had twelve hooves inexposed again, etc. But, I found seven locality in Blanco Canyon, near stead of four! Furthermore, Crosbyton, Texas. heel bones, so there had been at least 7 those splints on your horses' buried there together. If you look at legs that run down the cannon bone and stop halfway any mammal skeleton, you will see that while the down -- on Nannipus, they go all the way down beheel bones are exactly the same shape, the cups for side the center hooves and are attacked to two half the astragalus bones are on opposite sides. hooves and the two digits forming functional side (Continued on page 6) toes. The half-hooves are about the size of your
Page 5
How did I know they were juveniles? All of the lower jaws had un erupted molars in the back of their jaws. This area of Texas including sites 75 miles away was covered in thick layers of volcanic fallout. There are layers four to eight feet thick of white rock, gray sand, gray pinkish sand clay, white clay and fine white sand all containing bones of these small horses, big mastodons, rabbits, dogs, badgers, birds, giant hyenas, saber-toothed cats, giant camels 20 feet tall, giant armadillos 5 feet long, giant sloth 6 feet tall, giant land tortoise 3 feet long, camels, three kinds of pigs and some kind of deer or small antelope. Phew, those are the just ones I've been blessed to find, except the saber-toothed cat. In nearby canyons, I have found three or four sizes of horse and one giant donkey, Assinus giganteus. They were all living and died together. Their bones do not show evolution. They were created by Almighty God, our Savior Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as animals being "inferior" and thus they needed to "evolve" into a more superior animal. It is nonsense concocted by the devil to make people doubt God's Word as revealed to us in His holy Bible. The horse in all its magnificent variety is a testament to the incredible handiwork of our truly awesome God. NEVER let anyone -- regardless of how many degrees they have -- tell you differently!
Visit Mt. Blanco Fossil MuseuM’s website:
This is the left view of a three-toed horse leg of Nannipus Phlegen from the white clay of the Blancan Type locality, Blanco Canyon, near Crosbyton, Texas. It is complete. The long splints on either side were paper-thin and the center of them had crumbled in the white clay that had swelled and dried out for thousands of years. I restored the missing parts and then molded the bones separately and later molded the assembled leg. This small collie-sized horse is more complex than the so-called modern horse. Evolutionists say it is millions of years older. This can't be true, as I found the bones of the one-toed horse at a lower level. Due to the fact that the tiny bones were still articulated, it is impossible for the smaller horses to have been moved in over the large one. So if an evolutionist said the supposed older horse strata was moved in at a later time over the supposed younger horse strata, the articulated state of the small horses says, "no."
Photo Courtesy of Joe Taylor
(Continued from page 5
www.mtblanco.com Page 6
Photo Courtesy of Decker’s Red Eagle Appaloosas
Reexamining “Ancient” Spotted Coat Color Origins It has been suggested that equine spotted coat patterns first appeared 20,000-40,000 years ago. This has been based on date assignments given by long-age Evolutionists to ancient cave paintings that include the spotted horse, such as those found in Lascaux and Pech Merle France. They used Carbon-14 dating to test carbon-containing artifacts in the cave in an effort to support the long ages which horse evolution requires. However, many scientists recognize that Carbon-14 testing is often unpredictable and faulty.1 It is especially subject to error if the carbon-containing life-form died when atmospheric carbon levels were very different from today. Such was certainly the case during the ice age, when people lived and painted horses, bulls, and other animals in the Lascaux and Pech Merle caves.
Recent DNA Studies on Spotted Horses Certain scientists have cast doubt whether cave painters depicted realism in the Pech Merle spotted horse drawings. Some questioned whether these artists were just unknowingly painting coat colors that would later come into existence. It seemed unlikely that the appearance of such a complex color pattern should be found among “primitive” horses. However, DNA research of the artifacts confirmed the human artists were accurately recording what they saw in their natural environment.2 With DNA confirming the coat color variations of bay, brown and spotted horse, it will be exciting to see further research confirm other genetic variation in “ancient” horse artifacts that (Continued on page 8 Page 7
Pech Merle Spotted Horses Photo Public Domain
Rebekah L. Holt
Photo Courtesy of Decker’s Red Eagle Appaloosas
(Continued from page 7
are typically regarded by secular Evolutionists as progressively modern. Despite secularists’ presuppositions that equine cave artifacts are supposed to look crude, displaying “prehistoric” phenotype (such as the Przewalski horse’s rugged conformation and dun coat color), we find that there are a multitude of horses drawn or carved in a spectrum of colors: dun, gray, black, palomino, chestnut, brown, pinto, spotted, etc.― some found many times within the same caves! Several beautiful rock drawings, illustrate horses with elegant refinement, similar to the contemporary Thoroughbred and Arabian. Still, a website on Ice Age art offers a glimpse of the predisposed belief that refinement is product of modern progression: "This is not, in fact, a realistic depiction of the Ice Age horse, which was a stocky, pony-like animal. Instead, it is a highly stylized image, the lines of which are perfectly expressive of the movement, grace, and speed of a horse."3 What is Known about Spotted Coat Color Origins? Spotted coat coloring, is in fact, based upon coat color genes and processes that regulate the patterned expression of those genes each generation. The genes specify different molecules of color called pigments. White hair has no pigment and dark hairs have the most pigment. A gene expression pattern is unique to the horses of spotted coat breeding. Patterns like these can change quickly—in one generation—so thousands of years were not needed for variations in coat color to appear.4 According to the book of Genesis in the Bible, the History Book of the Universe, the ancestors of all the horse kind were created approximately 6000 years ago
on the Sixth Day of the Creation Week. Almost 2,000 years later, two horses were taken on board Noah’s ark. After the Flood, this pair quickly generated many horse variations, including horses with three hoofs (“polydactyl”, multi digit horses still live today!)5, solid coat colors, patchy coat colors, and various sizes. Today’s horse breeds are their descendants. Darwinian evolution requires new and progressing genetic material; the spotted coat color actually does not support the theory. The earliest depictions of this coat color pattern show that they were the same as some of today’s horses. Horse fossils also show that ancient horses had similar sizes and shapes as modern horses. That is not progressive evolution. Similarly, diseases multiplied by inbreeding illustrate that today’s horses are less robust than our horses’ ances(Continued on page 9)
Hair Pigment Granules Photo from Fred Gremmel's "Coat Colors In Horses", The Journal of Heredity, 30(10):437-445, Oct 1939Page
8
(Continued from page 8)
tors. Due to the sin of mankind, who are all born in Adam’s sinful pattern, the earth and all living organisms are currently cursed to age, lose genetic information, and fall apart until the time when Christ Jesus will recreate a new cosmos. Horse diseases, such as spotted horses being the most susceptible of horse breeds to develop eye diseases causing temporary or permanent blindness6, 7 reflect this curse, while horse color patterns reflect the creative work of God.
