Christianity about dinosaurs?

Question

What does Christianity (most thinking about Catholicism) say about dinosaurs, why they lived, when they lived and how they died out? Has any pope said anything about it? It is any verse in the Holy Bible that refers to something similar to this?

Only serious answers please!

Answer 1

There is nothing in the Bible about dinosaurs.



But, we know they lived until about 60 million years ago, and then died out on one of the mass extinctions that happen from time to time. There have been at least five big ones, this one the biggest. It seems to have been caused by a large meteor hitting where the Yucatan Peninsula is today. The ash and soot that was thrown up into the atmosphere affected the sun's rays hitting the Earth, causes a major cool down, and lack of photosynthesis.



Most Christians accept this idea quite readily. The only ones who don't are the Biblical Literalists, who see the Bible as God's words to us, instead of God's Word, which is something completely different.

Answer 2

There are two camps: The Christians who believe Christ's sacrifice actually means something and thus also believe the literal truth of Genesis, and the compromising Christians who take the words of atheistic scientists over the word of God, choosing to call Genesis--and by extension Jesus--metaphorical.



The former believe God created dinosaurs along with all the other animals; that they coexisted with Adam and Eve and were named by Adam; that they were present on the ark during the flood; and that they were most likely hunted to extinction or near extinction.



The latter camp believes God used evolution to create people, thus allowing dinosaurs to live and die millions of years before He made metaphorical Adam or sent metaphorical Second Adam to metaphorically die for our metaphorical sins and metaphorically raised Him from the metaphorical dead so that we could have metaphorical eternal life.



What with a compromising Christian ISN'T metaphorical?



@ capital gentleman: So if it's God's word it's literal truth, but if it's God's Word the truth can be stretched? You need a better dictionary, pal. Look up the word "promise" again. Synonymous with "oath" and "word." I'm inclined to assume big W is more literal and true than little w. Why aren't you?



@ imacatholic: Did you ever stop to think that it's modern scientists who are wrong? Why are you making MY salvation a metaphor? If Mark is true, Genesis MUST be true. That's the way the Bible works. There can be no compromise between what God told Moses and what secular modern scientists with limited knowledge tell you about how the earth began.



And don't give me the BS that Moses wouldn't have understood. The man was educated in the best school of his time--a school that taught theistic evolution. What God showed him was completely different from what he'd been taught, and Moses accepted it as absolute literal truth. So why don't you?

Answer 3

Okay, this is how dinosaurs fit into the Bible.



First of all, reptiles never stop growing. It's just a simple biological fact that reptiles grow all their life and never stop until the day they die. This means that the longer a reptile lives, the bigger it grows.



Well, back in the days of Noah people lived 900 years. Adam lived to 930. Noah lived to 950. They lived about 10 times longer. Instead of dying at 80 or 90, they died at 800 or 900. If people lived longer, then more than likely, animals would have lived longer too, including reptiles. If reptiles lived longer, then they'd grow bigger.



Scientists have found fossilized remains of crocodiles that reached up to 40 to 50 feet in length. They've found remains of sea turtles that reached enormous sizes, much bigger than any sea turtle today.



Also, fossilization is a rare and unusual occurrence, not an everyday event. Animals and plants cannot become fossils unless they are buried relatively quickly and deeply in the appropriate materials.



The usual animal that dies in a forrest does not become a fossil. And neither does the usual creature that dies in a sea or a lake. Under most normal conditions, the dead creature just floats and disintegrates. It's body is destroyed by predators, bacteria, and the elements.



So what conditions would be most ideal for the massive fossil formations found in the sediments? Creation Scientists believe it would be a violent, global flood catastrophe. Dinosaur remains worldwide are associated with water-laid sediments.



Well, the Bible talks about a worldwide flood. And it occurred in the days of Noah, when reptiles would have reached enormous sizes. So the fact that we're finding fossilized remains of gigantic reptiles all over the earth - this fits into the Bible just perfectly. The reason why they got so big is because they lived so long in the days of Noah. The reason why they fossilized is because of the floodwaters in the days of Noah.



After that flood occurred, the age of man dropped off from about 900 years down to about 100 years in just a few generations. The reason why the age of man dropped off so rapidly is because of the harsh conditions on the earth after that catastrophic event. Because of those harsh conditions, many animals went extinct, including many reptiles. The reptiles that did not go extinct (the ones that are still alive today) simply cannot grow as big as they used to, thus there are no dinosaurs around today.



But wait a minute. How could dinosaurs have lived in Noah's day, when they've been dated at around 65 million years?



Well, there are at least 6 different methods of radiometric dating available. The assumed age of the sample will dictate which one will be used because each one will give a different result.



For example, when dinosaur remains containing carbon are found, they are NOT carbon dated, because carbon dating would produce an age estimate of only a few thousand years. Because this would not match up with the pre-assigned age in the geologic column, scientists use another method of dating which will produce an age estimate closer to the desired result. All radiometric results that do not match up with the pre-assigned age in the geologic column are discarded.



If you carbon date a dinosaur bone, the results will only be a few thousand years. The flood in Noah's day occurred about 4,400 years ago. Creation Scientists believe that dinosaurs did not become extinct until about 3 or 4 thousand years ago.



There was a time when a group of Creation Scientists took some dinosaur remains to the lab to be carbon dated, but they did not tell the lab technicians that they were dinosaur remains. After they were dated, the lab technicians gave the remains back and said that they dated around a few thousand years. Then the Creation Scientists informed the technicians that they were dinosaur remains, and they said, "Oh really? Well, why didn't you tell us? If we had know they were dinosaur remains, then we wouldn't have carbon dated them. We would have used another method of dating, because, of course, dinosaurs are millions of years old."



