Creation and Dinosaurs

[AngelBee]

Where do they fit in? :

And the Ice Age?

[dotnetdiva]

I think that mostly will depend on if you believe in science or bible.

Bible fundamentalists says dinos were created on the 6th day, anywhere from 4000-10000 years ago, and walked along with people. Of course that depends on if you're an old or new earth believer. I'm sure someone will give a better answer here. And other religions I'm sure have their own creation beliefs.

I can cover the science. We're studying this right now, dinosaurs lived in the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods - from 245 to 65 million years ago. There were a few major ice ages, from very early, to snowball earth, to the ones that are talked about more that occurred after the dinosaurs. That one took place a few million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Creation of the universe took place somewhere between 13.7 to 15 billion years ago, scientists know what happened right up to the big moment of the Big Bang.

Also, be careful, this could be quite controversial! I just happen to be watching, at this very moment, Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial.

[AngelBee]

In Creation groups, did the Ice Age exist?

And what happened to the dinos?

Angela...thank you for your input. I really appreciate it!

[dotnetdiva]

Again, here's my belief about the dino extinction.

The most common scientific belief is that an asteriod 6 miles long hit the earth somewhere near the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. When scientists study the geologic rock layers, they see a layer of iridium, a rare element that in those levels often come from outer space meteors hitting the earth. They find this in localities all over the world, in the layer between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary period. That in itself would've been bad enough, but most scientists think that it triggered volcanos in India, as well as tsunamis and earthquakes everywhere. A cloud of dust covered the earth, lots of plant life died out, as a result plant-eating dinos died out, then meat-eating dinos died out and resulted in a mass extinction.

Creatures that could warm themselves by being warm blooded or by burrowing underground were able to survive, thus mammals, small birds and reptiles got through to survive today.

[fruitfulmomma]

According to the bible, dinosaurs were created on day 6.

And we believe the ice age occurred after the flood, as a result of the catastrophic changes in the earths atmosphere and the temperature of the water.

You can read about both dinosaurs and ice fields in the book of Job.

Edited to add: There are several videos here http://www.answersingenesis.org/media/video/ondemand that would give you more detailed explanations of what we believe.

[AngelBee]

Oh...thanks Nickey

[holyhelianthus]

I think that mostly will depend on if you believe in science or bible.

Or both....
http://biologos.org/

Not sure how helpful that could be to you as I am not sure about your stand point but they have some great resources! HTH! :

[Ruthla]

I don't know if this maybe belongs on the Religious Studies forum, but there are two basic theories I've heard about all this:

1) G-d made the world with dinosaur fossils so that the world LOOKS like it's 6 billion years old, rather than 5,769 years old (I didn't pull that number out of my : I took it off the Jewish calendar hanging on my wall.)

2)"The first week was very special, and it's as though billions of years of weathering and science took place in only a week". (This explanation is kind of a compromise between #1 and #3.)

3) Each "day" of Creation isnt' a "day" the way we know it. I mean, how can there be a "day' before the sun and moon were created? You can phrase this idea in many ways- "Who knows how long days were then", or "Each day of creation wasn't really a 24 hour day, but rather an epoch, or a phase in the development of the world."


What I personally beleive, (from the book Genesis and the Big Bang) using Einstein's Theory of Relativity- the story of the world was given from G-d's point of view for the first 6 or 7 days, and then the story switched to Adam and Eve/Chava's point of view. This is a pretty advanced concept and I've struggled with how to explain it to my 13yo. I haven't yet started HSing my 7yo, and I'm not sure exactly how they presented this concept in his Jewish school.

Which theory you present to your kids depends on your own theology. You're obviously not going to present them with ideas that are contrary to your own Faith.

[PGTlatte]

I'm also not sure this wouldn't be a better fit in the religious studies area...but anyway....

I stumbled onto some books that cover "creation" including science, but also include spiritual aspects....not specific to any religion though. They are not Christian or Jewish or Bible specific books. But someone who is looking for a way to include a spiritual aspect along with the scientific view might find them just right:

Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story

From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth's Story

Mammals Who Morph: The Universe Tells Our Evolution Story

all by Jennifer Morgan.

They have beautiful artwork.

I've decided for now to stick with just the scientific view, but a little later when they are a bit older I will probably use these books too, as they are a good fit for my beliefs and they are a nice way to offer them to our kids for consideration.

[dotnetdiva]

Love those books! They tackle some topics a wee bit advanced for my little 4 year old, but they're great to have.

For those that do decide to study prehistory and are comfortable with billions and millions of years, I am spending all my days researching how to teach my young ones all this, in a fun and memorable way. Just click on the History Curriculum on top of my blog and peek at our lessons.

Prehistory Curriculum
Lesson 1
Lesson 2

Next time we study prehistory (in a few more years), we'll be reading other creation stories, just so she knows what others believe as well.

[Dar]

Moved from Learning at Home and Beyond to Religious Studies...

