The Blood-Curdling Permian Monsters That Ruled the Earth Before Dinosaurs...

Michie said:

Long before T. rex, the Earth was dominated by super-carnivores stranger and more terrifying than anything dreamed up by Hollywood.

The two animals circled each other, both assessing their rival's robust, hairless body. With sabre-teeth like steak knives, piercing claws and skin as thick as a rhino's, they snapped their jaws open nearly 90 degrees – and launched into battle. From the right-hand side of one animal, the other's teeth crunched down from above. In a split second, it was over.

Sinking its five-inch (12.7cm) canines into its opponent's boxy snout, like hot needles through wax, the attacker claimed victory. This actually happened – or something like it.

Around a quarter of a billion years later, on a sunny day in March 2021, Julien Benoit was handed a rather unpromising container and invited to take a look. He was working in a pleasantly cool office at Iziko Museum of Natural History in Cape Town, South Africa, where he had been invited to visit the university's fossil collections. The vessel was a very old, simple cardboard box.

"It hadn't been opened for at least 30 years," says Benoit, an associate professor of evolutionary studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Inside was a jumble of bones, including countless skulls, many of which had been mislabelled. As he was sorting through and re-classifying them – assigning them to long-extinct species – he noticed a small, shiny surface.

Continued below.

The blood-curdling Permian monsters that ruled the Earth before dinosaurs

Long before T. rex, the Earth was dominated by super-carnivores stranger and more terrifying than anything dreamed up by Hollywood.

www.bbc.com

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This is off topic but I love how this article acknowledges that the earth is billions of years old.

I always wonder why people propose or support evolutionary theories in this Christians only section that counter the Bible's Genesis creation account. I do get frustrated by the atheists' attack upon the Bible but it pains me even more to see Christians joining their secular world view side.

Sir Joseph said:

I always wonder why people propose or support evolutionary theories in this Christians only section that counter the Bible's Genesis creation account.

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They counter some people's interpretation of Genesis.
But that's quite a different thing, isn't it?

The Barbarian said:

They counter some people's interpretation of Genesis.
But that's quite a different thing, isn't it?

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Thanks for the very civil, fair response The Barbarian. I expected worse from the evolutionary crowd. Now, let me answer in a way that I don't expect you or others to agree with, but only to consider.

There are no doubt certain doctrinal issues in the Bible that are admittedly unclear and subject to theological opinion. The timing of the rapture is one good example. I've watched dozens of videos and studied the many scriptural passages on the pre-trib, post-trib, and pre-wrap views, only to find good evidence supporting each of those positions. After studying the issue, I'm also unable to reconcile free will versus predestination. Fortunately, these doctrines aren't salvational issues nor foundational for other doctrines.

There are other doctrinal issues or moral values in the Bible that are clearly spelled out, but unnecessarily misinterpreted in order to accommodate peoples' preferences. I'd list the support of abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism and women pastors; opposition to capital punishment; and acceptance of evolutionary theory as prime examples of this. Let me elaborate on the last issue relevant to this thread.

Understand, being raised on it in school, I too used to believe in evolutionary theory. As a Christian, I justified the apparent contradiction between the Bible and science by reading the right theistic evolution books that massaged the Genesis text. That worked for decades until I studied the subject from biblical Christian apologists. Since then, I've learned that there are two major arguments against evolutionary theory: the biblical text and the scientific evidence. Let me address just the first point here.

The Genesis creation passage reads clearly as a 6-day 24/hr historical account. Give it to a 3rd grader to read and that's the most obvious interpretation one would conclude. Give it to an adult though that's been taught an old earth, man to ape, evolutionary world view, and textual manipulation is needed - to either misinterpret words, add material, or dismiss it entirely as allegory, figurative, meaningless poetry. The reason for doing so is obvious, as I did it myself - to seemingly reconcile the Bible with science; creationism with evolution. Thus, theistic evolution was popularized, even though the two words are contradictory processes.

I cannot possibly defend this point in a short thread, but only reference these two videos below that prove my point thoroughly - that the Bible's Genesis creation, being true or not another issue, is written as a real, historical account that clearly specifies a literal 6/day 24 hour creation. If one spends the time to watch the videos, he'll see that the Hebrew text words and grammar unquestionably demonstrate this.

