Page 282 - The Origin of Birds and Flight

280 The Origin of Birds and Flight

hard work and money were all spent for nothing.
Storrs L. Olson, head of the Smithsonian Institute Ornithology
Department, touches on this:
The “birds-are-dinosaurs” people have dominated this discussion [as
to whether birds supposedly evolved from dinosaurs or some other
reptile group] for a long time. There are a lot of problems with birds
being dinosaurs, although the theory has been publicized in the pop-
ular media. To overturn birds-are-dinosaurs would be a tremendous
embarrassment. There are millions of dollars and lot of careers tied
up in this debate. 252
Why does devotion to the theory of evolution become an obsession?
The most important reasons are the materialist philosophy mentioned
earlier, and the atheism that seeks a scientific basis. Some are unwilling
to believe that Allah created them, that they are responsible to our Lord,
and that in the Hereafter they will be held to account for their lives in
this world. Therefore, they seek to justify their denial. However, the ex-
istence of Allah is too obvious to be concealed by any deception. With
every breath these people take, with their every heartbeat, with their
every step, on the ground, with every fruit they eat—everywhere, they
are surrounded by evidence of Allah’s glorious
existence.
In the Qur’an, Allah refers to those who
“tell a lie against Allah and they know it”
(Surah Al ‘Imran, 75), to “descend on every
evil liar” (Surat ash-Shu‘ara’, 222), to those
who “knowingly conceal the truth” (Surat
al-Baqara, 146), who “mix up truth with
falsehood” (Surat al-Baqara, 42) and who
“use fallacious arguments to deny the truth”
(Surat al-Kahf, 56).
The attitudes of such people we encounter
nowadays were also displayed by people in the