Obviously, the idea of dinosaurs being millions of years old is not really based upon radiometric dating. It's based upon assumptions, because the assumptions are what dictate which dating method is used. As a matter of fact, scientists have been saying that dinosaurs are millions of years old ever since the 1800's. However, dating methods didn't exist in the 1800's. The first dating method wasn't even invented until 1949. So obviously, dating methods are not what's dictating the age of dinosaur remains.

Answer 4

There are two schools of thought.



1) The Christian days were more like ages of time and the dinosaurs lived and died before man got here. Some also incorporate evolution into this concept.



2) Dinosaurs lived at the same time as man and died out long ago for some reason. Proponents of this theory cite the book of Job. Namely, the mention of Behemoth and Leviathan. Here's the former...



Job 40:15-19"Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.

"Behold now, his strength in his loins And his power in the muscles of his belly.

"He bends his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

"His bones are tubes of bronze; His limbs are like bars of iron.

"He is the first of the ways of God; Let his maker bring near his sword.



Basically, if someone believes in six literal days of creation you can't reconcile dinosaurs and man living at different points of time. Otherwise the dinosaurs lived for a day and died out before Adam showed up. Which is pretty pointless.

Answer 5

The Catholic Church listens to Science for questions like when and how. As to why, that is part of the big why of the Universe.



I don't think the Bible speaks of dinosaurs.



Do not let the small groups of Atheists and Creationists make you believe that you have to choose between God and humanity's ongoing discovery of God's Creation through Science. This is not true.



Truth cannot contradict Truth. -- Pope Leo XIII



Most Jews and Christians do not take the stories of creation in the Bible literally. We believe the stories included in first 11 chapters of Genesis tell religious truth but not necessarily historical fact.



One of the religious truths is that God created everything and declared all was good.



Catholics can believe in the theories of the big bang or evolution or both or neither.



On August 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII said in his encyclical Humani generis:



The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.



Here is the complete encyclical: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html



And here is the Address of Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on October 22, 1996 speaking of the Theory of Evolution: http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_jp02tc.htm



Here is an interesting article about Pope John Paul II's opinion in the matter: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=4627



The Church supports science in the discovery of God's creation. At this time, the big bang and evolution are the most logical scientific explanations.



As long as we believe that God started the whole thing, both the Bible and responsible modern science can live in harmony.



Here is a nice list of Christian thinkers in science: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_thinkers_in_science



The Clergy Letter Project an open letter endorsing the Theory of Evolution signed by over 12,000 clergy from many different Christian denominations: http://www.butler.edu/clergyproject/rel_evol_sun.htm



I suggest you read "New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy" by Robert J. Spitzer http://www.amazon.com/New-Proofs-Existence-God-Contributions/dp/0802863833



http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/



With love in Christ.

Answer 6

Most of the dinosaur fossils found are from a civilization that was here before Adam. It was ruled by angels and giants. These particular giants were 250 tall and up. Lucifer was their leader and they were so evil God destroyed them and that whole civilization with the first flood in Genesis 1:1.



See:

http://armageddonangelsufos.com/origins.htm ORIGINS



After Noah's flood centuries later the last influx of Nephilim and fallen angels of Gen. 6 were killed by the Israelites. Goliath was one.





http://armageddonangelsufos.com/fate_of_the_giants.htm Pictures of giant remains.

Answer 7

I remember a verse in the Bible talking about the term 'behemoth'. It may refer to dinasours.

Answer 8

Sons of God: Angels or a being above the sons of men.



Giants: The abominable, hybrid, children from the sons of men & sons of God.



Dinosaurs: The bible predates that 19th century word. Those abominations were only described, not given a name. The fusion of different species of animals by the power of the evil guardian angels. The main reasons for The Flood.





King James Version Bible





Job Chapter 1



6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.





Matthew Chapter 8



29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?





Daniel Chapter 3



25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the son of God.





1 John Chapter 3



2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.





Genesis Chapter 6



1. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,



2. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.



4. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown.



12. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.





Romans Chapter 3



10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:





Genesis Chapter 6



9. These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.





[Christ was the only sinless man. How can Noah & his direct line be “perfect” after reading that verse? Noah and his family did not lay with the sons of God nor their hybrids.]



[In summary, the giants caused an imbalance in the food chain. The evil guardian angels fused different species of animals we have today to sustain the giants. This answers a great deal of questions; such as why the Lord hates witchcraft/sorcery & why He enacted the death penalty from Moses to Malachi.]





The Book of Enoch: Chapter 7



2. And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamoured of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children.



10. Then they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees.



11. And the women conceiving brought forth giants,



12. Whose stature was each three hundred cubits. These devoured all which the labor of men produced; until it became impossible to feed them;



14. And began to injure birds, beasts, reptiles, and fishes, to eat their flesh one after another, and to drink their blood.





[“began to injure” = sorcery/witchcraft]





The Book of Enoch: Chapter 8



9. And men, being destroyed, cried out; and their voice reached to heaven.





The Book of Jasher Chapter 4



18. And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.





[“taught the mixture of animals” = sorcery/witchcraft]





The Book Jubilees Chapter 5



2. And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth -all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually.





[“corrupted their ways and their orders” = sorcery/witchcraft]





5. But Noah found grace before the eyes of the Lord.





Genesis Chapter 6



17. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein [is] the breath of life, from under heaven; [and] every thing that [is] in the earth shall die.





Genesis Chapter 10



25. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one [was] Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name [was] Joktan.