Beware of Creationists in Disguise
John Stear

(Links and text updated 13 May 2004)

"Genesis One, Dinosaurs, and Cavemen" (below) is taken from Kids Space, a segment on Reasons to Believe, a web site devoted to communicating the "breakthrough discoveries in science [which] continually enhance the scientific case for the God of the Bible".  Ironically, the site has excellent articles on astronomy, the beginnings of the Universe, etc., and makes extensive use of valid scientific tools and excellent links to, for instance, Stars and Constellations Page, The world's largest solar system model and Build a Solar System, among others. 

The following article however exposes the "pseudo" behind the science.  The final two paragraphs reveal that the true intent behind this "children's" story is to promulgate the Adam and Eve myth as a scientific explanation for the evolution of man.

Genesis One, Dinosaurs, and Cavemen

In the beginning there were no cavemen, no dinosaurs, no plants, no oceans, no mountains, no Sun, no Moon, no stars. There was nothing, not even space or time. Only God existed.

Then God spoke--suddenly creating space, time, matter, and energy. Out of this sudden beginning all the galaxies, stars, and planets formed. There was light everywhere in the universe but none on the surface of the earth. There it was dark, all the time, because the clouds of the earth would not let any light pass through. At that time, billions of years ago, the earth was totally unfit for the existence for any kind of life.

Then God's Spirit began to work over the surface of the ocean. Perhaps this is when God first created life -- simple, single-celled life in the ocean.

God next worked in the clouds transforming them so that the light from the sun and stars could diffuse through. More than that God worked in both the clouds and the ocean so that water would evaporate from the oceans and condense from the clouds as rain.

Then God gathered the ocean water to one place so that the land would appear. Now there was not just water on the surface of the earth. There were oceans and continents.

Then God produced plants on the land, plants of various kinds. These plants consumed carbon dioxide and water and, with the energy from the sun, converted them into food and oxygen.

Then God worked again in the clouds, and with the oxygen from the plants transformed them so that it was not always overcast. Now the clouds would break up allowing the sun, moon, and stars to be seen. Also, a shield of ozone was established high up above the clouds so that the new species of animals would be protected from harmful radiation from outer space.

Now God created advanced animals both in the oceans and upon the continents. The first such creatures were small and soft -- worms and slimy animals. Then came small animals with shells, like clams, crabs, and insects. Fish and amphibians, like frogs, were next. Then came the reptiles, such as lizards.

Over 100 million years ago God created dinosaurs. These lizard-like creatures were as much as 80 feet long and 50 tons in weight. They were ten times larger than any other animals that ever existed upon the continents. But, a major disaster, perhaps a nearby exploding star, an asteroid collision, or a huge volcanic eruption, took place about 60 million years ago, wiping out nearly all the dinosaur species. Only a couple of species remain, both rather small and almost extinct.

The dinosaurs were not the only species to be wiped out. In fact, even when conditions on earth are favorable, lifeforms go extinct. All lifeforms, given enough time, go extinct. The more advanced animals, like antelopes and lions, can go extinct in a few million years or less. Less advanced creatures, like cockroaches, may last as long as 150 million years. This is why God, during the time He was creating, was constantly replacing the extinct species with new species.

After the dinosaurs God created birds and mammals. He created four different kinds of mammals -- mammals in the oceans, like whales and dolphins; rodents, like rabbits and mice; wild four-footed animals like moose and tigers; and tameable four-footed animals, like cows and sheep. Birds and mammals are different from all animals before them in that they have the capacity to express their emotions, their wills, and their minds in communicating with us. This is why we make pets out of these creatures, and not (usually) with insects or lizards.

Starting about 2 to 4 million years ago God began creating bipedal primates. These creatures stood on two feet, had large brains, and used tools. However, they were very different from us. They had no spirit. They did not have a conscience like we do. They did not worship God or establish religious practices.

In time, all these bipedal primates went extinct. Then, about 10 to 60 thousand years ago, God replaced them with Adam and Eve. From Adam and Eve came all the people that live on the earth today. God told Adam and Eve and their descendants that they were to fill the earth and rule wisely over all the animals and all the resources of the earth. [my emphasis] And God wrote His ten commandments on the hearts of all people. The first one is to worship Him only.