References 1. See “What About Carbon Dating?”, The Creation Answers Book, http://creation.com/images/pdfs/cabook/chapter4.pdf 2. University of York, “Ancient DNA Provides New Insights Into Cave Paintings of Horses”, http://www.york.ac.uk/news-andevents/news/2011/research/cave-paintings/ 3. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/expeditions/ treasure_fossil/Treasures/Ice_Age_Art/iceage.html?cults. 4. Thomas, Brian. “Dog Coat Varieties Come from a ‘Surprisingly’ Elegant Program,” http://www.icr.org/ article/4945/,See also, Thomas, Brian. “Rapid Variation in Dog Breeds Is ‘Regulated,’ Not ‘Evolved,’” http://www.icr.org/article/ rapid-variation-dog-breeds-regulated/ See also: Lightner, Jean. 2006. “Colourful Creature Coats,” Creation. 28(4): 33-34. www.creation.com 5. Weinhart G., et. al., “Polydactyly in a Foal—a Case Report”, Tierarztl Praz 1996; 24:275-77, F.K. Shattauer Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttfart—New York 6. Horsetalk, “Coat Colour Link to Appaloosa Night Blindness Explored,” http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/nightblindness130.shtml 7. The Appaloosa Project, “Equine Recurrent Uveitis,” http:// www.appaloosaproject.info/index.php?module=pagemaster& PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=40&MMN_position=68:6 8
Photos By Rebekah L. Holt Page 9
The Patient Warhorse Firn Hyde
W
hen God described His amazing
creation,
the
horse, to Job, He spoke of it as a fearless, flashing creature, defiant in war and unafraid in battle. “The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.” (Job 39:23-24).
British Mounted Soldiers during the Boer War in 1899 (P/D 1923)
And thousands of years later, in a little country at the foot of
Boers and rapidly introduced to Lesotho. This little
Africa, a new type of warhorse
country, huddling in the heart of South Africa, is
was born.
thought to be the coldest country in Africa; its unforgiving and treacherous mountains are deadly to the unwary foot – or hoof. But the Basotho pony thrived.
It was somewhere between 1825 and 1830 when King
King Moshoeshoe I Source: Wikipedia
Moshoeshoe of the Basotho
Its exceptional surefootedness, hardiness, and quality (Continued on page 11)
first sat astride a horse. Immediately, the first Basotho king realised the strategic significance of the horse in battle. Perhaps, too, there was something in its grace and power that captured his majesty’s heart; whatever the reason, by 1850, the Basotho were “a mounted nation”. Within a few decades, King Moshoeshoe’s people had bred its own rugged type of horse, named the Basotho pony for its people. Descended from the famed Cape Horse – a breed of predominantly Barb, Arab and thoroughbred bloodlines, originally bred in South Africa’s Western Cape – the ancestor ponies were captured from Zulu and
American Journalist, Howard C. Hillegas pictured in 1900 mounted on a Basotho pony that served in the Boer War. (Wikipedia—PD/1923) Page 10
(Continued from page 11)
fiery, expensive, and treasured. The Basotho pony
of hoof ensured that the breed prospered.
was better known for its quietness than for its spirit, and more famed for its hardiness than its
By 1870, Europeans were recognising the Basotho pony as a breed and when the Anglo-Boer War spread its shadow across South Africa in 1899, they were in high demand. Their docility, stamina, and strength made them popular amongst the soldiers; with the added bonus that they hardly ever needed to be shod, the Basothos were ideal mounts for the soldiers of the gloomy guerrilla war that lasted until 1902. These ponies bore little resemblance to the famed destriers of medieval times. Destriers were massively powerful horses of Spanish heritage, proud,
beauty. But though the war enhanced its quality, the breed paid the price: 30 000 of the horses were lost to the war, and the best stallions – even those that survived the battles – were gelded. The Basotho’s glory days were over. Once so prized, the brave ponies went into a rapid decline; a blizzard in 1902, poor management practices, and the introduction of thoroughbred blood quickly decreased the quality of the breed. By 1952 it was evident that something had to be done to save the Basotho and so the South African Department of Agriculture started a breeding project on the Nooitgedacht Research Station in the province of (Continued on page 12)
Page 11
Photos Courtesy of the Nooitgedachter Horse Club, SA
Photo by Antoinette Middel
South African Nooitgedachter stallions exhibiting ideal conformation, beauty and a marked look of intelligence.
Photo Courtesy of the Nooitgedachter Horse Club, SA
Today, Nooitgedachters have much the same role
(Continued from page 11)
Mpumalanga. Their goal was to preserve the
as they played fifty years ago; they make
Basotho pony and to de-
excellent farm horses, herding
velop a versatile South Afri-
cattle and sheep. Their hardi-
can riding horse breed.
ness and good hooves mean that they need very little maintenance. They are also popular
Eleven mares and two stal-
as family horses because of their
lions were purchased from a
gentleness and size.
pair of farmers; all the horses were of purest Basotho stock.
