Did Dinosaurs Really Exist?

by Doy Moyer, Standing On Solid Ground (unpublished)
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 2, June 1994

Some, afraid of the repercussions of evolution, really do question the existence of dinosaurs. However, denying the existence of creatures that have massive evidence for their existence will not help defend the truth. Such will only make it appear that Bible-believers are completely irrational and unscientific. Again, we have nothing to fear from an honest study of dinosaurs.

Without a doubt, dinosaurs lived on this earth. The main proof is fossils: bones, teeth, claws, spikes, horns, bony plates, eggs, dung, and footprints. In some rare cases, there are imprints of skin and even stomach contents. The “modern” discovery of the dinosaurs occurred in the spring of 1822, when a fossil collector's wife ventured across a pile of stones that contained large fossil teeth. She showed them to her husband, Dr. Gideon Mantell, which sparked a search for more such fossils. Since these teeth were much like those of the iguana, he named the owner of these large teeth Iguanadon. In the meantime, other fossils began to be discovered. By 1841, enough of these kinds of fossils had been discovered that a British anatomist, Richard Owen, proposed the name “dinosaur” for this huge tribe of reptile-like creatures. In the United States, various dinosaur fossils have been found. The evidence for their existence is certain. The question is not, “Did the dinosaurs really exist?” The question now is, “When did they exist?” And this is where the controversy is engaged.