I came across this well written essay today on the Paluxy River foot prints. For those who’ve never heard of them, the site purportedly shows evidence (via co-mingled foot prints and dinosaur tracks) that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time. Consequently, it has achieved near canonical status with young earth creationists. The essay linked above is written by a young earth creationist — John D. Morris, son of Henry Morris — for the ICR website (Institute of Creation Research). It’s honest — and so it’s valuable. As Morris points out, the notion of human foot prints among dinosaur tracks is highly dubious and, basically, wrong. As I’ve said many times before (and I believe in a Creator and creation), doing bad science or falsifying data are unethical or unfortunate “strategies” in a creation apologetic. Morris is to be applauded for his honesty and research here. Here’s an excerpt:
Due to an unknown cause, certain of the prints once labeled human are taking on a completely different character. The prints in the trail which I have called the “Taylor Trail,” consisting of numerous readily visible elongated impressions in a left-right sequence, have changed into what appear to be tridactyl (three-toed) prints, evidently of some unidentified dinosaur. The changes in the impressions themselves are mostly confined to lengthening in the downriver direction. The most significant change, however, is that surrounding the toe area. In almost each of the prints in the trail, three large “toes” have appeared, similar to nearby dinosaur tracks. These toes, typically, are coloration phenomena only, with no impressions, in most cases. Frequently the “mud push up” surrounding the original elongated track is crossed by this red coloration. The shape of the entire track, including both impression and coloration, is unlike any known dinosaur print.
Morris discusses all four trails known from the river bed that are part of this controversy. He writes toward the end:
In view of these developments, none of the four trails at the Taylor site can today be regarded as unquestionably of human origin. The Taylor Trail appears, obviously, dinosaurian, as do two prints thought to be in the Turnage Trail. The Giant Trail has what appears to be dinosaur prints leading toward it, and some of the Ryals tracks seem to be developing claw features, also.
For a peer-reviewed study of erosion and dinosaur tracks (just an example of what Morris is talking about), click here.
Leviathan is a well-known Canaanite symbol of chaos (an enemy of Baal in those texts). Material from those texts are cited in the OT (in some cases word for word — it’s not a guess). It wasn’t a dinosaur. Neither Yahweh nor Baal needed to fight dinosaurs.
Navaho lore is just what it says — lore. And a lot of what we think we know about it is filtered through western writers. You’ll know that if you read the primary texts instead of western writers talking about those texts.
And of course the greater problem is that Native American traditions that we have were written down well AFTER the biblical period (Native Americans didn’t have writing very early, and some never bothered). Because of the European / American conquests of Native peoples, their knowledge is often transmitted in stories by people trying to make connections back to the biblical material. It’s always best to go to the original stories themselves, but those are late — and there’s no telling when the oral traditions started or stopped.
But at any rate, on their best days, Native American stories aren’t scientific (i.e., provable) statements.
I know; it’s painful at times.
Come on! Misguided? Compelled just by emotion? Not intellectual? Uneducated? Painful at times? Do you understand how you both sound? I’m so disappointed in you! Those remarks are so hurtful!
Take heart Cathy. Or not. It just might be that those with the most power have brain damage.
:o)
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/power-causes-brain-damage/528711/
These could be people like politicians, presidents, CEOs, Generals, or perhaps PHD’s and their fellow peer review gatekeepers who are sure they are the smartest people in the room?
Perhaps, but I still hear it referenced.
Perhaps, but I still hear it referenced.
Behemoth and Leviathan aren’t dinosaurs. They are terms for the mythological chaos monster, which was well known to biblical writers (and of course the Canaanite texts from which Leviathan comes).
I’ve seen some fairly decent arguments that Behemoth and Leviathan are known creatures, or at least animals that no one would argue would be alive during the time of man regardless of their creationist/evolutionist view. My question in regard to your view, though, is why would the author of Job use mythical creatures that even he didn’t believe existed to argue for the power of God? Wouldn’t that be like me arguing for the existence of powerful God by referencing the latest Transformers movie? It doesn’t pass my “logic” test any more than some of the frauds you cover regularly.
Because the symbol / referent would have been familiar to everyone.
Chaos was a concept everyone in antiquity believed in and feared. It matters not how the concept was conveyed. In the ANE, the “how” was often a beast that had to be subdued. So when the biblical writer uses it, no one is thinking he’s talking about something he didn’t believe in. He’s using a metaphor that was widely used. Readers aren’t thinking “I wonder if the writer believed these monsters were real?” or “Should I believe in these monsters?” The vehicle (the monster) for expressing the idea (chaos is awful and needs to be put under control) were two different things. No one (biblical writer or anyone else in the ancient world) had to believe in the vehicle; everyone believe the idea was a problem. The issue was “Who’s god is big enough to do the job?” The biblical writers claim that ability for Yahweh and deny it to other gods.
Behemoth and Leviathan aren’t dinosaurs. They are terms for the mythological chaos monster, which was well known to biblical writers (and of course the Canaanite texts from which Leviathan comes).