Dinosaurs and the Bible

There is widespread controversy about dinosaurs: When did they roam the earth? Did they coexist with humans? Why did they go extinct? These are common questions that evolutionists and creationists alike try to explain.
In the article “Dinosaurs and the Bible” Ken Ham tries to explain biblically these common questions about dinosaurs. He explains that in the school systems today, we are taught that dinosaurs lived millions of year ago and went extinct before humans were even on the earth. Ham then refutes this by explaining that dinosaurs did in fact exist with humans, and using the bible as his reference proves his point. According to the language of this article, it seems that this article is aimed at a reader who isn’t knowledgeable on the subject. He uses simple language, and gives additional explanations for certain concepts of evolution, and ideas that he uses. This aids in the comprehension of the beliefs that Ham proposes. Ham certainly proves his credibility throughout by giving multiple scripture passages, and using the evolutionist theories to strengthen his statements. He clearly explains his beliefs in a convincing way. He also raises many common questions, and then gives a logical answer that fits perfectly with his ideas. However, there could have been more counter arguments to further back up the statements made by Ham. In the conclusion of the article, Ham gives the gospel message, which could possibly be viewed as an emotional appeal because the reader is swayed to another topic, and perhaps affecting their views on the creationism outlook. This change in topic also takes away from the argument made and possibly lessens the strength of the argument. It makes for a weak final impression, in terms of Hams original argument. This next article “Debating the Dinosaur Extinction,” Leslie Mullen explores the possibility that the chicxulub crater was the result of a meteorite that killed the dinosaurs. This is not a direct opposing view of the first article; however the theories stated by Mullen do contradict the beliefs of Ham’s article.
It is apparent that Mullen’s audience is evolutionists who don’t even consider the Bible as a possible source of explanation. She never mentions anything about opposing views, except for other possible evolutionist theories, implying that only her belief is correct. This biased approach weakens her credibility, because the reader is missing half of the argument. Mullen does however seem to be knowledgeable on the subject. There are examples that explain the ideas or theories that Mullen is proposing. Also there are sufficient statistical evidences that help prove her point. Despite the evidence supporting Mullen’s belief, her credibility is marred due to the lack of a counter argument. The final paragraph of this article leaves the reader unfulfilled. Mullen proposes a single question, which goes unanswered. This hanging ending makes a weak final statement, and overall weakens the argument. Over all, I believe that Ken Ham definitely made the better argument. He addresses many of the points of good rhetoric, where Mullen lacked in many of those areas. Ham backed up his arguments with the opposing views, where Mullen completely ignored any opposing view. Also Ham thoroughly discussed his view where I believe that Mullen could have developed her view more. Both of the conclusions were generally weak, however Ham made up for this by having strengths in the other areas of rhetoric.

References

Ham, Ken (2006). Dinosaurs and the Bible. Retrieved October 29, 2006, from Answers in Genesis Web site: http://www.answersinggenesis.org/docs/2.asp

Mullen, Leslie (2006, October 13). Debating the Dinosaur Extinction. Retrieved November 2, 2006, from Astrobiology Magazine Web site: http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1243