Taking Every Thought Captive

Dinosaurs roamed the earth just a few thousand years ago. Of all the claims made by Bible-believing creationists that are discounted by those holding opposing views, this one may be the most ridiculed. Evolutionary thought has many contentions with this claim. I cannot deal with all these contentions in this post. Much more able individuals from groups such as Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research, and Creation Ministries International have developed many resources that deal with dinosaurs from a Biblical creationist perspective. What I would like to do is point out a few interesting things I have been reading about over the last few weeks. Perhaps this will stimulate the reader to investigate these topics further.

There are numerous examples of petroglyphs of dinosaurs that have been found all over the world that have shown to be authentic. [1]  Ancient man knew about dinosaurs, enough to draw pictures of them. This fits well with the history revealed in Scripture. Land dinosaurs were created on the sixth day of creation along with the other land animals. Noah would have taken two of each “kind” of dinosaur on the ark (more on this later). Then sometime after the flood, most of the dinosaurs perished. It’s very likely that dinosaurs in some form survived well past Biblical times. Could the numerous legends of dragons that are found in many cultures stem from dinosaurs? It’s possible. It’s also likely that the following passage in Job 40 refers to a dinosaur.

15 Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. 16 What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly! 17 His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron. 19 He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.

Going back to the ark, many question how dinosaurs could have fit on the ark. It’s important to remember that Noah took two of every “kind” of dinosaur. Some estimate this would have been about 50 actual kinds. [2] Additionally, many dinosaurs were small (the size of typical barnyard animals). Those that grew large could have been taken on the ark when they were young. Thus, creationists believe there was plenty of room on the ark for dinosaurs.

Scientific discoveries made by secular scientists also testify to the creation account. Dinosaur soft tissue, namely blood cells, has been found intact. [3] This does not fit within the evolutionary scheme. How can soft tissue survive for over 65 million years? Brian Thomas writes,

With a lifespan of 30,000 or so years, collagen should not exist in a 68-million-year-old sample… It would seem that the natural preservation of collagen for 68 million years would have required a miracle on the same scale as creation.

Discoveries like these fit well with what we already know from Scripture – dinosaurs (along with the rest of creation) were created approximately 6,000 years ago. The dinosaurs are a true testimony to the wisdom and power of the Creator God.

1. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v19/i2/stone.asp, accessed 8/17/10.

2. Ham, Ken with Malott, Cindy, The Answers Book for Kids, Volume 2. Green Forest: Master Books, 2008.

3. Thomas, B. 2008. Dinosaur Soft Tissue: Biofilm or Blood Vessels? Acts & Facts. 37 (10): 14.

Tyrannosaurus Rex