Page 6 | to ask Christians about dinosaurs...

EastYorksLass · 2022-04-29T16:46:09+00:00

This is a serious question - so I have been thinking a lot lately about whether God exists, the meaning of life and why is the world in such a terrible state... been thinking about going to church but still feel I am on the fence. One question which has really got me thinking (after watching dear old David Attenborough... ) is where do dinosaurs fit into all this. Sorry if this sounds very weird but I would love to hear an explanation!

kimfox · 29/04/2022 19:28

LauraNicolaides · 29/04/2022 19:26

I'm not here to defend Christianity - I'm just saying it's full of allegory.

It's full of something.

😂 !

Onwards22 · 29/04/2022 19:29

Of course some 'Christians' believe the whole Bible is literally true, except the bits they don't like.

This is so true!
Many religious people will use their religion when it suits them - I’ve heard many homophobic people saying it’s against Gods wishes but happily have sex outside of marriage, steal and commit other sins.

MrsMAC1234 · 29/04/2022 19:29

I am a Christian and believe in a literal 6 day creation

This website is good for answers around creation/dinosaurs etc

answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/when-did-dinosaurs-live/

Sandinmyknickers · 29/04/2022 19:30

Headteacher415 · 29/04/2022 19:21

I'm not particularly Christian, but have a degree in RE.

Two possible scenarios which might make sense:

(i) When you read the stories Jesus told in the New Testament, we all know they're stories (eg the Good Samaritan didn't happen - it's a parable to explain a deeper truth). It is perfectly possible that the Old Testament stories were the same and that people at the time knew perfectly well that they were stories but that at some point people started taking them literally.

(ii) A few thousand years ago, people were clearly more "childlike" and less sophisticated than they are now, particularly your average man in the street (or desert or whatever). So some Christians believe that God deliberately communicated and simplified things to allow them to be accessible for the target audience. We don't tell five year olds about molecules and atoms when we're explaining why the pavement they just fell on to is harder than their bed. We keep it at the level they need. If the purpose of the creation story is to tell how God made the world, then what value is added by mentioning dinosaurs?

As an aside, if you substitute the word "days" for "periods of time", the Creation story is remarkably accurate, with light followed by the elements, then plants, then animals, then humans. You could spend just as much time wondering how humans 4000 years ago actually knew that?!

People were more childlike in the past and incapable of complex thoughts? You do know that a lot of mathematical theorems, philosophical thought and key concepts we still use today originated in ancient Greece, engineering from ancient Rome, and that's just an example....there are thousands of examples of early civilisations sophisticated thinking and ability to comprehend something as simple as 'humans evolved from other animals. There were animals that existed before humans that are now extinct'. Pretty sure children understand that.

shabbaboot · 29/04/2022 19:33

MrsMAC1234 · 29/04/2022 19:29

I am a Christian and believe in a literal 6 day creation

This website is good for answers around creation/dinosaurs etc

answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/when-did-dinosaurs-live/

Now I'm confused that webpage has a video telling me the bible was created by god, but people on here are telling me writers/they or mosses did and not god because he has no hands.

So who's book is it and who wrote it, until we can discover that its just a book some one wrote and no one knows if god even knew?

Onwards22 · 29/04/2022 19:34

Hardly any more nutty than thinking virgins can give birth

Apparently* *when the bible was translated from Hebrew to English someone translated the word ‘virgin’ wrong and it means ‘young’ or something.
So the bible reads the Virgin Mary when it should say the young Mary.

I do wonder though why Christians worship Jesus who they believe is Jewish - yet they’re not Jewish themselves.

kimfox · 29/04/2022 19:34

If only God had left us a book containing experiments we could do to prove he exists, rather than the Bible!

I think the whole point is to have "faith" to put your trust in a higher being whose existence you cannot prove. In the end you will never "know" but you can believe. If you like. iirc the Bible also cautions against looking for endless proof.

Jonny1265 · 29/04/2022 19:35

LauraNicolaides · 29/04/2022 18:07

I'm a bit baffled by how evolution can possibly be reconciled with the special nature of humanity in Christianity. Why do only homo sapiens have souls? Do Christians believe that at some point in evolutionary history a mother without a soul have birth to a child with a soul and that souls have been passed on down ever since?

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Many Christians believe that all living things have a soul, with some including plants . Pope Francis made a statement about animals going to heaven.....

TooBigForMyBoots · 29/04/2022 19:35

@shabbaboot, much of the Old Testament was written by Jewish scholars. The New Testament the writers are mentioned in the various books. So you had the Evangelists who wrote the 4 gospels and then the letters written by Peter, Timothy, Paul etc.

Did you really think that god wrote the bible?🙈 WTF are schools teaching children these days.🤯

Pumperthepumper · 29/04/2022 19:37

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:21

Yes Jesus was a real man.
People are faking such ignorance here intentionally. I don't understand it.

I'm not Christian (and I don't follow any other religion) but there's no need to be a dick about the basic concepts of any religion that you'll have learnt in school.

