Session 8: What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

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Welcome to Apologetics and the Gospel. My name is Pastor Jonathan White, and I am the Lead Pastor at CrossPointe Family Church in Hurricane, WV as well as a practicing Emergency Medicine Physician.

Question for Today: What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

This is an intriguing question for many. It needs to be noted that the actual word ‘dinosaur’ was not coined until the 19th century.

Sir Richard Owen came up with the term in 1842 although there had been reports of fossils found well before this time period.

What Exactly is a Dinosaur?

The word dinosaur literally means ‘terrible lizard.’

However, trying to find a good working definition for the word is extremely difficult. One common denominator of agreement is the fact that dinosaurs are extinct now.

That part of the definition might have just been a spoiler alert for this podcast.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

As Creationist Ken Ham likes to say - They died.

But the crux of our question today is going to focus on how they died and when they died. This is the debated part of the definition.

The first part of this question that we need to address is how they died.

How Did Dinosaurs Become Extinct?

This is debatable among scientists today. Many scientist tend to believe that an asteroid impact was the main culprit. They also consider volcanic eruptions causing climate change might have also been involved. As cold-blooded creatures, they certainly would have been sensitive to large shifts in climate.

Creation scientists agree that climate changes likely causes the death of dinosaurs. However, the timing of these climate changes and the causes of these climate changes are debated between the two science groups. Secular scientists believe in many ice ages while creation scientists believe there was only one and it was after the flood around 4400 years ago or so.

However, the answer to this part of the question is extremely difficult to answer with any certainty. As I mentioned in the sixth session as we covered carbon dating, there are two kinds of science:

Two Kinds of Science

Historical science is based on subjective observations, opinions, and hypotheses. This type of science is unprovable objectively. This includes things like the study of the age of the earth. One cannot go back in time and do a objective experiment and collect data all along the way. Assumptions must be made in order for one to come to a hypothesis - which is known as an educated opinion.

Objective Science - is based on reproducible evidence. This type of science includes the study of gravity or chemical reactions. This type of science is generally reproducible.

The answer to how did dinosaurs become extinct would fall under historical science. The answer to this would be scientifically unprovable objectively.

What we know for a fact is that they eventually became extinct.

But another important question that we want to address is:

When Did the Dinosaurs Become Extinct?

When did they die off?

You see, the debate isn’t if they died. The debate is when did they die off.

And the answer to this question is answered in two different ways by two different camps of scientists that I alluded to moments ago.

Secular Scientists

Secular scientists have an old earth worldview. Because of this they have guessed that the dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago although some disagreement exists between individuals. They often use phrases like ‘the fossil record shows.’ Yet, as we discussed in Session 6, carbon dating and other dating measurements are intrinsically flawed. Those who rely on them have a biased view of an old earth and explain away any deficiencies or inconsistencies because of that bias.

Creation Scientists

Creation scientists, namely young earth creation scientists, hold to the belief that dinosaurs existed alongside man. They believe in a young earth that is around 6-10,000 years old. Creation scientists understand the Bible to be literal in the book of Genesis - even in chapters one and two.

The real question is which view has more scientific evidence? Did the dinosaurs live millions of years ago and die millions of years ago, or did they die off more recently? It must be asserted that both of these views are historical science. This type of science is not reproducible. No one was there other than God when the dinosaurs were made. Yet, that does not mean that the views are not important. We can look at the data we have and see if there are flaws or holes in the theories given. And in studying these two views, it is helpful to approach them from both a scientific and a Biblical view.

Because the overwhelming prevailing view among secular scientists today is an old earth worldview of millions of years, I want to challenge that view with findings that many are not taught in schools today. I know I was never taught any of this in any of my biology classes and I was a Biology major.

Here are some…

Inconsistencies with Dinosaurs Being Millions of Years Old

Intact blood vessels and red cells in T. rex bone?

Dr. Mary Schweitzer and her team described a finding in 2005 in which there were intact blood vessels and red blood cells in a T. rex bone. However, this has actually been more common than secular scientists have discussed. In fact, there are over a dozen more soft tissue findings in dinosaur bones since then (1). If these bones are millions of years old, how did the blood vessels and red blood cells survive that long? As we discussed in our carbon dating session a couple of weeks ago, there would be no way this could be millions of years old.

