Religious perspectives on dinosaurs

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According to the present interpretation of the fossil record, dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that first appeared on Earth approximately 230 million years ago. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, 65 million years ago, a catastrophic event caused the extinction of numerous dinosaur species, such as the famous giant Sauropods. Although many dinosaurs are now extinct, modern birds appear to be the direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs ^[1]. This claim is supported by the continuous lineage of avian fossils, beginning with the animal archaeopteryx.

This scientific evidence for the antiquity of dinosaurs conflicts with numerous religious doctrines, many of which define the earth as much younger than what would be possible given that the account is correct. Such religions were established centuries before the discovery of dinosaur fossils, and have since had to offer explanations reconciling these conflicts. This article documents how members of various religious groups interpret the dinosaur fossil record (including the proposed ages of fossil remains) and how their views differ from the modern scientific consensus.

1 Overview
2 Dinosaurs in the Bible
3 Dinosaurs according to the metaphorical take on the various scriptures
4 Dinosaurs in young Earth creationism
5 Earth created with age
6 Views of Jehovah's Witnesses
7 References
8 See also

[edit] Overview

The question of when dinosaurs lived is inextricably linked with evolution, the idea that the different species alive today are the result of millions of years of incremental change, and that unique species can share a common ancestor. The most widely accepted mechanism of evolution is the modern evolutionary synthesis, also known as "Neo-Darwinism".

Some religious groups believe that evolution conflicts with their interpretation of sacred texts; for example, Biblical literalists believe that the Earth was created only a few thousand years ago and that all currently living species were created by God.

Groups that believe in a literal interpretation of scripture may propose different interpretations of natural history, and thus of dinosaurs, in order to align the observable natural world more closely with their reading of sacred texts. Others are less troubled by the idea that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.

[edit] Dinosaurs in the Bible

Main article: Behemoth

Some Jews and Christians believe that dinosaurs appear in the Old Testament, and regard this as evidence that the animals were still alive during early human history.

As it is a modern coinage derived from Greek, the Bible does not use the word "dinosaur", but the Hebrew word tanniyn (/tan·ˈnin/) may be interpreted as referring to them^{[citation needed]}. In English translations, tanniyn may be translated as “sea monster” or “serpent”, but it is usually translated as “dragon”. These creatures are mentioned nearly thirty times in the Old Testament and are found both on land and in the water. At another point, the Bible describes a huge creature called a "behemoth" (Job 40:15-24) whose "tail sways like a cedar"; the behemoth is described as ranking "first among the works of God" and as impossible to capture (vs. 24). Some Biblical scholars identify the behemoth as either an elephant or a hippopotamus, but these animals have very thin tails that are not comparable to a cedar tree. Creationists therefore identify the behemoth with dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus, and most commonly the Apatosaurus which has a huge, cedar-like tail.^[2] , ^[3] Critics point out that the tail is described as swaying like a cedar, not being as large as a cedar.

The Leviathan is another creature referred to in the Bible's Old Testament; it is described as having a variety of dinosaur, dragon, and water-serpent-like characteristics. Many scholars identify the Leviathan in Job c. 41 with the crocodile. Some Bible readers, however, have tried to connect the creature with the dinosaurs.

[edit] Dinosaurs according to the metaphorical take on the various scriptures

It is, among many religions (for instance, the Masorti school of Judaism), a widely held belief that their holy scriptures are to be taken metaphorically.^{[citation needed]} In this view it is usually held that the writings in such texts are meant to be received as an allegorical lesson on morality and therefore do not require any degree of historical accuracy. Because of this, dinosaurs and other scientific views on the creation of our planet can be accepted in full, even up to the big bang -- all that is required in this school of thought is a creator.

[edit] Dinosaurs in young Earth creationism

Young Earth creationism is a position based on a literal interpretation of Biblical accounts. Young Earth creationists believe that the Earth is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old. Based on this assumption, they argue that the scientific dating of dinosaur fossils must be flawed. They advance the alternate explanation that dinosaur fossils date from the Noachian flood, and argue that humans and dinosaurs must have coexisted. Some Young Earth creationists contend that dinosaurs were present on board Noah's Ark, but became extinct after the Flood^{[citation needed]}.

One view proposed by some is that the serpent in the Garden of Eden may have actually been a dinosaur^{[citation needed]}. The serpent was cursed to "crawl on its belly." This curse, according to this view, is the reason of the extinction of the dinosaurs and the now prevalent modern day reptiles^{[citation needed]}. It must also be pointed out that there was a reptile called Tanystropheus that was essentially a snake with two pairs of sprawling legs. Some people who follow Young Earth Creationism point out that, according to Christian interpretation, God was speaking to the Devil when he cursed the serpent, not an ordinary snake.

[edit] Earth created with age

Some Christians believe that the Earth was created "with age"; in the same way that Adam was created as a fully grown being, God created the Earth as a fully-developed planet (Omphalos). In this view, Earth was called into being in an already ancient state, with the geological formations, oil deposits, fossils, etc. already in the ground. The theory holds that dinosaurs never truly existed; their "bones" were simply created along with the Earth. Some religious critics contend that this view is blasphemous as it implies that God is deceitful ^[4].

[edit] Views of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses have not made any official statements about their faith's interpretation of dinosaurs. However, they believe that the "six days of creation" as stated in the Bible were not literally six Earth days nor 6000 days (as compared to some other Christian groups whose adherents equate one Godly day with 1000 modern Earth days). Jehovah's Witnesses argue that the Hebrew word for "day" as used in Genesis simply means a period of time. Thus, many Jehovah's Witnesses feel that the mainstream scientific accounts of the dinosaurs' existence are largely accurate, except for the evolutionary theory aspects, which they reject. Their literature have featured articles that discuss the subject, in The Watchtower October 15, 1973 and Awake! January 8, 1990.