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Part 4 of 4:

Creation of the Dinosaurs

(On which Day of Creation?)

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By Henry Awad

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St. Monica: Apologetics Series on Origins

ACTS 3056: Scientific Apologetics

ACTS new course this FALL: ACTS 3056: Scientific Apologetics

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Course Description:

This course will discuss the fundamental concepts of Scientific Apologetics, which includes the historical connection between Christianity and science and the basic principles of reason and logic. This course will also explore the relationship between Scripture and science by utilizing the concept of Dual Revelation. In addition, we will explore the scientific topics of biblical inerrancy, life of the mind, earth’s age of creation, creation models, Noah’s Flood, radiocarbon dating, origin of life, biochemical designs, pseudogenes, evolution of life, Image of God, and human origins.

Limitations of Apologetics: (Faith before Wisdom)

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3: 11).

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“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1: 5 – 6).

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“PRAY without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

INTRODUCTION:��How Long is a Creation Day?

How long is a Creation Day (yôm)?

• In fact, the principle behind Old-Earth Creationism is based on the Hebrew noun yôm, translated “day” in Genesis 1, referring to the days of creation.
• In biblical Hebrew (classical Hebrew), most words have multiple definitions and usages because of the limited vocabulary of this archaic Hebrew language.
• Yôm could refer to any of the following four distinct time periods:
• A portion of the daylight hours, such as noon to 3pm.
• The entire daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, 12 hours long.
• A 24-hour time period (Young-Earth Creationism – YEC).
• A long but finite time period (Old-Earth Creationism – OEC).

How long is a Creation Day (yôm)?

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Three of these four definitions are used in the seven creation days:

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1. Definition #2 (12 hours long) could be used in Genesis 1:5, “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.”

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• Definition #3 (24 hours long) could be used in Genesis 1:14, “Let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.”

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• Def. #4 (long but finite time period) could be used in Genesis 2:4, “This is the history [“toledoth,” which is Hebrew for ‘generations’] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”

How long is a Creation Day (yôm)?

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• Here, the term ‘day’ (yôm) is literally translated to ‘generations’ in Hebrew and refers to all six creation days which is a time period that is evidently longer than 24 hours. A single generation is the average period of about 20–⁠30 years long.

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• Thus, yôm in the biblical context, can mean “time” (Gen. 4:3, Is. 30:8); “years” (1 Kings 1:1, 2 Chronicles 21:19); “ages” (Gen. 18:11, Joshua 23:1-2); “always” (Deuteronomy 5:29, 2 Chronicles 18:7); and “seasons” (Gen. 40:4, Joshua 24:7).

How long is a Creation Day (yôm)?

• ZECHARIAH 14: 8 (Days = Seasons)

“And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer & winter it shall occur.”

• 2 PETER 3: 8 (Days = Years)

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

• GENESIS 2: 4 (Days = Generations)

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD GOD made the earth and the heavens.”

DAY 5��(Life)

Day 5 = Genesis 1: 20 – 23

“Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So, God created (bara) great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So, the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

God Created�Out of Nothing!�(Creation Ex Nihilo)

…God Created (Bara) (Creation Ex Nihilo)

• The word CREATED translated in Hebrew is Bara, creating something new that has never existed before (ex nihilo).

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• In the Hebrew context, it is always used for referring to only God, meaning that only God can “bara.”

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• Hebrew linguists say, “the word also possesses the meaning of ‘bringing into existence,’ the concept of ‘initiating something new’ (ex nihilo – out of nothing).”

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• Christian scholars through the ages have taken this description, along with many other passages throughout Scripture, to develop the doctrine of creation ex nihilo.

