Q&A - Dinosaurs
May 16, 2021 Sunday Evening Study

“Science” has a few subjects that scientists just can’t seem to agree on. What I think is very interesting about scientific “fact” when it relates to history is that the facts are constantly changing as we become more technologically advanced. Scientists will be the first to tell you that we make discoveries and form theories based on those discoveries, then in so many years we make new discoveries that show us where we need to change our theories from before based on this new knowledge. This is part of the scientific method.

So what it really comes down to is this - if we are relying on science to tell us our history, there really is no such thing as fact, because science is really just a collection of changing theories. One subject that is a perfect example of this is the subject of dinosaurs. Our facts about dinosaurs seem to change by the day - from their physical characteristics to their behavior patterns to their evolutionary link to their extinction. Here are some facts about dinosaurs that are not accepted as true anymore:

Dinosaurs were specifically reptilian.
Dinosaurs were the dominant species.
Dinosaurs are millions of years old.
Dinosaurs and man never coexisted.

Today, Science will tell you that dinosaurs were primarily avian - some even believe that they never went extinct, only evolved into the bird population of today. Others will say that they were killed off in a global cataclysmic event like an asteroid strike, and even Christians will use a version of this theory, stating that the dinosaurs were killed off in the flood of Noah. Aging and origin of dinosaur types even varies from museum to museum from country to country, as nobody can seem to all agree at the same time what is correct.

Question: What happened to the dinosaurs?

What do you think is the truth? Why?
How have you answered this question when asked in the past?

Evolutionists: Dinosaurs first evolved around 235 million years ago - long before man evolved. This is the generally accepted timeline, though there is even disagreement among evolutionists around more precise timing. Based upon the fossil layers of the earth, which could only be deposited over millions of years, it is also made plain that man and dinosaur never inhabited the earth anywhere near the same time. Approximately 65 million years ago, something happened that caused the dominant species on the planet to disappear - a global cataclysmic event.

Even within the evolutionist theory there is mystery and disagreement. However, there is no mystery or theological disagreement with the biblical account.

What the Bible Says: Dinosaurs first existed 6000 years ago. Dinosaurs were created by God in their specific form on Day 6 of the creation week at the same time when all other land animals were created. Dinosaurs could not have died out before man was created because bloodshed, disease, suffering, and even death were introduced into the world as a result of Adam’s sin. Representatives of every type of land animal was spared upon the ark, and all of those left outside perished, many becoming fossils. The details known of the flood when applied to scientific research have shown that erosion, tectonic eruption and shift, as well as sediment layering which would account for all of the phenomenon present today would have occurred in a flood lasting more than 6 months of standing and flowing water. Basically, the scientific realities of the flood of Noah negate all of the geological evidence of the earth being millions of years old, as if one accepts the flood account, the science backs up the young earth theory. 

The key here is that, at no point was there any distinction in the Bible between dinosaurs and other air-breathing land animals. Noah was commanded to take 2 of each type - every type - including dinosaurs, onto the Ark. There is no evidence to suggest that this is not so. 

After the flood, approximately 4300 years ago, the remnant of the land animals came off the ark. Due to the curse of sin and the massive geological and climatic changes caused by the flood, the world was a very different place, yet dinosaurs and man continued to live in the world together after the flood. However, lack of food, weather sensitivity, disease, and the actions of other species (including man) caused many animals to be driven to extinction within the first several generations after the flood.

This explanation is accepted for countless other species of animal - extinction happens in this way often. Yes, a cataclysmic event occurred, and it severely reduced the populations of all living things on the earth - both dinosaurs and man included. Some species survived a reintegration to the world, some did not. There are some who will argue that there are still remnants of the dinosaur genus today - ostriches and emus - flightless birds with advantages and characteristics unlike any other birds, for example, are thought to be at least ancestors of what would have been called dinosaurs.

What do you think of this? How might you use this to answer a skeptic’s question?
Why, do you think, there is so much argument?

So really, there isn’t a whole lot of controversy here. So why are the beliefs so radically different? The fact of the matter is that whether you are an evolutionist or if you believe in the Bible account, the evidence remaining is the same. We have the same world, the same fossils, the same living creatures, and the same universe regardless of what you believe.

