The Awesome Dinosaurs

The allegation has been made that dinosaurs and other fossils are "awkward" for creationist. But the truth is that dinosaur fossils, and fossils in general, attest to the reality of the Genesis Flood. 

For one thing, the shear number of large and small remains, encased and mineralized within the layers sedimentary rock all over the world is exactly what we would expect to find if the biblical account of a global Flood really happened. It is not, however, consistent with the uniformitarian assumptions on which the evolutionary view of geology is founded. 

Under the normal circumstance that we currently observe, an animal dies and its remains are eaten by scavengers and rot away; leaving no geological record of their existence. Only in the event of a great catastrophe do large numbers of both great and small animals become buried in sediments quickly enough for their remains to be preserved and mineralized; many of them being partly, some even mostly articulated.

Aside from that, within the fossils that are found; soft tissues, non-mineralized biological material is discovered. Dinosaur bones have been discovered having non-mineralized blood cells, vessels, nuclei, and skin tissues. Check it out: 

(https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/3-soft-tissue-in-fossils/). 

These findings show that the remains are not millions of years old. And so do all the instances in which radiometric dating methods are used on rocks of known ages and come up with wildly inflated "dates": 

(https://answersingenesis.org/geology/radiometric-dating/does-radiometric-dating-prove-the-earth-is-old/). 

Dinosaurs and fossils are no problem for Christians who take the historical narrative of Genesis as the divinely inspired truth. The difference between creationists and evolutionists is a matter of how we interpret the scientific data. Creationists can appreciate the great reptiles as a part of God's handiwork, which He created on the sixth day, along with all the other beasts, reptiles, and creeping things; as well as the first man and woman whom He made uniquely in His own image.

At that time, "in the beginning", there was no death, no suffering, no disease, and no carnivorism. The creatures with sharp teeth and claws would have used them for braking open such things as coconuts, and pineapples. But sin came into the world through one man, Adam; and death came as a result of sin. And everyone dies because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 5:12, 3:23, 6:23). 

And when human wickedness, and violence had reached a crescendo during Noah's lifetime, God sent a great Flood to destroy humanity from the face of the earth. But by God's grace, Noah and his family were saved. God warned Noah to build an Ark, which He instructed him to make approximately 500 feet long, 75 feet high, and 45 feet wide; having three levels, and rooms inside (Genesis 6). Large wooden ships with similar measurements are also detailed in other ancient historical texts (https://answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/the-large-ships-of-antiquity/).

So Noah followed God's instructions. The Flood came and the whole earth was covered (Genesis 7). And the turbulence of the earth caused the fountains of the great deep to break open, (Genesis 7:11) creating what we now refer to as tectonic plates. Massive amounts of sediment were moved from one place to another, swiftly burying beasts, reptiles, fish, and flying creatures; both great and small. The earth remained flooded for the length of a year, with the waters just beginning to recede about half way through the Flood year (Genesis 7:24-8:19). 

The face of the earth was dramatically changed. The receding Flood waters carved out many of the canyons that we observe today. And in the years following the Flood, tectonic activity broke the earth into continents, and caused mountains of sedimentary layers, with creatures buried in them during the Flood, to be pushed up into the clouds before they solidified and became the monuments that they are today. These monuments, laden with the remains of creatures, both great and small, including the great reptiles, stand to remind us of the judgement of a holy God, but also of His grace, by which He saved Noah and His family.

By that same grace, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came personally into our world and preached the gospel of His kingdom. His kingdom is at work in the world today through His followers, until it is is fully consummated by His return and His final judgement of the world which is in rebellion against His kingdom. He gave His human life on the cross to ransom many from sin (Matthew 20:28) and rose again so that by trusting in Him, we can be a part of His kingdom; reconciled to God who is love, and who created us in His own image for the purpose of love (2 Corinthians 5:12-21, 1 John 4:8, Genesis 1:26-27, Matthew 22:37-40). 

The Beauty of the Psalms

A favorite portion of the Scriptures, the book of Psalms is a collection of 150 sacred poems, (that is what a psalm is; psalm-definition-www.merriam-webster.com) written by David and others. One of the characteristics of these ancient Hebrew poems is the repetition of idea instead of the repetition of sound (rhyme). For example:

"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

Praise the LORD with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy

(Psalm 33:1-3).

Or:

"Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth"

(Psalm 2:10).

While these psalms sometimes make references to literal events, which are recorded in the historical narrative portions of Scripture (i.e. Genesis-Esther and Matthew-Acts; see Psalm 136), the psalmists also made use of figurative language to paint evocative pictures of God's love, mercy, providence, protection, justice, sovereignty, splendor, majesty, power, eternal nature, and goodness; as well as humanity's complete dependence on Him for life, sustenance, forgiveness, salvation and everything.

Examples of figurative language can be found in Psalm 91 were the psalmist refers to God as a Fortress to describe His strength and power to protect those who trust in Him. In the same poem, the wicked one is referred to as a fowler (bird trapper) to describe those who seek to ensnare others, especially believers, in sin and trouble. Then God is described figuratively as having wings, bringing to mind God's ability to protect and deliver His people, like a mother eagle protecting her little ones. And His truth is described as being a shield and buckler against evil deceptions.

