Dinosaurs

[Crocoduck]

The other is that all the fossils are fake and dinosaurs never existed, its just a lie to try and prove evolution.

Thats what my parents taught and I believed until sometime well after I became an adult. It seems staggering to think I could have graduated from high school without ever having such a crazy world view challenged except that I attended Christian schools and was even home schooled one year.

I had been taught that scientists were either being tricked by Satan or lying. Scientists didn't want to admit there was a God because that would have forced them to deal with the sin in their lives and apparently scientists had a lot of sins.

The worst sin most scientists were guilty of was the sin of pride and arrogance. This apparently was something they learned in their Universities. They were taught they didn't need God because they were so smart and the whole fossil record was to trick others into believing the evolution lie so no one would believe in God.

At least thats the story as best I can remember. I was taught that at a pretty young age and it wasn't the kind of thing you dare ask too many questions about if you knew what was good for you.

It's also weird but I believed all Christians knew that and believed the same thing.

[Jose AR]

Hello Happy with no god,

just wanted to chime in on the whole carbon dating issue. Darwin was very interested in geology and studied the works of Lyell. Geology was trendy in the early 1800's. People went around places and found fossils. When marine fossils were found in the high alps, geology became super trendy! Apart from guessing how these clams got up (and in) the mountain, people wondered how long these fossils were there. Lord Kelvin figured the earth was about 20million years old, based on the idea that sun was burning and had enough fuel to last that long. As geology became more sophistated, and the geologic eras were defined (jurassic, cenozioc etc) people had absolutley no idea how old anything was. So the 6,000 year guess of the biblers was just as valid as the 20million of Lord Kelvin.   

Only in the last 100 years or so have we figured out that some elements fall apart in a way that can be measured. (we call it half life) Its a wonderful piece of luck that different elements fall apart at different rates so that we can use carbon (good to about 6,000 years) potassium, uranium, etc. So by using the method of looking at different elements 'falling apart' we can measure from the thousands, to the billions of years. This method is real and proven (through dendrochronology).

Now, for someone to say that carbon dating is not real drives me nuts. When I went to grade school, plate tectonics was still only a 'theory', but the radiometric dating 'proved' the theory. To say that radiometric dating is not real somehow is like saying that a piece of paper is not 8" wide because I don't trust (understand) the ruler. If someone wants to not try and not understand, that is up to them, but they cannot then make causative arguments based on not understanding!

Of course not understanding the ruler is at the same time both the central problem and the central defense of the creationist. Not understanding the idea of 'half-life' dating makes it easy to ignore the evidence. More troubling, holding up this ignorance and using it as a shield makes ignorance a virtue. We cannot stand by and say "their ignorance hurts no one" even if really it doesn't. The ignorance should wound you deeply. Their ignorance becomes your (and our) ignorance. That not every american can explain carbon dating in a few sentences is a failure of humanity. The people who failed to defend Copernicus or Galileo were weak and lazy! We are at the yawning precipice of a new dark age, and we must stand up for the truths of science.

Jose AR

We absolutely must fight anyone who doubts radiocarbon dating. We must read and understand about it so that we have a solid understanding. To accept it without understanding it is bad form; we just need to understand it at a 'popular science' level. But we have to stand up and defend our evidence, our proof. You don't argue with the person you argue with the idea.   

[OldGit]

We are at the yawning precipice of a new dark age, and we must stand up for the truths of science.

Too bloody true.  It's terrifying.

[Asmodean]

My understanding is that dinosaurs existed millions of years ago,the proof being fossils and carbon dating. However a colleague of mine who is a born again christian      has come up with two explanations. Carbon dating is a lie, dinosaurs are not as old as we think they are, they were on the ark with all the other animals but have since died out. The other is that all the fossils are fake and dinosaurs never existed, its just a lie to try and prove evolution. The first explaination was given about a year ago, the second this week. This is just nonsense to, make things up just to fit in with the bible                       

That is giving too much credit to the scientists. Why would they even want to falsify fossils and carbon dating technology? Just to piss on religion while its back is turned?

I think I speak for the vast majority of the scientific community when I say that we DO indeed have better things to do.

[Tank]

This book Quaternery Dating Methods is a very good academic text. It covers all kinds of dating methods, including radiocarbon, dendrochronology and how they synchronise and calibrate each other.

[unholy1971]

Dinosaurs on the ark? Really...?   

No, they didn't have watches.

I love this.  So would this upset my theiest friends if I posted this on facebook. LOL

[Sweetdeath]

I love that dinosaur picture.  XD
My dad seriously thinks unicorns existed, but they died off. I was nodding along with that until he mentioned the gov hiding their existence  the public.  *facepalm*