Pseudohistory, Creationism, and Dinosaurs.

While most are aware that creationism provides an alternative to accepted science, many are not aware that it also offers an alternative to history as well as zoology. But of course it does. If one reads the Bible carefully, and takes the results literally, beginning with Adam and then calculating lifespans and genealogies with great precision, then adding on the known history that takes place after the Biblical stories end, the results reveal approximately 6,000 years of story. And if one takes the writings literally, something I've never seen as either necessary nor as a sign of devotion (nor have I ever seen non-Fundamentalist Bible reading as sacrilegious), that means that there has only been approximately 6,000 years of history since the Creation of the Earth. 

A dinosaur in medieval Europe from "The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible." 

[(What? Have I just questioned the literal truth of the Bible? Does this mean I am saying God does not exist? Come on, do you believe George Washington and Abraham Lincoln really existed? Hmm, I'll reckon a guess that you do. But does this mean that you believe everything that was ever written about them? Probably not. And with that, the analogy is now ended and my theological musings put to rest for the moment. Suffice it to say that I admit my limitations and do not claim to offer easily palatable truth about either God or the nature of the Universe. With luck, if pressed, the best I can hope for is to occasionally share a really, really good question.)]

The Dinosaurs and other animals boarding Noah's Ark

It also means, that not only is your version of the Earth, only 6,000 years old but that those 6,000 years of history must include such important events as the Tower of Babel and the story of Noah's Ark and the Flood. Which is interesting enough, but, well, what about the dinosaurs? How do they fit in? 

I've seen at least four responses to this question. They are: 

1. Dinosaurs were never real. The fossils that look like dinosaur fossils were actually something else, perhaps created by Satan to mislead people and cause them to doubt the reality of the stories in the Bible. 

2. Dinosaurs were real but somehow predated the Garden of Eden and died out long before it. (This one is not very common, but it has had some interesting adherents.) 

A pterodactyl flying over the pyramids in ancient times

3. Dinosaurs were real but they all died out in the global flood described in the story of Noah. 

4. Dinosaurs were real, they survived the flood because Noah brought them on the Ark with all the other animals, they then got off the Ark with all the other animals, but they have become increasingly rare since the days of Noah's Ark, but are quite real and always have been and still might be encountered today. Interestingly this one seems to be the most common among "young Earth" Creationists (the Creationists who believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old) in my experience. Such a claim, tends to be tied in with cryptologists claims of the reality of the Loch Ness monster as well as Mkele Mbembe, a living dinosaur claimed to still survive deep in the Congo .

And, if you are some kind of Fundamentalist parent, and your kids are going through the Dinosaur phase, --all kids go through the dinosaur phase, don't they-- then clearly the last one has the most appeal for them. 

Which means that, if you have this sort of bent, and are either inclined to lie to children ("for their own good" -no comment) or are so scientifically illiterate that the Loch Ness monster seems provably real to you and the theory of evolution does not, then you can picture a view of human history where dinosaurs interacted with humans throughout known history and believe this is a fine book for you to give to your children. 

Or you can tell them that Truth is important, any meaning to life that is based on lies is fragile and hence temporary, science is a quest for truth, and, if done right, religion too is a quest for truth and real meaning. It's up to you. But either way, dinosaurs are cool.

All illustrations come from the following book and no copyright infringement or ownership is intended. 

The Great Dinosaur Mystery and Bible, by Paul S. Taylor, 1987, 1989, Chariot Victor Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, a division of Cook Communication, Paris Ontario. Copies are easily available second hand. (There are other books on the subject available.) 

  

Dinosaurs in ancient China