Dinosaurs are the newest fad. Will they lead children away
from our Creator? Or to Him?

Ever since the first dinosaur reconstructions in the mid-1800's,
dinosaurs have been big business. They have been used to sell
everything from breakfast cereal to gasoline. And now interest
is greater than ever. A new craze for dinosaurs and related merchandise
is sweeping America and other western nations.

Almost anywhere children go these days, they are exposed to
dinosaurs in one way or another, even on school milk cartons.
Furthermore, these creatures are almost as popular with adults.
Much of the trendy merchandise appeals to the "yuppie" generation.
Articles on new dinosaur extinction theories and fossil discoveries
are frequently featured in major national magazines. And a steady
stream of new adult-level dinosaur books continues to be issued
by humanistic publishers each year. Even adults are fascinated
by these great beasts--and likewise the history and controversy
surrounding them.

Part of the craze has evidently developed in the wake of a series
of high-tech dinosaur exhibits currently touring America. Featured
at museums and even a major Las Vegas hotel, these large dinosaurs
(half-scale) actually move and growl. These traveling "animated"
dinosaurs are attracting huge crowds and have broken long-standing
attendance records for several museums.

The current dinosaur fad is, also, undoubtedly due to: (a) dramatic
new fossil discoveries; (b) extensive media attention focused
on the latest extinction theories; (c) the widely publicized building
of an 18-foot mechanical, flying replica of the great pterodactyl,
Quetzalcoatlus northropi (now featured in an IMAX-movie
shown in museum theaters throughout North America and a PBS-TV
documentary).

Dinosaurs are being used on a monumental scale to promote evolution.
Parents are often amazed at how much even kindergartners know
about them. Portrayed as strange, fierce-looking creatures, they
are effectively used to indoctrinate millions of children with
false evolutionary concepts, such as the following:

1. Dinosaurs and many other animals are pre-historic.
   Most of the earth's history took place long before the Bible
   or any other book was written and long before any man existed.
2. It is a scientific fact that the earth is exceedingly old--perhaps
   5 billion years.
3. Evolution is a fact. God did not create the world as portrayed
   in the Bible.
4. There once was a time when the land was inhabited only
   by reptiles--the Great Age of the Dinosaurs.
5. Dinosaurs and other animals evolved into completely different
   kinds of creatures. Every creature evolved from lower forms
   of life, even man. Man is just an animal--a highly-evolved primate.

Public-school teachers are generally encouraged to use dinosaurs
to promote learning skills. Educational supply stores are usually
well-stocked with such supplies used in teaching diverse subjects--from
English and reading to arithmetic and history--not to mention
science. And all along the way, dinosaurs are related to evolutionary
concepts that lead children away from the truth revealed by God
in His word.

This evolutionary indoctrination is thorough and frequently
reinforced. After years of exposure, beliefs become firmly established
in people's minds. Eventually, for most, even to look at a dinosaur
automatically brings forth mental images of evolution--ideas effectively
re-emphasized in the home by hours of PBS-TV, beautiful National
Geographic specials and evolutionary books and articles.

To help counteract the efforts of creationists, various leading
evolutionists have come to the conclusion that not enough evolution
is being taught. They are actively engaged in making sure that
evolution is stressed even more in schools, starting even
at the pre-school level!

The current dinosaur craze can either do great harm, or it can
be used for significant good. The exciting thing is that when
it comes to dinosaurs, the facts are on the side of a creationist
interpretation--not evolution.

Here are some dinosaur facts that can be used to stimulate children's
interest in the true nature of science while presenting dinosaurs
in a Biblical framework of history.

The Wrong-Headed Dinosaur. How do scientists know anything
about dinosaurs? Apart from the Bible, the only information on
dinosaurs comes from fossils--parts of dead plants and animals
that have been turned into rock. Examples of dinosaur fossils
include bones, teeth, claws, spikes, horns, bony plates, eggs
(sometimes with unborn babies), gizzard's stones (gastroliths),
dung (coprolites), footprints, imprints of skin (very rare), and
stomach contents (very rare). Fossils are like pieces of a puzzle.
No one knows how the living animal actually looked, nor can they
do more than guess about the animal's behavior. This is why our
concepts about dinosaurs continually change.

