Were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark?

[m_gigena]

Were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark?

http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2001/dinos_on_ark.asp

The story we have all heard from movies, television, newspapers, and most magazines and textbooks is that dinosaurs "ruled the Earth" for 140 million years, died out 65 million years ago, and therefore weren't around when Noah and company set sail on the Ark around 4,300 years ago.

However, the Bible gives a completely different view of Earth (and therefore, dinosaur) history. As God's written Word to us, we can trust it to tell the truth about the past. (For more information about the reliability of Scripture, see Q&A: Bible.)
   1. God made everything in six days, and rested on the seventh. (By the way, this is the basis for our seven day week—Exodus 20:8–11). Leading Hebrew scholars indicate that, based on the grammatical structure of Genesis 1, these "days" were normal-length, and did not represent long periods of time (see Q&A: Genesis).
   2. We are told God created the first man and woman—Adam and Eve—on Day 6, along with the land animals (which would have included dinosaurs).
   3. The Bible records the genealogies from Adam to Christ. From the ages given in these lists (and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth around 2,000 years ago), we can conclude that the universe is only a few thousand years old (perhaps just 6,000), and not millions of years old (see also The earth: how old does it look? especially under Jesus and the age of the world). Thus, dinosaurs lived within the past few thousand years.

So, were dinosaurs on the Ark?

In Genesis 6:19–20, the Bible says that two of every sort of land vertebrate (seven of the "clean" animals) were brought by God to the Ark. Therefore, dinosaurs (land vertebrates) were represented on the Ark.
How did those huge dinosaurs fit on the Ark?

Although there are about 668 names of dinosaurs, there are perhaps only 55 different "kinds" of dinosaurs. Furthermore, not all dinosaurs were huge like the Brachiosaurus, and even those dinosaurs on the Ark were probably "teenagers" or young adults.

Creationist researcher John Woodmorappe has calculated that Noah had on board with him representatives from about 8,000 animal genera (including some now-extinct animals), or around 16,000 individual animals. When you realize that horses, zebras, and donkeys are probably descended from the horse-like "kind", Noah did not have to carry two sets of each such animal. Also, dogs, wolves, and coyotes are probably from a single canine "kind", so hundreds of different dogs were not needed.

According to Genesis 6:15, the Ark measured 300 x 50 x 30 cubits, which is about 460 x 75 x 44 feet, with a volume of about 1.52 million cubic feet. Researchers have shown that this is the equivalent volume of 522 standard railroad stock cars (US), each of which can hold 240 sheep. By the way, only 11% of all land animals are larger than a sheep.

Without getting into all the math, the 16,000-plus animals would have occupied much less than half the space in the Ark (even allowing them some moving-around space).
Conclusion

The Bible is reliable in all areas, including its account of the Ark (and the worldwide catastrophic Flood). A Christian doesn't have to have a blind faith to believe that there really was an Ark. What the Bible says about the Ark can even be measured and tested today.

For answers to other objections about the biblical account of Noah's Flood and the Ark (e.g., Where did all the water come from? How did Noah collect and then care for the animals? etc.), see the books featured below.* The Answers Book—chapters 12 and 13, in particular, cover these particular "problems" related to Noah's Flood, and Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study covers these and more in detail. *




*The right sentence should go "For answers, pay for the book featured below".

[Norbeone]

Is Saul's favourite composer Beethoven?

[Hector]

Of course not and that is why they are extinct!

[Ten thumbs]

The Bible says nothing about there being three kings though.

[маразм1]

Of course not and that is why they are extinct!

I don't think the Bible should be taken literally.  Just like the sun does not revolve around the Earth.  The Bible is not a scientific paper, it's a collection of myths.  Just like we shouldn't take Greek myths seriously.  In my opinion, the Bible is a collection of stories/myths/fables written by many wise men (or women); and everybody should read it.  Many things concerning morality, human interaction are explained to us.  But such a work should not be taken literally, unless you are a Church fanatic.  That's why we have science.  That's why evolution is taught in schools (despite what our president is trying to do). 
Otherwise, we will start sacrificing our farm animals...and then PETA will come after us 

[Kullervo]

Were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark?

