The
standard evolutionary argument is that dinosaurs are spearated from
modern humans by a span of about 60 million years. If that were
true, we could predict that no modern human has ever seen a dinosaur.
Opponents of Christianity have even used this as a criticism of the
Bible; you may have heard critics say something like, “If people
and dinosaurs lived together, why doesn't the Bible mention
dinosaurs?” The fact of the matter is the Bible does describe
animals that resemble dinosaurs – though it doesn't use the word
“dinosaur,” which is a term coined relatively recently. The
Bible, for example, frequently uses the term, “dragons,” which
some have proposed is a reference to dinosaurs.
Besides
the Bible, other books of antiquity have made references to dragons.
Pliny the Elder was a naturalist who wrote about many animals, most
of which are rather mundane. However, in several places, he refers
to “dragons” and describes them as enormous creatures who can
actually fight (and usually kill) elephants! From Pliny's
description of dragons though, I suspect he is actually describing
very large snakes – perhaps as long as 120' in length (which is
still very impressive).
There
are many other historical references which I've read over the years.
However, I came across still another account that was very
interesting. It is from The
Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian:
Leaving
the city of Yacho, and travelling ten days in a westerly direction,
you reach the province of Karazan, which is also the name of its
chief city.... Here are seen huge serpents, ten paces in length, and
ten spans in the girt of its body. At the fore part, near the head,
they have two short legs, having three claws like those of a tiger,
with eyes larger than a fourpenny loaf (pane da quattro denari) and
very glaring. The jaws are wide enough to swallow a man, the teeth
are large and sharp, and their whole appearance is so formidable,
that neither man, nor any kind of animal, can approach them without
terror.
I was
struck by the great care with which the author describes this
creature: It is “10 paces in length” (30 feet) and “10 spans in
the girt of the body” (about 7 feet thick, assuming a “span” is
8 inches). Though it doesn't say specifically that the creature has
four legs, it does describe the forelimbs as being “short” and
having “three claws.” When you throw in jaws “wide enough to
swallow a man,” it sure sounds to me like a good description of a
large, bipedal dinosaur.
Of
course, others will reject my opinion. I would direct your attention
to the editor's footnotes where he says, “This distorted account of
an alligator or crocodile is less creditable to our author's fidelity
than any other of his natural history descriptions.” In other
words, “Polo is usually pretty good at describing animals but he
really blew it when describing this alligator.” Maybe the account
isn't distorted at all. Maybe it's a good description of a dinosaur.
Given the fact that the animal is further described as lurking in
caverns during the day, hunting terrestrial animals, and then having
to go to the river to drink, it's certainly not a crocodile. It's
also rather silly to suppose that Marco Polo, an ocean voyager and
naturalist extraordinaire, wasn't familiar enough with crocodiles to
describe them accurately.
Another
interesting item gleaned from this account is how Polo describes the
way these terrifying beasts were hunted.
By
their motion in this way along the shore, and their vast weight, they
make a deep depression, as if a heavy beam had been drawn along the
sands. Those whose employment is to hunt them observe the track by
which they are most frequently accustomed to go, and fix into the
ground several pieces of wood armed with sharp iron spikes, which
they cover with the sand in such a manner as not to be perceptible.
When therefore the animals make their way towards the places they
usually haunt, they are wounded by these instruments, and speedily
killed.
Another
criticism often used against creation is that if men and dinos lived
together, then dinosaurs would eat the people. That's a laugh.
Humans are the top predators on the planet and I have said before
that, when humans and dinos interact, it's the dinos who get killed.
Here we seen another example of human cunning. A 30 foot long animal
with sharp teeth and jaws big enough to swallow a man is still no
match for human intelligence.
Now,
in all fairness, if modern humans saw a dinosaur, it's not “proof”
against evolution. Even if a living dinosaur were found today, it
wouldn't necessarily disprove evolution. But it doesn't help it
either. The world is what it is and theories are attempts to
describe it. The Bible says land animals (which would include
dinosaurs) and man are contemporaries. The theory of evolution says
dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before humans appeared.
When we have accounts that seem to describe dinosaurs and people
living together, it comports much better with the Bible.
