Have you ever wondered if dragons were real? You might think they are
just a cool legend. But now you might change your mind. You may have noticed
how popular dragons are in movies and books.
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Films such as How to Train a
Dragon or Disney’s Pete’s Dragon both have the creatures as a main
character. People have been fascinated by dragons for hundreds of years.
Scientists like Dr. Andrew Snelling with Answers in Genesis and Dr. John Morris
with The Institute for Creation Research are two of the scientists researching
the link between dinosaurs and dragons. Is it possible these beasts are
dinosaurs? If we look at the legends of dragons and Biblical literature, there
is evidence of dinosaurs in recent history.
People
have encountered dragons and dinosaurs in various legends. Some people think
they are just stories, but could these dragons be recent dinosaurs? The fifth
century Greek historian, Herodotus observed, “There is a place in Arabia,
situated very near the city of Buto, to which I went, on hearing of some winged
serpents; and when I arrived there, I saw bones and spines of serpents, in such
quantities as it would be impossible to describe. The form of the serpent is
like that of the water-snake; but he has wings without feathers, and as like as
possible to the wings of a bat.” (Dragons: Evidence of Recent Dinosaurs). In
this account, Herodotus gives evidence for the recent existence of dragons/dinosaurs.
In 1614, a booklet was published describing dragon encounters in St. Leonard’s
Forest in Sussex. One of the encounters describes a young dragon that was at least
nine feet long and had black scales on his back and red scales on his belly. On
the dragons back were two lumps that people thought would grow into wings.
(Dragons: Evidence of Recent Dinosaurs) These are just two of the many accounts of
dragons/dinosaurs in the historical record.
Many Biblical Scholars including
those with Accuracy in Genesis and Answers in Genesis believe that Biblical
descriptions of dragon-like creatures are in fact dinosaurs. Job 41 describes
such a creature. The website Accuracy in Genesis reports, “Leviathan, a mighty
sea creature with scales and terrible teeth. Arrows, swords, stones and
javelins cannot harm him and he regards iron as straw. A flame goes out of his
mouth and smoke out of his nostrils. He makes the sea boil and leaves a
shimmering wake. His heart is hard as stone and when he rises up the mighty become
afraid. Sounds like the classic dragon from the dark ages, does it not?” Another
passage in Job depicts a huge beast called Behemoth. He has bones like iron
bars and a tail like a thick, strong tree. Behemoth is also incredibly strong. Scholars
have proposed this describes a hippopotamus or an elephant but neither has a
very big tail. The Bible gives us support toward recent existence of
dinosaurs/dragons.
Given all of the available evidence, it
would seem that dragons did exist and are, in fact, recent dinosaurs. Many
scientists begin with the assumption that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago
and therefore could not explain the many dinosaur legends. The similarities
between the two are unmistakable. (Dragons:
Legends Lore of Dinosaurs 9)
Sources:
Accuracy in Genesis. 2 May 2012. http://www.accuracyingenesis.com/.
Dragons: legends and lore of
dinosaurs. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2011.
Northwest Creation Network. 2 May
2012. http://nwcreation.net/dinosdragons.html.
The Holy Bible. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 2006.
Hope you enjoyed!
