Tag Archives: Christian

Birds of the Bible – Favorites

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Finch at Creation Museum (through glass)

Finch at Creation Museum (through glass)

While on vacation, I showed some family and friends this blog, and took them to some of my favorite articles and videos. Putting out a rushed article (which is due today) would not be good, instead, I am going to share the links to my favorites. If you are new to the blog or just pop in every now an then, you may have missed these. I go back to them every now and then, just because I enjoy them.

“Birds of the Bible – Eagles” the article and then scroll down to the African Eagle fishing video.

Amazing Free-Flying Bald Eagle “Challenger”

“Birds of the Bible – Owls” especially the last video with the Burrowing Owls

“Birds of the Bible – Under His Wings”

“Birds of the Bible – For His Pleasure” and “For His Pleasure II”

Plus there are many more favorites, but this will do for now. Going back and reviewing things is good for us. Just like the Bible, it never gets exhausted and you find new things each time you read it.

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. (Pro 18:15 KJV)
The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. (Pro 15:14 NKJV)

Birds of the Bible – Niami, Niger, West Africa

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Our missionaries in Niami, Niger, encounter different Birds of the Bible than our missionary in Brazil, that I wrote about last week.

These are some of the different birds mentioned in the Bible that they might see in Niger that we don’t see here. Some do not have pictures, so this is not a complete list. All of these pictures are from the Niger, Africa list of birds from Wikipedia.

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Avibase Checklist of Birds – Niger

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When I Consider – Guillemot

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I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. (Psalms 50:11 ESV)

When I Consider!

When I Consider!

“Evidence From Biology”

“Every feature and function of a bird’s body testifies to design. From the moment they lay their eggs to their yearly migrations across the globe, birds provide eloquent testimony to their Creator.

Guillemot - Wikipedia

Guillemot – Wikipedia

While most birds  have been given instincts to build strong nests to protect their eggs, the guillemot does not build any nest. Instead, guillemots simply lay their eggs on bare windswept rocks. Their eggs are shaped in such a way, however, that when the wind blows, they spin in place, instead of rolling off the rocks. Who programmed  the guillemots to form their eggs exactly the right shape in order to survive in their harsh environment, whereas other sea birds produce ordinary shaped eggs and build nests to protect these eggs?

How do hundreds of species of birds migrate thousands of miles every year at the right time and to the right place? Every fall the American Golden Plover youngsters make an astounding 3,000 mile flight across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the island of Hawaii, with no parent to guide them. They fly through the darkness, clouds, and storms, and land at the correct destination. Their bodies are so effecient that they only burn ounces of body weight on this incredible 3,000 mile flight. Who designed their bodies with this extraordinary efficiency, taught these birds to navigate, and gave them the desire to make this journey?”

Above quote from June 11th’s A Closer Look at the Evidence by Richard and Tina Kleiss, with info from Myths and Miracles, p32, CEA Update Newsletter (Summer/95)

Below from Wikipedia

Guillemot Eggs

Guillemot Eggs

“Common Guillemot eggs are large (around 11% of female weight), and are pointed at one end. There are a few theories to explain their pyriform shape:

  1. If disturbed, they roll in a circle than fall off the ledge.
  2. The shape allows efficient heat transfer during incubation.
  3. As a compromise between large egg size and small cross-section. Large size allows quick development of the chick. Small cross-sectional area allows the adult bird to have a small cross-section and therefore reduce drag when swimming.”

Birds in Hymns – He Abides

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And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; (John 14:16)

Words: Her­bert Buff­um (1879-1939), written 1922
Music: Doc M. Shanks

I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the hand of God in all my life I see.
And the reason of my bliss,
Yes, the secret all is this:
That the Comforter abides with me.

Long-billed Corella by Birdway (Australia)

Long-billed Corella by Birdway (Australia)

Refrain

He abides, He abides.
Hallelujah, He abides with me!
I’m rejoicing night and day
As I walk the narrow way,
For the Comforter abides with me.

Once my heart was full of sin,
Once I had no peace within,
Till I heard how Jesus died upon the tree.
Then I fell down at His feet,
And there came a peace so sweet.
Now the Comforter abides with me.

Refrain

He is with me everywhere,
And He knows my ev’ry care;
I’m as happy as a bird and just as free.
For the Spirit has control;
Jesus satisfies my soul,
Since the Comforter abides with me.