In fact, even scientists admit that red blood cells and blood vessels seldom last longer than weeks in today’s conditions. And even under the best of conditions according to scientists, no soft tissue proteins could be able to last longer than 1 millions years (2). Again, this isn’t good science, but it shows that these findings even contradict what the secular science world believes.

Which historical science approach is more reasonable with these findings? Creation science of course. It is much more feasible for this soft tissue to last 4000 years or so. That is not even one half-life of carbon-14 as we discussed 2 weeks ago which is around 5,730 years.

Moving forward…

Why Not Look at History in Historical Science?

Check out some of these ancient works of art and their display of what appears to be dinosaurs. For those of listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, these pictures can be found on genesispark.com. Time would fail to go through all of this right now, but it would be extremely beneficial for you to research this further. Some quick examples are:

A cylinder from Mesopotamia that is housed at Louvre (Loove) looks exactly like a sauropod dinosaur.

Ancient Native Americans in North America drew pictures resembling a sauropod as well.

Countless other examples have been found throughout the world as well. I would highly recommend checking out the website genesispark.com to see more.

These examples show that the knowledge of dinosaurs was documented well before the word even existed. And it also shows that it was very likely that these ancient civilizations replicated what the saw because of the consistency of the descriptions across the world. Some scientists try to explain these away as made up drawings that only resemble dinosaurs. However, the consistency between many of them and the fact that they are found in opposite parts of the world during a time without internet or phone or mail makes this much less likely. It is much more likely that these were actual depictions of observations.

What about the Bible? Does it talk about dinosaurs?

Mentions of Dinosaurs in the Bible

Many people don’t realize that the Bible discusses a couple of dinosaurs in what is understood to the be the oldest book in the Bible - namely the book of Job. The book of Job is thought to have been written somewhere around 2200 BC, which was likely right before the time of Abraham.

The first of these two dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible is:

The Behemoth

Listen to the book of Job explain what sounds like a large sauropod dinosaur (also known as long-necked dinosaur).

Job 40:15–18 ESV

“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.

Job 40:19–21 ESV

“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.

Job 40:22–24 ESV

For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?

This dinosaur eats grass like an ox, has a tail like a cedar tree, bones are tubes of bronze, and limbs like bars of iron. He can cross a raging river without fear. Sounds a lot like this dinosaur to me!

Next we see:

The Leviathan

Job 41:1–4 ESV

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?

Job 41:25 ESV

When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.

Job 41:30 ESV

His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.

Again, this sounds a lot like a dinosaur to me!

A Final Biblical and Theological Point

Finally, dinosaurs dying off millions of years ago contradicts what the Bible teaches about sin and death.

All of the animals and living creatures of the world were created on day 5 and day 6 of creation according to Genesis 1. Man was also created on Day 6 but after the animals. However, everything was perfect in Genesis 1-2 while man and animals were both on the earth. In fact, God says this in Genesis 1:31 after both animals and man were created:

Genesis 1:31 ESV

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

If there was death, that would definitely not be a ‘good’ creation according to God.

So as we see in the first two chapters of Genesis, there was no death. There was no sin. And all living creatures and created man and woman are living together at the same time. Genesis 2 even shows Adam naming all of the animals in Genesis 2:19-20.

It wasn’t until man sinned in Genesis 3 that sin and death entered the world.

Therefore, there could have been no death before man was created because man was the cause of death.

Romans 5:12 states:

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Note the importance of sin coming through Adam. It is at the heart of the Gospel.

So we see that the teachings on an old earth is a direct assault on the Gospel. If death predated man, then death is not due to man’s sin. If death is not due to man’s sin, then there is no need for a Savior. And if there is no need for a Savior, Jesus died for nothing.

But my friends, sin and death did come through Adam. And we are descendents of Adam and are sinners by nature as well. But praise be to God for the Gospel - the good news. That if we repent, or turn away from our sins, and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, we can be saved and be with Him forever in Heaven.

If you’ve never done that, I pray that you do that today. There is no more important decision you need to make in your life than to follow Christ.

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This presentation has been put together to strengthen the faith of believers and to challenge the unbelief of others. I pray that you have found this presentation helpful.

Also, please note that this 10-15 minute presentation cannot exhaustively address most issues. My prayer is that it stimulates you to personally research further, and I am assured that you will find the Word of God proven time and time again.

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Feel free to email any ideas you would like to see addressed by emailing me at [e-mail]. There are slides prepared for each of these presentations which can be accessed at our church website at crosspointefamily.church and select ATG. God bless and have a blessed week.