The Bible and Dinosaurs
The word dinosaur, as such, is not found in the Bible. We must remember that man has named many of the animals today. The word dinosaur is associated with the Greek "dino," meaning terrible. There are animals named in the Bible concerning which we have no definite knowledge or identity (see "greyhound," Proverbs 30: 31, more later). Another thing to remember is that the Bible never attempts to provide all the names Adam assigned to different animals or to describe in detail the host of land and water creatures God created (Genesis 1; 2).
Man's Fascination with Dinosaurs.
There is an obvious fascination with dinosaurs in America today. Some of this "obsession" perhaps has to do with the relatively new evidence that has been discovered regarding what man calls dinosaurs. Some of the interest, no doubt, is because it is believed such fossil evidence disproves the Bible and, somehow, authenticates organic evolution.
Bible believers should not deny that large animals that are now extinct lived on the earth, call them dinosaurs if you desire. I would not attempt to preclude even the possibility that there are many interesting animals extant that have not been discovered and classified by scientists.
The Mistakes of Paleontologists.
Paleontologists (those who study the fossil record) have not been without serious mistakes. For instance, one of the most famous dinosaurs, Brontosaurus (small head and huge body) that has been used to promote dinosaur interest never even existed. Brontosaurus' picture has been seen in just about every dinosaur book and museum for the last hundred years. The original discovery of Brontosaurus lacked the head. A skull located about four miles away was placed on the skeleton to make it complete. The skull actually belonged to Apatosaurus and the skeleton was a Diplodocus. Some scientists have made complete pictures of dinosaurs based on just a single bone or tooth. From such minuscule evidence, they have imagined great creatures, down to the color of their eyes and skin.
Why Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct?
Some have suggested a great meteorite colliding with the earth killed all the dinosaurs (latest "theory"). In fact, there have been many guesses. The evolutionary scientists, for the most part, will not even consider the possibility that the Genesis flood caused the extinction of such large animals called dinosaurs by man. The Genesis' flood was the greatest disaster known to the earth. One would expect to find billions of dead creatures buried by water in mud and sand (now hardened to rock). Beloved, that is exactly what scientists find around the world. Thousands of dinosaur bones are found where they were deposited and washed together by violent floodwaters and buried under mud, sand, and rock. Hence, the fossil record that we have today. The ideal elements for fossilization are quick burial, the right amount of water, and suitable materials. Such a global flood as is described in Genesis six through nine would have produced such fossils and in the same manner. Also, such fossilization would have taken a short time, instead of millions of years as indicated by the stratum (normal processes). Dinosaurs probably lived only a few centuries after the flood, but simply did not survive. The postdiluvian world is a very different world and such animals as dinosaurs were probably unable to adapt. Men also have typically played a major role in the extinction of a species.
The Bible and Dinosaurs.
There are biblical references to unknown animals. For instance, a creature called "behemoth" is described in Job 40:15-24. Behemoth (gigantic, Hebrew) is a massive animal. Some have attempted to say the elephant or hippopotamus is meant. However, the elephant and hippopotamus do not have a tail "like a cedar" (Job 40:17). The book of Job is an ancient book, about 4000 years old. Behemoth could have been what scientists call Diplodocus, a huge plant-eater. Another apparently extinct animal is described in Job 41. It is called the Leviathan (Job 41:1). The description fits what scientists call Kronosaurus, one of the greatest animals to ever swim the seas. Leviathan was still around as late as the time of Psalms 104:26. Leviathan is said to have been in the oceans where the ships traveled (the alligator or crocodile does not satisfy the description of Leviathan).
The fossil record is in harmony with the Bible, not Darwinian evolution. The suddenness of the destruction apparently by huge amounts of water, the often missing consistent layers of stratum, and the absence of transitional forms in the fossil evidence all support the Bible and present serious problems for evolutionists.
