Rector’s Blog, Raise Your Hand - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

The first time I ever got kicked out of class was for arguing with my teacher. I was in 5th grade and Mr. Ahlers said that dinosaurs never existed. This was actually not the point of whatever he was teaching - it just came out while he was talking about something else: A very casual denial of dinosaurs. I raised my hand. He called on me. "I'm sorry, did you say there were no dinosaurs?" That's right, he said, and when I asked him why he said that he said they weren't in the Bible. I attended a private Christian school, so Mr. Ahlers was allowed to say this, but I had never actually heard it before. I didn't know one could just believe there were no dinosaurs. You should know at this point that I was not a science-oriented kid. I did not like educational programming - and to this day I still try not to learn anything while watching TV if I can help it. I have a son who memorizes animal and dinosaur facts and I love that about him, but that has never been me. But still, as a ten-year-old I had heard of dinosaur fossils and bones. Which is why I immediately asked him what about the fossils and bones. Mr. Ahlers said that God had put those in the ground. I asked why God would do that and he said in order to test our faith. I expressed incredulity. He doubled down, "What? Don't you think God could create fossils and bones and put them in the ground to test us?" To which I responded, "Of course I think he could do that, I just don't think God would be such a jerk." And that, my friends, was when I was kicked out of class.