How does the Bible explain dinosaurs and all the other prehistoric fossils we have?  Isn't evolution the only answer?

 

Sincerely,
Brontosaurus Or Bust

Dear Brontosaurus Or Bust,

Dinosaurs would have been created on day six like all the other land animals (Gen 1:24-25).  They also would have been brought onto Noah’s ark along with the other animal pairs (Gen 6:19).  In fact, the book of Job mentions two beasts referred to as the ‘Behemoth’ and the ‘Leviathan’ that sound an awful lot like dinosaurs (Job 40 & 41).

Evolution isn’t the only answer for the dinosaurs’ disappearance; natural extinction is also an answer.  The dinosaurs, just like the dodo bird, could have just as easily gone extinct through natural processes after the Flood.

Fossils are also easily explained using the Flood.  Fossils are most often formed when things are rapidly buried in mineral-rich sediment.  Fossils occur in cataclysmic or catastrophic circumstances.  The Noachian Flood is a perfect scenario for the creation of fossils.  In fact, there are a great many creation scientists that think that most of the fossils we have today were laid down in the Great Flood.  Dinosaurs can easily be explained through the Bible story – a story which does not include evolution.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

Who did Adam and Eve's children marry?

 

Sincerely,
My Family’s Not That Close

Dear My Family’s Not That Close,

They married each other.  Adam and Eve were the only people God created on day six (Gen 1:27, Gen 2:25).  Adam and Eve were given the command to “go forth and multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28).  Since there was only the two of them in the beginning, their children had to marry each other.  Of course, this makes us think about incest and the problems with marrying people that you are too closely related to, but those were not applicable to the people during the initial years after creation.

Incest is only wrong because God says it is wrong, and He never condemned the practice until well after the Flood (Lev 18:6-18).  It was perfectly appropriate (and necessary!) for people to marry their close relations during early Earth history.  It was also perfectly safe because there was no worry about the genetic problems that we face today.  Today, when people marry someone that is too closely related to themselves, there is a risk of emphasizing genetic defects in the next generation – such as the infamous cases of hemophilia found amongst European royalty.  This wouldn’t have been a problem for the earliest generations of mankind.  In the beginning, Adam and Eve were perfect and without any genetic flaws whatsoever (Gen 1:31).  Therefore, there was no risk for them or for the generations that closely followed them of spreading a genetic flaw.  So yes, as strange as it may seem, Adam and Eve’s children married each other.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

I am a christian, but there is one thing I've always been confused about. Hundreds of times throughout the Bible (Old and New Testaments) we are told to "fear the Lord" (Some examples are Deu 10:20, Ps 2:11, Ps 112:1, and Eccl 3:14), but then in certain passages it says that if God lives in you, there is no fear (like 1 Jn 4:18).  This seems to be terribly contradictory and confusing.  Can you explain it to me, please?

 

Sincerely,
Panic Attack

Dear Panic Attack,

The word ‘fear’ is used in two senses throughout the Bible.  ‘Fear’ is sometimes used to mean ‘terror and dread’.  This can easily be seen in the verses like Heb 13:6 and Acts 16:29.  This is the way we use the word ‘fear’ in our modern speech.  However, there is a second distinctly different meaning for ‘fear’.  ‘Fear’ can also refer to ‘respect and reverence’.  When God tells a woman to fear her husband – that means to respect him (Eph 5:33).  It wouldn’t make sense for God to command a wife to be terrified or to dread her husband.  This is also what is meant when God commands servants to fear their masters (1 Pet 2:18).

When God tells us to fear Him, He means that we should revere and honor Him above all others (1 Pet 2:17).  We should never forget that God is in control and mightier than us; those who forget to respect and revere God will be condemned (Rom 3:16-18).

However, when we turn to God and devote ourselves in love to Him, we no longer need to fear Him as our enemy.  When we love God and draw near to Him, He draws near to us (Jas 4:8).  We can now approach God as our Father (Rom 8:15).  As we perfect our love for God, we need no longer tremble in terror (which is one type of fear) because our respect and reverence (another type of fear) for our Heavenly Father has allowed us to boldly approach Him without fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:16-18).