Dawn of the dinosaurs
Dinosaur postage stamps . . . a dinosaur exhibition in Plymouth . . . a plethora of dinosaur books in the shops . . . These commemorated the 150th anniversary of the `naming of the Dinosaur'. Their name, which means `terrible lizard', was first coined by Professor Richard Owen at a science meeting in Plymouth in 1841. Owen was Britain's foremost expert in Comparative Anatomy and he had just completed a survey of all known British fossil reptiles. These detailed investigations had brought him to recognise that a distinctive group of previously unknown reptiles once walked over the face of the Earth. Whilst everyone now accepts this conclusion, it is less well known today that Owen opposed Evolution: he believed that the dinosaurs were designed and created by God and as such they were not primitive. Rather, they were complex, well-made creatures that revealed God's exquisite handiwork (Genesis 1:24 - `and God saw that it was good').
Though extinct, these remarkable animals have succeeded in capturing the imagination of young and old in our country, with children being particularly adept at mastering their strange and often complex names. Many Christians have felt challenged: should Bible-believers have their own perspective on dinosaurs? How should Christian parents answer their children's questions? Visiting the `Dawn of the Dinosaurs' exhibition stimulated thought in these areas and a number of reactions are shared in what follows.
Considerable thought had been given by the exhibitors to the construction of individual displays. Each fossil was accompanied by a line drawing of the reconstructed skeleton, with the fossilised bone highlighted in red. Easy to read posters accompanied the fossils to explain their significance. Interaction with visitors was promoted by the incorporation of written questions into the displays with lifting answer flaps.
Some of the displays were exceptionally well done. I particularly liked one of Coelophysis: real fossil footprints were inset into the base, with the boundaries of the slab carefully concealed by sand; nearby was another slab containing a complete fossil of Coelophysis; and a full scale model of the animal brought the scene to life. Another display was devoted to plants which are found fossilised along with dinosaur remains; but these plants are living today! The list includes the Maidenhair fern, Creeping Moss, Norfolk Island Pine, Birds' Nest fern, and Tree fern. These `living fossils' help to make the world of extinct dinosaurs less strange and alert us to the idea that if organisms do not become extinct, they show relatively minor changes in appearance with the passing of time.
An audio-visual presentation on the extinction of the dinosaurs considered whether it was sudden or gradual, and whether asteroid impact or volcanic activity should be considered responsible. The presentation was concerned to keep this an open-ended debate, and encouraged the weighing of evidences and arguments. This was a good feature of the exhibition - but this spirit of openness to the evidences was not followed consistently elsewhere. It was most noticeable that the evolutionary explanation of origins was treated as a fact, not needing to be proved, discussed or questioned. The danger of this approach is that visitors absorb assertions as facts and become subconsciously brainwashed about the true status of evolutionary explanations.
In my view, a golden opportunity was missed in the preparation of the exhibits: Richard Owen himself did not accept the idea of evolutionary progression! He denied that, with the passage of time, life had progressed from simple to complex forms. The booklet (but not the exhibition displays) explains that Owen was seeking to maintain the authority of Biblical teaching: he accepted degeneration after the sudden appearance (creation) of major groups of animals and plants. He presented the Dinosauria as a highly advanced dominant group of reptiles, which then degenerated. Visitors might enjoy considering Owen's arguments - I know I would!
Another opportunity was missed in the area of optimum design. Owen recognised that the Dinosauria were highly advanced, but one suspects few visitors would take this message away with them. The research of 150 years has reinforced the argument many times: these animals were remarkable for the variety and effectiveness of their bodily construction. This general neglect of design aspects is, I suspect, a hidden consequence of the dominance of evolutionary views: people today expect these long-extinct animals to be primitive, and are not comfortable with contradictory evidence. Christian parents can, however, take the initiative and encourage their children to recognise evidences of God's handiwork in these impressive creatures, much as God did when speaking to Job about Behemoth in The Bible(Job, chapter 40, verses 15 to 24).
There is no doubt that catastrophic events capture the imagination of the public. The idea that the dinosaurs as a group were brought to extinction by an asteroid impacting the Earth has been extensively popularised by the media. But few seem to realise that the processes of fossil formation suggest catastrophism. Take the Coelophysis case: in 1947, excavators removed huge slabs of rock, many containing two or three skeletons. The fossils were packed closely, sometimes partly overlapping. Adults and juveniles were together, suggesting that they were swept away by a rush of water and were either drowned or buried alive. Fossilisation followed: before the bones were destroyed by natural processes.
Many fossils, including some in the Exhibition, testify to such violent and rapid events. Yet the Exhibition and the accompanying booklet presented the tired traditional model of a dead animal being slowly covered by river sediments, the continuing slow buildup of sediment, with deeply buried bones and sediment becoming hard over long periods of time. This model is unrealistic - as studies of the fates of modern-day carcasses have shown. Fossilisation requires a set of conditions which is not normal today. A catastrophic context for the formation of fossils has the potential of adding extra interest to exhibitions. Why is the past different from the present? Those who believe that `everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation'The Bible (2nd letter of Peter, chapter 3, verse 4) find themselves challenged by the very existence of fossils.
Clearly, there is much more to a dinosaur exhibition than a mere display of fossils. The exhibits provide clues to the past which we, like detectives, have to recognise and interpret. Yet, as we know from reading detective stories, it is possible to reach the wrong conclusion! We can impose our own preconceived ideas on the evidences. Because so many students of the past ignore God's revelation in the Scriptures, they have no alternative but to fit everything into an evolutionary model of origins. The Bible believer is able to break free from this constraint. We have come to know the Living God, who is the Creator of all things and the Author of all truth. As we seek to be sensitive to the testimony of the rocks, we can have some confidence that a right understanding will come.
David J. Tyler (1992)
