Dinosaurs and the Bible
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Dinosaurs certainly did roam the Earth in the past. Fossils of dinosaurs have been found all over the world, and their bones are displayed in museums for all to see. Scientists have been able to reconstruct many of their skeletons, so we know much about how they may have looked. As Christians, We can never ignore what science says. Our Creator is the Great Scientist and Mathematician. We cannot ignore Science. We must use it to better understand the Bible, and use the Bible to better understand Science. You can separate church and state, but not the Bible and Science.
An aura of mystery surrounds the dinosaurs. Where did they come from? Did they evolve? Did they really live millions of years ago? What happened to them? Are there any living today? Has any human being ever seen a live dinosaur?
It is not my intention to say whether or not Dinosaurs and humans ever co-inhabited Earth, but to show that the existence of dinosaurs does not contradict the bible in any way.
The story of their discovery began back in the 1820s, when Gideon Mantell found some unusual teeth and bones in a quarry. Dr Mantell realized there was something very different about these animal remains, and believed that he had found an entirely new group of reptiles. By 1841, about nine types of these different reptiles had been uncovered.
At this time, a famous British scientist (and creationist), Dr Richard Owen, coined the name 'Dinosauria,' meaning 'terrible lizard,' for this is what the huge bones made him think of.
Other than the huge size of some dinosaurs, the major feature that really distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles (such as crocodiles) is the position of their limbs. Dinosaurs had posture that was fully erect, similar to that in mammals. Most other reptiles have limbs in a sprawling position. For instance, compare the way a crocodile 'walks' with that of, say, a cow. Dinosaurs would have moved like a cow, with the limbs supporting the body from beneath. Crocodiles 'waddle,' as their limbs project sideways from their body.
The story we have all heard from movies, television, newspapers, and most magazines and textbooks is that dinosaurs lived millions of year ago. According to evolutionists, the dinosaurs 'ruled the Earth' for 140 million years, dying out about 65 million years ago. However, scientists do not dig up anything labeled with those ages. They only uncover dead dinosaurs, and their bones do not have labels attached telling how old they are. The idea of millions of years of evolution is just the evolutionists' story about the past. No scientist (maybe no humans at all) was there to see the dinosaurs live through this supposed dinosaur age. In fact, there is no proof certain that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old. However, it is most probable. But just because the earth is millions of years old (if it is) does not mean that Humans existed for those millions of years. No scientist observed dinosaurs die. Scientists only find the bones in the here and now, and because many of them are evolutionists, they try to fit the story of the dinosaurs into their view. No different than the way we creationists try to fit the dinosaurs into ours.
Creation scientists have a different idea about when dinosaurs lived. They believe they can solve any of the supposed dinosaur mysteries and show how the evidence fits wonderfully with their ideas about the past, and beliefs that come from the Bible.
The Bible, God's very special book (or collection of books, really), claims that each writer was supernaturally inspired to write exactly what the Creator of all things wanted him to write down for us so that we can know where we (and dinosaurs) came from, why we are here, and what our future will be. The first book in the Bible—Genesis—teaches us many things about how life came into existence. Genesis tells us that " In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and Earth "(Gn 1:1).
But in verse 2 we see that the Earth became " without form, and void; with darkness upon the face of the deep." What was it that caused this? Jesus said He saw Satan cast down from heaven like lightning( Lk 10:18). Satan is called the prince and power of the air (Eph 2:2). One can hardly argue that Satan and dominions exist in, if not rule this Earth (one reason why those who are of the devil prosper and those of Christ's persecuted). But whatever did happen, God regenerated everything on the Earth, then created stars, sun, moon, animals, and the first two people.
Although the Bible does not tell us exactly how long ago it was that God made the world and its creatures, we can make a good estimate of the date of creation by reading through the Bible and noting some interesting passages:
God made everything in six days. He did this, by the way, to set a pattern for mankind, which has become our seven day week (as described in Exodus 20:11). God worked for six days and rested for one, as a model for us. Furthermore, Bible scholars will tell you that the Hebrew word for day used in Genesis 1, can only mean an ordinary day in this context.
We are told God created the first man and woman—Adam and Eve—on Day Six. Many facts about when their children and their children's children were born are given in Genesis. These genealogies are recorded throughout the Old Testament, up until the time of Christ. They certainly were not chronologies lasting millions of years, but that does not mean that the Earth isn't millions of years old- Just that man has not been here millions of years.
As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth about 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000!), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right (and it is!), dinosaurs must have either lived within that past thousands of years, or they were here before Adam & Eve.
