Guest Post by Phil Kiper: How Did We Get Here?

How Did We Get Here?

I was looking at posts from my Facebook friends a few weeks ago when I came upon a post from one of my former students, a very nice young lady.  She didn’t write the post but had simply shared it.  The post contained a picture of a man standing beside a very large tree that he had just felled.  The butt end of the tree had a vibrant red color showing along some of the rings of the tree.  The author of the post was explaining that the tree was a dogwood tree and that the tree was “bleeding” to give testimony that Jesus had been crucified on a dogwood tree.  The author alleged that at the time of Jesus, the dogwood tree was a much larger tree, and that after the crucifixion, God had cursed the tree, causing it to be much smaller and twisted in such a manner as to not allow for it to ever again be used as a tool for crucifixion.

I have heard this legend before but often only in relation to the beautiful flower of the dogwood, which, when in bloom, has four petals with dark spots resembling a cross. This story is a Christian legend of unknown origin, but like all legends and stories, they have their place in our culture and can serve as a moment of reflection or even inspiration for some.  

I have no interest in debating any legend or story and don’t fault others for enjoying them; however, the Facebook post picture, noted above, alleged to be of a bleeding dogwood tree.  The problem for me as an avid woodturner is that the picture wasn’t a dogwood at all, but a box elder tree.  Now I never comment about much of anything on Facebook, but I really thought that my observation and experience might be an aid to the author of the bleeding dogwood tree post.  I really was trying to save the author and all of his followers from praising God for a picture of a lowly box elder tree which I doubt had even had the distinction of being cursed by the God of the universe for the purpose of a worship aid of dubious origin.

What happened is that as I was slowly typing my observation of the non-bleeding dogwood tree, the social media crowd had gotten into a big debate over the legend of the bleeding dogwood.  When I entered the fray with my box elder observation, the blood was already in the water, and I, apparently, was fresh meat.  My Christian faith was questioned as well as my intellect, my love of God and country, and my own personal family tree.  I didn’t add any further comments, but this went on for a couple of hours.

How did we get here?  How is it possible for people of faith to argue over a legend which certainly doesn’t exists anywhere in the Bible and vehemently defend the picture of a tree which is blatantly wrong in its identification?  How is it possible for non-believers to get all excited about Christians who, though strong in faith, are perhaps poor arborists?  I wish both groups the best of luck, but I will remain out of the debate.  The next time I see a picture of any misidentified tree, cursed or not cursed by God, I will remain silent.  Both groups are the lesser for the loss of me and others who may have factual information but have been bullied out of the forum.

As for the original picture of the bleeding dogwood tree, which was, of course, a box elder, it is a pretty interesting story.  Box elder trees, members of the maple family, are often infested by ambrosia beetles when they begin to age and become distressed.  The beetles excavate a tunnel in the tree where they release spores of fungal symbiont.  These fungal spores attack the tree by spreading up and down the sap rings of the tree.  For reasons unknown to me, this fungus in box elders creates a beautiful coral red dye that runs up and down the sap rings of the tree.  These ambrosia beetles attack other trees, creating fungal colors which are mostly dark but often beautiful.  I quickly recognized the tree in the Facebook post because I have turned many bowls and vases out of the wood of these trees.  Dogwood is also a beautiful wood, but the wood is very hard.  Because of this, ambrosia beetles do not often attack dogwoods.  The wood from the dogwood tree is perfect for the handles of tools and other objects that require dense, close grained wood.

As for beetles, there are more than 400,000 species of beetles in the world.  They represent 40% of all the insects in the world and 25% of all known animal life forms.  A famous biologist, J.B.S Haldane, when asked by a reporter, “What, if anything, have you learned of the nature of God?”  He replied, “He is inordinately fond of beetles.”

Since my retirement, I have had much more time to reflect on life and the existence and nature of God.  I spend a great deal of time by myself in nature just quietly observing.  If you asked me what I have learned of the nature of God, I would say that He is inordinately fond of order.  Maybe my Facebook friends should suspend arguments about legends and quietly contemplate the order of our natural world.  As for me, I don’t need divinely altered bleeding dogwoods. The simple and natural handiwork of the ambrosia beetle is enough.

Some pieces I made from box elder.