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by AngelBee

Creation and Dinosaurs
Where do they fit in? :
And the Ice Age?

I am not sure why they would be a problem, even with a fairly literal interpretation of Genesis. Dinosaurs are extinct animals, like the dodo. Species becoming extinct does not conflict with the idea of Creation.
As for the ice age, it was a natural phenomenon. Why does it conflict with the Biblical account of creation, any more than the eruption of Mount Vesuvius or any other natural disaster or example of extreme weather conditions?

[theretohere]

I've found the best place to get resources for this is from my Synod's publishing company. Does your church have any materials?

[PGTlatte]

Thank you so much for sharing all this ! I am rounding up resources myself, and your list will be really helpful ! Some of them I knew about, and others I didn't, and will be looking into.

I have never liked history, or understood it. A friend recently showed me the Little History, and I've been up at six the last four mornings to make sure I get time to read it....it's fabulous, a book I don't want to put down...never thought I would enjoy a history book ! IMO it's a great recommendation.

I don't know if you are interested in sci fi for kids that includes lots of information about space...but I recently read George's Secret Key to the Universe. It's a fun story by Lucy Hawking - Stephen Hawking's daughter. It even covers Hawking radiation ! I can't wait until DS1 is ready for a chapter book that long....that will be his first. The sequel to it just came out as well.

Originally Posted by dotnetdiva

Love those books! They tackle some topics a wee bit advanced for my little 4 year old, but they're great to have.

For those that do decide to study prehistory and are comfortable with billions and millions of years, I am spending all my days researching how to teach my young ones all this, in a fun and memorable way. Just click on the History Curriculum on top of my blog and peek at our lessons.

Prehistory Curriculum
Lesson 1
Lesson 2

Next time we study prehistory (in a few more years), we'll be reading other creation stories, just so she knows what others believe as well.

[AngelBee]

I posted this in the homeschooling forum because that is why I am asking. I am setting up our history and science activities and not really sure where date wise and such every thing fits in. Plus I am interested in other theories.

But I am not looking from a religious aspect.

I am looking from an Educational aspect.

What are your favorite curriculums that discuss this?

From a Creationist point of view?

From an Evolutionist point of view?

(For the record.....I believe that God created the world. I also believe that the Bible and science go hand in hand. God does not lie. Any flaws in dating or science are from man NOT God. I believe there is truth presented in science even if our human interpretation of it may be flawed. Also.....there seems to be extremists in both sides that bother me. I just want to be empowered with information so that I can give justice to the presentation of such topics with my children. )

Thank you all for your input. I greatly appreciate it

[Tuesday]

:

Thanks for starting this thread and for everyone's posts. This issue of dinosaurs is my biggest stumbling block in terms of religion. I have experienced enough strange, wonderful and scary supernatural events in my life - I can believe in scripture and God. But my mind clouds when I struggle to reconcile the Dinosaurs and the Adam & Eve story. My younger son is heavily into dinosaurs at the moment so this thread is very interesting. Thanks.

[fruitfulmomma]

What are your favorite curriculums that discuss this?

From a Creationist point of view?

We are reading the Wonders of Creation series from Master Books. There are six of them. You can see them here http://www.nlpg.com/store/advanced_s...ation&x=21&y=9

I also thought Ruth Beechick's book World History Made Simple was a good one for lining up dates.

And we all enjoyed this video - http://www.godofwondersvideo.org/

[jennica]

So if dinosaurs coexisted with humans, then according to the bible they would have been brought on Noah's ark, correct? How would the already maxed over capacity ark house dinosaurs? I don't think that is even physically possible, not to mention the impossibilities of feeding them. Are dinosaurs ever even mentioned in the bible? Why would god create an entire class of animals only to allow them all to die out? Just asking some questions your kids might ask, so that you can prepare some answers.

[Whispers]

We have found these useful

The Edge of Evolution by Micheal Behe

Behe also has a blog on Amazon , which is quite good

and

The Institute for Creation Research

HTH

[Whispers]

So if dinosaurs coexisted with humans, then according to the bible they would have been brought on Noah's ark, correct? How would the already maxed over capacity ark house dinosaurs? I don't think that is even physically possible, not to mention the impossibilities of feeding them. Are dinosaurs ever even mentioned in the bible? Why would god create an entire class of animals only to allow them all to die out? Just asking some questions your kids might ask, so that you can prepare some answers.

Just quickly as I don't really have time to elaborate but according to what I believe

- the animals on the ark including dino's were babies

-There are over 200 references in the bible to things such as "dragons" or "giant lizard"

http://www.clarifyingchristianity.com/dinos.shtml

-as someone pointed out animals go extinct all the time, just by reading through any book of legends people were inherently frighted of dragons or monsters. In England we celebrate the slaying of a dragon by St George. What if people killed them for centuries, how different would that be to people killing dodo's into extinction.

Gotta run, hope that gives a quick explanation.