Why doesnt the bible talk about dinosaurs?

Question

My fiance posted this question for me, but i felt i needed to explain why i have this question in order to get a better answer than the ones he got.
I guess i am confused. I am Christian but am very liberal in my beliefs. I believe that the bible is a group of metaphorical stories to guide us through life. I dont take it 100% literally but i do think it is important and meaningful. That said, i dont understand how religous leaders have managed to avoid explaining why dinosaurs are "missing" from the story of the creation of the world. If God created the world in 7 days and goes from nothing all the way to mankind...and we know that man was not alive when dinos ruled the world, how does that work? Dinos were millions of years ago and there are bones and factual evidence proving the time frame. I am just curious i guess. I have my theories but welcome your thoughts!

In response to some of the answers left...my theory is that the 7 days of creation was not in the same time frame as we think it is today. 7 days could very well equal 7000 or even 7 million years...who knows really?!?!? "Time" is manmade so its hard to really know for sure. Also the stories in the Bible were pulled together to try to prove one thing, that Jesus was the savior and son of God. That is what i chose to believe, but that being said, I also think that is why dinos (along with many other earthly mysteries) were not mentioned. Those would have been stories for another book...

Answer 1

The Bible does have some mention of creatures that could be dinosaurs. But you have to keep in mind that the Bible is just a collection of legends and myths passed down for many centuries before being recorded. After being recorded, it was edited many times in the first few centuries of Christianity. The men who wrote and edited the Bible had little knowledge of dinosaurs so they wouldn't have said much about them.

I've always had a hard time understanding how anyone can believe that the Bible is the literal word of God.

Answer 2

In the Bible it states that God created all life, but it does not talk about the process. Perhaps that is how God creates, slowly and after passing through many forms due to natural selection. The Bible doesn't discuss hummingbirds or platypus either, in fact, just listing the species of animal around at the time of Christ would take a volume larger than the entire Bible.

The time of the Dino was past at the time the Bible was written, and there are probably greater mysteries than dinos out there that the Bible doesn't mention. I don't think it affects the validity of either that dino's aren't mentioned in a holy text.

Just an idea from a non-Christian.

Answer 3

The word 'dinosaur' was not coined until the late 1800's so 'dinosaurs' are not talked about, however in the book of Job there are some very interesting descpitions of some animals. One mentions that the creature's tail is the size of a cedar. That, to me, is nothing other than a dinosaur. Some try to pass this off as a hippo or elephant but I've NEVER seen a hippo or elephant with a tail like a cedar! Check out Dr. Dino and creation evidence museum

Answer 4

First of all there were seven creative periods not necessarily days as we know them these period were 1000 years. we do not know how long between them we werent told. the bible and other scriptures are for our spiritual salvation not to answer specific questions. Adam died before 1000 years since it was for told in that day ye shall surely die!
Fossils attest to the correct sequence of the bible. Also Joseph Smith (the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints) said the universe was 15 billion years old a hundred and 50 years before the scientists. Brigham Young was a keen fossil person.
In the Book of Mormon - it says - and the people were told about the earth from the very beginning. Since many already had the Old testament this could mean that Jesus Christ expained more to them at that time.

Answer 5

The matter is that these dinosaur bones are carbon-dated. The problem with carbon-dating is that the atoms which make up the organism usually have a half-life greater than the span of time allowed for the decay of the organism. This means that man has not recorded/known about this dating as long as it has been happening. As soon as we are able to figure out the 1/2 life of these particles then we will be able to clearly tell, but this method is still fairly new and is not always very reliable.

Answer 6

Some people believe that dinosaurs were indeed mentioned in the bible as "great giants" or something to that effect. Some of those people like to take Revelations to heart word-for-word too, and I wouldn't believe in doing that.

It's definantly 'missing' from the CREATION story however, which leads me to believe, it either wasn't important enough to mention, it didn't happen, or human error occurred through the bible, any one of these being plausible.

As for the time frame, scientists can only guess. Considering they weren't alive back then (well maybe some of them.. who knows..) I'd imagine it's kind of hard to date things. And science is never perfect..

As I like to say.. science is a study of things God willed to be already. We're just figuring them out. Very slowly..

Answer 7

I am sorry you are suffering from your beliefs. You are close to the truth but your Christian beliefs are holding you back. The reason why they aren't mentioned is clear. The authors of the book lived thousands of years before we knew (from science) that dinosaurs once ruled this planet, long before we got her. That is why it's not in the bible. I am sure they saw a fossil or there and that is where we get some of our myths about ancient monsters and dragons. Not know that they were dinosaurs that lived long ago.

Answer 8

Ge 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void...
Void of what?? There has to have been something there at one time to render it void...The 7 days you speak of are also not literal days as a week like we behold time. What metaphorical stories have guided you through life? Also most religious leaders don't have a clue unless it is all about money and how to get more of it.

Answer 9

DInos were thousands of years ago.... one T Rexx femur bone was split in half about two years ago in Montana because it was too big for the helicopter and inside was red meat, veins and blood cells... not likely millions of years ago...eh?

the book of Job, refers to Behemoth and Leviathin which sound like a land sauropod and a swimming dino to many. Dinos point to a time before the flood when creatures could live much longer and grow much larger... many many animals were supersized then.... 8 ft beaver... 6 foot millipedes... dragonflied with 2 ft or more wingspan... things were generally bigger because the environment before the fall supported it

Answer 10

Dinosaur is a modern term. Some claim that the Biblical words "Leviathan and Behemoth" could represent the modern dinosaurs and giant fish that may have existed in pre-history.

I personally don't subscribe to this, not being a Christian, but it makes an arguable position.