The Nooitgedachter is also a
The horses were selected for tempera-
great show horse. Originally the
ments, such a hallmark of the
breed’s ideal height was around
Basotho breed, and the pro-
fourteen hands, with a limit of
their
excellent
fifteen hands, but as the de-
ject had begun. Over the next twenty-
Champion Nooitgedachter mare, Arop Heidi with handler, Firn Hyde at an evaluation. Photo Courtesy of Firn Hyde
four years, daughter studs were established, a breed society was founded, and in 1976 the breed was affiliated with South African Studbook. As Arabian and Boerperd blood had been introduced to refine the Basotho pony, this new breed was named the Nooitgedachter.
mand
for
show
horses
in-
creased, the acceptable height
was increased to sixteen hands. They have good temperaments for children, and compete in many disciplines including showing, dressage, Western riding, and showjumping, being especially popular for endurance. Still bred for temperament and hoof quality – Nooitgedachters are preferably never shod – the horses are each subject to an evaluation before (Continued on page 13) Page 12
(Continued from page 12)
they may enter the registry. Disposition and affinity with people is important and any horse with a poor temperament will be removed from the studbook. Today’s Nooitgedachter is a hardy little horse standing between 13.2 and 16hh. Predominantly grey or roan, chestnut and bay are also common, and black, dun and palomino permitted. This is an elegant horse with a refined straight or dished face; preference is given to a long, thick mane and tail. Most of all, the Nooitgedachter is reliable, levelheaded, and friendly. Good show horses and good work horses as these are, the breed society takes care to emphasize the fact that owning a Nooitgedachter is all about the friendship between horse and rider. The proud stallion that God described centuries ago, pawing the ground and snorting, may at first glance bear greater resemblance to the medieval destrier than to the patient little pony that fought the Boer War. But the ancestor of today’s elegant Nooitgedachter had its own share of courage. Like their riders, the African ponies had to do all their fighting in harsh conditions, with
Photos Courtesy of the Nooitgedachter Horse Club, SA
little or no stabling or concentrated feed. They ate the grass of the veld when they were hungry and turned their backs to the wind when it rained, and when they flung themselves into battle, they had to survive the gunshots of sin and folly cracking above their heads. Something of that patient courage remains still in today’s Nooitgedachter. And little as they are, light as they are, when a good Nooitgedachter flings himself at a big jump with his tail tossed high, you can almost hear God saying, “He is not affrighted.”
Page 13
Equus Ex Nihilo Interviews
Dr. Stephen Denton Why did you want to become an equine veterinarian?
I am blessed to have the opportunity to use the gifts God
I grew up on a dairy farm in south-
pose for me. It’s a pleasure being outdoors and enjoying
west Virginia and was born with a love for working with animals
gave me every day, and I truly feel this was God’s purGod’s creation while helping horses.
especially cattle, horses and dogs. From a very early age, I knew that being a veterinarian was what I wanted to do with my life.
How did you become a Christian and come to believe
When first attending veterinarian school, I wanted to be a large
in the Bible’s accurate creation account in Genesis?
animal veterinarian and specialize in dairy cattle work.
Yet, as
I was brought up in a Christian home and was blessed to
school progressed I developed a love for horses and realized that
have Godly parents. I was interested in science from a
there was so much more I could do with horses compared to cat-
very early age. When 13 years old, I watched the series
tle. With horses I would be able to use all my veterinary medical
by Dr. Carl Sagan called Cosmos on PBS.
This series
training and utilize the most up
completely
to date medical technology
my life for a long time.
available in treating them. Af-
Dr. Sagan appeared to
ter completing school, I went
have all the scientific
on to do an equine medicine
answers about life ori-
and surgery internship at the Ontario Veterinary College in Canada and from there I have been an equine veterinarian in my home town of Abingdon, Virginia since 1993.
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
Photo Courtesy of Stephen Denton
Equine Veterinarian
changed
gins with no God involved. At this point, I accepted Dr. Sagan’s beliefs about evolution. I stopped going to church for almost 15 years,
becoming
an
What does your typical day as a vet look like?
agonistic. I still held out that God was there and at times
That is the beauty of being a veterinarian; there is no typical day.
I would catch myself praying to God even though I be-
I never know from day to day what my day will be like from busy
lieved we were all here by chance. All the way through
to slow or routine to complex. It is unpredictable.
college and my internship, I was outside God’s will for my life. I had made some bad personal decisions and
What do you enjoy the most about being an equine vet? I do believe I am doing what God wanted me to do with my life.
was suffering the consequences of those actions. It was (Continued on page 15) Page 14
(Continued from page 14)
also is my anchor for when times really get tough. When I
then that I started searching for answers, feeling something
have questioned my faith, all I need to do is look around
was missing in my life. My first employer, Dr. Clay Brinson
seeing the evidence of God’s work in nature and it brings
was a strong Christian man and a Creationist. He saw the
me back to Him. This is why it is so important to teach it to
struggles I was facing and began talking to me about the need
our children at an early age the truth of God’s word and to
for God in my life. I was reluctant to listen at first. Dr. Clay
refute the evolutionist claims. I do not want my children to
knew it, so he gave me a book to read called Darwin’s Black
go down the path I did at an early age. It makes all the dif-
Box. After reading this book, my eyes were opened. I realized
ference in way you live your life and your worldview if you
that I had been lied to all through college by my professors.
believe in a Creator that has a purpose and plan for your
Still, it was hard to accept that all that I had believed so long
life, that created you special for a reason, and that loves you
about evolution was wrong. Yet this was a turning point in
personally. People that believe they are here by chance and
my life. I knew I had a Creator and that there was no way
that there is no purpose or plan for their lives, have no
evolution could explain why I was here and my purpose in
hope. They do not feel loved or special they are just here,
life. I also realized that if I had a Creator, I was then account-
and their worldview is completely the opposite of ours.
