Ronald Knisley
Scorpions are in the news now because of the release of the movie Scorpion King. Based loosely on history, this movie is about one of the first Pharaohs in Egypt. In the movie, warlord Memnon puts the venom or poison of a scorpion on an arrowhead and tells an assassin to use it to kill the hero Mathayus. In true Hollywood fashion, the venom does not kill the hero. Instead it gives him the power to defeat the villain.
Scorpions have always interested many people. They look odd. Like a tiny lobster, they have bulging eyes, pincers, long feelers, and 18 segments in their hard shell body. Other than size, the main difference between the scorpion and the lobster is the scorpion’s strange tail. It curves up and forward, ending in a poisonous stinger.
There are approximately 1500 species of scorpions in the world, but only about 25 have lethal or deadly venom. Many scorpions are desert dwellers. In the United States, most live in the southwestern deserts. Some people keep scorpions as pets. There is even a website to help owners with their care and feeding.
There are approximately 1300 species of scorpions worldwide. 25 of these species are fatal to humans.
Bible writers did not consider the scorpion a pet. In the Old Testament, scorpions are the punishment given to the Israelites for their sins (Dt 8:15; 1 Kgs 12; 11, 14; 2 Chr 10:11, 14; and Ez 2:6). In the New Testament, Jesus promises that He will give Christians “the power to tread on snakes and scorpions” (Lk 10:19). This meant that He would give Christians power over evil. Then in the final days, demons come out of the bottom less pit, and they have the power to sting like scorpions (Rev 9:3, 10).
The purpose of this article is to show the truth of creation and to point out erroneous facts in the theory of evolution. I have already discussed how sharks provide an excellent example of this truth in the article “Sharks Puncture the Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium” (Bible and Spade, Spring 2002, Page 55). Punctuated equilibrium is the theory that evolution on earth happened in sudden bursts that created new, primitive life forms. Paleontologists developed this theory to explain, without scientific evidence, the reason why many life forms show no changes in the fossil records found in the earth’s crust.
The paleontologists, who support the theory of evolution as scientific fact, say sharks and scorpions are primitive life forms because their fossil records have not changed. Therefore, they must have evolved in a sudden burst and will stay in their primitive stage until another burst evolves them to a higher stage. I believe that I have shown in the mentioned article that sharks are not primitive. They have many special abilities that make them the most effective hunters in the world.
Scorpions have as many special abilities as sharks. Showing the hand of God in its design, most of the scorpion’s abilities are different from the shark’s due to its special place in God’s creation. These abilities are:
An Exoskeleton—This is a skeleton outside the body rather than inside it. It comes off or molts, as the scorpion grows larger. This hard body helps the scorpion defend itself against natural enemies.
Book Lungs—They are a series of parallel, leaf-like plates, supplied by a great number of blood vessels. These plates provide a large surface for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The scorpion’s lungs work very well over broad areas of climate and geography—even better than human lungs.
BSpade 15:3 (Winter 2003) p. 31
Range—They live in tidal, desert, and mountain areas. They are able to walk on sand or snow. There are species of scorpions that can withstand temperatures as high as 47 degrees C (118 degrees F). Others can be super-cooled to below freezing for weeks and return to normal activity within hours.
Sight—Scorpions have eyes that cannot see sharp images, but they can see or detect shadows cast by starlight. The ability to do this happens in the tail in some species. They are also able to become fluorescent under ultraviolet light.
Detecting Prey—Scorpions can sense the vibrations of flying insects, and they can also sense the vibrations of walking prey in a sophisticated way. This gives them the precise distance and direction of the prey. Sharks have similar abilities in water.
Food—Scorpions eat any small animal they can capture with their pincers or get by stinging. This diet allows them to live virtually anywhere in the world.
Eating—Scorpions are extremely efficient eating and water-use machines. They can go without food for up to 12 months and without water for up to 60 days.
Venom—All scorpions have venom in their tail that stuns their prey. Approximately 25 species have venom that can kill humans. Worldwide each year as many as 5000 humans die from a scorpion’s sting. Anti-venom or medicine for the scorpion’s sting exists, but it is wise to stay out of the range of a scorpion’s tail.
Commonly thought of as desert animals, scorpions occur in many other habitats as well, including grasslands and savannahs, rain forests, and caves. Scorpions have even been found under snow-covered rocks at elevations of over 3,700 m (12, 000 ft) in the Andes Mountains of South America and the Himalayas of Asia.
About 90 species of scorpions occur in the US. All but four of these are common west of the Mississippi.
Most scientists who study scorpions admit that this small, hard shell animal is one of the most successful and numerous of predators. In their territories, two to 12 live in a square meter. Then, how can scorpions be primitive animals? The answer is that they cannot be primitive. The Creator God made them for His purpose. Let us pray that these scientists will begin to see the error in the theory of either gradual or punctuated evolution.
Bibliography
Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L.
1968 Spiders, Scorpions, Centipedes, and Mites. Oxford NY: Pergamon.
Foster, S. and Ceres, R.
1994 Peterson Field Guides to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Kjellesvig-Waering, E. N.
1986 A Restudy of the Fossil Scorpionida of the World. Ithaca NY: Palentological Research Institution.
Polis, G.A.
2002 Scorpions. Pp. 858–62 in The New Encyclopedia Britannica 13, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
BSpade 15:3 (Winter 2003) p. 32
Contributing Authors
Charles F. Aling, Ph.D., is currently the Chair of the History Department at Northwestern College, St. Paul MN. Dr. Aling is also the president of the Institute for Biblical Archaeology, and is the author of Egypt and Bible History.
Kenneth A. Kitchen, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, England. His areas of research, in which he has written extensively, are Egyptian and Near Eastern history, Egyptian texts, and ancient chronology.
Ronald Knisley recently completed a 43 year career as a senior manager at the U. S. Department of Energy. He has degrees in mathematics, history, and business administration from the University of Delaware and George Washington University. Ron is a life member of ABR
Paul L. Maier, Ph.D., is professor of Ancient History and chaplain at Western Michigan University of Kalamazoo MI.
Gary A. Byers is a staff member of the Associates for Biblical Research and administrative director of ABR’s excavation at Kh. el-Maqatir, Israel.
David G. Hansen, Ph. D., is the former President of the Board of Directors of Associates for Biblical Research. A retired U. S. Army officer, he is the author of numerous articles, co-author of two books, and frequent lecturer on Bible geography and Old Testament warfare. He currently teaches at Penn State University.
Bible And Spade 16:2 (Spring 2003)