A. Overall Lesson Objective

B. Learning Competencies

C. Lesson

Because of the high interest in dinosaurs, and the media emphasis on the biggest and most ferocious, questions and interest in the largest of these creatures are common. Previous lessons deal with their creation on Day 6 (Unit 1 Lesson 12) and the Genesis Flood event, which has a large bearing on what happened to them (Unit 2 Lessons 5-10). This lesson covers particular issues and questions as related to fossils and summarizes historical information that can be researched today.

Beginning with the answers for the class assignment, discuss the resulting definitions for the word ‘dinosaur’.

With these definitions in mind, let’s review a more fundamental issue: the alleged timeline in which dinosaurs (a term coined in 1841) existed. The naturalistic view of the timeline, which is the one presented in media and most schools, is extremely long. In this view, the time the dinosaurs arrived in history is determined by forensic science alone. But, forensic science must always rely on assumptions, and in this case include an assumed history associated with two things: an estimated age of the universe (billions of years) and layers of sedimentary rock on earth, which supposedly equate to millions of years. Physical evidence is interpreted with both assumptions in mind, and those assumptions disallow a timeline in terms of thousands of years. So, in the naturalistic view, ancient dinosaurs came from simpler life, which came from simpler sea life, which came from tiny life, which came from no life at all, which came from the Big Bang, in one form or another. The presumption is that it takes billions of years for the whole process to happen. Once life arises, complexity increases in living things by itself over the last part of the ‘deep’ timeline. Since mankind is the ‘smartest’ and the most advanced life, we came last. Dinosaurs, however, represent more rudimentary forms of life, so they came well before man arrived. Even evidence suggesting man might have lived at the same time as dinosaurs would be discarded, as man would not be expected to be present that early.

The ‘microbes to man’ world view not only requires billions of years, it predicts many transitional (or ‘in between’ forms as one thing supposedly changes into another. The core belief in evolution means its followers will keep looking for transitional forms of life in the fossil record. If one does not seem to be, they look for another. However, they cannot be found, though candidates are put forward from time to time. For example, despite many claims given much publicity (until they are quietly replaced by another candidate), ape-to-man transitional fossil forms that stand up to scrutiny are missing. What about part-fish part-amphibian? What about half a limb and half a wing? After supposedly millions of years in the layers of rock and dirt, transitional fossils should be everywhere but are not! Links to or from dinosaurs, in particular, cannot be found. There is a clear absence of transitional life forms, yet they should be easy to find. Instead, increasing evidence shows biblical ‘kinds’, while displaying variation within each kind.

The Genesis Flood is the reason most of the earth’s surface is covered with sedimentary rock, which is rock deposited from the action of water. One can find sedimentary rock in most parts of the earth—from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys. Dinosaur bone fields or graveyards have been found in most parts of the world in sedimentary rock.

Some of the dinosaur bone fields in sedimentary rock are exceptionally large. They contain mostly dinosaurs, but also some marine fossils. Some have remnants of thousands of dinosaurs and they frequently have only one or two types of dinosaurs. The sites involve a compacted layer of sedimentary rock and have fossilized skeletal remains that are dismembered (showing lots of violence). In the same bone yards, younger specimens are usually absent. These characteristics speak of the power of the turbid waters during the Flood to gather and bury groups of creatures either dead or dying, having failed to escape the onslaught.

In the last few decades, many dinosaur track sites have been found in widely varying locations. They are not normal animal tracks, which usually do not go in a single direction, for example while foraging or hunting or playing. The fossil tracks are typically straight, suggesting unusual circumstances (like a whole herd fleeing danger) and a single or very few kinds of dinosaur types laid them. For the tracks to be preserved, they would have to have been ‘frozen’ in time due to special circumstances that permit the prints to be gently but rapidly buried (covered) by sediment before hardening. Exposed prints, on the other hand, would just wear away quickly. Babies or juveniles are rarely present. All these things point to rapid burial with exceptional water/flood conditions.

Many deposits of dinosaur eggs have been discovered in a variety of locations. A few contain an embryo. Other eggs are found in small groups over an area with many groups (or clutches). Most of the eggs are found in flat bedding planes rather than nests. Almost no fossilized vegetation is found at the sites. None of these situations shows the conditions that would normally be expected; for example, the terrain in which these large creatures would normally be hunting, feeding or procreating would feature heavy vegetation.

All these things present real challenges for a millions-of-years or a naturalistic-view explanation. The larger sites show evidence of conditions that were changing rapidly, involving both water and sediments. The Genesis Flood is a far better explanation for what happened. The Flood involved rising water conditions, large waves fluctuating over diminishing sea shores, deposition of heavy sediments that could cause rapid but ‘gentle’ burial (preserving the tracks) over short periods of time, and animals in fright or flight (running in a straight line) with no vegetation. These are all catastrophic and special conditions (caused by the Genesis Flood) that are preserved in sedimentary rock for our observation.

