I found the following remarkable article as I have been preparing for my visit to Vanuatu.
Study: Dolphins Not So Intelligent On Land
This article is helpful in confirming among other things that dolphins are not human. This may be a shock to some people, but it is better that this is stated for the public record. Humans are able to perform their tricks on both land and in the sea.
I have had an ongoing discussion with a friend and colleague over whether our dogs should be baptised or not. [My friend is the most reluctant host of a dog - so reluctant, in fact, that the word host is stated here in the sense of the relationship between parasite and host, rather than in the sense of hospitality that might exist between guest and host.]
My friend has argued that being made in the image of God and able to worship God, freely respond, etc are the essential preconditions for baptism into the church. He has stated firmly that our dogs are not of such a precondition... I haven't had the opportunity to ask him whether dolphins would have a better chance of being suitable for baptism. But I was about to until I read the attached article.
Until today, my argument would have been that dolphins are as intelligent as humans, or possibly, more intelligent... this was to be backed by studies of:
the size of dolphin brains,
their ability to communicate,
their dexterous fins,
their ability to ward off sharks and avoid warfare (a quality clearly superior to humans and an obvious living out of the 'blessed be the peacemakers' teaching of Jesus,
their concern for global warming and other global issues,
their ability to laugh at themselves (and us)
and, of course, their interest in theology albeit some difficulty in the communication thereof beyond their own species...
But now they have proved to have failed in some crucial intelligence tests... maybe the baptism question has to be suspended until they can pass the crucial out-of-water intelligence tests.
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