# Religion - how do the religions explain dinosaurs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 25, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615 "2013-09-25T02:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/41 "2013-09-25T16:35:48Z")
I’m 52, and went to Catholic schools from 1966-1979. Every science course I ever took (including several taught by nuns) taught Darwinian evolution. Heck, in 5th grade, we re-enacted the Scopes trial, and by then, all of us “knew” that William Jennings Bryan was the “bad guy.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/42 "2013-09-25T17:09:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s also not a good comparison, given that “humans” are a single species and “dinosaurs” were a large group of species. A more equal comparison would be comparing dinosaurs to _mammals;_ and mammals were around back then and are still going strong. Indeed. You know how you see Tyrannosauruses Rex chowing down on their “fellow dinosaurs,” those peaceful Brontosauruses (Apatosaurus)? Well they’d have an easier eating humans as the time difference between T. Rex and humans is smaller than that between T. Rex and Apatosaurus (and I’m not talking about Marc Bolan). ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/43 "2013-09-25T17:22:22Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Has anyone else heard this, and do other religions buy into the “man from ape” theory? Because if that’s true, you might as well toss out both the OT and NT completely, as well as the Koran and any other religious “record”. If we all evolved from apes, then the bible is flat out nonsense on every level, stories told to make people understand why they are here when no other information was available to explain it. Out of curiosity, have you ever read the Bible? Do you know or care what it contains? Arbitrary declarations that a book is “flat out nonsense”, offered by someone who hasn’t read that book, are unlikely to convince anyone of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/44 "2013-09-25T17:23:08Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I should have known that this would not be taken seriously, but it was meant to be serious. > > I have no idea, for example, what Muslims believe on the origins of man on Earth. do they believe in a story similar to Adam and Eve? I honestly don’t know. But they believe in one god, correct? Not “a story similar”, they consider the Bible as being part of their set of Holy Books; Adam, Eve and so forth are part of their creation myth. Another name for Arabs is Ismaelites - the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son by Sarah’s slave. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/45 "2013-09-25T17:32:46Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think one problem that may be contributing to the OP’s confusion is that there are lots of Catholics who do reject the idea of Evolution by Natural Selection. My mother would be one. I know, I’ve had to argue with people like that, and South Park seems to think creationism is dogma :rolleyes:. Here’s a study ([pdf](http://www-personal.umich.edu/~evansem/JCC_Pol_Evans.pdf)) on the differences between some major religions. RCC ranks with e.g. agnosticism on many of the metrics. It’s about general trends though, not that one given individual is expected to believe a certain way. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Missed the edit window… And if Catholics, who represent at least 25% of Americans and more than that if we consider only religious Americans, would just adhere to the teachings of the Church on this matter, much of this Creationism nonsense would become the minority view that it should be. While one individual may be very vocal, creationism is rarely an issue in New Jersey or Rhode Island. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/46 "2013-09-25T17:36:53Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Out of curiosity, have you ever read the Bible? Do you know or care what it contains? > > Arbitrary declarations that a book is “flat out nonsense”, offered by someone who hasn’t read that book, are unlikely to convince anyone of anything. It really depends on your definition of nonsense, anyway, right? I mean, if the Adam & Eve story is meant to tell us something about human nature and our relationship to God, and not the literal fact of what we came from, maybe it’s not nonsense at all. I mean, if you look at it as a scientific piece they yes, it’s wrong, but it can still have something to say in a philosophical sense. Philosophy isn’t nonsense, it’s just not necessarily science. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/47 "2013-09-25T18:22:37Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > Yeah, I agree with that. The Catholics who get in bed with the fundamentalists on this kind of thing are weird to me…haven’t they ever been told the Pope is the antichrist by these types? It doesn’t help that they get told the same crap about “what Christians believe” as the OP. So, if they don’t actually investigate what the official teachings are, they just assume its what the mass media tells them. After all, it’s not like evolution is going to be a common homily subject. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/48 "2013-09-25T21:39:50Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But I once read a [Jack Chick comic book](http://www.chick.com/catalog/comics/0107.asp) where one of the discoverers of the remains of Noah’s Ark says, “I found a room big enough for dinosaurs!” I guess they died **later.** > > BTW: I recall a _Far Side_ cartoon: NOAH: “So much for the unicorns! From now on, all carnivores will be confined to ‘C’ deck!” :mad: How did Noah get the kangaroos and polar bears to come to the ark, or vice versa? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/49 "2013-09-25T21:45:32Z")
> [@Unpronounceable](#): > > It doesn’t help that they get told the same crap about “what Christians believe” as the OP. So, if they don’t actually investigate what the official teachings are, they just assume its what the mass media tells them. “What Christians believe” is what the _actual Christians_ believe; not what the official teachings are. The mass media may well be closer to the “facts on the ground” on that subject. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/50 "2013-09-25T23:14:10Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > The accepted Judeo-Christian religious model basically states that man was made in Gods image > [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > The premise that god created man in his image is wrong, then. It is more correct to say that he created Apes in his image, and we just happened to evolve from apes. And since apes no doubt evolved from something, maybe THATS what god created in his image. I think this is a point that hasn’t really been addressed. What does it mean that humans were made in God’s image? This has been discussed and debated by religious people, and there isn’t a universally agreed-upon explanation or consensus. (I searched a bit to see if I could find a thread or other link where this had been satisfyingly discussed, but couldn’t find one I liked.) What do _you_ think it means, and why do you think it’s incompatible with evolution? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/51 "2013-09-25T23:29:12Z")
