There are only three known groups of volant vertebrates. Two are extant: birds and bats. The third group is completely extinct and known only from fossils: pterosaurs. Often referred to colloquially as “pterodactyls”, pterosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles totally foreign to our modern minds, yet in some ways they are incredibly familiar, resembling the dragons of folklore.
If one accepts the evidence of the Cambrian Explosion at face value, the Darwinian theory of evolution is falsified. Unsurprisingly, evolutionists have tried to explain the Cambrian Explosion as an artifact, due to the incompleteness of the fossil record. However, there is an explanation for the Cambrian Explosion that is consistent with the data. An intelligent being could generate the genetic information needed for a diversity of body types in a short time.
Is it possible to study the dinosaurs (and other fossils) from a perspective consistent with the biblical account of creation?
Most Christians, however, believe that dinosaurs were destroyed during the flood. Others believe that this particular group of animals had been altered so drastically by sin that they were not allowed on the ark and so their kind was totally lost.
Recent research suggests dinosaurs were not as heavy as previously thought.
Currently evolutionary geology explains the fossil record as the result of slow processes and change occurring over long periods of time. However, an increasing number of rock formations and fossil occurrences previously interpreted within such an evolutionary framework must be reinterpreted as the result of rapid, or even catastrophic, processes operating on a different time scale.
Many would say scientists must leave all religious influences out of their scholarly pursuits, because to do otherwise would compromise the search for truth. However, I believe the God of the Bible understands the highest levels of scholarship, not just comforting inspirational themes.
Fossils speak of catastrophic burial by water in many areas of the world, thus contradicting the uniformitarian model. A growing number of modern geologists concur with this view, although they may not accept the theory of a universal flood. Those of us who rely in the biblical story of a universal flood find in the fossil record abundant evidence that the surface of the earth once experienced the convulsions of a catastrophic destruction.
A report of the 2000 meeting of the Geological Society of America in Reno, Nevada. Published in Origins n. 51.
How can we accommodate the paleontological record with Scripture? If our approach to science is as it should be, we can acknowledge that there are still many unanswered questions for all sides, and we should have no fear of deeper investigation in science the data are not all in.
A collection of short commentaries of scientific papers published in 1996, covering topics such as biogeography, Milankovitch cycles, turtles, degeneration by mutation, fossil sharks, fossil bird, ichthyosaurs, speciation rates in cichlid fish, plate tectonic anomaly. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 2.
Given the current database on fossil hominids, caution is warranted. Indeed, it would be premature to draw any definitive conclusions with regard to the origins of these organisms and their relationship to the Genesis record.
A review of the book, The Quest for Life in Amber. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 2.
Ancient fossil reefs are considered to be a challenge to the biblical concept of creation. But do these fossil reefs really negate the biblical account of beginnings? Published in Origins v. 21, n. 2.
A review of the book, Messel: An Insight Into the History of Life and of the Earth. Messel is a pit in a deposit of oil shale in Germany with many finely preserved Eocene fossils. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.
A review of the book, The Early Evolution of Metazoa and the Significance of Problematic Taxa. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.
Microorganisms can exist in rocks several kilometers below the surface of the earth. Recently a number of reports indicate that these organisms are much more common than previously surmised and that vast regions of the underworld may be inhabited. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.
A review of the book, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. The book describes the history of discovery of the Burgess Shale fossils and their classification. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 1.
Fossil reefs from Silurian and Devonian sediments in the Great Lakes region of the United States are compared with a modern reef in Florida. The fossil reefs differ significantly from modern reefs by lacking the framework of corals that are characteristic of modern reefs. Instead, the fossil reefs look more like carbonate mud mounds. Published in Origins v. 14, n. 2.
Claims that human and dinosaur footprints are found together in the Paluxy River of Texas have been retracted. Creationists must be careful to check the validity of the claims they make. Published in Origins v. 14, n. 1.