able to that Creator for my life’s choices and my sins. I started reading my Bible again, got into a good Church, and eventually accepted Christ. So this is how I finally became a
Concerning the horse, give us an example of the Crea-
Christian at 28 years old. Even though I finally accepted
tor’s complexity of design that refutes chance, or ran-
Christ, I still did not completely believe the Genesis account
dom processes of evolution.
right off the bat. I tried to compromise by saying God did
-The horse provides so many reasons to not believe in
create the universe over billions of years, holding on to an old
the theory evolution. Just the complexity of all the horse’s
earth creationist view point. But after studying the issue and
systems/anatomy working together, and their perfect design
being involved with Dr. Brinson and ICR, I quickly became a
for speed could not have happened by chance. Some of my
young earth creationist. For the first time in my life, it all
favorite examples, which are not exclusive to the horse as
made perfect sense that evolution was not true science but an
all animals and humans have them are: the clotting cas-
interpretation. I could still believe in science and believe the
cade, the immune system, and the reproductive system.
Bible was 100% accurate. Groups like ICR and Answers in
These are vastly complex designed systems that had to al-
Genesis have been a great resource of information in helping
ready be complete and in working order for them to func-
me understand and accept the importance of believing the
tion properly. They could not have happened by chance.
Bible from the very first verse.
My favorite illustration of God’s design specific to the horse is the horse’s hoof. It is a very thin structure that can
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
Is the Creation vs. Evolution issue relevant?
withstand so much force. It absorbs the shock and redistrib-
-Absolutely. It is why I am Christian today. If not for this
utes the force to help protect the internal structures within
issue and someone like Dr. Brinson showing me the truth, I
the hoof capsule from damage when a horse is running at
still would be blind, living my old life and suffering the con-
high speeds. It is estimated that when a horse’s hoof hits
sequences of my separation from God. Having a strong sci-
the ground at a full gallop it is taking a force of 900 G’s.
entific background, my understanding this issue is what
Just standing on the earth we are at 1 G Force but can you
reached me. It is the reason I finally realized that I had a
image 900 G’s? Humans cannot survive G Forces greater
Creator and that I could put my belief and faith in Him. It
(Continued on page 16) Page 15
(Continued from page 16)
than 9 or 10 G’s and require special G suits to help protect them, but God has design the horse hoof to be very thin (less than an 1 inch thick) and still withstand that kind of force. Man cannot design anything that strong.
Have you ever been challenged by other veterinarians or other Christians for Biblical creationist beliefs? -Yes. Several of my old professors have felt disappointed in me for my beliefs. Other colleagues have dismissed me or just avoided talking with me about the subject. I feel some believe I have rejected all scientific reasoning, and that I cannot be logical anymore. The saddest point is how many Christians hold this belief as well. I have had more Christians challenge me than colleagues. They believe God used evolution and long ages to create the universe and all life. That He started the so call ball rolling and then set it up to evolve. But they miss the whole point of why Christ came here and the reason He died for our sins. They doubt God and His Word. They do not understand the Fall, and the first Adam’s sin and why the second Adam “Christ” had to come and die to repay the sin debt. They do not understand that if
Stephen and Angela Denton with sons, Luke and Evan, Summer 2012
there was death and disease long before Adam ever sinned then we would not have had a need for Christ. And without
teaching a Bible study on Creation. We got married and life
Christ we have no need for the Christian faith, and the Bible
was perfect. My business was booming and in 2003, our first
has no meaning. That is why it is so important to believe the
son Caleb Stephen Denton was born. In 2005 we were ex-
Bible from the very first verse.
pecting my second son Luke Andrew Denton. About a month before Luke was born, Caleb had developed an enlarged
How many Biblical Creationist veterinarians do you
lymph node under his ear. The doctors said it was nothing to
know?
worry about. Yet, the lymph node kept growing and spread-
-I know two. Dr. Brinson who helped me with becoming
ing. Two weeks after the birth of Luke, we received the tragic
a Christian and a creationists, and a new colleague that I met
news that Caleb, age 2 ½ years, had a malignant tumor called
at an equine conference a couple of years ago.
Rhabdomyosarcoma and his prognosis was not good. Radiation and chemo therapy started immediately. Only a week
Tell us a little about your family?
later, I was returning home to work while my wife and two
-This may be the hardest story to tell. One thing to re-
sons stayed at the University of Virginia. The second day
member is that when you become a Christian it does not
home I received a call from one the doctors saying that our
mean life is going to be easy and without challenge. Eleven
newborn Luke your son had a serious heart defect requiring
years ago, I met my wife Angela at church when I was
(Continued on page 17) Page 16
(Continued from page 16)
not God’s intention but the Fall of Man, and that is why we
immediate surgery or Luke would not live.
need a Savior, Jesus Christ to free us eternally from this
Can you image having one 2 year old son with cancer and a
world of death, pain and suffering.
3 week old newborn that needed immediate surgery to save his life? The good news is that UVA found Luke’s heart defect
As a practicing veterinarian and a Christian that has en-
before it caused heart damage. Also, one of the best pediatric
dured hardship and family tragedy, how would you en-
heart surgeons in the world was available to perform the sur-
courage our readers of the importance of staying an-
gery which completely corrected Luke’s heart. That was the
chored in Christ?
later at the age of 3 ½ years old.
