Searching for Ropens and Finding God : Walking by Faith and Working With People of Other Faiths, in a Quest for the Discovery of Modern Living Pterosaurs

Fly above common true-life adventures as you dive into what may become the most unsettling scientific discovery since Copernicus and Galileo: Living pterosaurs of the modern world---what a discovery! It soars above disputes about religion, revealing why an official discovery of an extraordinary animal has been delayed for so long. Above all, this explores human experiences—of eyewitnesses and those who interviewed them. People have become connected by common encounters; persons of various faiths, with various levels of education, from various countries and cultures, have seen a living pterosaur, commonly called "pterodactyl." Notwithstanding the delay in the official scientific discovery, eyewitnesses from around the world continue to encounter these flying creatures: featherless, long-tailed, often larger than any known bird. 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, in recent years, 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.” Three American Christians—one middle-aged LDS-Mormon high priest and two younger Protestant Young Earth Creationists—explored parts of Umboi Island in two separate expeditions in 2004, interviewing native eyewitnesses of the elusive ropen. They returned home even more convinced that long-tailed pterosaurs live, even thrive, in Papua New Guinea. This resulted in the publication of several books, two scientific papers in a peer-reviewed journal, and over a thousand blog posts, written mostly by those who trudged the jungle trails of Umboi themselves and spoke with the eyewitnesses face to face. Those two expeditions in 2004 also cleared the path for other searches in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, including expeditions led by those with no religious purpose in searching for ropens, namely the Destination Truth and Monsterquest television shows. This book illustrates how we succeed better by working with those of different faiths in pursuing a common goal, in this case finding a modern living pterosaur and supporting each other in our common beliefs and values. Why has the official scientific discovery been so long delayed? The causes are multiple and interrelated, but one obstacle has been resolved. Speculation that religious bias of investigators has played a big part in sighting reports of apparent pterosaurs—that conjecture has been shot down.

Jonathan Whitcomb writes nonfiction books on living pterosaurs, with serious subjects involving a Western cultural weakness and the trials faced by eyewitnesses of creatures thought long extinct. Yet he still sprinkles in some humor, to lighten up a serious subject, for example:

As of early 2014, he has never been a best-selling author, never made a million dollars, and never been seen on American television . . . although it was not by design. He has, however, been popular with people who report that they've seen pterodactyls flying around. Unfortunately, the author has been less popular with people who have not seen pterodactyls flying around.

One critic online once portrayed him as a "kook" and mocked him for leading young earth creationists on an expedition in Africa. But the author denies ever setting foot in Africa and denies leading any YEC's anywhere. He led his interpreter in Papua New Guinea . . . without enough food. His rigorous writing schedule prevents him from adequately researching relevant definitions of "kook," so he's not yet responsed to that.

He usually sits in front of his computer, writing blog posts or using email to ask an eyewitness something like "Are you sure it had no feathers?" But in September of 2004, Mr. Whitcomb took no computer with him as he boarded a plane in Los Angeles. He returned one month later, after interviewing natives on a remote tropical island in Papua New Guinea: islanders who had seen a huge creature that glows when it flies at night and looks like a giant pterosaur in daylight.

In the past ten years, he's been explaining the concept of modern living pterosaurs to all who will listen. He tries to explain why these creatures are not extinct. He's also tried to explain things to his wife, so she'll understand why he was gone for one month in 2004, chasing giant flying dinosaurs, without making a million dollars. With all that said, he mostly writes on serious aspects of cryptozoology, science, and religion.