Australian Hobby by Ian Montgomery

Australian Hobby by Ian Montgomery

Refrain

There’s no thirsting for the things
Of the world—they’ve taken wings.
Long ago I gave them up, and instantly
All my night was turned to day,
All my burdens rolled away.
Now the Comforter abides with me.

Refrain

He Abides – CyberHymnal

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

See ~ Wordless Birds

More ~ Birds in Hymns

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Birds of the Bible – Bird Idols

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(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith. (18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. (20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (23) And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (24) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: (25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:16-25)

I know that the above quotation is long, but it is needed to show the problem of making idols in the image of birds and other things. Here on this blog, we discuss the birds and how the Lord has created each of them, how His glory and honor is to be praised for His great intelligence (omniscience) and power (omnipotence), etc. What we don’t do is worship these birds. Over the centuries, man has taken his eyes off of God, and put it on things, such as birds. Then, he has used wood and other materials to make idols of them. Next come the worship of that idol. “Idolatry is a term used by the monotheistic religions in reference to the worship of physical objects (idols) and, more generally, to most any religious practices which involves the worship of anything other than God. Forms of worship encompassed under the term idolatry include prostrating before an idol, offering prayers to idols, and offering librations or animal sacrifices to idols.” (from Creation Wiki) Here are some of the ways that man has denied God this way:

Chinese Phoenix - Fenyang

Chinese Phoenix – Fenghuang

Fenghuang: “Fenghuang is said to be made up of the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish.  Today, however, it is often described as a composite of many birds including the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow. Its body symbolizes the six celestial bodies. The head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail are the planets.”

Statue of a griffin - Venice

Griffin: “The Griffin (griffon or gryphon  is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and often wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.”

Phoenix on top of Kinkaku-ji temple in Japan

Phoenix on top of Kinkaku-ji temple in Japan

Phoenix: “The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being immortal and invincible — it is also said that it can heal a person with a tear from its eyes and make them temporarily immune to death. The phoenix is a symbol of fire and divinity.” “Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a “benu”, known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra.”

These are just a few of the Bird Idols around the world. As stated earlier, we love doing articles about the fantastic birds God has created, but please, don’t take your eyes off of the Creator. He created them for His pleasure and ours, not to be worshiped.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,  (Exodus 20:3-5a)

Interesting article to read: The Folly of Idolatry by Kyle Campbell Most quotes are from Wikipedia.

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Home again, Home again!

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Painted BuntingPraise the the Lord, I am home again after a 5 day stay in the hospital. Thank all of you who have been praying for me while I have been fighting this infection. I have a viral respiratory infection (severe bronchitis) and it has to run it’s course. Could be several more months, so they tell me. With all their agressive treatments, I am much improved, but not well yet. At least they helped keep it from turning into pneumonia.

So, it’s back to try to do the “construction” I started some time back.

Thanks again for all your prayers. They were felt and appreciated.

Lee

Weaver Birds

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And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:22)

The Weaver Bird from Creation Moments

Speke's Weaver

Speke's Weaver

Weaver bird name for the Ploceidae, a family of Old World seed-eating birds closely resembling finches (hence the alternate name weaver finch). It includes a number of so-called goldfinches and waxbill finches that are actually weaver birds, rather than true finches of the family Fringillidae. The weavers are named for the highly complex woven nests built by many species, though others build only crude nests, and the parasitic widow weavers build no nests at all. Most weavers are sedentary, noisy, gregarious, and polygynous, with elaborate courtship rituals. Most weavers use grasses for the weaving of the nests which have an entry at the bottom.

The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers.

Buffalo-weavers -The African buffalo weavers are black-and-brown birds 8 to 10 in. (20.3-25.4 cm) long, that travel in small flocks and build bulky compartmented nests with separate chambers for two or more pairs.
Red-billed Buffalo-weaver
White-billed Buffalo-weaver
White-headed Buffalo Weaver

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Quelea

Sparrow-weavers – Of the 35 sparrow weavers the best known, and in fact one of the most widely distributed and familiar small birds in the world, is the English sparrow native to Europe, W Asia, and N Africa. It is the most successful town and city dweller among birds, and has followed European civilization wherever it has gone; it was introduced to North America in 1852. As common in Asia is the Eurasian tree sparrow (also introduced in the United States), a nuisance in rice fields and sold in great quantities for food. These birds build untidy domed nests with side entrances. Most specialized of the sparrow weavers is the
White-browed Sparrow-weaver
Chestnet-crowned Sparrow-weaver
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver
Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-weaver

Social-weaver of Africa, famous for its apartment-house nest, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. They build these structures, which may be 10 ft (3 m) high and 15 ft (4.5 m) across, high in a sturdy tree, beginning with a roof of straw thatch. Of the 100 or more African and Asian typical weavers, the small quelea, only 5 in. (12.7 cm) long, sometimes causes huge crop losses in Africa by feeding on grain in flocks numbering as many as one million birds.
Grey-headed Social-weaver
Black-capped Social-weaver

Widow-weavers – The African widow weavers (named for the long, drooping black tail plumes of the breeding male), or whydahs, are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits; they lay their eggs in the nests of waxbills, and their eggs are white, as are those of the waxbill, rather than spotted, as are those of all other weavers.

