Christians' Views on Cavemen and Dinosaurs

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Question: Do Christians think cavemen, dinosaurs, and other prehistoric creatures existed? I wonder, since obviously most don't believe in evolution, how fossils of such creatures are explained? Especially Neanderthal fossils?

  

My Reply:

Actually, even though many of us don't believe in evolution, we do believe that cavemen and "prehistoric" creatures existed...not only because of the evidence though, but also because the Bible even mentions them.

Cavemen:
In Genesis when Lot and his daughters were running from the destruction of Sodom, they asked the Lord if they could instead live among those in the caves, for safety from those in the surrounding towns. Also, in Judges 6, due to the continuous attacks from surrounding nations, the Israelites were forced to live in the caves.

Dinosaurs:

1. "Answers In Genesis" has done several reports on this.
2. During creation, God created all the creatures, and brought them to Adam to name. They also lived together in the garden, and no doubt outside of it once everybody and everything was kicked out.
3. Several dinosaurs are mentioned throughout the Bible, only they don't have names like T-Rex, or even the name "Dinosaur". Instead, they have names from back then. Check out Job 40:15-24 for details on the "Behemoth", and Job 41:1-34 for the "Leviathan". Granted, scientists have tried relating them to modern day hippos and crocks, but if you'll look at the description, such is not actually possible. In fact, many Christians are beginning to believe that even dragons (flying, fire-breathing, etc.) once existed, some having to do with the descriptions of such in the Bible.
4. The Bible also says that the animals were created before humans.  Some have suggested the idea that dinosaurs were before man, and that this part in Genesis 1 confirms such a possibility.
5. The Bible also mentions that God created the world, and that there was a place called, "Eden", and that in it, God had placed a garden.  In this garden was where humans and all the animals brought to humans lived.  But since fossils have been found worldwide, some have also suggested the idea of dinosaurs living OUTSIDE Eden's garden at a time, whether before or during the existence of humans, and whether before or after humans were kicked out of the garden.

Some other online resources you could check out include:

http://www.bible.ca/tracks/b-dinosaurs-mentioned-in-bible.htm

Where Did Cain's Wife Come From?

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Question: In the bible it talks about Eve bearing 3 sons but it also says that eve and Adam were the only two ever to have no earthly father or mother, so when Cain went to live in nod, where did his wife come from?

My Reply:

Yes, the Bible does talk about Eve bearing 3 sons, but it also tells us that they had many other sons and daughters. And being the 1st parents created, Adam and Eve surely made many and many children!

Remember, Adam lived a really long time, and I doubt they only had 1 child a year...they were commanded to fill the earth with people (paraphrased), so I don't doubt the Lord caused Eve to give birth to like, quintuplets or something, at least several times in her life.
Also, we don't know how old Cain and Abel were when the murder took place...so it could've been well over enough time for other children to grow old enough to move away. 

I used to wonder why Cain was afraid of being killed after being sent away. I read recently that these other sons and daughters no doubt knew their brother Abel. So their wanting to kill their other brother Cain would be due to their knowing of what he did to Abel (or more if he ticked them off beforehand).  So Cain's wife was either a sister, niece, or child of a niece (or child of the child of a niece).  That information though is not explained basically because it's not needed to understand the lineage of the patriarchs, the experiences of God’s people, or the prophesies or lineages connected to the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Plus, everybody connected with Cain died in the flood anyway, so there's no need to go back and figure out her part of Adam's lineage.

---Pastor Andy

What's the difference between the Quran and the Bible?

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My Reply:

A lot of people may think that because both the Bible and the Quran claim the name of God, that they're very much the same.  But there are really a lot of differences between the two.  Some of these differences between the Bible and the Quran are:


-The Bible was written by evangelists and scribes inspired by God.
-The Quran was written by generals inspired by greed, power, and conflict.

-The Bible was written 500 years before the Quran, and speaks of the Truth.
-The Quran was written later, supposedly based upon the Bible, yet contradicts the Bible, even claiming the Bible to be corrupt.

-The Bible tells of Jesus being the Messiah who died on the cross, was resurrected 3 days later, and ascended into Heaven.
-The Quran tells of Jesus falsifying his death on the cross, walking around 3 days later claiming to have died, and of Him ascending into Heaven.

-The Bible's books are categorized in chapter and verse.
-The Quran is categorized only by verse (or is it only by chapter? Or maybe it’s every 10 verses.)

-The Bible has many styles in its writings (letters, prophesy, prayers, history, songs, wisdom, laws, Gospel, etc.)
-The Quran is basically written in the form of the Bible's Proverbs (wisdom), and instructions (do this, not this, accept these people, not those people, trust these people, hate and don’t trust these people, etc.)

-The Bible is the Word of God, telling of God’s history with and among His people.

-The Quran is a word of humans, meant to persuade, advise, and tell of Muhammad’s history among his people.

-Muslims don't consider translations of the Quran holy. Only the original language to them is holy.

-The Bible is Holy regardless of the language it's in (you've also got to figure, God created all languages).

-The Bible is Truth-based.

-The Quran is more opinion/advise-based.

-In the Bible, Jesus says not to trust anyone who comes after Him claiming to be the Messiah, for such will only be false prophets.
-The Quran says to believe Jesus and to trust the Gospels.

…just to name a few.

 ---Pastor Andy

Confused About Faith and God

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Question:

I want to believe but it's so hard for me to believe in God. A while back I had a lot of faith in my religion (Christianity) and I was the happiest guy in the world because I always felt there was someone who truly loved me no matter what. I would do my best to keep the commandments and in doing so I felt that I was doing the right thing and so no matter how much I would go through I wasn't worried because according to scripture, God would help me get through it. I would even go to church by myself because my mom was an Evangelical Christian and I was LDS so I would sit by myself in church, however I never felt lonely. Recently I lost my faith due to everything that goes on in this world. For example, the Bible says the Earth is only 6,000 years old but I know better than that and I know evolution was the means by which Humans came into existence but then again I had a friend who believed that god used Evolution to create Humanity. In conclusion I don't care if I have to blindly follow my religion because having faith in God made my life soooooooo much better! Even if there is no God I'd rather believe than not. I need advice on how I can gain faith.

My Reply:

So let me get this straight...you were solid in your faith when it came to going through anything in your personal life, and you lost your faith when it came to questions about things outside your life but in the rest of the world?
My friend, I see that your problem was recognizing Christianity as a religion where you had to do things in order to feel holy, and how you feel as your confirmation of God's existence. But being a Christian is about being in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and because of this relationship, you are already ARE holy (regardless of how you feel).
There are problems in the world simply because we live in a world tainted by sin. Check here to help with another view on this, as well as other questions: http://www.answersingenesis.org/
The LDS' idea about God and Jesus is also tainted by sin, which may also be what helped you get to where you are now. Have you tried talking with your mom about Jesus? Try reading her Bible (not the book of Mormon). For example, look at John 14:6, and compare that to what the LDS said about Jesus.
To be perfectly honest, if questions about the world are what caused you to fall out of faith, I have to wonder what kept you in the LDS faith for so long?  For example, have you ever seen the golden plates?  History says nobody but Smith has. Have you done research on events and places in the book of Mormon? Archaeology has and continues to prove and give evidence to the Holy Bible and its events, cultures and locations, but nothing has been proven or discovered in terms of the book of Mormon. So what (other than the feeling of God's presence) kept you involved with the church of LDS?  And with so little to base your LDS faith on, why such difficulty in believing in God through Christianity?

---Pastor Andy