The evolution of creation

We took the kids to Chicago for Spring break several years ago, one of my favorite cities in the world. We covered all of sites and attractions Chicago had to offer, a Cubs game, eat, a cruise on the lake, eat, museums, eat, aquarium, eat, Chinatown, and you guessed, eat. It was a wonderful week.

At the Field Museum, “A T. rex Named SUE” was on display, a 42 foot full-size skeleton cast of a T-Rex dinosaur. Standing at the base of this wonderful creature, brought both terror and wonder. To imagine these animals once roamed the earth 67 million years was difficult to comprehend.

Then God commanded, “Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds.” So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures that live in the water, and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what he saw. He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number. Evening passed and morning came—that was the fifth day.

Then God commanded, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small”—and it was done. So God made them all, and he was pleased with what he saw. – Genesis 1: 20-25

When I returned home, I was telling the other men in my bible study group about our trip. I mentioned seeing the T-Rex and a lawyer in our group, a gentleman in his late seventies who started this gathering twenty-five years ago said very matter-of-factly “Dinosaurs never existed”. At first I thought he was joking, but this man was not known for his levity. I looked across the table at him and asked what he was talking about, sure they existed, new dinosaur bones are being discovered everyday, heck for that matter new species are still being discovered.

The room was quiet, with plates full of eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits and gravy. Everyone was waiting too see where this conversation was going to go. Mr. Lawyer announced that God created the universe in a week, seven days as the Bible details, 10,000 years ago. No where in the Bible are dinosaurs mentioned or referenced, not in any of the creation stories, not as Noah loaded his ark. “Dinosaurs never existed” . I was stunned. I had heard of people that believed this truth but honestly I never thought I would confront one. I looked around the table for support, some reason, some intelligence but found none, just blank faces, faces of people you had to much respect and reverence for this man to argue with him or question his facts or beliefs.

I looked at him and smiled and let it go. What was the point. Thank goodness I didn’t talk about the evolution of man exhibit on display as well, that we evolved from knuckle dragging, butt scratching, ant eating primates.

Do you accept the Bible as a literate truth? Everything? Does faith truly mean the literate acceptance of words and stories written 2,000+ years ago to a people, place and time so different than today?

I know this universe is older than 10,000 years, I know that Dinosaurs existed. The proof is not just in words, it is in front of each of us if our eyes and ours minds are open to the truth.