The thing-that-makes-humans-different-from-animals, the soul, if you will - that is the part of us made in the image of god, not the physical form. Or so I understand it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/52 "2013-09-26T00:04:31Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > How did Noah get the kangaroos and polar bears to come to the ark, or vice versa? The Earth wasn’t flooded instantly, and it didn’t dry out instantly. Noah sailed around the world (it was much smaller then, having been emptied of its internal water) and picked up and later dropped off the species from outside the Middle East. Duh. I’ve never heard a Creationist say that. If one starts saying it you can thank me. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/53 "2013-09-26T00:13:00Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > Out of curiosity, have you ever read the Bible? Do you know or care what it contains? > > Arbitrary declarations that a book is “flat out nonsense”, offered by someone who hasn’t read that book, are unlikely to convince anyone of anything. I have. I confess, I don’t understand much if it. I was born into a Protestant family, but religion was not a priority at all. In fact, there has been some debate lately in my family (well, I’ve asked the questions, and folks aren’t sure of the real answer) about what our actual family religious history is… Possibly Jewish, changed pre-WWII to catholic when the family immigrated to the US, but that was changed somewhere along the line took before my parents came along. Religion has always been a curiosity to me, so I’ve tried to learn what I can from asking questions and reading, but to be honest, I lost complete interest in my early 20’s when a roommate of mine was a born again Christian (I’m not sure what he called himself, but that’s what I would call it) who would argue with me about everything, and told me I was going to hell. He believed in the bible. Literally. I didn’t understand him then, and i don’t understand him now. I haven’t re-read the bible from cover to cover in over 20 years, but occasionally I’ll read something in it. I find these types of conversations more beneficial because 1) anonymous posters are more likely to be honest and tell me what they really believe, 2) when its kept civil, people don’t feel insulted or personally attacked when someone says something they don’t agree with, 3) personal relationships are unharmed because of the relative anonymity of this board. I honestly have no religious identity. I believe what I believe. But I ask questions like the OP because I am genuinely interested in the answer. The roommate I mentioned did not believe in evolution. My best friend, who was a Baptist (I believe) ALSO doesn’t believe in evolution, and he’s one of the smartest people I know. I simply find this topic something I can’t discuss in my real life because of my admitted ignorance on the subject, and other people’s fervor on any particular topic. Most people I have spoken to IRL feel like if they haven’t convinced me, they’ve failed. No one out here has to do that. You can just say what you think or believe and I get to digest it all. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think this is a point that hasn’t really been addressed. What does it mean that humans were made in God’s image? This has been discussed and debated by religious people, and there isn’t a universally agreed-upon explanation or consensus. (I searched a bit to see if I could find a thread or other link where this had been satisfyingly discussed, but couldn’t find one I liked.) > > What do _you_ think it means, and why do you think it’s incompatible with evolution? I don’t know what that phrase means. Taken literally, I suppose God looks like us, or Jesus was a fair representation. However, I personally don’t know how one is supposed to interpret that phrase. “Man being created in gods image”… Sounds like a visual reference, but could also mean the existence of a soul. Or a thousand other things. Thank you all for the links and the feedback. I have really been enlightened by the information regarding RCC and evolution, especially. One thing I truly don’t grasp is the idea of a soul and why an animal couldn’t have one. I know it permits the separation of humans from everything else, and that sort of thing would require divine intervention to provide, I guess, but I’ve never seen a soul, nor has anyone else. And everyone’s explanation of what it is exactly is different. But since the RCC and other churches have “ok’ed” the idea of evolution because it doesn’t include the soul, I guess it still makes everything fit. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/54 "2013-09-26T00:28:18Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Indeed. You know how you see Tyrannosauruses Rex chowing down on their “fellow dinosaurs,” those peaceful Brontosauruses (Apatosaurus)? Well they’d have an easier eating humans as the time difference between T. Rex and humans is smaller than that between T. Rex and Apatosaurus (and I’m not talking about Marc Bolan). [Somewhere A Palaeontologist Is Crying.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/55 "2013-09-26T00:30:03Z")
> [@cougar58](#): > > How did Noah get the kangaroos and polar bears to come to the ark, or vice versa? I guess they all lived in the same country before the Flood. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/56 "2013-09-26T01:10:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I guess they all lived in the same country before the Flood. Pangeaia ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/57 "2013-09-26T03:33:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Nitpick: “Humans” is a genus: _Homo_. There is only one species now, but there have been many over the last ~2M years. Surprised no-one’s picked up on this nitpick. Both the definition of “humans” as meaning specifically _Homo sapiens_ and meaning the genus _Homo_ are acceptable, the former being far more common (though not limited to) non-technical contexts. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/58 "2013-09-26T04:42:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think this is a point that hasn’t really been addressed. What does it mean that humans were made in God’s image? This has been discussed and debated by religious people, and there isn’t a universally agreed-upon explanation or consensus. (I searched a bit to see if I could find a thread or other link where this had been satisfyingly discussed, but couldn’t find one I liked.) > > What do _you_ think it means, and why do you think it’s incompatible with evolution? It has been addressed. At least from tbe RCC view it applies to the soul, not the body. It matters not if we look like apes or physcally evilved from apes. The soul is a separtate matter created by God in His image ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/59 "2013-09-26T05:21:01Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I think this is a point that hasn’t really been addressed. What does it mean that humans were made in God’s image? It depends on the sect. I personally was taught that it meant that God looked like a human. I was also taught that this meant that UFOs were piloted by demons, since aliens don’t look like humans and are therefore not made in God’s image. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615/60 "2013-09-26T07:15:19Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I don’t recall anything in the bible that addresses this question, but shouldn’t it be asked? After all, God just doesn’t take the time to create a species, let them succeed and flourish, and then wipe them out without a good reason, does He? Most species that have ever lived are extinct. But if they died without good reason, then what are we doing? What was God’s purpose in having us act out a morality play for a couple thousand years before judging us? Was God just bored? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-how-do-the-religions-explain-dinosaurs/669615.md?page=4)