Maybe so. If they were alive on the earth in Noah’s day, then they were included in God’s directive that Noah bring two of every kind of land animal and bird into the Ark (Genesis 6:18-21).
But wouldn’t that have been impossible, given the dinosaurs’ size and temperament? How could massive herbivores like Brontosaurus and savage carnivores like T-Rex fit onto the boat and behave themselves? Well, first of all, the Ark was huge – a football field and a half long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet tall. Second, Noah only had to load general kinds of animals, not every species. So, for instance, he didn’t have to board a pair of zebras, a pair of Clydesdales, a pair of Lipizzaners, a pair of thoroughbreds, etc. One set from the horse family would do just fine, and breeds could emerge down the line. Similarly a few dozen dinosaur types, if that many, could cover things. Third, the dinosaurs didn’t need to be adults; babies or juveniles could fill the bill. Fourth, if Noah (with God’s help) could keep the lions from eating the sheep, the snakes from biting the frogs, and the elephants from trampling the mice, then he could keep the dinosaurs under control.
So what’s the problem? Well, many Christians agree with the majority of scientists that the earth is extremely old (perhaps 4.5 billion years), and that dinosaurs appeared and were long gone by the time man arrived on the scene as God’s special creation, Adam and Eve. (This “Old-Earth Creationist” view is presented at reasons.org and answersincreation.org.)
“Young-Earth Creationists” (see icr.org and answersingenesis.org) maintain that dinosaurs were part of God’s creation-week work, along with Adam, and that these creatures and man co-existed on earth. Following the various genealogies given in the Bible, from Adam on down, they calculate the age of the earth to be somewhere under 10,000 years.
Where you stand on this dispute depends in part upon your view of the behavior of the universe back through the centuries. If you take a “uniformitarian” view, you argue that the patterns we see now (such as radioactive decay or sedimentary rock formation) are reliably constant, and so we can extrapolate from our current experience back through the millennia to make claims about the fossil record, often postulating some form of God-directed evolution.
Those who embrace “catastrophism” beg to differ, saying that Noah’s flood is a perfect example of how God has engineered great upheavals in the order of things, an event reflected in Psalm 104:5-9. They also say that death and decay (including the destruction of dinosaurs) didn’t occur until after man sinned (Genesis 3), and that, besides, there may well be references to dinosaurs in the Bible (though the word, ‘dinosaur’ didn’t appear until the 19th century). They claim, for instance, that the ‘behemoth’ in Job 40 can’t be a hippo or elephant since they don’t have tails “like a cedar.” And they wonder whether the King James Version’s reference to dragons (dinosaurs?) in Deuteronomy 32:33 and Micah 1:8 might be closer to reality that the modern versions, which translate the Hebrew word, ‘tanniym/tanniyn’, as ‘serpents’ and ‘jackals’.
Whichever way they go on this, all believers should agree that God is Lord of the Universe and that He can form, alter, and dispose of it exactly as He pleases. Furthermore, the Bible is God’s Word, and whatever position one chooses, it must be consistent with Scripture or be discarded.
Not surprisingly, I’m a “young earther,” and I don’t think it’s a trivial matter. However, some fellow evangelicals I highly respect aren’t there . . . yet. In the meantime, we work together to fulfill the Great Commission, delivered by our Lord in Matthew 28:19-20, and rejoice in the great sweep of Scripture, centered on Christ, reflected in BibleMesh.
As a semi-convinced old-earther I really appreciated this. It’s one of those questions that, quite honestly, I’ve passed over in my mind but never engaged (seeing as, like you said, trivial). I appreciate you engaging it and also showing its importance.
Thought I point out that the term “Brontosaurus” is no longer accepted by mainstream science, as they are now referred to as Apotasaurus that is a member of Sauropods. 🙂
Great post, Dr Coppenger.
Overall I appreciated your article, there is one statement I disagree with: “Where you stand on this dispute depends in part upon your view of the behavior of the universe back through the centuries.”
A couple thoughts:1) The scientific dispute on this issue depends not only on the behavior of the universe over the centuries, but also on the assumed initial conditions, which data is choosen to observe and understandings of how the universe CURRENTLY behaves.2) Ultimately where you stand on this dispute does not stand on scientific understandings but on your view of scripture and God. If scripture is God’s Word, then it is true. If God is omnipotent, omniscient, etc., then He has the ability to create the universe in six days a few thousand years ago. Those who hold God’s Word is true will then look at the data to understand how it corresponds to what God has said instead of trying to fit God’s words into scientific interpretations of the data which were developed based on anti-theistic presuppositions.
Didn’t know that about the Brontosaurus. The new name sounds more theological — apostate dinosaurs.
Kevin F., I agree that Scripture is the touchstone (and say so at the conclusion of the piece). I think that the young-earth definitely best fits the Bible (though a Christian doesn’t have to be crazy or evil to consider the old-earth option). I was hoping to raise questions in some minds about the presupposition that things have always behaved predictably. For many, this assumption is the air they breathe, and it’s fun to say, “Not so fast.”
Dr. Coppenger brings up some points I would like to address. First, you say that “Noah only had to load general kinds of animals, not every species.” An example would be some kind (min) of cat that contained all of the genetic information to evolve into domestic cats, lions, tigers, cheetahs, Leopards, etc. This is not how the Bible uses the word for kind (min). In Lev. 11:13-30 and Deut. 14:12-18 min is used to define something like species, not something more encompassing. Notice how many owls and hawk type birds are mentioned and they are all categorized as separate min.Second, reasons.org is an old-earth creationist group, it does not teach evolution. With their understanding of min, young-earth creationists are evolutionists.
Third, the flood was universal to all humans, but was not global. This brings me to his reference of Psalm 104:5-9 as a flood text. This is part of a text on the creation. Ps. 104:6-9; Job 38:8-11; Prov. 8:27-29 are all creation texts covering Genesis 1:2-10. These, along with Jeremiah 5:22, say that the land was set up (creation day 3) as a permanent boundary so that the waters could never again cover the whole earth. Much more could be said about this.
Fourth, The only death, which did not occur prior to Adam’s sin, was human death, both physical (1 Cor. 15:21-22) and spiritual (Romans 5:12).
Fifth, I see that you are open to gaps in the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. That is good, because the names and characteristics in Gen. 4 and 5 are set against each other to bring out the theological point in Genesis 3:15. Also, Luke 3:36 has a name not found in Genesis 11. Cainan is found in all but one manuscript during the first 400 years of church history. It is contained in the oldest Greek copy (P4). Even so, you can not limit the amount of time that may be missing to just 10,000 years. Adam could have lived 100,000 years ago. Likewise, the genealogies only get you to Adam and say nothing of the age of the heavens or the earth.
Lastly, behemoth does not have a tail “like a cedar” (Job 40). Its tail MOVES like a cedar. The text says nothing about its size. Cedars just sway in the wind, a motion that fits with an African elephant’s tail. Likewise, Job 28:19 mentions trade with Cush (modern Sudan and Ethiopia). This suggests the ancient trade route of the Nile River, in and around which you would see elephants and Nile crocodiles (Job 41). As far as “dragons,” the KJV got it wrong.