I’m not being a dick - if massive parts of the bible are metaphors, how many people believe Jesus was capable of miracles? Or if god really is a man?

donquixotedelamancha · 29/04/2022 19:41

Now I'm confused that webpage has a video telling me the bible was created by god, but people on here are telling me writers/they or mosses did and not god because he has no hands.

The OT was written by Jews over hundreds of years. The NT was written by Christians immediately followign Christs death and up to about 100 years after it. The NT is 4 Gospels which were selected as the most accurate accounts of JC's life, letters from early Christian leaders and some bloke's drug addled fever dream. It was all compiled in a series of councils in the first 500 years.

Christians think the writers were inspired by God. 'Christians' think God dictated it. No-one thinks God literally wrote it because (as covered above)- no hands.

GoldenOmber · 29/04/2022 19:43

shabbaboot · 29/04/2022 19:33

Now I'm confused that webpage has a video telling me the bible was created by god, but people on here are telling me writers/they or mosses did and not god because he has no hands.

So who's book is it and who wrote it, until we can discover that its just a book some one wrote and no one knows if god even knew?

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Do you want to know what Christians believe, or do you want Christians to argue with you about what they want you to believe?

donquixotedelamancha · 29/04/2022 19:43

People are faking such ignorance here intentionally.

Probably true but, meh, who cares? Not knowing Jesus was real is a lot less ignorant than thinking the world was literally created in 6 days.

Staffy1 · 29/04/2022 19:44

@Jonny1265 , the official Catholic line is that only humans have souls.

3ormorecharacters · 29/04/2022 19:46

shabbaboot · 29/04/2022 19:33

Now I'm confused that webpage has a video telling me the bible was created by god, but people on here are telling me writers/they or mosses did and not god because he has no hands.

So who's book is it and who wrote it, until we can discover that its just a book some one wrote and no one knows if god even knew?

Show quote history

The authorship of the Bible is not a mystery. It's not an easily answered question because it's made up of many books written over the course of thousands of years, but the information is out there if you are genuinely interested. Christians will of course say that God spoke through the humans who physically wrote it. Whether or not you believe that part depends on your faith, but it's not true to imply that no one knows who wrote it.

Pumperthepumper · 29/04/2022 19:49

donquixotedelamancha · 29/04/2022 19:43

People are faking such ignorance here intentionally.

Probably true but, meh, who cares? Not knowing Jesus was real is a lot less ignorant than thinking the world was literally created in 6 days.

No, I’m not asking if existed. I’m asking if he was a man who people believe was capable of miracles.

LauraNicolaides · 29/04/2022 19:50

Staffy1 · 29/04/2022 19:44

@Jonny1265 , the official Catholic line is that only humans have souls.

And as they also believe in evolution they must believe that at some point in time a non-human gave birth to a human.

shabbaboot · 29/04/2022 19:50

@3ormorecharacters Thank you for letting me know no one knows who wrote it. So then it has no authenticity as I thought.

But what does puzzle me is "No-one thinks God literally wrote it because (as covered above)- no hands.". So God created the universe and all life on earth with no hands! But he could not write a simple book?

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:50

@Pumperthepumper but that's the point - it's down to individual peoples perceptions and what they choose to believe. Religion isn't linear.
We don't know what is or isn't true but we shouldn't necessarily mock what people choose to believe (some things are just silly, of course, but lots of non-religious people silly things too)

Pumperthepumper · 29/04/2022 19:51

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:50

@Pumperthepumper but that's the point - it's down to individual peoples perceptions and what they choose to believe. Religion isn't linear.
We don't know what is or isn't true but we shouldn't necessarily mock what people choose to believe (some things are just silly, of course, but lots of non-religious people silly things too)

But that’s what I’m asking. I’m not mocking it. I’m asking how much of the bible is metaphorical.

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:51

Honestly I think Jesus was a bit like Dynamo - a really good magician/illusionist

Pumperthepumper · 29/04/2022 19:53

shabbaboot · 29/04/2022 19:50

@3ormorecharacters Thank you for letting me know no one knows who wrote it. So then it has no authenticity as I thought.

But what does puzzle me is "No-one thinks God literally wrote it because (as covered above)- no hands.". So God created the universe and all life on earth with no hands! But he could not write a simple book?

That’s a weird interpretation of that answer. Loads and loads of cultural references have no known author - I’m thinking of ancient stories - that doesn’t mean they’re not authentic.

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:53

@Pumperthepumper none of us can know, I guess

GoldenOmber · 29/04/2022 19:53

Staffy1 · 29/04/2022 19:44

@Jonny1265 , the official Catholic line is that only humans have souls.

Technically, only humans have human souls. Animals and plants may be considered to have a soul of some kind, but it's a different sort of soul to humans.

Pumperthepumper · 29/04/2022 19:54

girlmom21 · 29/04/2022 19:53

@Pumperthepumper none of us can know, I guess

Well no, but that’s still not what I’m asking. If you believe in Jesus, what do you specifically believe about him? Is he metaphorical or literal?