Evolutionists claim that dinosaurs evolved over millions of years. They imagine that one kind of animal slowly changed over long periods of time to become a different kind of animal. For instance, they believe that amphibians changed into reptiles (including dinosaurs) by this gradual process. This would mean, of course, that there would have been millions of creatures during that time that would be 'in between,' as amphibians evolved into reptiles. Evidence of these 'transitional forms,' as they are called, should be abundant. However, many fossil experts admit that not one unquestionable transitional form between any group of creatures and another has been found anywhere ( known as the " missing link". If dinosaurs evolved from amphibians, there should be, for example, fossil evidence of animals that are part dinosaur and part something else. However, there is no proof of this anywhere. In fact, if you go into any museum you will see fossils of dinosaurs that are 100% dinosaur, not something in between. There are no 25%, 50%, 75%, or even 99% dinosaurs—they are all 100% dinosaur! and the same goes for Man. Never has anything been uncovered that was half man, half monkey!
If God designed and created dinosaurs, they would have been fully functional, designed to do what they were created for, and would have been 100% dinosaur. This fits exactly with the evidence from the fossil record.
In Genesis 6, we read that all flesh (man and animals) had 'corrupted his way upon the Earth' (Genesis 6:12). Perhaps people and animals were killing each other; maybe dinosaurs had started killing other animals and humans. In any case, the Bible describes the world as 'wicked' two times. Both had destructive consequences. Dinosaurs could have been wiped out (1.)before the Earth's regeneration, or (2.)during the Great Flood. Both of which would be supported by the Bible.
Because of this second wickedness, God warned a godly man named Noah that He was going to destroy the world with a Flood (Genesis 6:13). God therefore commanded him to build a great ship (the Ark) so that all the kinds of land animals (which would probably have included dinosaurs if they were here at that time) and Noah's family could survive on board while the Flood destroyed the entire Earth (Genesis 6:14-20).
Some people think that dinosaurs were too big, or there were too many of them, to go on this Ark. However, there were not very many different kinds of dinosaurs. There are certainly hundreds of dinosaur names, but many of these were given to just a bit of bone or skeletons of the same dinosaur found in other countries. It is also reasonable to assume that different sizes, varieties, and sexes of the same kind of dinosaur have ended up with different names. For example, look at the many different varieties and sizes of dogs, but they are all the same kind-the dog kind! In reality, there may have been less than 50 kinds of dinosaurs. So it is possible ( however unlikely) that they were there.
God sent two of every (seven of some) land animal into the Ark (Genesis 7:2-3; 7:8-9)—if there were no exceptions and dinosaurs were around, they must have been on the Ark. Even though there was ample room in the huge ship for large animals, perhaps God sent young adults into the Ark that still had plenty of room for them to grow. Or maybe there were no dinosaurs. Either way, the Bible is not contradicted.
Well, what happened to all the land animals that did not go on the Ark? Very simply, they drowned. Many would have been covered with tons of mud as the rampaging water covered the land (Genesis 7:11-12,19). Because of this quick burial, many of the animals would have been preserved as fossils. If this happened, you would expect to find evidence of billions of dead things buried in rock layers (formed from this mud) all over the Earth. This is exactly what you do find.
By the way, the Flood of Noah's day probably occurred just over 4,500 years ago. Creationists believe that this event formed many of the fossil layers around the Earth. (Additional fossil layers were formed by other floods as the Earth settled down after the great Flood.) This would also help explain why there is so much crude oil in the middle east where civilization began and was destroyed. Thus, if the dinosaur fossils were formed as a result of this Flood, they were probably formed about 4,500 years ago, not millions of years ago. But they may have formed millions of years ago. Either way, the bible is not contradicted.
If the different kinds of dinosaurs survived the Flood, then they must have come off the Ark and lived in the post-Flood world.
In the Bible, in Job 40:15-24, God describes to Job (who lived after the Flood) a great beast with which Job was familiar. This great animal, called 'behemoth,' is described as 'the chief of the ways of God,' perhaps the biggest land animal God had created. Impressively, he moved his tail like a cedar tree! Although some Bible commentaries say this may have been an elephant or hippopotamus, the description actually fits that of a dinosaur like Brachiosaurus. Elephants and hippos certainly do not have tails like cedar trees! But this is no proof of dinosaurs, because we cannot be positive what sort of creature God was talking about. I would have to say that dinosaurs probably have not lived in post-flood times. But I believe that Job was familiar at least with stories of these creatures, which very well could have been dinosaurs.
