Faith | Dinosaurs may be extinct, but belief in creationism is alive and well

Many of our children, including my grandson, are fascinated with dinosaurs.

If we think about it, we all have an impression, a memory, or an opinion about these incredible creatures. It may even be how do you pronounce and spell all those crazy long names, let alone which name goes with which one?

A local attraction that is a fun day trip is in Granger where they have over 30 life-sized statues of dinosaurs. My grandson and I had a great time touring Dinosaur Drive in Granger’s downtown.

During my grandson’s dinosaur obsession, he brought home an elementary school library book that taught dinosaurs came into existence by means of evolution. He told me that he asked the school librarian if there were any books that taught that God created them, and he was told no.

I wish our public schools would present creationism (Intelligent Design) as a possible alternative. I shared my story with a local school board member to bring awareness and, hopefully, to include a few books that promote a viable option to evolution.

We are frequent visitors to different branches of the Mid-Columbia Library and at the time, we couldn’t find any physical books on dinosaurs that didn’t teach the theory of evolution. We requested they purchase “Dinosaurs for Kids” by Ken Ham, who is noted for building the full size replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky, named Ark Encounter. This particular book offers a view based on creationism. They were kind enough to purchase the book, and it is now a welcome addition to the library for our grandson and others to enjoy.

Creationists and evolutionists have differing opinions.

Creationists believe in the biblical account, that the universe and living organisms originated from specific acts of divine creation. According to the Bible, God created the world and us in his image. In Genesis 1:1-2:4, Psalm 139:13-16 and Colossians 1:16, God created the Heavens, the Earth, and all living and nonliving things. God created Adam and Eve, and the entire human race descended from them.

The Theory of Evolution is “... the theory that every group of organisms descended from a common ancestor, and that all groups of organisms, including animals, plants, and microorganisms, ultimately go back to a ‘Single origin of life on earth.” (University of Cinncinati)

Both creationists and evolutionists easily acknowledge that the modern day inventions of a F-22 fighter jet, the Freedom Tower, or Mount Rushmore couldn’t have happened by accident or chance, but had to have a designer. I believe a much more complex structure, a living breathing human being, had a creator.

To me, it seems to be a blind leap of faith that the universe popped into existence as if by magic; in that matter created itself out of nothing by sheer random accident.

This seems to defy all science and mathematical probability, in my opinion. Others can consider another perspective, but I’ll stick with the idea that God, who wants a personal relationship with us, created this beautiful world by design.

Dinosaurs may be extinct, but my beliefs don’t have to be.