Black-winged Red Bishop

Black-winged Red Bishop

Fan-tailed Widowbird
Yellow-shouldered Widowbird
Red-collared Widowbird
Marsh Widowbird
Buff-shouldered Widowbird
Long-tailed Widowbird
Jackson’s Widowbird

Many of the weaver family are kept as cage birds, especially the colorful waxbills (e.g., the Java sparrow, mannikin, munia, grenadier, cutthroat, and cordon-bleu, locust, parrot, Gouldian, and fire finches). Weaver birds are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes.

Other Weaver Bird families are the:
Just plain Weavers, the Malimbe family, Quelea family, Fody family, and the Bishop family. 

From:
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 21 Apr. 2009, Answers.com Ploceidae,   and other internet sources.

Check out the Weaver Bird Videos

When I Consider! – The Survivability of the Ark

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Magnify the Lord

“Evidence From The Worldwide Flood”

“How could the Ark have survived a year-long water catastrophe without sinking? The study of hydrodynamics (the branch of physics having to do with the motion and action of water) has demonstrated that a giant boxlike vessel the size and shape described in the Bible would be almost unsinkable. Even in a sea of gigantic waves, the Ark could be tilted to almost a 90° angle and would always tend to right itself again. A vessel of this shape also aligns itself with the waves so that it experiences the least amount of pitching.

In 1604, a Dutchman named Peter Jansz, built two smaller ships with the same proportions as the Ark. These small “arks” could carry one-third more cargo than regular ships without requiring any additional crew and quickly became a popular cargo carrier.

The perfect engineering of the Ark, with the exact characteristics necessary to survive the Flood, points to God as the ultimate Designer. Every detail of the Bible confirms its accuracy and supernatural origin.”

The Door of the Ark by Lee

This image is a reproduction of the ark at Ark Encounter, USA. Answers in Genesis.

The Article is from:
The Creation, p. 150-151
The Genesis Record, p. 181

The above quote is from January 15), “”A Closer Look at the Evidence – Kleiss,” by Richard and Tina Kleiss

This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. (Genesis 6:15 HCSB)

“When I Consider!” is based on: (Psalms 8:3-9) (3) When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained…(9) O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Interesting related articles:
WorldWideFlood.com
Noah’s Ark from Creation Wiki
The Resource for Answering the Critics of Noah’s Ark by John Woodmorappe, ICR
Caring for the Animals on the Ark by John Woodmorappe, AiG
Noah’s Ship: Like Nothing You’ve Seen Before by Catherine Myers, Answers

Impact of the Answers in Genesis Conference

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Updated 4/25/09

If you have been reading this blog, you will recall that last weekend we had an Answers in Genesis Conference at our church here in Winter Haven, FL. It was a fantastic conference that the Lord blessed, and I left it with “information overload.” I have been trying to sort through what the Lord would have me learn from all of it. Creation topics have been something I have read about for some time, but this really struck a need.

I believe many of us had our thinking challenged by what we heard. American Christians are deserting the Authority of the Word of God and compromising with a world-view that is non-Christian. The result is our foundations based on the Word of God, the Creator of this world, are crumbling. As each generation teaches the next from a crumbling foundation, that next generation compromises more. Their foundation is even weaker than the one before. They become more Pagan or anti-Christian as the generations pass. So, what do we do? Shall we let our children, and grandchildren continue to drift further away from God and His Word in the Bible. I don’t think so!

If I didn’t learn anything else from that conference, this one thing I did. It is time to go back to the Foundation of the Word of God and re-train, or train for the first time, our generation and next ones on what the Bible, God’s Holy Word says. Not the compromised view.The most important decision a person every makes in their life is to confess their sins and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. If you don’t know that you are a sinner and why, then you need a foundation based on the Bible.
Our Thinking in Every Area
What does that mean for my blogs? Some foundational blocks need to be placed down based on God’s Word.  On the Birdwatchng Adventures blog, we have tried to base the posts on Scripture. There is more that can be said about why we believe they were created and did not take millions of years to get here and the wonderful design that the Lord created them with. Check out the PLUS Index for more on these topics.