A good example is the great Brontosaurus, probably the
best known of the dinosaurs. Millions of people have seen it in
books and advertising; however, the Brontosaurus never existed!
Its fossils were discovered with the head missing. To complete
the skeleton, the scientist attached a skull found 3-4 miles away,
but did not reveal this fact. Recently it was discovered that
the body skeleton belonged to a Diplodocus and the skull
was from an Apatosaurus.

Dinosaurs and the Bible. Many are surprised to find that
dinosaur-like creatures are mentioned in the Bible. Job chapter
40 gives us a good description of one of these animals.

The book of Job is very old, probably written around 2,000 years
before Jesus was born or soon after the Flood. Here God describes
the greatest of land animals, an animal the Bible calls "behemoth,"
meaning "gigantic beast." This Biblical description clearly fits
the description of a large saurapod such as Diplodocus
or Apatosaurus. Note the following points mentioned there;
the behemoth:

Was a large, grass eater

Had great muscles and extremely strong bones

Was not afraid of anything

Had a tail so large it was compared to a large cedar tree

Rests in marshes--flooding rivers do not alarm it

Cannot be trapped or domesticated

Before the wide-spread interest in the dinosaurs, early students
of the Bible tried to identify the behemoth of Job based on contemporary
experience. The best candidates were the elephant or hippopotamus,
both of which fail the description--especially the tail test.

Other samples of how dinosaur facts can be used to honor the
Creator include the presence of dinosaur fossils in hardened mud
(sedimentary rocks) and the fact that fossil skeletons result
from rapid burial (such as the Flood), not by slowly being covered
by sediments over many years. Another area of interest to both
children and adults is in the wide-spread tales of dinosaur-like
creatures (so-called "dragons") preserved in the legends of many
ancient cultures. There have even been occasional encounters with
dinosaur-like creatures reported in modern times.

Every Christian is in a position to help children escape this
great dinosaur deception. Here is a partial list of actions available:

1. BOOKS, MOVIES, VIDEOS, AUDIO TAPES, ACTIVITY BOOKS.
   Provide children with dinosaur materials that tell the truth
   about dinosaurs and history--not the distorted evolutionary
   beliefs of secular humanists. Use children's natural fascination
   with dinosaurs to turn them toward their Creator!
2. STORYTIME. Incorporate dinosaurs into your story-telling
   about Creation, Noah and the Ark, etc.
3. SCHOOL. Christian teachers can incorporate dinosaurs
   into their curriculum to teach students about Creation, the
   Fall, the Flood, geology and the environment.
4. LIBRARIES. Donate creationist books to libraries.
   Start with Christian school libraries and churches first, since
   they are the first responsibility of Christians.
5. SUNDAY SCHOOL AND VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. The one place
   most children never hear about dinosaurs is in church.
   Shouldn't this be the first place to teach young people about
   creationism and the Bible--and how dinosaurs fit into all this?
6. SPECIAL MEETINGS. An evening meeting, a week-long
   series, or a special "Dinosaur Night" for families--all have
   proven effective and have gotten great attendance. Many creationist
   speakers are happy to provide assistance.
7. BOOKSTORES. Encourage your local Christian bookstore
   to carry Christian materials on dinosaurs, especially
   during the current dinosaur fad, as well as other creation-oriented
   books and audiovisuals.

Christians should take advantage of the unique opportunity the
dinosaur fad presents--before it is too late. People
are interested in dinosaurs now. So now
is the time to present them with the truth. One of the prime duties
of each Christian is to proclaim news of our Creator to glorify
Him. Dinosaurs can be used admirably to do this--like all other
things in creation.

*Paul S. Taylor, M.S., is Production Director of the
Films for Christ Association.