Here is where the divergent belief comes in. Evolutionists have only the present - fossils exist only in the present - and their goal is to link these fossils to the past. However, we do not have any prehistoric evidence - natural or created - which can definitively prove anything before the Genesis account. They are asking the questions What if? and What might have happened? and Could it have been? These are all questions that cannot ever be definitively answered by science under any circumstances.

This kind of science is called Origins Science and is very different from what is most prevalent today, which is Operational Science. Operational gives us computers and cell phones and inexpensive food and space exploration, and it is rooted in study with real-time and accurate experimentation, while Origins science deals with the past - something which cannot be directly experimented upon, meaning that assumptions must be made. This is why even among paleontologists there is a wide spectrum of beliefs and theories. An article in Time Magazine in 1996 says this: “Paleontology is a lot like Politics: passions run high and it is very easy to draw totally different conclusions from the same set of facts.”

There is something that we have to understand as we approach each of these questions we discuss on Sunday evenings. Ultimately, when it comes to truth, there are two ways of thinking in this world: 1. We think starting with the revelation from God (Bible) as the foundation for aall thinking (biology and chemistry and sociology) which results in a Christ-centered worldview, or 2. We think starting with man’s beliefs (such as evolutionary theory) as the foundation for all thinking (including faith) which results in a secular worldview.

This creates a lot of confusion among Christians. Secularists are not confused - they know what they believe, and they feel they can support it with ample evidence. It is not so simple with Christians. Most Christians have, despite having made faith-based decisions, were raised and indoctrinated by media and education into a secular worldview. We are taught evolution in school, and media looks down on faith and religion. As a result, Christians tend to apply their secular thinking to what the Bible says, rather than using the Bible to replace their secular thinking and build a separate outlook based on truth. Even the most revered theologian will struggle with this their entire life - we are taught to view everything through the lens presented to us in the world.

If we begin with an evolutionary view of history (of which there are no witnesses and no written record, no actual evidence) then this way of thinking is used to explain what we see in the present. Thus, we have the evolutionist view of what happened to the dinosaurs based on fossils recovered today.

If we begin with the biblical view of history as revealed by the written record of an eyewitness (God) to all events in history, then a totally different way of thinking is used to explain the same set of facts, these explanations grounded in historical record.

What do you take from this?
How do we examine our worldview to see where we have strayed from a biblical view?How do we use this understanding to point people to God?

Are there dinosaurs in the Bible?

Strictly, no. The reason is language based. When the KJV was translated in the 1600s, the word dinosaur had not been invented. The term was coined by Sir Richard Owen in 1841 in Sussex, England, so “dinosaur” meaning “terrible lizard” could not have been in the Bible. That said, we cannot know how Adam originally named the dinosaurs, but there is evidence of dinosaurs in the Bible.

First off, many cultures have great flood legends that we know are offshoots of the great flood of Noah. Likewise, there are legends of dragons which are considered to in fact be historical in many countries which very well may have been descriptions of encounters with animals we would today call dinosaurs, as many of these land-dragon descriptions fit well with what scientists believe they know about dinosaurs.

Genesis 1:21 says “And God created the great sea monsters and every living animal that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind.” The Hebrew word for sea monsters is the same word used to describe dragon elsewhere - tannin. King James translates it as whales in this context, so this could be the account of the creation of great sea-dwelling dinosaur type creatures. 

Psalm 74:13 speaks of “the dragons in the waters” and Isaiah 27:1 states “and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Job 41 describes the the great sea monster Leviathan which even breathed fire. Isaiah 30:6 makes mention of a “fiery flying serpent” perhaps referring to pterodactyls - flying dinosaurs.

Perhaps the strongest mention comes again from Job 40 15-19 - “ Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. “He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!”

The words “First of the works of God” suggest that this is the largest land animal made by God. As it happens, there is no direct transliteration for the Hebrew word, hence the dondescript term “behemoth.” Many commentaries and even Bible translations will suggest that this refers to elephants or Hippos - but this explanation does not fit the evidence. Neither elephants nor hippos are near the largest land animals created - many dinosaurs outstrip their size. Plus, the tail for behemoth is compared to a large cedar tree. The elephant’s tiny tail and the hippo’s flap of skin are quite unlike the mighty cedar tree.

Truly, no living creature comes close to the description. However, the Brachiosaur, as is known through scientific study, fits every part of this description.

So there you go. How can this help us to be images of God?