Question:
I consider myself a man of science, and wish to be a man of God. However, I cannot find a way to believe the Bible, for nothing in it is certain. Man continues to prove it wrong.
So I set a threshold. I will once again restore all faith in God and the Bible if anyone can point out where it explains the dinosaurs. The Bible says man was first, why does science say these massive lizards, that the Bible never mentions, were even earlier?”
Answer:
Your observation is well founded. Science and what many claim the Bible teaches about the order of the creation are contradictory. Unfortunately, much religion, like science, is built on theory, and this fact is responsible for most of the confusion.
One prominent theory claims dinosaurs must have lived no more than 6000 years ago because, according to this view, that is when the entire universe was created in a literal six-day period. However, the Bible does not assign a time or give us any details about the literal creation of the earth and the universe. When this is recognized, it eliminates the need to believe Adam and Eve were the first humans on earth, created within a 168 hour time window with everything else living, around 6000 years ago. This allows us to reasonably and intelligently recognize that the earth is far older than 6000 years and, then there is no contradiction in saying dinosaurs and many creatures predated Adam and Eve by perhaps millions of years.
The Bible offers no contradiction to the existence of dinosaurs, when scientists theorize they existed. However, if you are looking for the Bible to “explain the dinosaurs,” you are looking in the wrong place. The Bible is not a book of science. Nor is it a book of scientific theory. However, it does mention certain facts that science has verified as being accurate.
A Spiritual Creation
As explicated in our book “A Spiritual Creation” we believe the creation story references a 6000-year creation. It is a process of spiritual creation that, beginning with Adam and Eve, is still in progress, nearing completion. The Psalmist tells us that God has been engaging in this special creation process through an eternity past and will continue through an eternity future. There have always been individuals somewhere in God’s vast creation to receive His mercy and to keep His covenant. As we read, “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them” (Ps. 103:17—18).
Now where does this put our dinosaurs? Wouldn’t you say they are pretty insignificant in God’s total plan for this earth? Is this perhaps a good reason why He was not interested in telling us about them? He has something in store for His people in the future that is far more grand.
And this is what the Bible is about. It is about God’s plan for the future of the earth and its inhabitants, and how God is guiding, supporting and developing those who will be given eternal life. This is the creation process we refer to as the “spiritual creation” of Genesis.
If you are interested in a more in-depth study of this subject, again, please see our booklet, “God’s Spiritual Creation.” We would like to help you believe and become a man of God.