-Christ is our only hope. Without our belief in Christ we have no hope. That is why I feel so sorry for people that do
Never have I questioned my faith more than when we lost
not know Christ. They are blinded, lost and without hope.
our son. A year and half after Caleb died we had our third son
How do they handle these challenges when they face them? I
was born, Evan Caleb Denton. He was very healthy at birth
still think of how life can sometimes change in an instant.
but 3 hours after his birth, Evan had a stroke and was in inten-
One day my life was perfect and my business was booming
sive care for 2 weeks. They told us he would probably not
and within 6 weeks one son had cancer, the other had a seri-
have full use of his left arm or leg. Yet, as the neurologists
ous heart defect, and I could not work at my practice for 2
examined Evan for a full year, they released him, saying that
months while my sons were in therapy or recovering from
he had made a full recovery with no limitations. We got our
surgery. I could have lost my practice and my way of provid-
second miracle. Luke is now 7 years old and Evan is 5. They
ing for my family. But by God’s grace, my clients, friends,
are perfectly healthy and are both now in school.
and colleagues donated money and time to keep my practice
For the last 9 years, I have seen many struggles and chal-
up and running. It was amazing! I was given enough money,
lenges to my faith. At times I was very angry at God especially
almost to the exact dollar amount, to keep my practice operat-
after my third son’s tragedy. I felt God had abandoned me.
ing until I could get back to work. God provided in my hard-
How much more could I take? Why did all my three sons have
est time. It is hard to see God’s hand when you are going
to suffer and have challenges? I could not see the miracles of
through so many challenges but sometimes you just have to
Luke and Evan’s great recoveries at that time. I only focused
stand back and look and sometimes you can only see it when
on the loss of Caleb and my sons’ illnesses. It has been a long
you are on the other side. As a Christian, it has been the Crea-
battle. Now I am more fully able to see God’s hand working
tionist in me that has kept me going and believing in God
in those times of challenges. I know that my only hope in life
when I have faced life’s challenges. Even in my greatest
is to keep my Christian faith. It is the only way I will see
times of doubting God, when I would look around at nature
Caleb again. Luke and Evan are doing great and my wife and
or the animals in my everyday work, I knew we did not get
I are so proud of them. But no one can fill Caleb’s place.
here by chance. We have a Creator. That was my anchor.
There will always be a void in our lives. Still, we hold onto
That was what kept me hanging on to the Hope that is inside
the hope God has promised us, longing for the day we will be
of me.
reunited with Caleb in heaven. When I have questioned at times why does God allow such suffering, I return to the Biblical answer. It is all part of the
My wish is that everyone can know this Hope that is inside of me: to know Christ, to believe that He is our Creator and that we can trust the Bible from the very first verse.
Fall of Man and that is why being a Creationist and believing the whole Bible is so important. You can understand this was Page 17
Photo freefoto.com
miracle in all that was to come. Still, we lost Caleb one year
“. . . to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise.
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him.
“. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden.
No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility. If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out. It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength. Oswald Chambers Page 18
origins, the ancestor of the horse, millions
Creator and gather evidence to refute Darwin’s false assumptions.
of years ago, was a five-toed, fox-sized creaThe Hoof
ture.1 Through random change, blind selection,
The hoof, or equine foot, is vital
and almost endless time, the original five toes
to a horse’s existence. This horny
fell by ones and twos, as the ancestors of the horse grew from rodent to equine. Evolutionists teach that the hoof remains the
structure is located on the very end of a horse’s leg. Hooves play such a crucial role in the health and well-being of the horse that
What About
Horse Toe
Norfolk Spider, the 6 toed Shire horse from the UK is a recent example of a living polydactyl (multi-toed) horse.
Photo P/D 1923
sole toe of perfected horse evolution. The the-
Evolution? Rebekah L. Holt the old adage, ‘No hoof, no horse’ is true.
ory also proclaims that other existing parts of
To study the equine foot uncovers a structural
the leg, specifically the chestnut, the splint
wonder which causes farrier, veterinarian, and lay-
bones and the ergot, are all vestigial (leftover,
man alike to marvel. Here are just some of the tasks
useless) remains of horse evolution’s missing
the hoof is designed to perform:
toes. So what is the truth about horse toes? Ac-
Absorb shock.3
cording to Genesis chapter 1, the equine kind2
Provide traction.4
was masterfully created on the sixth day. God
Assist the heart in pumping blood.5
in His skilful design made the equine and its foot
Resist wear and fracturing.6
like no other.
Protect the sensitive structures within the hoof
By studying each member of the ‘toe vestiges,’ we can discover fingerprints of the Divine
wall.7
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
According to Darwin’s ideas on equine
Support body weight. (Front hooves carry 60%
a greater bearing surface for weight by
and rear hooves 40% of the actual body
supporting a portion of the carpal bones
weight.8)
of the knee joint. They are necessary, not
Conduct
moisture
throughout
the
hoof
wall.9Imagine the horse’s hooves as suction cups
vestigial.’ Cases
have
been
reported
of
multi-toed
that compress with each step to absorb shock
(polydactyl) horses with extended splint bones as
while gripping the surface to aid traction. With
extra toes.11 There are skeletons of horses with
each step, the inner structures of the hoof work like
splint bones extending as two extra toes. Does
a pump, compress-and-release, shooting life-giving
this prove Darwin’s theory of a transitional crea-
blood back up the leg and to the heart. Hundreds
ture evolving into a horse? Certainly not! It only
of microscopic, straw-like tubules serve to reinforce
illustrates that a totally equine skeleton had extra
the hoof wall’s strength and draw ground moisture
long splint bones supporting its fossilized leg that
with capillary action to hydrate the hoof wall. If
at one time supported a member of the equine
even one part of the horse’s foot is out of place,
kind. The modern equine’s regressing splints sug-
the result is lameness, often chronic or
gest only that the genetic material for extended
painfully disabling.
