Did Dinosaurs Really Exist?
Conspiracy to Sell Kids Toys or Jurassic Park For Real?
decide who has the best argument
Read & Vote Below!
Pro-Dino Argument
John Santrock
Middle School Pastor - Georgetown
Unlicensed Paleontologist
Dinosaurs did in fact exist, but even more importantly, I want to prove…dinosaurs MUST have existed. Let’s begin, and let’s start with the Bible.
In Genesis 1:25 we read, “God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Outside of small animals, livestock, and wild animals, we aren’t given specific names. Why is this important? Some may say, dinosaurs didn’t exist because they aren’t specifically mentioned. But by that logic, neither would tigers, monkeys, cats, giraffes, or tons of others, yet we still know they exist!
The Bible never uses the word “dinosaur,” instead, it uses the Hebrew word tanniyn (תנין), which is translated a few different ways. Sometimes it’s “sea monster”, “serpent” or “dragon.” But the tanniyn seem to have been some type of giant reptile, mentioned nearly 30 times in the Old Testament, and were found both on land and in the water.
Let me take us deeper… Here’s some creatures in the Bible that rarely get talked about. In multiple references (Job 41:1-33, Psalm 74:14,104:24-25, Isaiah 27:1) we meet the Leviathan, a terrifying sea creature, with impenetrable scales, fearsome teeth, and can break iron like straw. Or what about the Behemoth (Job 40:15-24) said to be the mightiest of all God’s creatures, a giant whose tail swings like a cedar tree and whose strength is unstoppable. Not to mention the countless times dragons are talked about in Revelation.
Now, that isn’t proof that dinosaurs existed, just that they could have. So what proof do we have? I could point you towards countless museums that have all kinds of artifacts, fossils, teeth, and claws. In the world right now, we have the complete skeletons of over 3000 dinosaurs. Do we really think that trained, professional archeologists made up those discoveries? Or what about the fact that nearly every major ancient civilization had artwork and legends about giant reptiles. Did these civilizations, continents apart, all make up myths of similar giant reptilian creatures?
It seems clear that dinosaurs did in fact exist, so what happened to them? Were they wiped out by a meteor? The ice age? Did they miss the memo to get on Noah’s Ark before God flooded the earth? Possibly… I’m no expert. While I have spent a whole two hours researching the information for this article, the real point of my argument is this… dinosaurs MUST have existed.
Here’s what I mean, dinosaurs – real or fake – are cool!
Dinosaurs have led to some of the best cinematic content out there. Think about blockbuster movies like “Jurassic Park…I, II, III”, or “Jurassic World...I, II, III”” (thanks Chris Pratt). Or loveable kid movies like “The Good Dinosaur” by PIXAR and the iconic “The Land Before Time”, or – heck – what about everyone’s favorite purple and green TV dino: “Barney”!
Seeing a dinosaur on TV was life-changing for me growing up. I remember running around in dinosaur pj’s. I remember dressing up a dinosaur for Halloween, multiple times. I remember begging my mom to buy every dinosaur toy in Walmart. I remember being bored to death by museums…unless there was a dinosaur exhibit (WOAH! T-Rex claw!)
And it turns out, I wasn’t the only kid like this! In fact, when I serve in our Children’s ministry here at Southland, I still see kids wearing clothes with dinosaurs on them. When I helped out at a Trunk or Treat this past Halloween, I saw at least a dozen kids dressed up as dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs must have existed, because they are so cool and meaningful to kids! I can’t imagine what my childhood would have been like if my tiny little kid brain was told that dinosaurs never existed.
I rest my case, dinosaurs MUST have existed…our future kids’ childhoods depend on it!
Anti-Dino argument
Hannah Thomas
Students Creative Pastor
Amateur Paleontology Debunker
Years ago, my parents took my brother and I to a Kentucky state park. This park had a small museum and a huge walking trail that advertised dinosaur fossils as far as the eye could see. As we set off on the walking trail, I remember the exhilarating rush of potentially seeing real life dinosaur bones! With the cool spring breeze settling in and a backpack full of snacks, I was ready for my Jurassic Park adventure. My expectations were crushed less than a mile into the trail. There wasn’t a dinosaur bone in sight. When we reached the end of the trail, I realized that I had willingly walked three whole miles that were strikingly fossil-less. With incredibly low morale, I trudged back to the car, wondering if dinosaurs actually existed or not.
We all love a good dinosaur here and there. Dinosaurs have always been an inherent staple of modern day culture, from kids’ toys to movies. Especially movies. I mean, you’ve got Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Jurassic Park III…I’ll stop there, but you get the picture. Ever notice how depictions of dinosaurs are contained strictly to fictional works? Dinosaurs are fake. In fact, I don’t believe that they even existed. And yes, by saying this, I’m acknowledging that I’m fulfilling the unfortunate role of being a childhood dream crusher (I was *that* kid in the neighborhood who ruined the tooth fairy for all my peers).
I want to preface by saying that I don’t doubt that the God of the universe is capable of creating dinosaurs. Let’s face it, the guy’s the ultimate genius. But I firmly believe that dinosaurs are a result of a few people reading into paleontology a little too much.
You may be sitting here reading this thinking, “Hannah…the Bible literally talks about dinosaurs. So you’re wrong.” In my opinion, it is safe to say that these so-called “dinosaurs” mentioned in the Bible are actually creatures that live among us today! Most people point to the book of Job for proof of dinosaurs. “Look now at the behemoth,which I made along with you; he eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, and his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.” Job 40:15-17. The rest of the passage (verses 18-24) continue to describe this “behemoth” in detail, noting its strength, size, and even where it sleeps. However, if you look at the dictionary definition of a “behemoth”, it is described as “a huge and monstrous creature.” This passage in Job as well as the very definition of a behemoth could merely be pointing to an animal akin to a giraffe or an elephant (equally as delightful, but less exciting than a dinosaur). Furthermore, the references to the “leviathan” in the Old Testament (Psalm 74:14, Psalm 104:26, and Isaiah 27:1) seem to illustrate some type of large sea creature similar to a whale.
Additionally, the Hebrew word “tanniyn” or “tannin” is used to either describe whales (i.e., on the fifth day of creation, “God created birds and fish”, tannin used for fish in the original translations) or as a metaphor for ancient kings and rulers (i.e., Pharaoh in Ezekiel 29:3). Furthermore, in modern day Hebrew, the word “tannin” also means crocodile.
Furthermore, “fossils” are just downright sketchy. Most of the dinosaur skeletons you see in museums today take excavated fossils and piece them together with replica parts to create our beloved T-Rexes and Triceratops. In a Chicago museum, the T-Rex on display is considered the most complete T-Rex discovery; however, 130 out of its 380 bones were missing. That’s a lot of missing bones for a “complete” skeleton!
To conclude my argument, just because I believe that dinosaurs aren’t real doesn’t mean that you have to. But if you do, you’re just wrong. The facts say otherwise, and it’s up to you if you want to continue to deceive the children of the world or tell them the truth.