The discussion of dinosaurs has caused some to doubt their faith. The prior existence and now the extinction of dinosaurs is very much explainable in light of the Scriptures.
The word “dinosaur” comes from the Greek word deinos, which means “terrible,” and sauros, which means “lizard.” Therefore, “dinosaur” means terrible lizard. Dinosaurs were not really lizards. However, when they were first discovered in the late 1800’s, they had similar features and were categorized as such.
Today, there are no living dinosaurs, except perhaps the blue whale. Dinosaurs must have roamed all over the world in the past. Their footprints have been found in Texas, their eggs in China and their bones in Australia. The remains of dinosaurs have been discovered on every continent, including Antarctica.
The question arises, “What happened to the dinosaurs?” Why are they extinct (no longer around)? Some scientists would have you believe that a huge object hit the earth. When this object hit the earth, tons of dust were thrown up into the air. This dust stopped some of the sun’s rays from reaching earth. Without sunshine, the plants died, and the earth became very cold. The dinosaurs became extinct because they could not live without food and warmth.
The Bible does not discuss any objects coming from space and crashing into the earth. It does, however, mention the great flood. The flood killed every animal on earth with the exception of the water creatures (which may help explain the blue whale’s existence) and those still on the ark. This included the dinosaurs.
Skeptics say you could not get dinosaurs on the ark. They have not considered that Noah may have brought them on as eggs or small babies.
After the flood, the earth was not as it was before. The earth’s structural appearance had changed. This limited the mobility of the creatures. The climate was also different (areas were now dry deserts and in some places extremely cold). The change in topography, climate and the limited availability of food are more likely the causes of the eventual extinction of the dinosaurs after the flood.
