What Purpose for a Porpoise?

Genesis 1:28
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.“

As I write this article, there have been reports about the imminent extinction of the vaquita, a little porpoise that lives in Mexico’s Gulf of California. In 2016, it was estimated that there were only 30 of these small marine mammals left, whereas 97 were counted in 2014. At this rate of population decrease, it seems likely that there will be none left within two years, unless something can be done rapidly.

The vaquita are dying out because of illegal fishing operations in the Gulf of California. They get caught in the gillnets used to catch totoaba, which are a similar size to these porpoises.

The plight of this endangered species has attracted the attention of some famous names, such as the actor Leonardo di Caprio. The World Wide Fund for Nature features the vaquita on its website. We can be grateful for such conservation efforts from those who believe in evolution, but we have to pause and ask why evolutionists would take such a keen interest. If evolution had really happened, it would have been a record of extinction. Herbert Spencer – one of Charles Darwin’s friends – famously referred to evolution as “survival of the fittest”. How do we know which species are fittest? Well, they survived, didn’t they? Are the vaquita fit to survive? Wouldn’t evolution benefit by the extinction of such weak creatures?

The Bible, by contrast, sets us up as stewards of creation. By our dominion over creation, we are expected to look after it. A creationist argument for conservation is therefore much more authoritative.

Thank You for setting us up in a beautiful world and giving us dominion over it. We pray that You might make each of us faithful stewards of what You have given to us. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Scientists mull a risky strategy to save world’s most endangered porpoise, , accessed 10/28/2017. Image: Public Domain (USNOAA).