Through fossils from all over the world and from the work of many scientists, there’s no doubt that dinosaurs existed. Some Christians are still unsure of how dinosaurs came into existence, how long ago they existed, and how they ceased to exist.
Do Christians believe in dinosaurs? Christians do believe that dinosaurs existed because of archeological and biblical evidence. The Bible mentions dinosaur-like creatures in Genesis, Job, Isaiah, and the Psalms. Christians may hold differing views on when, how, and why they existed, but there’s no doubt that dinosaurs used to roam the earth.
Now whether you hold to an old or young earth view as a Christian, there’s no denying that dinosaurs did indeed exist, and if they existed, then they were made by God. Even the Bible describes creatures that we would now call dinosaurs.
What The Bible Says About Dinosaurs
In Job, God reminds Job of His strength and wisdom by telling him about the Behemoth and Leviathan, which God made just as much as He made you and me.
Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.
Job 40:15-18 ESV
This description continues on in later verses, and from the picture God paints for us, it’s most likely that Behemoth was a brachiosaurus or apatosaurus.
As for the Leviathan, there isn’t much evidence for what it looked like, other than the fact that it could have had multiple heads and lived in the ocean.
Yet God is my King from long ago, who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by Your strength, you broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan
Pslam 74:12-14 NASB
Though these creatures were big and great, the Bible never lets us forget that God is much greater, and He was the one who formed these animals to begin with.
Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
Pslam 104:25-26
Some would argue that the Bible doesn’t really say God created dinosaurs. How could He allow a T-Rex to roam the Garden of Eden?
On the other hand, God originally meant for all animals to eat their veggies and live in peace with humans. God even says in Revelation that in heaven the lion will lie with the lamb.
If God created lions, sharks, and other seemingly dangerous animals, then He also created dinosaurs. The Bible reminds us of this in Genesis, and how God created every living creature.
And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.’ And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:24-25 ESV
Evolutionists would say that dinosaurs evolved over the course of millions of years from other organisms, however, there are no intermediate species that prove dinosaurs evolved.
Dinosaurs have always been 100% dinosaur, and the Bible tells us that God created them along with everything else in the first week of creation.
God is an amazing and majestic creator, and it’s still all about Him, even when Christians aren’t sure about all the details of dinosaurs.
2 Christian Viewpoints On The Extinction Of Dinosaurs
Since Christians know that God created all animals, including dinosaurs, along with the rest of creation, they don’t believe that dinosaurs evolved and went extinct millions of years before humans lived.
When do Christians believe dinosaurs went extinct then? The two possibilities are either before or after the flood.
Viewpoint #1 – Dinosaurs Went Extinct Before Or During The Flood
Some Christians believe that dinosaurs went extinct before or during the flood because the flood was the only thing that could wipe out their kind.
From the effects of the flood, many fossils of dinosaurs have been found all over the world. These fossils could only have happened if the earth had experienced some major catastrophe such as Noah’s flood.
Christians who believe all dinosaurs went extinct because of the flood also believe that they weren’t included in the pairs of animals that God put on the ark. After all, how could you fit a T-Rex and a full-blown brachiosaurus on the ark?
Well, Noah could have easily brought baby dinosaurs or younger dinosaurs on the ark instead of adults. This way, dinosaurs would have survived the flood along with every other kind of animal.
Viewpoint #2 – Dinosaurs Went Extinct After The Flood
Most Christians would say that dinosaurs went extinct sometime after the flood. They believe this because God clearly commanded Noah to bring two of every creature of the sky and ground on the ark.
You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal, and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.’ Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 6:19-22 ESV
You could argue that Noah forgot about the dinosaurs, or that Noah disobeyed God and didn’t include dinosaurs on the ark, but verse 22 says that Noah did everything just as God commanded him to do.
Because of this, anyone who believes that God’s word is true believes that dinosaurs survived the flood, or at least two of them did.
As humans began to multiply and fill the earth again along with the dinosaurs, they probably also began to kill off those dinosaurs. Or, just like how any species goes extinct, dinosaurs could have died off due to other predators, their climate, and or a lack of food.
The book of Job also mentions the behemoth and the leviathan, creatures that were most likely dinosaurs.
Most scholars would say that Job lived after Noah’s time, so if that is true, then both land and sea dinosaurs survived the flood.
Christians still don’t know exactly how and when dinosaurs went extinct, but we do know that it wasn’t too long ago.
Scientists have found that dinosaur fossils contain soft tissue. The longest surviving soft tissue types can only survive at a maximum of 900,000 years.
Though this is a long time, it doesn’t line up with the claim that says dinosaurs went extinct millions and millions of years ago.
This means that it’s more than plausible for dinosaurs to have lived until a few thousand years ago. No matter what position you hold to thought, there’s no doubt that dinosaurs did exist and Christians believe they did.
Christians Believe In Dinosaurs
Christians do believe that dinosaurs exist because of all the biblical, scientific, and archaeological evidence.
Christians who believe in God’s word and His truth also believe that dinosaurs went extinct after the flood of Noah’s time.
While we can’t know for sure when and how dinosaurs went extinct, we do know they existed. We also know we won’t see dinosaurs in a Jurrasic Park anytime soon, but one day, we will see God’s power, beauty, and the fullness of His creativity.
Ultimately, dinosaurs and every other animal that ever existed point to how cool of a Creator we have. God’s power and beauty are reflected in the things He’s made, and while dinosaurs were made to mirror His might and creativity, we get to image the Creator Himself.