Dinosaurs in History: Debunking Myths and Exploring Evidence

1. Session 2 – Dinosaurs and the Bible In this second session we will tackle one of the most asked questions in the creation vs. evolution debate: “Where do the dinosaurs fit into the Bible” We will look at the evidence that dinosaurs and man coexisted here on planet earth, and evidence that some of them may still be alive today (although rare)

2. The topic of dinosaurs is (by far) one of the most popular topics within Creation vs. Evolution We have all heard the line over and over again when hearing about dinosaurs: “Millions and Millions of years ago” Is that actually true though?

3. History of Dinosaurs Word “Dinosaur coined Believe it or not, the word “dinosaur” is a new word Many words have been around far longer than “Dinosaur” that you would think should come later: “Computer” “Locomotive” “Rocket”

4. All these words were around and used in an 1828 dictionary before the word “Dinosaur” was invented The word “Dinosaur” was added to the dictionary in 1841! The first dinosaur fossil discovered (documented) was in the early 1800s, before that bones had been found in history, but not pieced together like today

5. That would mean if dinosaurs did exist throughout history (because that name recently was created) they would have to be called something else! Dragons Dragons There is overwhelming evidence that dinosaurs throughout history were called dragons, and did exist along side people

6. One line of evidence for dinosaurs and people existing together comes from the many examples of dinosaur drawings or figurines that were made before we ever pieced together the fossils Many people will try to debate these discoveries (because it completely disproves their theory) we will deal with as much as we can in this session

10. These figurines have become the object of great debate, many people think it’s a fraud, and many people think the investigations done showed they weren’t In 1945 Waldemar Julsrud, a German immigrant and archeologist, discovered clay figurines buried at the foot of El Toro Mountain in Mexico.  Eventually over 33,000 ceramic figurines were found near El Toro

11. Similar artifacts found in the area are identified with the Pre-classical Chupicuaro Culture (800 BC to 200 AD) and many claim these figurines are from this time From 1945-1946, Carlos Perea was director of archeology (in this area) for the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City He said the dig was unauthorized, but never questioned it being authentic

12. The Mexican Government sent down four archeologists to investigate, and after excavating a different nearby site, six week down they found similar figurines and conclude that the find was authentic Three weeks later, they changed their minds and said it was a fraud because of the figurines showing man and dinosaurs (This is the reason people claim)

13. In 1955 Charles Hapgood, professor of anthropology at the University of New Hampshire and Earl Stanley Gardner (former district attorney for Los Angeles, CA) also came to investigate the scene They falsified the claim that the figurines were manufactured by excavating under the house of the chief of Police, which was built 25 years before Julsrud arrived in Mexico They found 43 figurines under the house

14. Three radiocarbon tests were performed (Isotopes Incorporated of New Jersey) resulting in dates of 1640 BC, 4530 BC and 1110 BC. Eighteen samples had thermoluminescent testing by the University of Pennsylvania, all of which gave dates of approximately 2500 BC. These results were alter withdrawn when they learned of figurines showing dinosaurs and man (this again is the claim)

15. Other claims have been made in attempts to show this was a fraud We could focus on this topic for an entire class, but we still wouldn’t be able to prove either way with 100% certainty Those who believe in evolution have to reject this find, no matter what

16. Pictures of dragons on the ancient walls of Babylon Why would the Babylonians know what dragons (Dinosaurs) look like if they never had seen them? It’s obviously a reptile like animal

17. The Apocrypha contains two extra chapters in Daniel, and in chapter 14 there is a story of a dragon in Babylon Daniel 14:23-27: “here was a great dragon which the Babylonians worshipped too. The king said to Daniel, 'Are you going to tell me that this is made of bronze? Look, it is alive; it eats and drinks; you cannot deny that this is a living god; worship it, then.‘  Daniel replied, 'I will worship the Lord my God; he is the living God.

18. With your permission, Your Majesty, without using either sword or club, I shall kill this dragon.‘ 'You have my permission,' said the king. Whereupon, Daniel took some pitch, some fat and some hair and boiled them up together, rolled the mixture into balls and fed them to the dragon; the dragon swallowed them and burst. Daniel said, 'Now look at the sort of thing you worship!‘” Not scripture but could be history still

19. Alexander the Great In 330 BC after  Alexander the Great invaded India he brought back reports of seeing a great hissing dragon living in a cave, which people were worshiping as a god. Many similar stories exist from Greeks

20. The Nile mosaic of Palestrina is a late Hellenistic floor mosaic depicting the Nile in its passage from Ethiopia to the Mediterranean. A consensus on the dating of the work is slowly emerging. Paul G. P. Meyboom suggests a date shortly before the reign of Sulla (ca. 100 BC) and treats the mosaic as an early evidence for the spread of Egyptian cults in Italy

25. Why are they drawing dinosaurs along with other real animals? Sauropod PetroglyphHavasupai Canyon in Arizona

26. The Legend of Beowulf Beowulf lived from 495–583 AD. He killed several sea reptiles and a terrestrial dragon called a grendel. He lost his life from wounds received while fighting a flying reptile that may have been a giant pterosaur. 

