Reason 11: The Bible: Discovery of Dinosaur Soft Tissue

How old is the earth?  According to science of the day the earth is 4.5 Billion years old. One theory[1] is cosmic debris collects into “protoplanetary” disks of space matter, coagulating into a larger and larger mass over time.  This mass of matter then gets locked into orbit around the Sun. The theory is this took place 4.5 billion years ago, forming our planet. 

            After the earth was formed, the first cell accidently formed, life from non-life abiogenesis, this first life eventually evolved into the life of today, with all its variety and sizes.  Within this theory a group of creatures known as Dinosaurs (Terrible Lizards) lived on the earth, according to the evolutionary model these dinosaurs lived 65-million years ago and are now extinct.  The existence of dinosaurs, proved through the fossil record is evidence for many skeptics that Bible is in error.

 

            For many the Bible stands at odds with science, since the Bible from a literal perspective, has a much younger earth, with no time for dinosaurs. Skeptics therefore claim the Bible is in error and is a man-made book filled with mythology.  

 Does the Bible refer to Dinosaurs?

First, we need to understand the term Dinosaur (Dinosauria) is term coined in 1842 by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen. Dinosaur merely means “terrible lizard” from the Greek words  deinos meaning terribleand sauros meaning lizard. The term is fairly new, Sir Richard Owen used the term to describe the size and majesty of the fossils.

            Sir Richard Owen was not the first to notice the grandeur and power of these sea and land animals, the Bible also describes them. In the book of Job, two powerful creatures are clearly described, Behemoth (Job 40:15-24) and Leviathan (Job 41).

Behemoth

 "Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. "He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. Under the lotus plants he lies, in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh. For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. Can one take him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a snare?

(Job 40:15-24)

 Leviathan

"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you soft words? Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever? Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls? Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? Lay your hands on him; remember the battle--you will not do it again! Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him. No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. "I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame. Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle? Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them. They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him. The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable. His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone. When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin. He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; for him sling stones are turned to stubble. Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins. His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire. He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment. Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired. On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear. He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride."

(Job 41:1-34)

             Secular science claims these giants lived 65-million years ago and became extinct as the result of a meteorite striking the earth or some other worldwide catastrophic event.  The age of these giants has gone without question for many years; the age is based on the assumptions presupposed by science, to fit into the evolutionary model.  So the age 65-million years is mostly assumption, but a recent discovery by Mary Schweitzer[2], a molecular paleontologist at North Carolina State University put the 65 million year date into a tailspin. 

 The Dinosaur Shocker

             Mary Schweitzer a scientist came upon T-Rex bones in Hell Creek Formation near Jordan Montana. Transporting a T-Rex bone from the sight, forced it to be cut in half to make it lighter for transport. In the lab Schweitzer demineralized a slice of the bone to find soft tissue, blood vessels and whole blood cells inside the T-Rex bone.  Her discovery caused fellow scientists to question her discovery, how could cells, blood vessels and proteins be preserved for 65-million years?

            One answer is maybe it’s not 65-million years old, maybe the assumptions of science are incorrect. Schweitzer and others claim their research has been hijacked by “young earth” creationists, who use her discovery as evidence for a young earth.  At first her findings were rejected because the idea of dinosaur cells existing in a preserved state for 65-million years was an impossibility that defied everything known about decay of carbon based life. Schweitzer and others repeated her findings over and over again, confirming her discovery was not a fluke event. 

            Recently from the same place Schweitzer’s T-Rex was found, Hell Creek Formation, a Triceratops was also found, with one of the largest triceratops horns ever discovered.  One of the researchers, Mark Armitage examined the horn under a high powered microscope at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where he worked and what did he find?  Soft tissue, and what was the result of his finding?  Mark Armitage was fired from his job because he believed what he found proved a young earth. Armitage is suing on the grounds of religious discrimination against CSUN.

Carbon Dating[3] has affirmed a “young earth”

Many of the scientists that first rejected Mary Schweitzer’s finding did so on the assumption that it would be impossible for a dinosaur fossil to have soft tissue survive 65-million years. After it was proven again and again on different samples, science had no choice but to accept the fact of dinosaur soft tissue. Now these same scientists attempted to try to explain how soft-tissue could survive for 65-million years.  They refused to accept the possibility that maybe dinosaur bones were much younger than 65-million years. If they were younger than 65-million years, the time should show up in Carbon 14 Testing of the specimen.

            First, what is Carbon 14 testing?  Carbon 14 is an isotope of Carbon, meaning that it has two more neutrons in its nucleus than Carbon 12 the most stable form of Carbon. Because Carbon 14 is unstable it breaks down over time. The half-life of Carbon 14 is 5730-years, meaning 50% of the Carbon 14 in a living organism that died will decay over that period of time. So a bone with 50% of the normal amount of Carbon 14 in it would be dated to have lived about 5730-years ago, around 3700 B.C. This also means a dinosaur bone 65-million years old, should have almost no C14 (Carbon 14) in its remains.  Carbon 14 is created when Cosmic rays enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with an atom, this eventually results in a C14 atom. These atoms become part of plant life, which is then ingested by animals transferring the C14 to their bones.  When they die the transmission stops and C14 decay begins.

            When Dinosaur bones were tested for C14[4], an amazing discovery was made, they were not anywhere near 65-million years. 30-50,000 years old was the result, showing why there would be soft tissue. The problem was everybody assumed there would be no C14 present, so no attempt was made to determine a Carbon tested date.  The table below are actual C14 dating results of Dinosaurs, notice the range in years is from 23,760 years ago to 39,320. Mark Armitage[5] found this out the hard way, he tested the horn of a Triceratops, a 65 million year old dinosaur, the results came back giving it an age 41,000-years old, and he then published the results, he was fired. Not only did secular scientist not use the Carbon 14 dating method on Dinosaur specimens, they did not want it done because it might prove an age younger the “accepted” age of dinosaurs. Other Dinosaurs were test also using the C14 method and the results were the same.

            What’s the reason the C14 dating shows older dates than 10,000 years if we assume a “Young Earth”? In a younger earth, the amount of Carbon 14 in the atmosphere would have been less if the atmosphere prevented the creation of Carbon 14 isotopes. With less C14 in the atmosphere the plants and dinosaurs would therefore have less Carbon 14 therefore it would give an older date.  The starting amount of C14 is presumed to be the same today as it was in the early days, this is a presumption that might be wrong, giving an older date then 10,000-years. None the less, it’s not 65-million years that is why there is “Soft-Tissue”. Therefore the Biblical model is closer to the truth of what science tells us then what secular science proclaims.