The word '''dinosaur''' was coined in 1841 by Richard Owen<ref>http://wwwGOD.trueauthorityZEUS.com/dinosaurs/about.htm</ref>, from the [[Latin]] for "terrible lizard" (fututor). Dinosaurs were a group of large [[reptiles]] that previously lived in abundance on Earth. The overwhelming scientific consensus is that dinosaurs lived from 230 million until 65 million years ago and that they are all currently extinct (however [[birds]] are considered by scientists to be descended from early [[therapod]] dinosaurs). They claim the [[fossil]] evidence supports this theory. Many Creationists dispute this, claiming that the dating methods used to judge the age of the fossils are not always precise and that there are gaps within the fossil record itself. However, no mainstream scientist supports th Creationist view. ==Dinosaurs, Evolution and Creation=====Humans and Dinosaurs Coexisting=== Some claim there are a number of lines of evidence that point to dinosaurs and man coexisting. <ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dinosaurs.asp</ref> <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3061/</ref> For example, trained scientists have reported seeing a live dinosaur.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v15/i4/dinosaurs.asp</ref> A thousand people reported seeing a dinosaur-like monster in two sightings around Sayram Lake in Xinjiang according to the Chinese publication, China Today. <ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v15/i4/dinosaurs.asp</ref> An expedition which included Charles W. Gilmore, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology with the United States National Museum, examined an ancient pictograph which is claimed to point to dinosaurs and man existing <ref>http://www.creationism.org/swift/DohenyExpedition/Doheny01Main.htm</ref><ref> http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_hava_supai_dinosaur_carving</ref>. The World Book Encyclopedia states that: "The dragons of legend are strangely like actual creatures that have lived in the past. They are much like the great reptiles [dinosaurs] which inhabited the earth long before man is supposed to have appeared on earth. Dragons were generally evil and destructive. Every country had them in its mythology." <ref>http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/FAQ25.html</ref> The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina, a second century piece of art, is said to appear to be a piece of artwork that shows a dinosaur and man coexisting. <ref>http://www.s8int.com/dinolit2.html</ref> This is quite hard evidence. Since 565 A.D. there are reports about the Loch Ness Monster (Nessie by birth), a large Monster living in Loch Ness, near Inverness, Scotland. People who saw Nessie described the Monster as it would look similar to a dinosaur. In the life story of St. Columba, there is an account of him driving off a monster attacking a Pict. Some have taken this to refer to the Loch Ness Monster. An alternate theory for the inclusion of dinosaurs within many cultures is the existence of fossils. Ancient people, unaware that the ancient fossils uncovered by erosion were of extinct animals, attributed the bones to living, magical creatures. This would explain the importance of dragons in Chinese culture - there are a large number of dinosaur and dragon fossils to be found in China. ===Dinosaurs and Birds=== As a number of feathered dinosaur fossils have been discovered, and the similiarity in the bone structure between birds and dinosaurs, scientists contend that modern birds are a descendant of dinosaurs. ===Dinosaurs and Creationism=== Some [[Christians]] reject the [[Theory of Evolution]] and the current science community consensus of the age of the earth. Of those Christians who reject evolution, the [[Creationism | Young Earth Creationists]] believe, based primarily on Biblical [[sources]], but also drawing on [[archeological]] and fossil evidence, that dinosaurs were created on the 6th day of the [[Creation Week]]<ref>''Genesis'', 1:25</ref> as a final addendum to the wonders God created, approximately 6,000 years ago; that they lived in the [[Garden of Eden]] in harmony with other animals, eating only plants<ref>''Genesis'' 1:29-30</ref>; that pairs of various dinosaurs were taken onto [[Noah's Ark]] during the [[Great Flood]] and were preserved from drowning<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2001/dinos_on_ark.asp "Were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark?"], ''Answers in Genesis''</ref>; that fossilized dinosaur bones originated during the mass killing of the Flood<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i1/dinosaurbones.asp "Dinosaur bones—just how old are they really?"], ''Creation'' 21(1):54–55, December 1998</ref>; and that some descendants of those dinosaurs taken aboard the Ark still roam the earth today<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v15/i4/dinosaurs.asp "Are dinosaurs alive today?"], ''Creation'' 15(4):12–15, September 1993</ref>, even though none of the six billion people currently residing on the planet have seen them. It should be noted that none of these claims have been backed by any serious scientific research, and rely almost wholly either on the infallibility of the Bible, or on human speculations based to a greater or lesser degree upon the Biblical account. Because the term only came into use in the 19th century, the [[Bible]] obviously does not use the word "dinosaur." However, they are alleged to be mentioned in numerous places throughout the biblical account. For example, the '''behemoth''' in [[Job]] and the '''leviathan''' in [[Isaiah]] are sometimes said to be references to dinosaurs, although they could have been references to any large animal of the time<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v15/i2/behemoth.asp "Could Behemoth have been a dinosaur?"], ''TJ'' 15(2):42–45, August 2001</ref> such as hippopotomi and crocodiles <ref>http://www.answersincreation.org/job4041a.htm</ref>. ==References== <references/>