I think the eminent theologian Jack Chick has answered this question in a comprehensive manner.



Clearly there is little room for argument.

[Saul]

Is Saul's favourite composer Beethoven?

Are you.. 'YOU'?

[JoshLilly]

I wonder how long it took for all the subspecies of snail, and sloth, and so on, to get from South America, Australia, and the far reaches of the globe, to the Middle East. And then how long did it take them to reach their home areas again properly? How did they get food for specialised animals that can only subsist on very specific food sources that only grow in very specific locales? Did kangaroos swim across the Indian Ocean? I really do wonder about some of these things.

[bwv 1080]

How did they get rid of all the shit?

Sanitation and water disposal. The mention of waste brings attention to that problem. All authorities on animal care insist on the cleanliness of the stalls, urging the daily removal of waste and soiled bedding. Neubuser remarks that "the removal of zoo waste presents almost insuperable difficulties" (p. 170); on the ark these must have multiplied manyfold. Creationists Balsiger and Sellier suggest that the bottom deck was used to store slurry, which accumulated to 800 tons during the voyage. However, a single adult elephant could produce 40 tons during this time (Coe), and there were many creatures even larger. Our average animal, the sheep, produces 0.34 tons per year; poultry, 0.047 (Sainsbury and Sainsbury, p. 110). Multiplying the number of vertebrates by 0.34, the seven pairs of birds by 0.047, yields 25,508 tons of waste—six times heavier than the ark itself! Of course, hibernation would greatly reduce this quantity, while the invertebrates and dinosaurs would add to it. Whatever the total, it would have been an awesome amount on the overcrowded boat, a breeder of infinite numbers of pathogens, and a source of noxious, choking fumes.

http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/8619_issue_11_volume_4_number_1__3_12_2003.asp#Caring%20for%20the%20Cargo

[Shrunk]

It's truly amazing and alarming the number of people who seriously believe in a literal global flood.  I'd like to see them take up the challenge voiced here to prove once and for all the Noah's ark story is true.

[pjme]

The cover says it all : This is the way it was!

[orbital]

Eddie Izzard's take on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFdmG-TRxzE

[маразм1]

The cover says it all : This is the way it was!

haha! I saw that movie.  Girls in Bikinis, with bleached blond hair, and makeup, running away from dinosaurs!  Kewl

[karlhenning]

All day long I've been misreading this thread title:

We're dinosaurs on Noah's Ark?

[pjme]

I like that Karl!
Noach's Ark becomes Charon's bark on the Styx, or the boat to Osiris' realm...

The dinosaurs rest already in peace.



The Belgian Iguanodons.

[Norbeone]

All day long I've been misreading this thread title:

You got writer's block, too?

Suppose this forum isn't the worst place to be until something comes.

[lukeottevanger]

The cover says it all : This is the way it was!

1000000? How can this be? 6000 at most, surely?

[Catison]

I think most Christians don't rely upon Gen. 1-11 for scientific accuracy.

[Brian]

I think most Christians don't rely upon Gen. 1-11 for scientific accuracy.

Perhaps they do in America, the nation where 37% of those surveyed want evolution out of schools and 51% believe "God created man exactly in his present form."

[eyeresist]

My favourite bit:

Creationist researcher John Woodmorappe has calculated that Noah had on board with him representatives from about 8,000 animal genera (including some now-extinct animals), or around 16,000 individual animals. When you realize that horses, zebras, and donkeys are probably descended from the horse-like "kind", Noah did not have to carry two sets of each such animal. Also, dogs, wolves, and coyotes are probably from a single canine "kind", so hundreds of different dogs were not needed.

So they could fit all the animals on the ark thanks to, er, evolution?