October 30, 2024
 

Since we published Load the Ark we have received numerous messages from Christians asking why we included dinosaurs in our game. Understanding the curiosity and importance of this topic we decided to take a thoughtful approach. We reached out to Christian scientists to delve into these questions seeking informed and faith-based perspectives. Their insights help to bridge the gap between faith and science providing our players with a richer understanding of the biblical context.

 

Southern Adventist University | Responses for “Load the Ark” Game Developers 

 

Keith Snyder, PhD, Chair of the Biology and Allied Health Department at Southern Adventist University answered the following questions:

 

Did dinosaurs really exist?

 

Yes, dinosaurs did exist. Fossilized bones of dinosaurs can be found all over the world. I’ve gone on a dinosaur dig in Wyoming each summer for 15 years and am now one of the directors of this project. This is one of the world’s richest bonebeds, and I’ve excavated dinosaur bones and teeth there. We can tell these are dinosaur bones because they are anatomically different than the animals we have today. For example, they had a head construction close to reptiles, but with mammalian limb positions. So, because of these differences, the bones being excavated are dinosaur bones rather than typical mammals or reptiles.

 

Did God create dinosaurs?

 

While we can’t be certain, we can see that there’s a hole in the continuum of the creatures God made in the world that dinosaurs fit into. We have fish in the water, amphibians in the water and on land, reptiles on land, mammals on land, and birds in the air. But there’s an anatomical gap between the reptiles and mammals. Reptiles are cold-blooded and have their legs out to the side, like crocodiles, for example. Mammals are warm-blooded and have their legs underneath their bodies. Dinosaurs appear to be cold-blooded but have their legs underneath their bodies, which would seem to fill this anatomical gap in the continuum of God’s created animals.

 

Were dinosaurs on the Ark?

 

There is no proof one way or the other, but there are many theories. We see ancient cave paintings and symbols of dinosaurs after the flood, such as the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. So, there must have been memories of dinosaurs in the following days, regardless of whether they were alive after the flood. If they were on the Ark, they must have died out in the post- flood world since we don’t have them today.

 

How did they become extinct?

 

One option to consider is that the Earth’s climate changed after the flood and could no longer support dinosaurs. Rapid cooling of the earth due to volcanic dust in the air after the continents were ripped apart led to at least one ice age. Large cold-blooded creatures cannot survive too much cooling or else their core will not be able to warm up, so that could have led to their extinction.

 

What are some good sources for more information on these topics?

 

There are many different beliefs but the book "Faith, Reason, and Earth History" (3rd edition) is one of the best sources of information on Bible-based beliefs about dinosaurs. It was written by Leonard Brand and Art Chadwick 

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