When you think of the many mysteries that baffle the human mind, a topic that remains questionable is the age of the dinosaurs. Although we have put together old fossils, collected DNA and spent many years researching these creatures, there IS still an abundance of questions concerning dinosaurs. Questions surrounding these prehistoric beasts range from what they ate, what they looked like or if they even existed at all.
Many Christians find themselves debating whether or not dinosaurs existed. Although we have found evidence, namely fossils, that contribute to proof of these prehistoric animals. People also refer to the lack of biblical knowledge concerning dinosaurs. However, Genesis 1:24 states, “And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds – livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kind.’” It is up to the individual whether or not they choose to believe God was referring to the creation of dinosaurs where it is written “beasts of the earth.” However, with the evidence of large dinosaur fossils, this would make the most sense.
A second large debate over these prehistoric creatures is what could have caused them to go extinct. From a Christian perspective, the most logical explanation would be that the dinosaurs perished in the flood. Massive fossil graveyards of dinosaur remains have been uncovered. Due to the nature of the flood killing every living creature, dinosaurs would have been buried in layers of sediment. The fossil graveyards that were discovered give testament to the flood wiping out any and all living dinosaurs. Even if some dinosaur species were taken aboard the Ark, the earth likely faced massive geographical and temperature changes. Dinosaurs would have either adapted to become the reptiles or birds we have around today or gone extinct after they were released from the Ark. There are numerous theories of what happened. It is one subject we may never have the answers to.
Another frustratingly vague conversation to have concerning dinosaurs is what their actual appearance looked like. We can find as many bones as they left behind, but at the end of the day, even the best put-together skeletons are only roughly 90 percent complete. Scientists rely on evidence found, the formation of bones we discover and best-estimated guesses. So, although we have actual physical evidence of the existence of dinosaurs, we cannot know for sure how they appeared or acted. Our mental image of dinosaurs are huge, angry carnivores chasing down humans and attacking, as is depicted in the movies. This visual could be correct or potentially dead wrong. Society has constructed how we view dinosaurs, but no set of human eyes has ever actually seen one.
Whether you believe dinosaurs once walked the earth, that they were peaceful herbivores with no hostile motives or that they hunted down everything within a ten-mile radius, we can all agree on one thing: everything we know about dinosaurs is shrouded in mystery, and for the rest of humanity, it will likely remain that way.