Interestingly, the word 'dragon' is used a number of times in the Old Testament. In most instances, the word dinosaur could substitute for dragon and it would fit very nicely. Creation scientists believe that dinosaurs were called dragons before the word dinosaur was invented in the 1800s. We would not expect to find the word dinosaur in Bibles like the Authorized Version (1611), as it was translated well before the word dinosaur was ever used.
Also, there are many very old history books in various libraries around the world that have detailed records of dragons and their encounters with people. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly for creationists), many of these descriptions of dragons fit with how modern scientists would describe dinosaurs, even Tyrannosaurus. Unfortunately, this evidence is not considered valid by evolutionists. Why? Only because their belief is that man and dinosaurs did not live at the same time! Or they could just be sorts of make-believe children's stories.
However, the more we research the historical literature, the more we realize there is overwhelming evidence that dragons were real beasts, much like our modern reconstructions of dinosaurs, and that their existence has been recorded by many different people, even just hundreds of years ago.
It may appear that I have no clear opinion on whether man has co-existed with Dinosaurs, or that I say one thing and then another. But that is because it is not my intention to share my opinion, rather to lay down all the facts that one can decide for themselves what they want to believe. And above all to show that no matter what your opinion, the Bible is not contradicted by scientific evidences even in the least. On the contrary, they compliment each other very well.
Evolutionists use their imagination in a big way in answering this question. Because of their belief that dinosaurs 'ruled' the world for millions of years, and then disappeared millions of years before man allegedly evolved, they have had to come up with all sorts of guesses to explain this 'mysterious' disappearance.
When reading evolutionist literature, you will be astonished at the range of ideas concerning their supposed extinction. The following is just a small list of theories:
Dinosaurs starved to death; they died from overeating; they were poisoned; they became blind from cataracts and could not reproduce; mammals ate their eggs. Other causes include-volcanic dust, poisonous gases, comets, sunspots, meteorites, mass suicide, constipation, parasites, shrinking brain (and greater stupidity), slipped discs, changes in the composition of air, etc.
It is obvious that evolutionists don't know what happened and are grasping at straws. Nothing wrong with that- I do it all the time. But I don't try to publish it as fact.
How about this theory?...
At the time of the Flood, many of the sea creatures died, but some survived. In addition, all of the land creatures outside the Ark died, but the representatives of all the kinds that survived on the Ark lived in the new world after the Flood. Those land animals (including dinosaurs???) found the new world to be much different than the one before the Flood. Due to (1) competition for food that was no longer in abundance, (2) other catastrophes, (3) man killing for food (and perhaps for fun), and (4) the destruction of habitats, etc., many species of animals eventually died out. The group of animals we now call dinosaurs may have died out too....
It works, sounds good. I wouldn't publish it as fact because the truth is that we really don't know for certain. But it is a possible theory. In fact, quite a number of animals be come extinct each year. Extinction seems to be the rule in Earth history (rather than formation of new types of animals as you would expect from evolution).
The answer is probably not … but, then again? There are some scientists who believe a few dinosaurs may have survived in remote jungles. We are still discovering new species of animals and plants today in areas that have been too difficult to explore until now. Even natives in some countries describe beasts that fit with what might be a dinosaur. I am not saying I believe that, only trying to put all the facts out so a reader can draw their own conclusion.
Creationists, of course, would not be surprised if someone found a living dinosaur. However, evolutionists would then have to explain why they made dogmatic statements that man and dinosaur never lived at the same time. I suspect they would say something to the effect that this dinosaur somehow survived because it was trapped in a remote area that has not changed for millions of years. You see, no matter what is found, or how embarrassing it is to evolutionists' ideas, they will always be able to concoct an 'answer' because evolution is a theory. It is not science—it is not fact!
Humans, who are all sinful from conception (Psalm 51:1), cannot live with a Holy God, but are condemned to separation from God. But, God provided a wonderful means of deliverance from sin. The Bible teaches that God offered the perfect sacrifice needed to pay the penalty for man's sin. The One who in fact created the world and dinosaurs(Colossians 1:16), came to Earth as a man, as a descendant of Adam, to suffer the death penalty for sin. 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' (I Corinthians 15:20-22).
The Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross, but on the third day, rose again, conquering death, so that anyone who believes in Him and accepts Him into his or her life, is able to come back to God and live for eternity with the Creator. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:16); 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness' (I John 1:9).
For those who do not accept by faith what Christ has done for them and do not recognize their sinful nature and need for redemption, the Bible warns that such people will live forever, but will be separated from God in a place of torment that the Bible calls Hell. But for those who commit their lives to the Lord— What a wonderful salvation in Christ the Creator of Man and Dinosaurs!