In 1912 two scientists announced that they had found the remains of early man in a gravel pit in England. The gravel pit was near the village of Piltdown in Sussex. "Piltdown Man" became the rage of the scientific world, proving the theory of evolution and providing a link between monkey and man. Forty years later the discovery was found to be a fraud, and the reputations of Charles Dawson and Arthur Woodward were ruined.

It was found that the skull fragments were human, the mandible was of a juvenile female orangutan and the molars and other teeth found had been filed down to the correct size. The find was a fraudulent and obvious plant. The evidence pointed toward Charles Dawson, who made the initial discovery.

But there was another party to this mystery who has escaped unnoticed. It is very fitting that this third party was Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery series and several other works. John Hathaway Winslow and Alfred Meyer have written a copyrighted article entitled The Perpetrator at Piltdown. They note that "there was another interested figure who haunted the Piltdown site during excavation, a doctor who knew human anatomy and chemistry, someone interested in geology and archeology, and an avid collector of fossils. He was a man who loved hoaxes, adventure, and danger; a writer gifted at manipulating complex plots; and perhaps most important of all, one who bore a grudge against the British science establishment."

That person was Arthur Conan Doyle. As they say in detective mysteries, he had the motive, ability, opportunity, etc. Winslow and Meyer's article is very interesting and makes quite a circumstantial case against Doyle ( http://www.tiac.net/users/cri/piltdown.html ).

What remains unsaid in the article is the propensity of the scientific community, or any group for that matter, to advance their personal agenda on specious scraps of information. The "scholars" wanted to prove that man was descended from primates, according to Darwin. Piltdown Man provided that opportunity. Since the time of Nimrod immediately after the Flood, mankind has sought ways to replace God the Creator. Then, it was through worship of other gods or powers; now, it is through "science".

Scholars have "proved" that the Shroud of Turin dates from the Fourteenth Century, even though it is known to have existed prior to that period. In 1532 the shroud was almost destroyed in a fire. The fire was so hot that it melted portions of the silver chest in which the shroud was stored. Temperatures of this magnitude (about 960 degrees Centigrade) would create Carbon-14 in the fabric. Hence, the erroneous date.

There continues to be an effort to discredit the Word of God. If the Bible is not correct, then mankind is not subject to the moral restrictions of the Bible. If we are merely animals, then we are not accountable for our actions, and there will be no judgement. This is the goal of those who attempt to prove evolution or whatever theory or scheme is currently in vogue.

"Let no man deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them." – Ephesians 5:6.