Creationists and Their Views on Dinosaurs

The attempt of creationists to rebut scientific arguments of how the world was created is most unconvincing. Both sides have compelling arguments. It is difficult to totally refute the creationist view point but equally difficult for the scientists to appreciate the other side of the argument.

Some of the main arguments fundamentalists use and the contrasting views from the scientists are mentioned below:

Creationists believe that dinosaurs are only thousands of years and not millions of years old.

Pro: According to the book of Genesis, the world is only several thousand years old. Creationists believe that dinosaurs were one of a group of animals created by God along with all others.

Con: Scientists argue about techniques like radioactive dating and sediment analysis which prove beyond doubt that dinosaur fossils are at least 65 million to 230 million years old.

All dinosaurs could have fit into Noah's arch

Pro: According to Creationist, all creatures lived over the past few thousand years. Therefore, all of them had to be boarded on the Ark to evade the great flood.

Con: Noah's Ark was only about 75 feet long and 40 feet wide which could not possibly have accommodated all the animals in the world much less the dinosaurs.

Creationists believe they were wiped out by the flood

Pro: According to the creationists, dinosaurs along with all other animals not on the ark were washed away by the biblical flood a few thousands of years ago.

Cons: Most scientists today believe that a comet or meteorite impact 65 million years ago might have caused an upheaval on earth which resulted in the extinction of these species of animals.

The Little Book of Planet Earth by Rolf Meissner

Even though I am not a geologist, this little book appealed to me, because there is so much to learn about our earth. At the end of the preface, the author Rolf Meissner introduces the book with these words: "This book presents the current state of research on our planet's evolution and structure."

Starting with the evolution of scientific thought, Meissner provides vital information about the geological development of our planet together with its moon, from the time of its birth to the present. He says, "Looking back at 7 to 8 billion years of pre-solar and pre-terrestrial history, it was the very beginning--the solar nebula, created by a supernova--which provided the iron for the Earth's core. The iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones and teeth also go back to this giant explosion." This little paragraph alone is food for thought for any earthling.

Meissner agrees with Heraclitus's claim that everything moves. The book--in its entirety--addresses the role of seismology, earth's magnetic field, plate tectonics, the formation of mountain ranges and basins, earth's rotation, shape, gravity, tides, minerals, rocks, formation of the atmosphere, radioactive dating and the application of its techniques, carbon dating, the crust of the earth and its depth, petroleum exploration and exploitation techniques, coal and other resources, evolution of life, the last 600 million years, human evolution and climate, nuclear energy, and our limited resources.

Written in clear, concise language, the book consists of fifteen chapters with a preface and acknowledgements in the beginning and an epilogue, a further reading list, and an index at the end. Inside the book are numerous illustrations, charts, and photographs.

Meissner's instructional style is flawless, also. He first introduces a subject; then, after giving information about what has happened around that subject, he explains it in detail, making the information easy to understand by the lay people.

The Little Book of Planet Earth is 192 pages with ISBN-10: 0387952586 and ISBN-13: 978-0387952581.

The author Rolf Meissner is a meteorologist and a professor of geophysics. After teaching in the University of Mainz in Germany and the University of Hawaii, he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of Kiel University in Germany where his research centered on the structure and the evolution of the earth's crust, natural resources, and the composition and structure of planets. He retired in 1996.
A few of his books are:

The Continental Crust: A Geophysical Approach (International Geophysics Series)

Geschichte der Erde

Continental Lithosphere: Deep Seismic Reflections (Geodynamics Series) 

In spite of being a layperson, I have enjoyed this book thoroughly. The chapter on biological evolution mesmerized me, while the other chapters did not stay far behind. I recommend this book to anyone who has a bit of curiosity about the earth, and I feel everyone needs to take an interest in the subject, because it may help the understanding of changes our planet has started to experience.