One might ask, where are the human fossils if the Genesis Flood scenario is true? Where are they in the fossil record compared to dinosaurs? First, vertebrates are only a quarter of one percent of the fossils. The majority of the fossils are sea organisms. The remaining small percentage are the boneyards (discussed above) in a few notable locations. It is not a huge number. So, the chances of finding a human fossil are small. Second, the lack of certain fossils extends to mammals, not just humans. While smaller mammals are in the fossil record, they are in a minority. Third, most fossil locations show good swimmers. Humans can swim, but not long. And, human mobility means that the most innovative would have traveled to high ground as flood waters rose, making them subject to the other forces and rotting processes having avoided some of the lower altitude sedimentary deposition processes. Fourth, for those people caught by surprise, they would have been shredded in the moving debris fields as debris-rich wave action occurred as flood waters rose. Thousands of people are killed in modern-day tsunamis, but we don’t expect these to become fossils. Fifth, God’s biblical mandate of destruction was especially aimed at the destruction of men turned evil. Only those on the ark were designated to survive. The mandate was sure and final. In keeping with that directive, finding few possible evidences of human fossils from the pre-Flood era is not a surprise (there are certainly human fossils that are post-Flood). Last, there is a bias problem. If humans are not expected along with dinosaurs (they are not expected in a naturalistic world view) then evidence is likely to have been missed or misinterpreted. [For a possible example, and more on this whole topic of human fossils: Answers Book Chapter 15] The net result is a lack of confirmed human fossils.

The ‘bias’ toward naturalistic outcomes (man should not be present) is significant. For instance, there is a misconception about the fossilized remains belonging to large dinosaurs that are displayed in prominent museums. When the total number is considered, there are just a few thousand world-wide. This number is quite small relative to the total number of excavations. A lot of fossils are simply bone splinters and small pieces whose original identity cannot be readily determined. How many might be human? With the dominance of the evolutionary paradigm, there is a high chance that something would be mislabeled, since the assumptions would discredit any likely human fossilized remains. In the end, the chances of finding and properly classifying a fossilized human or part of a human are poor at best.

So why did all the dinosaurs disappear (the animals children like to talk about), or did they all disappear? The question must start by reviewing the overall composition of the fossil record in view of the Flood (Unit 2, Lessons 6-10) that yielded it. This event, of course, caused the mass removal of all living creatures with the breath of life, but what about the survivors on the ark? This will be discussed near the end of the lesson. For now, realize that there is historical evidence that some dinosaurs survived centuries after the Flood.

The amount of information from recent discoveries of fossil beds is growing (not just what people see in natural history museums, which is very selective). Technical details on many fossil beds tell us that sites commonly have a combination of creatures. And they sometimes contain mammals, trees and birds as well as reptiles. Some fossils of land animals and foliage are near or mixed with marine fossils. Fossils in general are found in widely varying places (different continents, different altitudes, and varying distances from oceans). In a biblical world view, of course, the driving event was the year-long Genesis Flood. [Research note: fossil beds dinosaurs; Answers Book Chapter 19]

Because of conditions during the Genesis Flood, huge forces collected and often corralled dying or dead beasts. Then rapid burial took place for those that were not utterly destroyed in the debris-laden water. The sedimentary rock sealed their tomb but also kept the normal rotting and scavenging to a minimum. The fossilization process does not have to take a long time, but it does take the right conditions. The process is so fast and thorough that we have jellyfish, whales, T-Rex, and a host of other creatures frozen in stone. [Research note: How do fossils form?]

Recall, however, that the timeline in biblical terms is short. Was the fossilization process complete in all cases? A series of discoveries by specialists since the early 1990s shows the presence of actual (unmineralized, unfossilized) dinosaur bones that contain blood cells, tissues such as ligaments, blood vessels that are still soft and stretchy, hemoglobin and other fragile proteins. In 2012 carbon-14 was reported in dinosaur bones. These recent discoveries (and more discoveries are happening) are hard to explain within a ‘deep time’ context. In contrast, these findings are very plausible in a biblical context. The chances are almost zero of any such things surviving millions of years to be found in a condition that could be subject to DNA and carbon 14 analysis. [Research note: What about dinosaur tissue?] This information rarely reaches teachers in primary/secondary schools or their students, and if it does, its huge significance is rarely discussed. Again, the matter strongly challenges the evolutionary world view, the only view typically represented in educational institutions.

🦕 CT? The naturalistic view claims that complex biological systems have arisen over ‘deep time’ on their own, and life, once it happens, gets more advanced by itself. Then, why on the one hand have we supposedly advanced to a high level of intelligence, whereas a horseshoe crab (not smart at all) and many other such forms of life have existed unchanged over millions and millions of years? Is it possible for such a widely held world view to be incorrect? Discuss this: what does it take for a world view to be challenged?

