D is for Dragon
I’m sure you have seen several videos online joking about “people who don’t believe in dinosaurs.” These videos are indeed funny, because we have proof of dinosaurs, and we know they’re real. So it’s humorous when someone sees the scientific evidence and chooses not to believe it.
However, I was homeschooled from kindergarten to my senior year of high school, and in our household it was taught that evolution was a lie, made up by science and government to lead people astray from God and the Bible.
And, we were not the only ones in our small city of Ohio to believe this way–many other families joined us, either in our private homeschool group or in our hometown church. Our church was much larger than our homeschool co-op, and the church hosted us there for many years. Nearly every social activity I attended was held at the same church building. I was there several times a week for years, either for church or school.
I remember on February 4, 2014, our church held one of its first live streams for the community. It was to air the live debate between Ken Ham, CEO and founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, mechanical engineer and scientific television presenter. As the children who watched Bill Nye the Science Guy grew older, we were pulled into this creation-vs-evolution debate. Our two world views were colliding.
You can watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6kgvhG3AkI
When the Creation Museum opened, a revival broke out within our community. Enough people, real scientists, and respected professionals; were poking holes at traditional science–enough to create an amusement park. When I attended as a child and teenager, I remember seeing plaques and statements that said things like “carbon dating rigged in favor of published result,” “fossils mismatched to create new species,” and “dinosaurs never had feathers”. Those who were fortunate enough could buy a membership pass to the Creation Museum and come as much as they wanted. Not surprisingly, homeschoolers, Christians, and Mennonites could be found at every corner.
The point is this is how I was raised–conditioned to question science, especially evolution.
They even made us catchy, upbeat songs about it. I loved these songs and watched Buddy Davis on TV at home, on a DVD. So when my little self went to the Creation Museum for the first time, and Buddy Davis was there performing, I was so excited and pleased.
D is for Dinosaur by Buddy Davis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyUYckTo0A8
My mom could have said evolution wasn’t real, and I maybe would have believed her. But because my mom had millions of dollars at an interactive museum with dinosaurs and dragons and feel-good music backing this statement, including a never-before-seen omnimax of stars exhibit, as a child I was sold! Done deal. It was too easy.
Only Christians could turn fossils into an altar call. I applaud their dedication and creativity.
So, when I stumbled upon TikTok as an adult and heard jokes about people not believing in dinosaurs, I realized they missed the biggest punchline to the joke. They don’t believe in dinosaurs because they believe in dragons. And, the most hysterical part is, they’re not wrong.
Evolution and science aside, before 1841, dinosaurs were called dragons. Sir Richard Owen coined the term Dinosauria from the Greek words “terrible lizard” and created the Museum of Natural History in London in 1881, including his fantastic debut of dinosaur fossils and scientific evidence.
So, creationists took this fact and ran with it. This fact and many others launched the Creation Museum in Kentucky in 2007. When I was there, there was an entire section of the museum dedicated to dragons and folklore, backed with evidence and research from the Bible.
And, some believe a dragon is sleeping beneath the ocean, a demon who will wake up to destroy the world.
Leviathan: https://www.dragonsinn.net/leviathan-dragon/
What do you think?
Did God create life within the last 10,000 years?
Did life evolve from the Big Bang over billions of years?
Check my Sources:
Evolution is a Myth (creationist worldview): https://www.evolutionisamyth.com/biblical/word-dinosaur-invented-in-1842-by-richard-owen/
BBC News (secular worldview): https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lancashire-31623397
Dusty Old Thing (third reference): https://dustyoldthing.com/sir-richard-owen-dinosaurs/
Story of the Creation Museum: https://creationmuseum.org/eden/creation-story/