"Het blog over Autonome Wereld bij Taede Smedes (2) is een van mijn meest bekeken blogs. En er kwamen soms vreemde reacties. Iemand die je een Taede Smedes-kenner zou kunnen noemen, schreef dat Taede Smedes nooit over het probleem van het kwaad had geschreven. Dat vond ik een vreemde bewering. In een vorig blog (1) schreef ik over het probleem van het kwaad zoals beschreven in het boek God en Darwin van theoloog-godsdienstfilosoof Taede Smedes. Het probleem werd in dat boek maar heel kort aangestipt omdat het boek over een ander onderwerp ging. Toch werden er in dat boek zeer belangrijke en revolutionaire uitspraken gedaan. Sommigen (2) beweerden dat Taede Smedes nooit iets over het probleem van het kwaad had geschreven, en daaruit volgde op de een of andere manier dat ik het helemaal mis had. Of zo iets. Onzin! Onwetendheid! Smedes heeft wel degelijk over het probleem van het kwaad geschreven in zijn boek God en de Menselijke Maat (2006). Met name in Hoofdstuk 11 (toelichting, literatuurlijstje) (bewijst ook dat hij zich met de literatuur heeft beziggehouden)."
Tot zover een draft blog dat ik nooit heb afgemaakt. Ik publiceer het nu ongewijzigd zoals het sinds 2011 als draft is blijven staan. De aanleiding is een blog van Taede Smedes: Lieke Marsman – Een oproep tot leven, 4 juni 2026. Dat blog opent met de woorden:
"Ik heb het feit dat kanker bestaat altijd gezien als een van de belangrijkste argumenten tegen het bestaan van een bovennatuurlijke God. ... Dat kanker bestaat, toont voor mij aan dat een bovennatuurlijke Schepper-God – zoals voorgesteld in het christendom – niet kan bestaan. Zo’n God is voor mij dan ook een illusie."
Je kunt in ieder geval vaststellen dat Smedes in de loop der jaren consistent is gebleven in dat opzicht [3].
Uitgerekend filosoof Jan Riemersma heeft vele malen gezegd dat je vooral Taede Smedes moest lezen. Overigens is het helemaal niet relevant of Smedes 'nooit over het probleem van het kwaad' geschreven heeft. Het gaat er om wat hij wel geschreven heeft. Daar doe ik het mee.
The Hoopoe is a rare and unique bird in The Netherlands. It has an unusual combination of a movable crest like that of a cockatoo,
and a long beak curved slightly downwards like that of an Eurasian Curlew
(wulp). The plumage is a combination of an inconspicuous brown and a striking
black-and-white pattern. The food-seeking behavior is mostly on grasslands and clearings in
the forest, but it breeds in tree cavities like a woodpecker.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to watch this beautiful bird in the wild
in The Netherlands. It landed on a bare spot in the forest about 20 meters
(65 Feet) away from where I was walking. From my position, I could
observe, photograph, and film it perfectly. After a few minutes, it flew away. I was able to make a short video:
A short video clearly shows the hurried way of foraging.
Evidence for a breeding case
The bird is very busy gathering food for short moments during most of the
day on different locations and returning again and again. It has been
observed that the birds repeatedly fly with food in their beaks in the
same direction. They are usually very relaxed, but this bird was very
busy. I have seen pictures made by another birder that clearly show a
Hoopoe flying away with an insect in its beak. That is the best, albeit indirect, proof of a nest with young. This is not the same as fledging, the stage that the young leave the nest. Only then can it be called a success.
I have submitted my observation to
waarneming.nl. The image recognition system (ObsIdentify) resulted in a 100% certain identification. Not really a surprise for an easily
recognizable bird. This observation appeared to be under embargo and is
only visible to myself and authorized persons. So, I can't see how
many observations have been submitted. My observation was automatically
approved. This shows that manually approved observations of the bird on
the same location must have existed already at that moment. Despite its
rareness, there are a lot of Hoopoe observations visible in waarneming.nl
at many locations in The Netherlands, but these aren't breeding
cases.
My first serious bird guide, at the time it was referred to as 'De Kist', now 62 years old, has a Hoopoe on the cover! How charming! They placed a very rare breeding bird on the cover! Field characteristics of the Hoopoe:
"Searches for food mainly on open ground. Nests in tree cavities and the
like. Very rare breeding bird of open woodland. Reappeared for the first
time since 1943, after 30 years. Rare migrant from mid-August to late
October and in spring in April and May." (page 195)
The map in this bird guide shows that the Netherlands lie above the
northern border of the breeding area. Birds showing up in The
Netherlands could be called pioneers venturing into unknown territory. This could explain why the number of birds fluctuates from year to year. I imagine that
after a good breeding season in southern countries, young birds migrate
north. Their usual food grasshoppers and lizards are relatively rare in
our country, so the pioneer birds must adapt to other prey [1]. They must
be flexible.
A bird encyclopedia published between 1770 and 1829 DE NEDERLANDSCHE
VOGELEN: [4]
The illustration is of high quality and is absolutely sufficient to
identify the bird. The author describes the bird as a rare breeding bird.
It was difficult to locate the nest of the bird. Between 1747 and 1778 it
has not been seen. This shows how irregular the presence of the bird was
at the time. However, the most striking fact in modern eyes is the fact that the author received a (dead!) breeding pair of
Hoopoes complete with eggs and part of the 'nest' that had been
captured (?) shot(?) from the wild! Fun fact: the author mentions that the
famous philosopher Aristotle already knew the bird [5].
Finally, the Hoopoe is present in the holy book of Christians, The Bible: " It is mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the birds that the Israelites were forbidden to eat under the dietary laws of the Mosaic Law." [6],[7].
Notes
R.M. Teixeira (1979) Atlas van Nederlandse broedvogels. page
212-213.
Dutch translation of: Peterson, Mountfort, Hollom 1964) A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. Translated and adapted by Mr. J. Kist.
SOVON, (Stichting Ornithologisch Veldonderzoek Nederland, Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology) is the most reliable source of the numbers of bird species in The Netherlands. The most recent report is Broedvogels in Nederland 2024. The Hoopoe is described on this page with an estimated number of 5-7 breeding cases. (information from Klaas van Dijk 2 Jun 2026).
I checked it, and indeed: THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS by Ari" target="_blank">on this pagele, tr with an estimated number of 5-7 breeding cases. nslated by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, Book VI.
It is mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the birds that the Israelites were forbidden to eat under the dietary laws of the Mosaic Law. Leviticus 11:19, Deuteronomy 14:18. Unclean for consumption: the Hoopoe is grouped with other "unclean" and detestable birds (like vultures and bats). It is indeed repeatedly mentioned in the literature that droppings accumulate in the nest and are not cleaned up. Understandable that it is an 'unclean bird'. However, it is possible that this fact has been endlessly copied without first-hand observations! Most birds keep their nests clean due to the risk of infection. [added: 2 Jun 2026]
Vogels in de Bijbel geeft 21 vogels, waaronder de Hop, maar ook de Struisvogel! Dat kan natuurlijk niet, want de Struisvogel komt alleen in Afrika voor. [4 juni 2026]
