Searching for Ropens and Finding God
Description
- By Jonathan_Whitcomb [1]
- Illustrated by Dan Nedrelo, Eskin Kuhn, Patty Carson, Rebecca North, and Richard Dobbs, Jr.
- Published April 18, 2014, through Createspace
- 354 pages, paperback
- mid-teens to senior citizens
- Suggested price: $17.50
- ISBN-13: 978-1484911396
- ISBN-10: 1484911393
- Nonfiction: religion; science and religion
Introduction
The third edition of the nonfiction book Searching for Ropens was retitled Searching for Ropens and Finding God, when it was published in April of 2014.
All three editions support literal interpretations of Genesis, especially the Flood of Noah. The expanded third edition covers sightings around the world,
with more emphasis on objectively
evaluating the eyewitness sighting evidence.
From the Title Page
A few Americans explored a few islands in the southwest Pacific, in brief expeditions scattered between 1993 and 2007, looking for a modern pterosaur.
“Creationist” each man was labeled, yet many of those following them carried no religious purpose. The creatures have many names: seklo-bali, duwas,
wawanar, indava, kor, kundua. In Papua New Guinea, natives in isolated communities speak in village languages numbering in the hundreds, yet many
natives carry a common fear in the dark: a huge glowing creature flying in the night. Natives on Umboi Island call it “ropen.” [2]
From the Acknowledgements
The prayers of family, friends, and other Americans were answered when I found Luke Paina, who became my interpreter, bodyguard, and counselor.
By the grace of the Father of us all, Luke and I were welcomed like brothers by those we met on Umboi Island, and through the friendship of humble
Christians in remote villages, we were fed, sheltered, and led to those who made this book possible: the native eyewitnesses. Thank you; tenku tru. [3]
From the Book's Introduction
Expect answers in this book: why my associates and I traveled to a remote tropical island to search for living pterosaurs and why so few professors
have given us any hope that they still live. What about adventures, with danger, failure, and success? Yes, expect those, but I hope my readers will
discover more than adventure—a purpose in life—as worthy a purpose as I have found. This is not an instruction manual for finding God, yet I suggest
that the spiritual quest gives you the highest reward. [4]
Dedication
I dedicate this to the honest in heart, who commonly recognize the truth even when it appears uncommon, for you love the truth;
to the brave eyewitnesses who report what they have experienced, regardless of ridicule, for you enlighten the world;
to the explorers who risked life and reputation by searching for pterosaurs in a remote wilderness, for you inspire countless believers;
to the supporters of expeditions, who could not go themselves, for you became part of the team;
most of all, to that God of truth who loves, enlightens, inspires, and supports His children, and listens to their prayers, for You have made us part of your life.
Chapter 1: Awakenings - Prelude to an expedition
It looked like a dead pterodactyl: not fossil bones but with skin, like it had died recently. Could those creatures, non-extinct, still fly? Although I could not
verify the photo was genuine, the idea within that image in a soon-forgotten book would be awakened four decades later, to plunge me into the most
dramatic adventure of my life: exploring a remote tropical island, searching for giant living pterosaurs. [5]
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