Loch Ness Monster

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Wed, 21/06/2023 - 00:00

Last week I called at Loch Ness, and yes, like every other visitor to that gigantic lake, I secretly hoped that a large, dinosaur-like creature might bob up and offer greeting. I was persuaded some years ago that dinosaurs and people coexisted, so the possibility of one surviving in this huge, remote stretch of water does not explode my brain. Sightings have been recorded since early medieval times, but it was from 1933 that the popular ‘Monster’ hype really took off.

I suspect that many of the supposed sightings are the result of wakes, or strange ripples/tides created by boats which seem to take a life of their own and exist for some while after the initial water disturbance has passed on. Steuart Campbell, writing for The Skeptic in January 2023 explains them far better than I could attempt. A number I observed myself as pleasure boats and yachts passed by, creating a ‘humped’, moving effect on the loch’s surface. I think that most sightings of the supposed creature are able to be explained in this way, yet the evidence of dinosaurs or dragons inhabiting our earth in the last few centuries is clear, and much has been written about it. The Loch Ness Monster neither proves nor disproves the point, but allows the possibility that great creatures Leviathan and Behemoth need not be consigned to millions of years ago.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to note the popular fascination with this questionable specimen of aquatic life, while the existence and nature of the Creator is generally neglected by Westerners. Similarly, many are obsessed with aliens and extra-terrestrials, even attributing our existence to them, but ignore the evidence for a personal God. There is a whole genre of investigative literature dedicated to the understanding of ghosts and spectres, but of the God of heaven who conquered the grave, they barely consider.

While Nessie may be an interesting aspect of the debate surrounding the earth’s age, it does further demonstrate our population’s spiritual emptiness and foolish priorities. A few wakes and waves will convince many of a lurking Plesiosaur, while cheerfully dismissing the overhwhelming evidence of a cosmic Designer.