There is a
growing body of evidence that dinosaurs and humans were
contemporary. In 1970 newspapers reported the discovery of
cave paintings in Zimbabwe. The paintings were made by
bushmen who ruled that area from about 1500 B.C., until a
couple of hundred years ago. Along with accurate
representations of the elephant and the giraffe, is a
painting of an Apatosaurus (brontosaurus). These art works
have greatly puzzled scientists since bushmen are known to
have painted from real life!
About seventy years ago, Dr.
Samuel Hubbard, curator of
archaeology in the Oakland
(California) Museum, discovered
dinosaur carvings on the cliff
walls of the Hava Supai Canyon in
Arizona. One remarkable carving
resembles a Tyrannosaurus. Nearby,
dinosaur tracks were preserved in
the rock surface. (For a picture
of this carving, see our book,
The Mythology of Modern Geology
1990, 31.)
When the discovery of what
appeared to be human footprints,
along with dinosaur tracks (in the
Paluxy River bed near Glen Rose,
Texas), was reported in the May
1939 issue of Natural History,
it created a furore that has not
subsided to this very day. For
decades it seemed obvious to
careful observers that this was
clear evidence of human/dinosaur
co-habitation.
Then, a few years ago, Glen
Kuban, a computer programmer from
Cleveland, Ohio, discovered
chemical discolorations at the
front of some of the human-like
prints. This led him and others to
suggest that the human-like tracks
were not human at all; rather,
they were simply portions of the
dinosaur tracks that had been
altered by mud-fill.
Those who were disposed to
believe in the theory of evolution
alleged that this destroyed the
Paluxy evidence once and for all.
Some creationists, e.g., those of
the Institute of Creation Research
in San Diego, adopted a
wait-and-see policy until further
research is forthcoming. Others
were not so easily swayed. Two
authors, Robert F. Helfinstine and
Jerry D. Roth, recently produced a
study which strongly argues for
the validity of contemporary
human/dinosaur tracks.
It has even been speculated
that someone may have “doctored”
some of the dinosaur/human prints
to eradicate the impression of
“humanness.” Evolutionists, of
course, desperately want to
discredit the tracks as human, for
as some of them have conceded:
Such an occurrence [i.e.,
human and dinosaur tracks in the
same stratum], if verified,
would seriously disrupt
conventional interpretations of
biological and geological
history and would support the
doctrines of creationism and
catastrophism (Journal of
Geologic Education 1983,
111-123).
Needless to say, this
controversy is far from over.
Those who accept the testimony
of the Bible are confident that
men and dinosaurs did occupy the
ancient earth at the same time. We
are not dependent upon modern
discoveries to confirm that for
us. However, when clear evidence
does come to light, we should not
hesitate to accept it.
Dinosaurs and the Bible by Wayne Jackson
www.christiancourier.com/archives/dinosaurs.htm
Cults