DINOSAUR DISCUSSION 6
An Academic Exercise 2
Where did the dinosaurs come from?
Were they part of the creation?
Were they bred by the antediluvians?
Audience: Young Earth Christians
In this discussion I am proposing a completely new construction point for the geologic column.
If you have been reading my discussions you will realised that I started with the Creation point model. When I first looked into the dinosaurs that just seemed to be the most natural point to start. It was a starting point. Which had to start somewhere. And if you look at a lot of my dino pages a lot of them will mention that as the point of construction.
But a popular point of construction for a lot of Christians is the Flood point. That is, the geologic column came into existence at the time of the Flood. And we came up with two possible variants for this:
a. a straight fabrication;
or
b. what we call the church writings model. This ended up being a mixture of fabricated layers, and layers laid as normal. Sort of. See discussion 5.
BUT
since then I have stumbled on [?] or thought about another possible construction point.
Here’s how this works:
In the history of this world [from a Christian perspective of approximately 6,000 years] there are three climactic points where everything changed for this world. Cataclysmically.
And any of these three points could be a valid point for a complete construction or fabrication for the geologic column.
Most Christians believe that the geologic column was laid down at the time of the Flood so all the animals that drowned in the Flood are found in the column as you go down the layers.
That’s one point and the main one considered by most Christians. Well maybe not most but by quite a few.
That’s one point.
The other main point is the Creation.
And there is a third possible point. I have not read anywhere about anyone promoting this one. It’s something I just thought about in the last week or so.
A third climactic point?
The Creation is pretty obvious. God speaks this world into existence and in 6 days we have the account in the first book of the Bible.
Pretty climactic. This part of our galaxy just a big space with the nearest stars 2 light years away.
God speaks and then this solar system comes into existence. From nothing. Well whether God used any pre existing matter is a moot point. But the general view is ex nihilo. Nothing here, and then here it is.
That’s pretty climactic.
And the Flood point? A world wide Flood, the Earth in upheaval. Jets of water bursting forth from the very depths. And so on.
That’s pretty climactic.
So is there a third climactic point? Something that radically changed this world and had a world wide effect? On the climate? On animal life? On plant life?
There is one point. And it had a dramatic effect on the climate of the world. On all life. Animal life. On the land and in the sea, oceans, rivers etc. And all plant life. All over the planet.
That’s pretty climactic. So just when did this event happen? That changed ALL life on this planet?
It changed EVERYTHING!
So just when was this?
The FALL!!
Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden and they now found themselves living in a hostile world. There were now ferocious animals that were very dangerous. And plants.
And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:17-19
The plant kingdom was also changed, now they had to battle thorns and thistles and probably a lot worse.
The weather also changed and was not favourable to them anymore.
Now here’s an interesting thought. Genesis 3:17 says that God cursed the ground. That means there were changes in geology also. So there is it. The whole geologic structure could have been changed.
A complete fabrication of the geologic column is actually quite possible at this point in time.
So there you have it. Three climactic points in the history of this world where the geologic column could have been fabricated to what we see today.
Three possible valid points.
As stated, this is an academic exercise.
The fall model is a very interesting one and has a very interesting theological implication. It does get away from the complaint that God would be unlikely to state that the Creation was “very good” if there were many rock layers containing a record of death and destruction sitting below Adam and Eve underneath the Garden of Eden.
But if the fabrication occurred at the Fall then this complaint is not necessary.
Stephen Buckley
E-mail: snoaktrua [at] duck.com
Last revised: 1 Jun 2025.
Constructed: 20 Feb 2025.
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