The fossil evidence shows many creatures and plants that have little change from what we observe today. We call them ‘living fossils’. They should have changed, according to evolutionary theory, but they have not. There are many examples that include sea creatures as well as land life. Some notable ones include the horseshoe crab, types of fish, mollusks, types of small land animals, and some reptiles. Fossilized big whales and jellyfish ‘frozen’ in time have also been found in sedimentary rock and far from the sea. Both whales and jellyfish are common today. Conjectures abound as to why there are so many living fossils in an evolutionary context. [Research note: What about living fossils]

The presence of ‘living fossils’ is very inconvenient for evolutionary belief, where the creatures should have been changed eons ago. A study and documentary by Dr. Werner were done a few years ago that documents the presence of living fossils at dinosaur dig sites, which were already assessed to be millions of years old. At these sites, he found fossilized examples from every major invertebrate animal phylum that is living today. He also found vertebrates, modern fish, amphibians, modern plants, smaller mammals, and modern birds.

However, at popular museums, these things are almost never shown. Why? Bias. The story of gradual change in ‘deep time’ is seriously undermined by the number of living fossils that have been discovered. On the other hand, the biblical world view, with the effects of the Genesis Flood a few generations after the creation week, makes ‘living fossils’ more realistic. They should be present today and are.

🦕 CT? If you were to construct a scene in a museum about life around human life 6-10 generations after Adam and Eve, name the things you would consider essential to include, and explain why.

While fossil beds show the violent demise of living things outside the ark, survivors that disembarked from the ark would be entering a new world with a variety of challenges. The population of some of the kinds, those especially challenged, were probably subdued. As addressed in previous Unit 2 Lesson 9 and 10, the post-Flood conditions (including the estimated period of several hundred years for the Ice Age) affected populations. It is likely that there was an increased rate of extinctions in that early time after the upheaval.

Consider a hypothetical example. Consider the pair on the ark of (presumably young) dinosaurs representing the kind that includes T.rex and similar species. There would also have been other dinosaur kinds that would grow quite large. They disembark to a raw terrain that does not have mature or dense foliage. They hunt for food, populate, and migrate to find food. The post-Flood climate was still in upheaval. Because of the changes in diet God instituted for man after the Flood, the new T-Rex generation would also be subject to being hunted as food. If they were violent or a threat to humankind, they would also be hunted. So, mankind became an additional and probably significant challenge for dinosaur survival.

Nevertheless, there is historical evidence of some dinosaurs and other animals surviving for some time, in contrast to the evolutionary belief that they were extinct long before man. The later chapters of Job describe the leviathan and the behemoth. Another example is the legend of St. George in England as well as stone carvings in the East (Asia) that give clues to the presence of dinosaurs. These things are dated well before any of the controversy about origins or evolutionary beliefs, which state they died millions of years ago. The word ‘dinosaur’ had not been invented when the carvings were made, but the word ‘dragon’ would have been common. There is enough evidence to suggest that dinosaurs did live for some time after they exited the ark. So, what happened to them?

The short answer is, ‘We don’t know.’ But extinction in a post-Fall world happens all the time to various species for a variety of causes. As mentioned previously, the aftermath of the Flood presented many physical challenges; the Ice Age takes place, and people see big animals as targets. It makes sense that God put a dread in animals for humans (Gen 9:2-3) or extinctions among beasts may well have been more severe than what is apparent.

It is worth examining extinctions that have continued through human history for varieties of creatures, sea life, and types of foliage. There are even more numerous examples of near-extinctions simply due to improper human management or practices until protective measures were instituted. Sometimes they fail as well. In short, the demise of dinosaurs is not a surprise in the centuries following the Flood.

🦕 CT? Examine Job 40:15 and explain what God means and how it relates to what God did on the sixth day of creation.

D. Assignment

Calculate a human population based on two estimates. First, based on 4500 years since the landing of the ark after the Flood (a biblical world view number). Second, base the estimate on 2 million years since the estimated start of Homo erectus. In both cases, assume the population doubles every 150 years. Examine the totals side by side and compare to today’s world population.

E. Learning Activity

In teams, construct a verbal advertisement for your pet services. You live a couple of generations prior to Noah and north of the region where he would live. Your company regularly trains creatures, which we would now call smaller dinosaurs, to be outdoor pets. Choose one, estimate its eating habits, get the facts about its full-grown size, and construct a verbal advertisement that you plan to use in the local city to draw people to your services, defined as helping families get and maintain the health of the creature you have chosen. Provide a data sheet of detail that you plan to give to customers so they are not surprised about what they have to do to keep this ‘pet.’ The teams compete with their presentations.

F. Concluding Assessment

The classic understanding of dinosaurs is limited to a naturalistic context. A biblical understanding shows they lived at the same time as people but are now extinct. We have the fossil record to show us some of the Flood victims. Nevertheless, many of those pre-Flood creatures remain with us and have stayed about the same as when they were first created. A few dinosaurs lived for several centuries after the Flood.