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First off, let me say, I was not sure which forum to put this in - the Non-Catholic one or the Apologetics one. But I decided to post this thread in this forum, because I believe it’s the most appropriate. If, on the other hand, it turns out I erred, please let me know and move this thread to the appropriate forum. Thank you!
Now than…Dinosaurs! They have to be the most fascinating creatures God has ever created. No one knows for sure how they become extinct, but everyone knows they all died - and this fact has been used for years by some non-catholics to challenge - though not necessarily attack - Catholicism. “If death didn’t come into the world until Adam and Eve had sinned, then how do you explain the dinosaurs?” some non-catholics like to argue.
Well, I have to admit, this was my understanding as well for a long, long time. I considered all of creation, and all living things within, to be immortal, until, that is, Adam and Eve decided to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But recently I began to ponder the question…how indeed could the dinosaurs have become extinct if they were created immortal?
As it turns out, this is not the case. The dinosaurs were not at all immortal. God only created man and woman immortal - nothing else on earth was created immortal. Which means that there is no contradiction between religion and science.
And, here’s where I found out the truth:
Original Sin
Question from on 10-22-2007:
Dr. Geraghty,
I am currently reading Augustine in my Philosophy of Religion class, and am having difficulty with the notion of original sin. I understand how it could be a convincing Theodicy in his time, but am wondering how one would defend it in light of what we now know about the history of our planet. If we look at dinosaurs, for example, they were already living in a world of disease, carnivores, and natural disasters - long before the first man could have sinned. How do we interpret the doctrine of Original Sin in light of this?
Thanks, David
Answer by Richard Geraghty on 10-23-2007:
Dear David,
Let us assume for the sake of argument that the dinosaurs existed long before the first human pair, Adam and Eve. I assume that they were grass eaters and carnivores, that other kinds of animals lived and died. I make no assumption that the equivalent of lions and sheep lay down with each other eating grass. No. Lions still ate sheep. Now when Adam and Eve first appeared in the Garden of Eden, they had the special gift of immortality, unlike the other animals. They could not suffer and die because of God’s gift. But when they sinned, they lost the gift of being free of death and suffering. The other animals never had these gifts.
Dr. Geraghty
Source: ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=518753&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2008&Author=&Keyword=dinosaurs&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=4&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=
Now than…Dinosaurs! They have to be the most fascinating creatures God has ever created. No one knows for sure how they become extinct, but everyone knows they all died - and this fact has been used for years by some non-catholics to challenge - though not necessarily attack - Catholicism. “If death didn’t come into the world until Adam and Eve had sinned, then how do you explain the dinosaurs?” some non-catholics like to argue.
Well, I have to admit, this was my understanding as well for a long, long time. I considered all of creation, and all living things within, to be immortal, until, that is, Adam and Eve decided to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But recently I began to ponder the question…how indeed could the dinosaurs have become extinct if they were created immortal?
As it turns out, this is not the case. The dinosaurs were not at all immortal. God only created man and woman immortal - nothing else on earth was created immortal. Which means that there is no contradiction between religion and science.
And, here’s where I found out the truth:
Original Sin
Question from on 10-22-2007:
Dr. Geraghty,
I am currently reading Augustine in my Philosophy of Religion class, and am having difficulty with the notion of original sin. I understand how it could be a convincing Theodicy in his time, but am wondering how one would defend it in light of what we now know about the history of our planet. If we look at dinosaurs, for example, they were already living in a world of disease, carnivores, and natural disasters - long before the first man could have sinned. How do we interpret the doctrine of Original Sin in light of this?
Thanks, David
Answer by Richard Geraghty on 10-23-2007:
Dear David,
Let us assume for the sake of argument that the dinosaurs existed long before the first human pair, Adam and Eve. I assume that they were grass eaters and carnivores, that other kinds of animals lived and died. I make no assumption that the equivalent of lions and sheep lay down with each other eating grass. No. Lions still ate sheep. Now when Adam and Eve first appeared in the Garden of Eden, they had the special gift of immortality, unlike the other animals. They could not suffer and die because of God’s gift. But when they sinned, they lost the gift of being free of death and suffering. The other animals never had these gifts.
Dr. Geraghty
Source: ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=518753&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2008&Author=&Keyword=dinosaurs&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=4&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=
