ISBN 978-1-59594-153-4  

 

Learn the truth about the controversy between Darwin's General Theory of Evolution and Biblical scriptures: It is not about science versus religion; it is about two opposing philosophies.

 

How could a giant living pterodactyl haved eluded  scientists  for  decades; why did a World War II veteran’s testimony receive so little attention? What about this creature called, on Umboi island, “ropen?” Is it the same animal called "seklo-bali" on the mainland? Is it a modern pterosaur? What is the origin of this idea that the last species of  pterosaur died 65 million years ago? Is the idea scientific or philosophical?

 

Searching for Ropens answers these questions and will challenge you to think for yourself rather than follow the dogmatism declared by so many textbooks: that all of the species of pterosaurs must be "extinct." At least two species still live.

 

This book will give you much more than some cryptozoology books, much more than just an adventure. It will give you insight into the hearts and minds of the explorers who took risks in remote jungles to bring to light a miracle: long-tailed pterosaurs (Rhamphorhynchoids) still live in the Southwest Pacific.

 

 

 

“I read the book cover to cover in the first 48 hours after I received it (it was hard  to  put  down). The author  does a great job  of laying out  the  known facts about the Ropen.

   “I was equally fascinated with his personal account of summoning up the courage to go on the trip in the first place. The book was as much . . . about finding the courage within you to do something extraordinary as it was about a possible cryptozoological event.”

(Alex Aguila, Florida)

“I sat up till nearly 4 a.m. reading your book.
. . . personally I think you have done a brilliant
job of it. Its full of humor and spirituality. Every
page was interesting! Your honesty in the book really shone through and it was just such good
reading. Loved it!”    (Penny, Australia)

“Thanks for your valuable book, that’s not only informative (very intelligently written), but very interesting to read. The many pictures are helpful, too.”     (Gizella Szegeczky, California)

 

 

 

The old Flying-Fox explanation for living-pterosaur sightings has been shot down. The giant fruit bat of  Papua New Guinea (the Flying Fox also lives in Australia and in various areas of Southeast Asia) eats fruit, not fish or carrion. Nor do bats have tails longer than half their wingspans. Nor do bats glow at night with a bright bioluminescence. Nor do bats have horn-like head appendages. The featherless ropen is no bat; why not a pterosaur?

  Cryptozoology, Adventure, Spirituality

The first nonfiction book about modern pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea, Searching for Ropens, examines two controversial ideas: the truth of living pterosaurs in the Southwest Pacific and the fiction of the General Theory of Evolution, Darwin's personal philosophy. This book gives a Creation perspective on ropens.

 

From the author, Jonathan Whitcomb:

 

I started analyzing videotaped eyewitness testimonies in 2003; to my delight and amazement the natives of Umboi Island showed a high level of credibility in the descriptions of their sightings of a large flying creature: nocturnal and bioluminescent. In 2004, my hope was confirmed by three more eyewitnesses: one American World War II veteran and two Australians. I unleashed my passion by setting out on my own expedition later in 2004, interviewing a few eyewitnesses that had not previously been interviewed. The men and women who told me about their experiences with the ropen--these persons deserve your attention; please read their own accounts in my book, then come to your own conclusions.

 

The scientific, philosophical, and spiritual ramifications of this investigation required more than few web pages I wrote in 2004 and early 2005. That’s why, from 2005-2006, I spent twelve months writing the first edition of Searching for Ropens. New break-throughs and expeditions called for a new edition: updated, expanded. Please purchase the second edition.

 

My expedition to Papua New Guinea confirmed to me that this is some kind of pterosaur, but my confirmation came not from any personal observation of the ropen: I interviewed many who have seen it. And when many eyewitnesses, of different cultures and languages, see and then describe the same creature, then that creature is real, regardless of popular Western extinction-ideas.

 

This book digs deeper than speculations about biology: Our human weakness of noticing the superstitions only of those of other cultures—this is examined from an outside perspective. Why do Westerners assume that they are completely immune to superstition? Blindness is easier, and dinosaur and pterosaur extinction ideas are based on assumptions, even superstitious-like assumptions.

 

Searching for Ropens is a spiritual book even more than it is a cryptozoological one: about believing in God, giving Him credit for life on this planet, for life is no accident.

 

The book begins with my own life: experiences of my youth and young adult years that influenced me or prepared me for my own expedition in 2004. Yes, it does require an explanation: a 55-year-old American traveling alone to Papua New Guinea to search for giant living (and  flying) “dinosaurs.” Although I myself never got to see the ropen, my interpreter saw it: one hour after I had retired to bed; and the next day we still had laundry to do (humor helps us keep our sanity when it looks, to our critics, like we have already lost it; still, this investigation itself is serious).

 

Jonathan Whitcomb, Long Beach, California