How Could Man Have Survived In A World With Dinosaurs?
Question: I am not a Christian mainly due to the fact I find so many things that trouble me with respect to the bible and science. But the one thing I simply cannot resolve is the dinosaur & man issue. While I could possibly see man existing in a world with herbivores, how would it have been possible for mankind to have survived in a world which included such monsters as "raptors" , "T-Rex", etc..., surely these would have devastated mankind.
Answer: You ask a difficult question, but I shall try to give you the Bible's answer to your question and will also share with you some of my own opinions which may, or may not, be helpful to you:
First of all, I wish to point out that much that is advanced as scientific fact regarding the dinosaurs is also opinion and educated guess, because the fossil evidence of dinosaurs does not verify their exact form and appearance, eating habits, etc. Much is assumed, and many errors are possible. There are many problems with the modern dating and dating systems as well (the false assumption that all has been constant since the earth's beginning, etc.). Much evidence suggests a younger earth.
What does the Bible say? All things were created in six days, approximately 6,000 years ago. This is the record of Genesis 1&2; the genealogical records and dates in the Bible; Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; etc. Some Christians, in part to make the Bible to harmonize better with modern scientific theories, teach that there was a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, allowing for the dinosaurs to have lived before God then "re-created" or "reformed" the earth. I, personally, do not agree with this view because it is not in agreement with the Genesis account or with Exodus 20:11.
How could man have survived at the same time as dinosaurs? Genesis 1:29-30 teaches that man and all animals were originally vegetarian, eating only plants. Isaiah 65:25, which describes the restoration of all things when this world comes to a close and God recreates the heaven and the earth, making all things new, speaks of the wolf and the lamb feeding together and the lion eating straw like the ox. According to the Biblical record, it would appear that animals did not become carnivorous until after the fall of man into sin and the introduction of death upon the earth, described in Genesis 3. In Genesis 6-8, God sent a great flood to destroy all life on the earth because of man's wickedness and unbelief. Only Noah, his family, and the animals taken with him on the ark survived. Following the flood, God also gave to man animals for food (Genesis 9:1ff.). But notice that God also told Noah, "And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered" (9:2). Thus, if dinosaurs like T-Rex and Raptors survived until after the flood, they had a fear of man. Even today, many animals that could easily kill man would rather stay out of man's way and will normally flee, unless threatened.
That dinosaurs did live at the same time as man, even after the flood, can be supported by the Bible. Look at Job 40:15-24. What is this great "behemoth"? While some assume it describes a hippopotamus, look at the description of the tail like a cedar. What of the great leviathan in Job 41:1ff.? Is this a crocodile, or, perhaps, a dinosaur? Incidentally, I have read of fossils of human foot prints together with those of dinosaurs (I'd have to do some research to find the sources again.).
My opinion, for what it is worth,
is that the dinosaurs which survived the flood in the ark (perhaps not all of
the largest kinds) died out in the years following the flood due to major
climatic changes (seasons, hot and cold, summer and winter, etc., described in
Genesis 8:21-22). I don't believe the world was like a "
In regard to your not trusting in
Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death upon the cross for the
forgiveness of your sins and for a place in heaven with Him, you certainly take
a big chance; for, if the Bible is true (and I am convinced that it is), you
will be condemned to eternal torment in hell for rejecting the gift of
salvation God has provided for you in His own dear Son. The Bible says,
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him" (John