Did Dinosaurs Walk The Earth: Christian Responses to Contemporary Tragedy
The other day I had the honor of speaking at a chapel for a small school in our area about knowing God through reading and living the Bible. At the end of the time I offered some space for some questions and answers. Two six grade girls asked about dinosaurs, because we all want to know about dinosaurs and the Bible. As I was giving my response to one of the questions, it raised a follow up question from the second girl.
“Do Christians actually believe dinosaurs walked the earth?”
I had many theological concepts cross my mind. Do I talk to her about the poetry of Genesis 1-2? Do I inform her on the passages in Job that refer to the “Leviathan” and “Behemoth”? Do I go over the theological implications of creation and flood views?
Side note: As I formed my answer, I didn’t let her age dictate my response. All too often we limit our youth by not asking and answering the hard questions with them. The Church should be a safe space to ask those questions, rather than a shaming space where people are afraid to raise forth the questions of their heart and mind.
Moving Forward: So, I felt moved by the Holy Spirit to respond with this statement:
“That’s a great question. Thanks for asking it. Let me try to tackle this but also leave up the research and decision making to you. First, Christians aren’t defined by whether or not they believe dinosaurs walked the earth. A Christian is somebody who believes Jesus is God and came in flesh as a human. They believe that Jesus lived among us, taught us the way of life, performed miracles, signs and wonders, and then was crucified for our sin. They believe He entered the grave on our behalf and was raised from the dead, giving us the power of the resurrection: the Holy Spirit. They believe He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, and that He will come again for those who believe these things. In short, a Christian isn’t somebody who believes that dinosaurs were on the earth or not, a Christian is somebody who believes in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.”
In this same manner, I think many are asking questions about certain events happening in our world today. Hurricanes, earthquakes, shootings, tragedies, diseases, divorces, and all kinds of brokenness flood our world. We see the news bombard us with the reality of tragic and heartbreaking events daily. We are left asking many questions that are really important, that are good questions, and that should be asked.
“If God is all good and all powerful, why do bad things happen?” “Does God cause natural disasters? If so, why? If not, what does?” “How can a person go so far as to kill innocent people at concerts, clubs, etc.?” The questions are endless because our hearts hurt and we want to know the truth. And the biggest challenge we have is to try to answer all of these questions at the same time when what we need is to come back to the basics of why these questions have been asked.
Let me put it is this way. The Old Testament book of Job is a poetic story about a man named Job who is known as righteous, wealthy, and happy. In one day he loses all of his children, crops, cattle, and wealth. Again, questions arise, but I want to focus on another portion of this book. Job had awful friends. He had friends who came to him to tell him, “Well, Job, if you hadn’t sinned, this wouldn’t have happened to you.” “You know, Job, if you would just repent, everything will change back to the way it was.”
Let me say this gently. If I lost everything and a ‘friend’ came up to my face saying, “Cam, if you hadn’t sinned, this wouldn’t have happened…” I would lay some hands if you know what I mean. Job’s friends were in the wrong. They were just supposed to be with him in his mourning and grieving. They were called to silence and service, rather than lecture him on why things happened.
What’s the point? The point is that in the midst of tragedy and awful events that happen in the world, we are tempted to provide answers, or give theology, or even try to prove that it was somebody else’s fault. This temptation is hard. We should be people who give answers. We should be people who have correct and good theology. We should be people who help people see the bigger picture. But more than anything, we need to be people who mourn with those who are mourning and give ourselves to be a hospitable place for others to experience acceptance, love, and hope again.
Question: was Jesus referred to as teacher first, or as Immanuel first? That’s right. He was called Immanuel first. And do you know what Immanuel means? “God with us.” Maybe, just maybe, we are called to recognize that if Jesus is the model for us, and He was called first to be with people before He instructed them, that we should follow this example. Maybe before we open our mouths about political stances, or prove what groups can or can’t be trusted, we should simply be with people who need a safe space to mourn and grieve. Maybe before we teach with our unlimited theological prowess (sarcasm intended) we should open our hearts to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason: to listen twice as much as we speak.
Is a Christian somebody who believes dinosaurs walked the earth? Is a Christian somebody who believes God allows bad things to happen? Is a Christian….the questions go on and on and on. Our response can be to pontificate or our response can be to love. After all, a Christian is somebody who believes Christ Jesus came to be with people and to make a way for all people to experience healing, relationship, and freedom in the Lord. If this is what a Christian is, then I think a Christian would first bring wholeness and freedom to others rather than to first teach and inform them. The time will come for this, but not without relationship first.
Jesus was Immanuel before Rabbi. Maybe we should do the same, regardless if we believe dinosaurs walked the earth or not. Amen.
