What happened before Adam and Eve?  Why doesn't the Bible really take into account dinosaurs?  Or is it in the book of Job?  There are dinosaur fossils, yet no man fossils 6.5 million years ago.  Or is carbon dating incorrect?  I need help… I’m a saved and baptized man.  I just don’t understand this one little thing, yet I know there is an answer.

Sincerely,
Dino Doubts

Dear Dino Doubts,

The world existed for five days before God made Adam and Eve on day six (Gen 1:27).  Aquatic dinosaurs were created on the fifth day (Gen 1:21-23), and land dinosaurs were created on day six (Gen 1:25).

The Bible does mention dinosaur-like animals in Job chapters 40 and 41.  If you read the description of the Behemoth and the Leviathan found in those chapters, you should see the similarities between them and the dinosaur fossils that have been found.  For further information on dinosaurs, read the posts “Jurassic Parks & Rec” and “DINOSAURS!!!”.

As for carbon dating, all half-life dating methods are based off of several assumptions.  One assumption is that the levels of carbon-14 and other isotopes have been the same throughout history.  We know this to be false because we have seen fluctuations in carbon levels even within our recent recorded history.  The second assumption is that all fossils and rocks form and degrade at a uniform rate – this also is not true.  Mt. St. Helens’ eruption in 1981 formed rocks in hours that were subsequently dated as millions of years old!  Carbon dating is a system that is based upon evolutionary assumptions.  It isn’t that the math is wrong – it is that the assumptions behind the math are wrong.  You may also find the posts “Atheism-Colored Glasses” and “A Flood of Fossils” useful.

Where in the Bible does it say that an animal that hurts a person should be killed?

Sincerely,
My Dog Got Lead Poisoning

Dear My Dog Got Lead Poisoning,

You are probably thinking of the Old Testament law that commanded an ox to be put to death if it gored someone.  That verse is found in Ex 21:28-32.  Though not strictly applicable to christians today because we live under the New Testament, the Old Testament laws are holy and good (Rom 7:12) and can serve as a good rule of thumb for how to deal with violent animals today.

Why did God require blood sacrifice?

Sincerely,
Seeing Red

Dear Seeing Red,

Blood sacrifices taught the Jewish people something about the cost of sin.  The Old Testament was designed to prepare people for Christ’s coming (Gal 3:23-24).  The blood of the bulls and goats that were killed as sin offerings never paid the price of sin (Heb 10:4).  However, by making those sacrifices, Israel learned that all sin must be paid for with blood.  Eventually, Christ came and paid for our sins with His blood (1 Pet 1:18-19) – the blood of God.  All those animal sacrifices prepared Israel to see and understand what Jesus’ crucifixion meant.  He was the true sacrificial lamb (Jhn 1:29).  The Old Testament sacrifices were a shadow of the things to come (Heb 10:1).

In Judges 11:29-40, Jephthah made a vow that he would sacrifice whatever came from his house when he arrived.  His daughter came out to greet him.  Did he actually sacrifice his daughter, or did he not?  I think that he could get out of the vow because it involved human sacrifice, and according to God, that would be an abomination to Him.  What say you?  I refer you to Lev 5:4-6.

Sincerely,
Back Away From The Torch

Dear Back Away From The Torch,

Your Lev 5:4-6 reference is spot on.  We will deal with whether or not Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter in a moment, but first, we need to be clear that no matter what Jephthah did – God doesn’t condone human sacrifice (Deu 18:10).  God makes it quite apparent that human life is sacred, and murderers will not be tolerated (Num 35:31).  The Old Testament is full of people who made both good and bad decisions… the book of Judges is no exception.  Judges tells the history of what actually happened; it doesn’t necessarily condone it.

With that said, let’s look at the story of Jephthah.  Jephthah made a rash vow that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering whatever came out of his house first (Judg 11:30-31).  Jephthah was a faithful man and is even recorded in the New Testament for his faith (Heb 11:32).  However, in this circumstance, Jephthah made a very rash decision because the first thing to come out of his house was his daughter (Judg 11:34-35).  All but one verse points toward Jephthah sacrificing his daughter – especially the ominous tone of Judg 11:39.

There is only one argument that we know of that gives credence to her not being sacrificed.  In Judg 11:37, Jephthah’s daughter asks for time to mourn over the fact that she would always be a virgin.  The argument can be made that because she was mourning over the fact she would never marry, she was placed into temple service – similar to Samuel (1 Sam 1:11).

We believe (now we get into opinion) that the best explanation of that passage is that Jephthah did offer his daughter as a burnt offering… exactly as he had vowed.  The fact that Jephthah’s daughter mourned over never being able to marry doesn’t mean she wasn’t put to death.  Marriage is one of the greatest dreams a young woman has.  Her life being cut short destroyed that dream.  Jephthah was wrong to sacrifice her, but he did it nonetheless.

I know as believers under the New Covenant that we are no longer bound by the law.  But, besides making disciples of all the nations, I think our Jesus-given mission is to live a holy life… obeying, as well as we can, the law out of love and appreciation for our salvation and to generally set the example of a life given to Christ.  With that said, Jesus told us that the greatest command was to love God with all we have and to love others as ourselves.  That command given by Jesus would closely fulfill the Ten Commandments.  But what about Levitical laws?  What commands outside of the Ten do we need to observe?  Where is the line if there is one?  And, for that matter, is any command in the Old Testament outside of the Ten important?  Please don't get me wrong, I know we are saved by grace, and no matter how many laws we obey, we could never work our way to salvation.  I am not trying to save myself; I just want to know what commands we are advised to obey in the Old Testament.  I just want to give my entire life to God, but I don't know where to start.  What commands does God still like to see from us under the New Covenant?

Sincerely,
A New Believer

Dear A New Believer,

We don’t need to obey any of the Old Testament laws unless they are repeated in the New Testament.  Even the Ten Commandments no longer apply… except for the fact that nine out of the ten are repeated in the New Testament (the only one left out is to “keep the Sabbath holy” – see “The Nine Commandments” post for further details).

The Old Testament was a law given to the nation of Israel (Lev 26:46).  Though many of those laws were appropriate to reiterate in the New Testament (i.e. laws against murder, idolatry, etc.), the Old Testament has been put away by the blood of Christ (Col 2:14).  Today, we look to the Old Testament for examples of godly (and ungodly) people.  Paul says that the books of the Old Testament are written down as examples for us (1 Cor 10:6-11).  We don’t follow the same rules as David, Isaiah, Daniel, etc., but we can learn from their lives and follow their examples.