The psalmists employed poetry to express the overflow of their hearts to God in worship. They poured out in words and music their adoration for God, their sorrows in troublesome times, their joys, their petitions, thanksgivings, repentance, and righteous indignation toward wickedness in the world. At times, tucked in among the psalmists praises, pleas, and sorrows, the Holy Spirit gives prophetic glimpses of Christ's own experiences, sorrows, and pains in His earthly life and sacrificial death on the cross for our sin, as well as the glory that, before and forever after, Christ shares with the Father. 

The 22nd Psalm is a prime example of this. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He spoke to the heavenly Father, "with a loud voice, saying 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" (Mark 15:34; also see Matthew 27:46). He was quoting Psalm 22:1.

He felt our estrangement from the Father as He bore our sin upon Himself; as He took our blame. As the poem continues, David described his own troubles with his enemies. And the double meaning - the parallel between David's sufferings and those of Christ becomes even more apparent. There comes a point in the psalm where it says, 

"For dogs have surrounded Me;

The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.

They pierced My hands and My feet;

I can count all My bones.

They look and stare at Me.

They divide my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots

(Psalm 22:16-18).

Nowhere in the historical account of David's life (found in 1 Samuel 16 - 1 Kings 2:11, and 1 Chronicles 11-29) did anyone ever pierce the hands and feet of the shepherd-turned-king. Nor did anyone divide his garments among them or gamble for his clothes. But when Jesus the Messiah hung on the cross, His hands and feet were pieced, and the Roman soldiers did divide and gamble for His clothes (John 19:23-24; also see Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, and Luke 23-34). 

The psalmist, David, quotes the enemy as saying,

He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him

(Psalm 22:8).

Compare this to what Jesus' enemies were saying when He was being crucified (Matthew 27:39-44, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 23:35-39).

As a whole, the 22nd Psalm is comparable to Isaiah 53, where the prophet vividly and poetically foretells the rejection of the Messiah by His people, His suffering, death, and resurrection. From Psalm 22:19 through the rest of the poem, David looks forward to being delivered by God from his enemies, as he has prayed; and he expresses hope for the future, and praise to God his Savior. Like Isaiah 53:10-12, this passage also provides a prophetic view of Christ being delivered by the Father who has now raised Him from the dead. And it is a look forward to the salvation that Christ's death and resurrection makes available to all who trust in Christ. 

In the book of Psalms, the believer finds a treasure trove of poetry to which he or she can relate personally, through the conflicts - both triumphs and defeats - of life. In these poems we too can find expressions of our own joys, sorrows, hopes in the face of fear, prayers and praises. And in so doing, we can even share spiritually and emotionally in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We come to realize that our living Friend, Jesus Christ, has been through, and knows, and understands what we go through in this fallen, broken world. And we have hope, knowing that just as He was delivered by the Father from death, so we too will be saved; and we will share in His glory, His peace, His joy, and His everlasting life in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

The Lord is our reason to make melody; 

It is He who gives us breath to sing.

Without Him we would have nothing;

Had He not made us, we would have no voice,

Nor could we live,

Or even exist at all

Pagan Flood Stories and Genesis

Nearly all ancient cultures from all over the globe recount stories of a great flood that wiped out all but a few humans from the face of the earth. These variations on the same story are exactly what one should expect when one considers that the event actually happened, just as the Scriptures tell. In the generations after Noah's family exited the Ark, subsequent families branched out, being descendants of Noah's three sons; Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These families branched out and grew into nations. This process of re-population is accurately recorded by Moses in a passage of genealogies in Genesis chapter ten, which is often referred to as the Table of Nations.  

As this re-population took place, there soon arose groups of people who turned away from the God who created humanity. They replaced Him in their hearts and minds with gods whom they created in their own images; and in images of birds, reptiles, and beasts, etc. (see Romans 1:21-23). These pagans thencasually distorted  the events that happened, passing down their stories through the generations.

But those who were faithful to God, particularly those descended from Shem (Semites), faithfully preserved the truth of what really happened, details about how it happened, and perhaps most importantly why it happened.

Not only is this so, but when God spoke to Moses, He directed Moses in accurately recording the history of the world, from the time that it was supernaturally created by God in six literal days ("yom", in the Hebrew language, refers to a literal 24 hour day) to his own time, as he lead Israel out of Egypt by the power of God who was with him to reveal Truth and do mighty works for His people.

The Genesis account of the Flood is the most realistic version because it is the true version, faithfully preserved by the sons of Shem, and accurately written down by Moses under the direction of God Himself.

It provides realistic details, including a 450 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. high Ark. This Ark was capable of housing two of every "kind " (not species) of land animal and winged creature of the air. It also housed Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives to survive the Flood that covered all the earth; the Flood that is responsible for the formation of many geological features that we observe today.