The first answer is that there is only one likely reference to dinosaurs, which occurs in Job chapter 40.  It reads “Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.  What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly!  His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.  His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron.  He ranks first among the works of God” (vv. 15-19).  It is believed that Job is the oldest story in the Bible, partly because of this passage that seems to suggest the presence of animals like dinosaurs.

How, then, does the idea of dinosaurs fit into the Bible’s presentation of history?  If you look at the timelines devised by secular scientists, they are usually deemed incompatible with the view of creation history presented in the Bible.  This matter of comparing the very old earth theories of science with the purportedly young earth view of the Bible, is not as straight-forward as it may seem.  For one thing, the dating methods advocated by many secular scientists are not beyond questioning; one reason why we frequently hear of new theories regarding the age of the earth and dinosaurs is that these theories are often little more than just that – they are theoretical rather than factual.  Secondly, while many Christians have historically insisted that the Bible teaches a “young earth” view of creation, I am not so sure about that.  Put this together, and the data we have on dinosaurs can easily be put in a framework that is, in fact, compatible with the creation history of the Bible.

Key to this discussion is our view of the genealogies in the Bible at places like Genesis 10.  There we learn of the generations from Noah; these are our very distant early human ancestors.  If you view this as a chronology, that is, a record of time, you end up with a very young view of the earth.  The Irish Archbishop Usher followed this procedure to conclude that the earth was created in 4000 B.C., a timeline in which it is impossible to fit dinosaurs.  A more careful study will show, however, that these passages are genealogies rather than chronologies.  They show the relationships between people and peoples, often skipping many generations, rather than a strict chronology of time.  The Bible never considers that genealogies are the kinds of family trees we are used to; even the genealogies of Jesus skip generations.  The point is to show relationships and lines of descent, not a chronology of years.  One clue to this is that in many genealogies the names are listed in the plural; in these cases, it is not individuals but clans and tribes that are in view over perhaps many generations.

This being the case, Christians should not be troubled by dinosaur bones.  We should be wary of the confidence with which secular scholars flaunt their theories, realizing that soon another theory will declare them completely wrong.  We should be willing to study such things as the Lord leads us and as our interests dictate.  Most of all, we should praise the Lord who made these fantastic creatures, and whose wise providence declared the timing of both their appearance and their disappearance from the stage of history.

Rev. Richard Phillips is the chair of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology and senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church Coral Springs, Margate, Florida.

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