Genesis Apologetics
Image shows the main hall of the Glendive Dinosaur Fossil Museum
[Originally published as part of the discussion of the California Life Science Jr. High curriculum]
Chapter 8: Evolution Theory–Dinosaur Extinction (P. 295)
To date, secular science has generated hundreds of theories to try to explain when and how the dinosaurs went extinct. Many scientists (including those who wrote the textbook) hypothesize that during the Cretaceous period an asteroid hit Earth near the present day Yucatan Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico. However, there is not even a consensus on this view.
“Despite the popularity of [this] meteorite theory, many scientists believe the extinction of the dinosaurs has not been solved…[but] for most creationists, the extinction of the dinosaurs, as well as other extinctions, is not a mystery. In fact, the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other creatures has an easy answer—they simply died in the Genesis Flood (except those dinosaurs likely taken on the Ark, which probably died soon after the Flood)” (Oard, 1997).
“The Bible says that all things were created during the six-day creation week (Exodus 20:11, etc.), including dinosaurs. The reptilian dinosaurs were (by definition) land animals which were created on Day Six under the category of ‘beast of the earth’ (Genesis 1:24, 25).” (Morris, 1989)
When inspecting dinosaur fossils, “the most obvious aspect of [the] fossils is that most dinosaurs must have been buried rapidly in water” (Oard, 1997). Likewise, the bones are often found in what is called a fossil graveyard, where thousands of dinosaurs (of wide varieties) died and were rapidly buried.
“The existence and characteristics of [these] dinosaur graveyards [provide] strong support for the Genesis Flood” (Oard, 1997). In Genesis,
“God had told Noah to bring pairs of each kind of land animal on board the Ark, including, evidently, the dinosaurs (7:15). Recognizing that, as reptiles, dinosaurs would have continued to grow as long as they lived; implying that the oldest would be the largest, there was plenty of room on board the Ark for the younger ones. Thus the dinosaurs on board the Ark probably would have been young adults, no bigger than a cow perhaps. But the world after the Flood was much different than before, with much less vegetation and a colder, harsher climate, and evidently the dinosaurs gradually died out. Perhaps they were even hunted to extinction, as would be indicated by the many legends of dragons, the descriptions of which closely resemble dinosaurs” (Morris, 1989).
Chapter 8: Radiometric Dating–C-14 Dating, Age of the Earth, Geologic Time Scale (PP. 280-286, 292)
“The alleged age of the Earth is based on an interpretation of its radioactivity. The planet itself is given an age of 4.5 billion years and the various rock layers are given names with assigned ages” (Biddle, p. 83, 2014).
The textbook teaches that scientists can give rocks found on Earth (and Earth itself) an estimate age based on the half-life of radioactive elements. They do this by measuring the ratio of the radioactive parent elements to their respective stable daughter elements.
What is not explained is that radiometric dating requires many assumptions, which means that many things have to be assumed to believe that this dating accurately reflects the age of the earth. For example, there is an assumption that all the radioactive parent isotopes began decaying right when the mineral crystallized from a melt. There is also an assumption made that none of the stable daughter elements were present at this time.
How can anyone claim to know the mineral really began with 100% radioactive parent and 0% daughter elements? What if some stable daughter element was already present when the rock formed? (Biddle, p. 87, 2014).
There have been many occasions where we have seen rocks formed in our lifetime and yet when measured with radiometric age dating, the data indicated it to be thousands if not millions of years old! Rock that was formed in 1959 from the “recent basalt lava [eruption] on the deep ocean floor from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii were measured. Researchers calculated the age of the rocks were up to 22,000,000 years old for brand new rocks!” (Biddle, p. 91, 2014).
If this test shows that “the argon amounts in these rocks [indicate] they are older than their known ages, [could] argon have come from a source other than radioactive potassium decay? If so, then geologists have been trusting a faulty method” (Biddle, p. 92, 2014).
If this shows that rocks which are only 100 years old could be up to 22 million years old, how can radiometric age dating be accurate, especially when used to predict the age of the earth? “Radiometric age dating should no longer be sold to the public as providing reliable absolute ages…[and therefore] the ages shown on the uniformitarian geologic time scale should be removed [since it is based off of an unreliable dating system]” (Biddle, p. 92, 2014).
There are many other examples of faulty radiometric age readings shown in the list below.
Young Volcanic Rocks with Really Old Whole-Rock K-Ar Model Ages
Lava Flow, Rock Type, and Location Year Formed or Known Age [40K-40Ar “Age”]
- Kilauea Iki basalt, Hawaii A.D. 1959 [8,500,000 years]
- Volcanic bomb, Mt. Stromboli, Italy A.D. 1963 [2,400,000 years]
- Mt. Etna basalt, Sicily A.D. 1964 [700,000 years]
- Medicine Lake Highlands obsidian, Glass Mountains, California <500 years [12,600,000 years]
- Hualalai basalt, Hawaii A.D. 1800–1801 [22,800,000 years]
- Mt. St. Helens dacite lava dome, Washington A.D. 1986 [350,000 years
Digging Deeper:
Works cited:
Morris, John D. “How Do the Dinosaurs Fit In?” Acts & Facts 18.5 (1989): n. pag. Institute for Creation Research. Web. 28 June 2014.
Oard, Michael J. “The Extinction of the Dinosaurs.” Journal of Creation 11.2 (1997): 137-54. Answers in Genesis. Web. 28 June 2014.
Sigler, Roger. “The Age of the Earth, Dating Methods, and Evolution.” Creation V. Evolution. Ed. Daniel A. Biddle. N.p.: Xulon, 2014. 83+. Print.
Videos
Dinosaur and Dragon Legends Video: https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/animals/dino-dragon-legends/
Dinosaurs and the Bible Video: https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/animals/dinosaurs-and-bible/
Dinosaurs and Humans Video: https://www.icr.org/content/taf33
Geologic time scale video: https://answersingenesis.org/geology/geologic-time-scale/
Radiometric age dating video: https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/age-of-the-earth/carbon-14-disprove-bible/
Radiometric age dating and the age of the Earth video: https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/age-of-the-earth/radiometric-dating-prove-earth-old/
Why shouldn’t Christians accept millions of year’s video: https://answersingenesis.org/media/video/age-of-the-earth/christians-accept-millions-years/
Articles
https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/extinction/the-extinction-of-the-dinosaurs/ Oard
https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/when-did-dinosaurs-live/what-really-happened-to-the-dinosaurs/
http://www.icr.org/article/how-do-dinosaurs-fit-in/
http://www.icr.org/article/did-dinosaurs-survive-flood/
http://www.icr.org/creation-radiometric/
https://answersingenesis.org/geology/radiometric-dating/radiometric-dating-and-proof/