splints has been lost. Regression, shortening or lutionary theory, which requires an overall in-
Splint Bones
crease in genetic complexity. Hailed as ‘vestigial’ or useless leftovers of evolution, splint bones actually are
The Chestnut
far from useless bits of bone. Splints are two icicle-shaped bones found on the back of
Everyone
wonders
each leg. They support the carpal joints (front
what
chestnut
knee) on either side of the cannon bone, and the
really is. Science has
tarsal (or hock) joints on the rear leg. In addition to
not yet satisfactorily
assisting weight support, splints
the
form a vital
explained this little mystery. It is popularly be-
‘groove’ and protection for ligaments and tendons
lieved that the chestnut has shrunk from a toe in
that enable equine locomotion.10
the horse’s ancestor into a horny little growth in-
Dr. Doug Butler, a leading authority on farrier science, wrote concerning splint bones:
side of the horse’s leg. While that may be so (devolution is quite possible in a creation model,
‘The function of the splint bones is to protect
and is unhelpful to evolution, as shown above), it
the tendons and ligaments and especially
seems premature to call it vestigial. A respected
the blood vessels and nerves which pass
veterinarian handbook states:
down the back of the leg. They also provide
(Continued on page 21)
Page 20
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
Illustration by Rebekah L. Holt
loss of toes, is not helpful to the progressive evo-
(Continued from page 20)
Contrary to popular belief, they [chestnuts] do not represent the vestiges of missing
Chestnuts are called the ‘fingerprints’ of horses; each is individual in shape and texture. They can serve as identification just like our fingerprints
References 1. The fossil of this supposed ancestor has been called
digits.’12
do.13
It’s largely believed that chestnuts are scent glands (llamas have such glands in a similar place, thought
Eohippus (dawn horse) but its original (and proper) name is Hyracotherium, reflecting its similarity not to horses, but to the living hyrax, or rock badger, aka coney. It may well be an ancestor of the hyrax. 2. This most likely was the ancestor of today’s horses, zebras and asses, which can all interbreed. 3. Giffin, James M., M.D. & Tom Gore, D.V.M., Horse
to make alarm pheromones). They carry the strong
Owner’s Veterinary Handbook, Second Edition, Howell
trademark aroma of ‘horse.’14
Book House, New York, 1998, page 307. 4.Butler, Doug. PhD., The Principles of Horseshoeing II, Doug Butler Publication, Maryville, Missouri, 1985, page
The Ergot
121. 5.Ref. 4, page 120.
125(1):29–47, September 1986.
lock joint, is considered the last of
7. Pollitt, Christopher C., BVSc, Ph.D., The Anatomy of the
is taught as a vestigial leftover of Illustration Notes:
the evolving horse series. While
Orange depicts
the ergot may seem to be a use-
ergot. Yellow depicts nerves. Black depicts the artery.
Horse Hoof Keratin, The Journal of Experimental Biology
located on the back of the fetDarwin’s missing horse toes. It too
ergot ligament and
6. Bertram JE, Gosline JM, Fracture Toughness Design in
less little bump, it actually is an anchoring point for the ergot ligament—the
most
superficial
(close to the surface) of the ligaments found on a horse’s
leg.15
Inner Hoof Wall, The International Equine Research Center, The Farrier and Hoof Care Research Center, as at 14 June 2008. 8. Ref. 3, page 261. 9. Ref. 4, pages 138–139. 10. Ref. 2, page 100. 11. Carstanjen B, Abitbol M, and Desbois C, Bilateral Polydactyly in a Foal, Journal of Veterinary Science 8 (2):201–203, June 2007. Ref. 3, page 87. 13. Hadden, Will A., III, D.V.M., Horseman’s Veterinary Encyclopedia, The Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut, 2005, page 169.
Conclusion A recipe must have a chef, a portrait must have a painter, and a creature must have a Creator. As Christians, we can rejoice that humans and all other creatures are not remnants of thoughtless evolution,
14. Wolfrom, Glen, Horse Chestnuts, Creation Matters 3 (4):5, July–August 1998. 15. Ref. 4, page 116.
Originally Published by Creation Ministries International
but creatures skillfully designed by our Lord and Creator. As Revelation 4:11 declares, ‘Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.’ Page 21
Illustration by Rebekah L. Holt
The ergot, a small, bony growth
Photo Source: Wikipedia
My grandfather, who was an excellent story-teller, used to tell me an interesting tale: A young man went one day to visit his elderly uncle. He said, "Uncle, you can congratulate me. I just passed my 'A' levels." "That's great!" answered his uncle. "Here's some money. Go and buy yourself something you'd like. But now, tell me, what are your plans for the future?" "To start with," answered the young man, "I'm going to continue my studies. I want to go to Law School." "Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" "Well, after that, I'd like to get some experience at the County Court." "Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" "After that, I shall be Assessor at the Court of Appeal." "Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" "Well, after that, Uncle, I'll get married and raise a family."
(Continued on page 23) Page 22
Photo by Rebekah L. Holt
German Pastor Wilhelm Busche
"Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" "I hope to become influential - a judge at the Court of Appeal, perhaps, or a Public Prosecutor." "That's fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" The young man was beginning to get annoyed, but he answered, "I guess by then old age will be creeping on and I'll have to retire." "Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" "When I retire, I'll settle down in some beautiful part of the country, build myself a house and grow strawberries!" "Fine," said his uncle, "and after that?" By then, the nephew was ticked off. "After that, someday I'll die!" "Is that so?" asked his uncle, "and what then?" The young man wasn't laughing any more. He was panic-stricken. The old uncle insisted, "And after that?" "Uncle, I've never really thought about it." "What," exclaimed the old man, "you've just passed your 'A' levels and yet you're so dumb not to see further than the tip of your nose? Shouldn't a boy to whom God has given a sound mind have a little more foresight than that? What will happen after that?" The young man replied hastily, "But, Uncle, nobody knows what happens after death!" "You're wrong, my lad," said the old man. "There's one person who knows exactly what happens after death. It is Jesus. And Jesus said: 'Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life.' After death comes the judgment of God. People are either lost or they are saved." I want to wake you up and tell you: Making plans for your life up to the grave is not enough. You have to ask, what will come next? When I was a youth worker, I often explained it like this to my boys, "If I had a pair of shoes that needed mending, I wouldn't go to a service station. Mechanics are nice people, but they don't know anything about repairing shoes. I would take my shoes to the shoe-repairer. If, on the other hand, I had car trouble, I wouldn't get if fixed by a shoe-repairer but by a car mechanic. If I wanted to buy some buns, I wouldn't go to the butcher or to the grocer. They are all very nice people, but they don't know anything about baking buns. If I had a longing for buns, I would go to the baker's. If my water-pipe was leaking, then I'd go and get the plumber. In other words, I'd look up someone in the right trade. "But when it comes to finding out what happens after death, we listen to every Tom, Dick and Harry; or we rely on our own vague mixed-up ideas. Shouldn't we for this matter, more than for any other, ask a specialist? Where can we find a specialist? There is only one. He is the Son of God who came from heaven and who went to the realm of the dead.
