Is There “Nothing in This World More Secular Than a Dinosaur”?

As I noted in a blog post a few days ago, the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter continue to be reported on by the media. This particular article mentioned the Ark and featured two photographs from the museum (one from the Garden of Eden and another from Corruption Alley) but didn’t say much about either. But I found this paragraph (which is likely an allusion to the Creation Museum, among other attractions) very interesting.

That said, even with my familiarity with the kind of religious touristing that some others might scorn, I was surprised by all the dinosaurs in Taete’s series. . . .

Someone once told me that there’s nothing in this world more secular than a dinosaur, but clearly the Cretaceous period and what came before it is of great concern to creationists, who rise to the challenge of defending their literalist readings of Genesis from the fossil record but also seem to understand that children like reptiles, the bigger the better.

Yes, the “Cretaceous period and what came before it” is a subject we frequently write and speak about because we want people to understand how the Bible’s history applies to the world around us. This author doesn’t seem to understand that the battle is not over the evidence (like dinosaurs or fossils) but rather over differing interpretations of the evidence because of two different starting points: the eyewitness account of history from God’s Word or man’s opinions. The evidence isn’t the problem!

Nothing is secular—the world, and everything in it, ultimately belongs to the Lord.

So are dinosaurs really “secular”? Well, nothing is secular—the world, and everything in it, ultimately belongs to the Lord. There is no neutral position, so secular really means “anti-God.” And the idea that a dinosaur can “belong” to the secularists (atheistic evolutionists, really) flows from the idea that the battle is over the evidence, not over differing interpretations of exactly the same evidence. So yes, we use dinosaurs (and lots of them!) to teach children (who, yes, really do “like reptiles, the bigger the better”) and adults the truth of God’s Word, beginning in Genesis.

In fact, over the years, I’ve called dinosaurs “missionary lizards,” because we can use something that is typically presented through the lens of evolution and millions of years to help people understand the true history of the world and the gospel. In my children’s book Dinosaurs for Kids, I do that through the 7 F’s of Dinosaurs:

• Formed. God created everything in just six days, a few thousand years ago. Land creatures were made on day six, and since dinosaurs are land creatures, they would’ve been made on day six, along with mankind.
• Fearless. Originally God’s creation was “very good,” (Genesis 1:31) with no death or suffering. All of the animals and mankind were vegetarian (Genesis 1:29).
• Fallen. But mankind rebelled against God and brought death and suffering into God’s once “very good” world. Now all of creation is groaning from the effects of sin, including death, disease, and animal carnivory.
• Flood. Mankind became so wicked that God judged them with a global flood. This event was catastrophic and radically reshaped the world, including depositing rock layers and fossils around the world—that’s why we have dinosaur fossils today. But two of each kind of land creature (dinosaur kinds included) were safe aboard Noah’s ark.
• Faded. After the flood, dinosaurs began to die out and people began to forget about them. Stories of men interacting with dinosaurs were passed down but became exaggerated, leading to dragon legends around the world.
• Found. Dinosaur fossils were dug up and studied by scientists who applied an evolutionary, millions-of-years lens to these creatures. But dinosaur fossils don’t come with tags—the dates are an interpretation of the evidence based on an evolutionary starting point.
• Fiction. Evolutionists developed all kinds of fiction (stories) about dinosaurs, such as how they went extinct or that dinosaurs evolved into birds. But it’s the Bible’s history that provides the proper lens for viewing dinosaurs. And when we start with God’s Word, dinosaurs and their demise aren’t a big mystery. They probably went extinct due to the same reasons many other creatures go extinct today—overhunting by mankind, changes in the climate, etc.

No, dinosaurs aren’t “secular”—they’re a testament to the awesome power of their Creator God and the truth of his Word.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.