We are Bible-believing Christians that love the Lord and want to share our thoughts and beliefs based on the Word of God, the Bible, with you. There are many fantastic websites that have information that we will share, with their permission, that will help rebuild a Biblical foundation.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. (Psalm 145:3-5 KJV)

The Vanishing Case for Evolution by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

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The Vanishing Case for Evolution
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

Evolutionary belief is a remarkable and largely unexplained phenomenon. It is a belief held by most intellectuals all over the world, despite the fact that there is no real scientific evidence for it at all. Evolutionists allege that evolution is a proved scientific fact, based on a multitude of scientific proofs, but they are unable to document even one of these supposed proofs! This curious situation is illustrated below in quotations from several leading evolutionary scientists.

THE ALTOGETHER MISSING EVIDENCE
No Evolution at Present.
To see the rest of the article CLICK HERE

You might also find this article interesting:
Just How Well Proven Is Evolution?, by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

Fossil Fibers Befuddle Dinosaur Evolution from I.C.R.

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Fossil Fibers Befuddle Dinosaur Evolution
by Brian Thomas, M.S.*

Evolutionary museums and textbooks have often portrayed modern birds as the descendants of dinosaurs, a story that has been presented without empirical support. Now, a new “feathered” dinosaur discovery has thrown a wrench into the already dysfunctional machinery of the dino-to-bird tale. This dinosaur fossil with fang-like teeth, Tianyulong confuciusi, has been found with fibers that resemble structures believed by some evolutionists to be the precursors of feathers—the only problem is, it’s the wrong category of dinosaur to have them!

To read the rest of this article, go to I.C.R.

Since this blog is about birds and the other one creation, this article is good reading for both areas.

Birds of the Bible – Foundation #4

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We will continue on with the Birds of the Bible – Foundation series.

If you have not read the previous blogs:
Foundation #1,  –  Foundation #2 –  Foundation #3

The last article in this series left the world, Noah, his family, the animals, birds and creeping things in a rough situation. All the world was violently rearranged by the global flood and all air-breathing creation was dead, except for those on board the Ark.

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:20)

But first must he (Christ-the Creator) suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:25-27)

Just as those who were saved by being in the Ark, so are we by putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)

Australian Raven by Les Thurbon

Australian Raven by Les Thurbon

Finally, (Noah and all were in the Ark for over a year.) Noah opened the window in the ark and sent forth a raven. The raven which flew back and forth to the ark until the land was dried up. Noah, then sent out the Dove (female) to see if the ground was off the ground. Doves are ground feeders and also like to put their nests on the ground many times. She found no resting place for her feet and so Noah put out his hand and brought

Eurasian-collared Dove in Israel

Eurasian-collared Dove in Israel

her back inside. Noah waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again and this time she came back with an olive leaf. This let Noah know that the waters were receding. When he released her again 7 more days later, the dove did not return. “The surface of the ground was dry.” (Genesis 8:7-12)

After 7 more days: “God spoke to Noah, saying,”

“Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:16-22 NKJV)

That is a tremendous promise and in Genesis 9, God blesses Noah and his sons and then makes some statements:

  • Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth
  • Fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast, bird, all that move on the earth, all fish of the sea. Are given into your hand
  • Every moving thing that lives shall be food. (Man is no longer just a vegetarian)
  • You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood
  • Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
  • God makes a covenant with man and every living creature

Genesis 9:11-17 NKJV
(11)  Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
(12)  And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
(13)  I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
(14)  It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
(15)  and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(16)  The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
(17)  And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Rainbow by Mike Bader

Rainbow by Mike Bader

What a tremendous promise! Even though man and critters are still cursed, God will never bring another global flood.

As for the birds and other critters, we find from God’s Word that there are changes for them. They now can become food for man and other critters, they now have a fear and dread of man who has dominion over them, they now become eaters of others. They are still to reproduce and spread out and fill the earth, they are promised never to be totally destroyed again by a global flood, etc. Somewhere between the Fall in the garden of Eden and this, the nature of birds and critters is drastically changed from what God originally created them to be. All because of SIN.

Continue to Birds of the Bible – Foundation #5

Some links to some informative articles about the flood:
Noah’s Flood covered the whole earth
Universality of the Genesis Flood
How Did Defense/Attack Structures Come About?