27. Angkor Wat in Cambodia12th century

28. Romans killing dragons in Egypt

29. Ica stones found in Ica Peru

34. The Ica stones of Peru were brought to light in the first half of the 20th century as a result of the overflowing of the Ica River. This flood caused the eroding of a mountainside, which exposed a cave. The cave had many of these stones in it. There are a total of 16,000 stones in existence. 11,000 were amassed by Dr Javier Cabrera, former professor of medicine at the University of Lima, and displayed in his museum.

35. The piece of pottery (right), displayed in the Museum of the Nation in Lima, Peru (Museo de la Nación), comes from the Moche culture which flourished between A.D. 400 and 1100 and shows a picture of a dragon/dinosaur

36. Bishop Bell, who died in 1496, is buried in the foundation of the famous Carlisle Cathedral. The brass engravings around the grave show several animals, some of which appear to be dinosaurs, like a long-neck sauropod and a horned ceratopsian.

37. Are there dinosaurs alive today? There may still be a few survivors around today, most of which would be in water Loch Ness Monster Thousands of people have seen this monster, that is often described just as a plesiosaurus

38. A strange sea creature, said to resemble the Loch Ness Monster, has been reported off the coast of Cornwall in south-west England according to London’s Daily Mail Many people throughout history have claimed to see this type of monster here

39. Lake Champlain Monster Champ or Champyis the name given to a reputed lake monster living in  Lake Champlain Two Native American tribes living in the area near Lake Champlain, the Iroquois and the Abenaki, had legends about such a creature. The Abenaki called it "Tatoskok  there have been over 300 reported sightings

40. An early account come from French explorer Samuel de Champlain who claimed to have spotted the creature as he was fighting the Iroquois on the bank of the lake The first media-reported sighting came in 1883 when Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney claimed that he had seen a “…gigantic water serpent about 50 yards away”from where he was on the shore.

41. According to his story he was so close that he could see “round white spots inside its mouth” and that “the creature appeared to be about 25 to 30 feet in length”. Mooney’s sighting caused a lot of others to come forward with their stories of seeing Champ. (50 years before the Loch Ness monster debate)

42. Not only have there been hundreds of sightings, laws now protect Champ 1981 — Port Henry, NY declares their waters a safe haven for Champ 1982 — State of Vermont passes a House Resolution protecting Champ 1983 — In New York, both the State Assembly and the State Senate pass resolutions protecting Champ

44. Ogopogois the name given to a lake monster reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, Canada Ogopogo is often described as dark and multi-humped, with green, black, brown or gray skin. The head is said to look like that of a snake, sheep, horse, seal or even an alligator. 

45. For cryptozoologists like John Kirk of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, "The catalogue of films and video of Ogopogo are more numerous and of better quality than anything I have personally seen at Loch Ness and I believe that several of them are very persuasive that a large, living, unknown creature inhabits the lake." There is probably more evidence for this sea monster than any other

46. Over the past 150 years, there have been many reports of sightings, in a remote area of central Africa, of a swamp-dwelling animal known as ‘mokele-mbembe’ The imprints of clawed feet and other trail marks in the jungle around the swamps clearly show evidence of a large, heavy creature that is not a crocodile, hippopotamus or elephant.

47. Witnesses who have seen this monster describe (and draw it) looking like a sauropod dinosaur known to us by its fossil skeletons—similar in shape to a small Apatosaurus You can show the natives pictures of an Apatosaurus and they will identify it as Mokele-mbembe

48. Science has shown dinosaurs lived recently

49. Soft tissue has been found in dinosaur bones! Soft tissue can only survive for 10,000 years

50. We will spend much more time looking at soft tissue discoveries and the debate associated with it when we have our class on biological evolution To finish up, let’s look at what the Bible says (if anything) about dinosaurs. Are there dinosaurs talked about in the Bible? If Genesis 1:20-25 is true, dinosaurs would have to be created on the sixth and fifth day of creation, which means they lived with man