He died on the cross, but he came back to life. He knows all the facts about the hereafter. And he tells us: 'You can go to hell or you can go to heaven.' "Even if twenty-five professors were to prove to me by logic that there is nothing after death, I would say to them, 'I'm sorry, but in spite of your university degrees, you are not experts on the subject; for the simple reason that you have never been to the other world. But I know someone who has been there: Jesus. And he has a totally different opinion from yours.'" People today act as though death is the end, or they seem to think that we will automatically go to heaven if we have been baptized and buried by a priest. If only I could convince you that you are in great danger! Hell will be crowded with people who were baptized and buried by the clergy. Sooner or later each one of us must appear before the tribunal of God. I want to tell you frankly, that it was the thought of the coming judgment that drove me to become a Christian. During the First World War, I was a young officer in the German army. Our regiment had suffered heavy losses. I was just like any other officer, neither better nor worse. If someone had told me then, "You'll be a preacher one day", I would have burst out laughing. At the time I was living far away from God. One day my father (Continued on page 24)
Page 23
Photo by wikipedia
(Continued from page 22)
stant this truth dawned on me like a blinding asked me, "Don't you believe in God?" light, more brilliant than the flash of a nuclear "I'm not silly enough to deny the existence of explosion: "He is standing before the holy God." God," I answered. "You Then another idea have to have a good seized me- "If I'd dose of stupidity to be been sitting where he an atheist. But," I was, it would have added, "so far I haven't been me who was hit met God personally, so and right now I would he simply doesn't interbe standing before Alest me." A short time mighty God." Not after this conversation standing before just with my father - it was any old God, but beGerman Soldier Near Verdun during World War 1 during the German ofImage: P/D 1923 fore the God who has fensive in France - I revealed his will and was sitting beside a friend of mine, a young given laws which I had broken, everyone! I lieutenant like myself, in a trench near Verdun. knew then that I had broken all of God's laws We were waiting for orders to attack. To kill and that if I were shot I would immediately aptime, we started telling some dirty stories. pear in the presence of God. And there wasn't (Everyone who has been in the army will the shadow of a doubt in my mind that I was know what I mean.) I had just finished telling bound for hell. The arrival of our boys with the one of my barrack- room jokes when, to my horses put a stop to my meditations. "Quick amazement, I realized that my buddy hadn't march!" came the order. I mounted. But before laughed. "Kutscher," I said, "hey, Kutscher, leaving my dead friend, I did a thing I hadn't didn't you find that one funny?" Just then he done in years: I prayed. "Oh God," I cried, fell heavily on his side. He was dead! A tiny "please don't let me die on the battle-field before piece of shrapnel had hit him and lodged I'm sure that I won't go to hell!" deeply in his heart. And there was I, a young A little later I went to see the chaplain. I asked boy in my eighteenth year, standing over the him, "Chaplain, what must I do so that I don't dead body of my friend. It didn't really affect go to hell?" His answer was: "Lieutenant, what me at first. Jokingly I said, "Look here, old counts right now is to win, to win, to win!" I exboy, what's the big idea of beating it like this claimed, "You don't even know yourself!" before I've even finished telling my joke?" But Isn't it staggering to think that thousands of a second later I was wondering: "Where is he young men were going to die within the next now?" few weeks without anyone being able to tell (Continued on page 25) I can still see myself in that trench at the in-
www.oldbookart.com
(Continued from page 23)
Page 24
them how to be saved? Then I fell on my knees and And yet we lived in a prayed: "Lord Jesus! In the supposedly Christian Bible it is written that you country! were sent by God 'to save I probably would have sinners'. I am one of those become very desperate if sinners. I can't make you one day a New Testament any promises for the future, hadn't come into my posbecause I have such a bad French Farm House During WW1 session. I can still see the (P/D 1923) character. But I don't want to place where I was staying go to hell if I get shot. That's that day: it was at a farm in France behind the why, Lord Jesus, I want to give my whole life to front. "A New Testament!" I thought. "If I read you. Do what you want with me!" it, I could probably find out what to do not to be There was no magic click. Nothing special hapdamned." But as the New Testament was not fa- pened. But when I came out of that room, I had miliar to me, I started reading it at random: a lit- found a master, a master to whom I have betle here, a little there. Then my eyes fell on this longed ever since. This experience completely verse: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save changed my existence. I have never had the least sinners." It struck me like lightning. A sinner. regret since. Though, to follow Jesus I have had That's exactly what I was! No one had to conto tread many difficult paths. I have been in vince me of that. I was a sinner! This was very prison. And on numerous occasions I have been in clear to me. And I wanted badly to be "saved". distress. But even if I had a hundred lives to live, But I didn't understand exactly what this meant. as soon as I had the faculties to think straight, I I had at least understood that to be "saved" would each time cling to this verse: "To all who meant getting out of the state I was in and makreceived him... he gave the right to become the ing peace with God. "Christ Jesus came into the children of God." world to save sinners." If Jesus could really do Why? Because from the instant I become a child that, then I had to find him at all costs! of God, my life takes on meaning. It makes no This went on for weeks. I looked for someone difference who I am: whether I be a pastor or who could help me find Jesus; but I found no street cleaner, manager or locksmith, housewife one. Then I did something I wish all of you or school teacher, my life takes on meaning only would do. Although a new offensive was on, I from the moment I become a child of God. Yes, went off by myself one day and hid in an old you ought to let Jesus into your life. Only then French farm-house. It was largely in ruins and will it have true purpose. had been evacuated. One room, however, was Reprinted with Written Permission from Publisher still undamaged. The key was in the door. So I BRUNNEN VERLAG BASEL, Switzerland went in and locked the door from the inside. Page 25
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Contributor’s Page "I’m Firn Hyde, a homeschooled teenager from South Africa. I live on a farm with my parents, sister, and more than 500 animals. Lord Jesus cured my horse, Skye, of a terrible disease and walked into my life in 2011. He is my best Friend and has given me a passion and a vision to lead others to Him through His magnificent creature, the horse."