Why does this matter? Because Genesis is the core foundation of the Bible - from creation, marriage, sin, society, language, laws, redemption and more, it all starts in Genesis. And if Genesis can't be trusted as literal history written under Divine inspiration, why should we believe any other part of the Bible? If we can't believe in a creation account which has substantial scientific evidence supporting it, why should we believe in a virgin birth and resurrection which counters all scientific laws?
Over the past 50+ years, the teaching of evolution has replaced the teaching of Biblical creationsim in the public schools. We have good surveys showing that the resulting acceptance of evolutionary theory has become the number one reason youths raised in a Christian home today give up their faith. No surprise. Evolution counters Genesis, which undermines the Bible, which ultimately undermines the entire Christian faith. (It also contributes to school shootings, teenage suicides, lack of respect for others, and overall degraded societal values. After all, we're taught now that we're just animals here by accident, with no purpose in life.)

So yes, misinterpreting Genesis in order to accommodate evolutionary theory has huge, negative impacts upon Christianity. I expect this from the secular world, but it's a terrible problem for the Christian masses and churches that have jumped on the Devil's band wagon. Our Christian faith's foundation is based partly upon natural revelation, but significantly upon revealed revelation - God's Word, the Bible. In the case of Genesis, denying the literal account of Genesis is denial of God's Word given through Moses, which no mature, informed Christian should embrace.

I'd encourage everyone to get educated on the subject from a Christian, Bible respecting source. Here are two excellent, qualified presenters worth your time:

I have to offer my apologies for interrupting again, but,

Sir Joseph said:

We have good surveys showing that the resulting acceptance of evolutionary theory has become the number one reason youths raised in a Christian home today give up their faith.

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Can you post a link or citation to these surveys please?

Sir Joseph said:

The Genesis creation passage reads clearly as a 6-day 24/hr historical account.

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Even many Hebrew theologians admit that it is not written as a literal account. St. Augustine noted that the days of Genesis could not be interpreted to be ordinary 24-hour days. The text itself says it's not literal; for there could be no mornings or evenings until there was a sun to have them.

Sir Joseph said:

Why does this matter?

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It doesn't matter. God doesn't care if we like it or not. That's not how your salvation will be determined. YE creationists are no less Christians than the rest of us, unless they make an idol of their interpretation. And the same applies to those who accept evolution.

Sir Joseph said:

And if Genesis can't be trusted as literal history written under Divine inspiration, why should we believe any other part of the Bible?

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Because it's about God and humans and our relationship, not about how He had the earth bring forth living things. If one focuses on that sort of thing, one loses the entire message of Genesis.

If it was intended to be taken as a literal history, it wouldn't change a thing as far as salvation goes. And if God had magically poofed the first living things into existence, evolution would work exactly the way we see it working today. Even Darwin just assumed that God created the first living things. Made no difference to his theory. You're thinking of common descent, which has a huge amount of evidence supporting it. But it's a consequence of evolution, not evolution.

Sir Joseph said:

So yes, misinterpreting Genesis in order to accommodate evolutionary theory has huge, negative impacts upon Christianity.

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Only if YEC becomes more important than the Gospels. You won't go to hell for being a YEC. God doesn't care how you interpret Genesis as long as you get the actual message. Man was created innocent, was given an immortal soul, and disobeyed God. As God says in Genesis, eating the fruit made man like Him, potentially capable of fellowship with Him, but unable to be truly good. Hence the need for a Savior.

Sir Joseph said:

We have good surveys showing that the resulting acceptance of evolutionary theory has become the number one reason youths raised in a Christian home today give up their faith.

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Evolution is incidental, the issue is that fundamentalists on both sides insist that Christianity cannot accomodate an evolutionary account. So when faced with the overwhelming evidence in favor of evolution, they figure it demonstrates Christianity is false. So complaining about evolution because it conflicts with your interpretation increases the likelihood that people will walk away from the faith on the basis of the strength of the evidence for evolution. There are many of us who are able to accomodate evolution while remaining Christian, so the problem is the false dilemma that fundamentalists present.

Fervent said:

Evolution is incidental, the issue is that fundamentalists on both sides insist that Christianity cannot accomodate an evolutionary account. So when faced with the overwhelming evidence in favor of evolution, they figure it demonstrates Christianity is false. So complaining about evolution because it conflicts with your interpretation increases the likelihood that people will walk away from the faith on the basis of the strength of the evidence for evolution. There are many of us who are able to accomodate evolution while remaining Christian, so the problem is the false dilemma that fundamentalists present.

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Today's winner.