…God Created (Bara) (Genesis One)

God could have used a variety of other terms instead of “bara”:

1. asa, asah, yasar, yatsa, yatsar, bana (make, produce, fashion, execute, manufacture, molding, or reshaping)
2. haya, hayah, hayya (existed, become, come about, or bring forth)
3. dasha, desha (grow, flourish, sprout, unguided process)

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God uses the term “bara” in Genesis 3 times:

1. Genesis 1:1 (…created the heavens and the earth)
2. Genesis 1:21 (…created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves)
3. Genesis 1:27 (…created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him)

DAY 5: What about the Dinosaurs?

So where do the dinosaurs fit in all of this?

• Dinosaurs appeared around 250 to 65 million years ago and were most likely created on the fifth day of creation.

Why aren’t dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?

• Some Christians interpret the “behemoth” and “leviathan” mentioned in Job 40–41 as referring to dinosaurs.
• This view assumes that humanity lived at the same time as dinosaurs. However, dinosaurs went extinct long before humanity entered the scene. Therefore, the behemoth and leviathan mentioned in Job most likely refer to the hippopotamus and crocodile, respectively.

• Other Christians believe that they died at the time of Noah, during the great flood.

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• However, this doesn’t explain why the aquatic dinosaurs disappeared since they would have survived the great flood. This is the reason why we still see whales today.

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• Rather, it makes more logical sense that all dinosaurs vanished during the tumultuous development of Earth when many other species went extinct as well.

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• Since dinosaurs did not exist with humans, there would be no reason to mention them. Also, the bible doesn’t mention every animal that has ever existed. Furthermore, God’s Scriptural purpose is salvation to mankind, not to animals.

3) Day 5 = Psalm 104: 19 – 23�(Predation is Painful, NOT Evil)

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“He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey And seek their food from God. When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening.”

Day 5 = Psalm 104: 27 – 30 (mass extinctions)

“These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand; they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.”

DAY 5: Mass Extinctions

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“You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth” (verses 29-30).

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• As Psalm 104 explains, God could have re-created new species as they died off based on changes in Earth’s physics, geology, chemistry, bio-deposits, and biology.

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• In fact, many factors work to limit large animals' capacity for natural-process change. These same factors make large animals especially vulnerable to rapid extinction.

“You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth” (verses 29-30).

The seven most significant factors are these:

1. Their relatively small population levels.
2. Their long generation spans (the time between birth and the ability to give birth).
3. Their low numbers of progeny produced per adult.
4. Their high complexity of morphology and biochemistry.
5. Their enormous body sizes.
6. Their specialized food supplies.
7. Their relatively advanced cultural and social structures.

• These factors limit the capacity of animals not only to change through natural selection and mutations, but also to adapt to environmental changes.
• Thus, a species needs an enormous population, a short generation time, and a small body size if it's to survive long enough to benefit from mutations. Harmful mutations and environmental stresses drive most animal species to extinction.
• Mathematical models indicate that a species capable of significant evolutionary advance rather than doomed to eventual extinction, must have a population of one quadrillion individuals, a generation time of three months, and a body size of one centimeter.
• These conclusions are confirmed by field observations.

Genesis offers this explanation for the survival of large animals:

• God repeatedly replaced extinct species with new ones. In most cases, the new species were different from the previous ones because God was changing Earth's geology, biodeposits, and biology, step by step, in preparation for His ultimate creation on Earth—the human race.
• The many "transitional" forms seen in the fossil record suggest that God performed more than just a few creative acts here and there, letting natural evolution fill in the rest. Rather, God was involved and active in creation of new species.
• Therefore, God the Creator, could have reintroduced various kinds of creatures at various times to prepare the perfection condition for mankind (dinosaur bio-deposits give us oil for civilization).

DAY 5: Mass Extinctions

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• We must remember that God is preparing the world and animals, step-by-step, for His ultimate crown of creation, humanity (day 6). God could have had mass extinctions or multiple creative acts on the way to creating humans.

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• What God performs leading up to man’s existence is for the aim of salvific purpose for humanity, not for scientific comprehension and clarification.

Any Questions??? (Conclusion)

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+�LET’S

PRAY!