5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

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.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I saw my husband looking at naked pictures online.  Is that wrong?  I did get mad.  I believe this is as bad as porn.

Sincerely,
Jealous Wife

Dear Jealous Wife,

Yes, it is wrong!  ‘Pornography’ is defined as ‘printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity’.  What your husband was doing was sinful (Matt 5:28), and you have every right to be mad.  Marriage is intended by God to be between one man and one woman (Gen 2:24), and pornography plants the seeds of adultery within the heart of a spouse.

I belong to a rather large family.  Like with many families, my family has the 'A' side and the 'B' side.  In other words, one part of the family thinks very little of the other part of the family.  I happen to be on the 'B' side, the one that is looked down upon.  The 'A' side has begun organizing a family reunion.  Experience has taught me that they take our kindness for weakness.  They have us bring an obscene amount of food each event, they bring little or nothing, and then they dictate how the food will be disbursed.  There is always conflict.  I know this all sounds silly, but I would like to avoid the foolishness this year.  Would it be wrong of me (in the eyes of God) to send my portion to the reunion, but not attend?

Sincerely,
Fed Up… But Hungry

Dear Fed Up… But Hungry,

Whether or not you go to your family reunion is a matter of preference and wisdom, but it isn’t a sin issue.  God tells us that we must honor our father and mother (Eph 6:2), but that requirement does not extend to the rest of your relatives.  You must always be kind and decent to everyone (1 Thess 3:12), but that doesn’t mean you need to go to every shindig that your family puts together.  Jesus recognized that family ties often are the most difficult (Matt 13:55-57).  Jesus’ brothers were some of the last to believe He was the Messiah (John 7:5).  There were times where even Christ had a strained relationship with his family members.  The key is to be faithful to God and loving to others at all times (Matt 22:37-39).  Avoid bitterness at all costs (Eph 4:31) and seek to prayerfully do what is wise (Jas 1:5).  There is no right or wrong choice in this circumstance… only right and wrong attitudes.