Did God create the dinosaurs?

I have no idea where to put this thread... I saw a few threads about religion here so I hope this is okay in the quiet place.

I was curious as to how christianity views the dinosaurs... did God create them as just another creature to walk the Earth? I've never heard anything but does the Bible ever refer to creatures that existed before Humans?

You know what, they never really touch on the dinosaurs. There is vague mention in the bible about large creatures that roamed the earth. But I forget where it talks of them. I really have no clue.

No, dinosaurs never existed.

God only created oil and fossils because he/she is a practical joker.

The Creator saw a purpose for them long after their extinction: to be the subject of an image which increases the quality of a thread if posted multiple times.

Well, I dunno crap about this either way, but I guess one might say God created the dinosaurs and the beginnings of life (sans man) when He created "the Heavens and the Earth" or wutev, then took already established life down a peg to make way for man with that big Godlike space eraser we call a catastrophic meteor. Thats my guess anyway.

My other guess is that God destroyed the dinosaurs because in his omnipotence he foresaw the coming of the Nazis and knew that they'd be unstoppable if they harnessed the power of riding on dinosaurs. This along with the Hollow Earth theory is the basis for a lot of my day to day reasoning.

Originally Posted by coeccias

The Creator saw a purpose for them long after their extinction: to be the subject of an image which increases the quality of a thread if posted multiple times.

Link me to another thread on this topic please.

I've encountered a few different views on Christianity and dinosaurs. One view is from a Christian who believes God created life through evolution, so his beliefs (and the beliefs of other like-minded individuals) seem to similar to those of regular evolutionists. God started the chain of events by creating the common ancestor that led to the dinosaurs and, eventually, to mankind.

Other Christians I've encountered, who believe the Earth to be between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, believe that dinosaurs were created alongside man and were destroyed in the Flood in Genesis. How they get around the whole carbon-dating thing is beyond me.

Lastly, I've encountered at least one Christian who says that dinosaurs are Satan's creations to lead us away from God. Apparently Satan planted their bones in the ground to deceive us. I guess that person believes that dinosaurs never existed or something.

God clearly planted those dinosaur bones in the earth just so that we'd one day have a discussion like this. That and to make digging into the earth somewhat exciting.

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

God clearly planted those dinosaur bones in the earth just so that we'd one day have a discussion like this. That and to make digging into the earth somewhat exciting.

If only God had planted Gears in the dinosaurs stead.


I only know of two Christian theories and they are God put the bones there to 'test' us and that dinosaurs coexisted with humans which is 'proven' in some museum in Kentucky I believe.

Christianity is such a contradiction.

You know, I tried to to put an exclamation of disbelief in front of that sentence but I couldn't do it without saying God, Oh God, Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ, Oh Lord, Lordy Lordy and any other iteration.

The most common belief I've heard is that God killed them with the flood, not a giant meteor.

Everyone knows fossils are just to test our faith and reveal who the true believers are so God can reward them.

Anything in Christianity prior to Jesus' arrival is a joking pile of contradictions anyway, and after that it primarily consists of people using Jesus' name but ignoring his "the greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor" policy.

Two letters: No.

Wow, I didn't realise this place was so atheist/etc, very interesting.

- Spike

Originally Posted by Spikey

Two letters: No.

Wow, I didn't realise this place was so atheist/etc, very interesting.

- Spike

Oh, we have our share of Bible thumpers.

But they have no conclusive explanation for dinosaurs. Obviously, there is some reason we're finding bones and footprints in the rock but Christianity's best explanation, to date, is that who are we to know the mysteries of the Lord, faith will suffice once again - at least until we each die and the dinosaur remains become a moot point. This defense is like an unnourishing gruel to the body of philosophy.

Armed with no better ammunition than the same ineffective rhetoric, GFF's Christians simply know better than to wander into an argument they can't win. The existence of fossils is pretty fucking empyrical.

You know, that comic was pretty good right up until it just became a condensed version of the bible. Nonetheless it was still a pretty entertaining Forerunner take on the issue of dinosaurs.

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

If only God had planted Gears in the dinosaurs stead.

But alas, He clearly saw fit to do otherwise. Although I'm sure had Gears been put on Earth before us we wouldn't have survived to make posts like this.

Genesis often refers to "monsters" and "behemoths", so there's room for speculation there.

Now whether they were created and destroyed somewhere within the Seven Days or if, as some believe, they died out at the Flood, I cannot hardly speculate.

This also opens a huge can of worms as to the "actual meaning" of the Seven Days as well...

The bible never mentioned dinosaurs as far as I can recall or maybe it did very vaguely. I do remember a hefty discussion some day when a Jehovah Witness tried to talk me into the idea about evolution and how it was all a big hoax; basically all the fossils/remains exist to filter out the non-believers much like Yggdrasil, guyinrubbersuit and Arainach mentioned. The conversation turned into a long lecture about science and facts for about half an hour and after that, the man told me that the non-believers who refuse to accept Christianity will all be destroyed. That is when Jesus' so called "age of new reign" will begin or something.

So I guess according to the Jehovah guy, the answer is no.

I've created a short film, detailing the events explaining the dinosaurs as they are depicted in the Torah. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by kat

You know, I tried to to put an exclamation of disbelief in front of that sentence but I couldn't do it without saying God, Oh God, Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ, Oh Lord, Lordy Lordy and any other iteration.

Try, "Oh for crying out loud...." That works......

Piers Anthony gives the best explanation:

God created all living creatures, and used evolution as his tool. God is Eternal, so time means nothing for Him. One of His days equals 1 million of our years.

Unfortunately, modern humans have a difficult time imagining things the way they were, because our frame of reference is what is NOW.

You know, I have this sort of personal philosophy: God used science in his creation of the universe and the earth took place over billions of years, and the dinosaurs were as such created by him through biological evolution. Instead of trying to fit an entire semesters' course of biology, history, archeology, and so forth into a single book, it was probably easier to describe his work to Mankind in terms they could understand. Its the same thing when we try and explain complex ideas or situations to a child. We leave out most details and let them know in simple language of what's going on.

Do you think a simple biblical era Man will understand complex mathematical equations, or large scale governing dynamics of planetary rotations and quantum mechanics? Its easier to just tell to the scripture writer "Behold, and I said, let there be light" as opposed to...

Quote:

Science can be thought of as a way of interpreting God's revelation found in nature. If Dinosaurs never existed during the age of Mankind, then it would seem to be logical that God wouldn't mention much or anything of them. Afterall, while he did create them at one point, they were not life that was around at the tim