Joe Taylor is the owner and curator of the Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum and associated companies. He was born and raised near Crosbyton at the Mt. Blanco community. As a young man he left the area for art school and a career in commercial illustration and advertising design in New York City and Los Angeles. During this time he volunteered at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California where the saber tooth cat skull which we reproduce is from. His interest was sparked by the rich local fossil deposits and a desire to find out the truth about fossils. The results of this interest are seen in the museum. Mr. Taylor is one of the nation’s foremost fossil restorationists and his work is sought out by individuals, museums and other institutions in this country and abroad.
Special Thanks to Mrs. Marjan Slurink and Dr. Stephen Denton for their submissions to this issue! “Hi All! Rebekah Holt—again. Horses have captivated my interest since toddler years. I have been very blessed to be raised in a large homeschooling Christian family with parents that have supported my equestrian pursuits. I would not consider myself a “Master horsewoman” but a Christian woman who loves what God has created and who enjoys working with horses. My skills as a rider and my knowledge as a horsewoman are continually on the stretch. I’m currently saddle training my 3 year old fillies—Beauty and Flavia. Yet, horses do not monopolize all my zest for living. I enjoy writing, photography, reading on all kinds of topics, cooking, sewing, crafts, listening to classical music, being with my parents & siblings, and playing with children (especially babies like my niece, Isabella and nephew Caleb, here pictured aboard Crumpets my Miniature Horse)!”
Feedback from Readers of the eQuest For Truth and Equus Ex Nihilo Ministries I have been reading in Equus Ex Nihilo, I especially liked what you wrote in: “A Christian Equestrian’s Path to Authentic Christianity.” Like you wrote, it is so important to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” we can not mix the two worldviews just to our convenience. I think it is brave that you wrote that, maybe people will be offended by it, or just shrug their shoulders and say you are too strict. But I want to say, thank you for standing on the truth of His Word and defending it! M.S., Finland I just came across your web site today while on a search of the Horse in the Bible in preparing lessons for a Ministry that a friend and I started this summer. Your web site is amazing!! I would like to use it as reference for our lessons. Our ministry right now, in it's starting stages, consists of a girls riding group for Jr. and Sr. High girls. We meet weekly and have a time of praise and worship while grooming and tacking horses and after that we gather together for a time of discipleship. We worked our way through Proverbs 31:10-31 and are now looking at creation and perceptive of world view. My friend and her husband are working with the Creation Truth Foundation and attending in-depth scientific study of Creation. So this is a great passion of [my friend] and I am learning quite a lot myself. After discipleship, if the weather allows since we don't have an indoor riding arena, we ride. We are looking to start a group for younger girls and women as well. I am also discussing with a Retreat Center that has a nice equestrian facility about doing a Cowgirl retreat…
To Those at Equest For Truth, I read the article, "Choosing Joy in Singleness," saw the email option at the bottom and decided to give it a shot; to say I liked this article would be an understatement. I wanted to take this opportunity to say how this article has touched me... I'm a young Christian woman, working my summers and returning to the University in the fall as a full time student. God has blessed me in more ways than I will ever be able to fully appreciate, most of these blessings have been the results of many trials. If I did not know God as my Savior, I'm fairly certain the weight of this world would have been too much for me. But not to stray too far from the purpose of this email: I was truly blessed by this article! The phrase "When it rains it pours," becomes more real the older I get and it is so easy to get worn down, discouraged and to shift my focus from God and others to only myself. Some recent trials (in every aspect of my life it feels) have me asking serious questions BUT NOT the right questions. I really needed to hear these words of wisdom right now! When I focus only on myself it's easy to feel like I'm alone in the Christian walk as a daughter of Christ so thanks for reminding me I am not! God Bless, A., via Internet Hello—I thought that the article ["Is There a Blessing in Being Alone?] was a refreshing change from other articles I read about aloneness. There are so many articles about being alone that would say things like "it's unhealthy" or "there are things wrong with you". So nice to read an article that does not say that. When I'm alone and blue, I keep reading that article over and over again. It brings great comfort to me. I wish that there are more articles like this. -T., via Internet
Thank you for your insight and openness on your web site, it is a great encouragement. Keep going with what you are doing and following God's will. There is no greater plan that his plan for you. God Bless! G., Iowa
I found the [Ten Guidelines to Live a Pure Christian Life] article very helpful in reminding me of my need to not get complacent about my walk or so stressed I am not paying proper attention to myself. Thank you, T. M., London, U.K.
I want thank you, for taking your time writing this good message, [not long] ago I spent my time instead of reading [the] Bible... watching pornography... It immediately raise[d] a guilt in me, that cause me to search in Google the Message that can bring me back at the feet of the Cross [of Jesus]... I want to [thank] God for giving me [the Equest For Truth ministry], you know Bible says: all things work for good to those who love Him... I thank God again for lighting His fire and giv[ing] me the passion of reading His Word. Oh Lord, do not let m[e] grow cold, this [is] my prayer, keep on praying for me. I pray God to enlarge your ministries, you know when God gives a vision, He gives too [the] provisions to accomplish His work in us, now do not get weary to do good. I believe at due time you shall reap. May my Heavenly Father richly bless, D.R. via Internet Page 28