tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145686535514494437.post6524748895889740472..comments2023-12-14T14:59:13.175+01:00Comments on Shadows in Eden: How do Creationists know what Dinosaurs looked like?Hawkwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07993700120131916459noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145686535514494437.post-2586404228308528952018-11-17T02:06:25.136+01:002018-11-17T02:06:25.136+01:00You seem to have many misunderstandings about what...You seem to have many misunderstandings about what creationists actually believe and our relationship with science and scientific research. Allow me to clear up some of these misconceptions.<br /><br />“How do creationists know what dinosaurs looked like?”<br /><br />Actually, the same way conventional scientists do. The chasm between evolutionists and creationists in regards to paleontology isn’t what most people think it is. We both observe the same universe, we study the same fossils, and we both love science (that is, knowledge gained via the scientific method). Our belief about the age of the earth or evolution doesn’t change raw facts. The real issue here isn’t the evidence at all, but the paradigm through which such evidence is interpreted. The “conventional paradigm” is defined by natural biological and geological processes occurring slowly over billions of years, while the “Genesis paradigm” interprets the evidence in the light of the timeline and events recorded in the first chapters of Genesis.<br /><br />“[Creationists] do not commit their time and resources to the rigors of museum field work. They do not spend their working lives painstakingly piecing together the herculean puzzles of fossil bones tackled by professional paleontologists...Unless someone follows the scientific method of getting down and dirty in the field, making a career of tedious but necessary lab work, and writing papers to submit to accredited peer review journals, then it is not science, and one cannot with any justification call oneself a scientist.”<br /><br />Actually, that’s a pretty accurate description of who Dr. Arthur Chadwick is and what he does for a living. Not only is he a young-earth creationist, but since the late 1990’s, he and his team have been excavating one of the largest assemblages of Edmontosaurus annectens ever found. The 100-acre dig site contains the disarticulated remains of 5,000-10,000 Edmontosaurus, in addition to other upper Cretaceous dinosaurs. Dr. Chadwick isn’t alone either; you may be surprised to know that there are a number of creationists with PhD’s and other degrees in geology and paleontology from secular universities who are doing actual, rigorous paleontological research and getting research papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Notable examples include Dr. Marcus Ross, Dr. Leonard Brand, Dr. Matthew Mcclain and Dr. Kurt Wise.<br /><br />“Give this fossil site map to a creationist, and tell them to restore the dinosaurs visible here, using only this map for reference.”<br /><br />Dr. Chadwick and his team are doing more than that; they make fossil maps like this themselves! One of Dr. Chadwick’s research interests is taphonomy, so making maps like this is of utmost importance to his research.<br /><br />“...’dinosaurs only became carnivorous once they had left the Ark, the apparent “proof” for this being that no fleshy remains had been found between their teeth’...”<br /><br />Let me present a scenario in which you are a creationist, I am an evolutionist and we are having a discussion. During our discussion, I confidently state, “We know dinosaurs are millions of years old because of carbon 14-dating!” Now, you know conventional scientists do not use carbon 14 dating on dinosaur bones (rather, they use other radiometric dating methods). Does the fact that I, an evolutionist, believe scientists use carbon 14 dating on dinosaurs mean that all evolutionists believe this? Of course not! So why would you think that just because one or two outspoken creationist say something that it is the view all creationists hold? On the contrary, creationist paleontologists like Marcus Ross argue that God originally created the basic kinds or “families” of theropods with herbivore- or omnivore-style teeth. After Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator, the entire universe was affected, including dinosaurs. Hence, carnivore-style teeth arose in later generations that speciated within the confines of their kinds some time before the Flood.Christian Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07303169931843461161noreply@blogger.com