IN THE BEGINNING… DINOSAURS?

A few weeks ago, I was invited to answer some questions from our middle school students. One of the very first was: “Where are dinosaurs in the creation story?” I paused—not because I was caught off guard, but because I wanted to take the question seriously. I looked at the earnest faces around the room, each one waiting for an answer that could connect prehistoric creatures with the story in Genesis.

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"Well," I said, "it's a fair question—dinosaurs are fascinating. But I wonder if we might be asking the wrong question."

It’s not that wondering when God made dinosaurs is a bad thing. Curiosity is good. But sometimes we come to the Bible looking for answers it was never meant to give. We bring modern scientific questions to ancient sacred texts and then feel frustrated or confused when we don’t find the kind of answers we’re after.

Genesis wasn’t written to explain evolution or catalog species. Its writers weren’t focused on timelines or fossils. They were trying to tell us something deeper: that creation is not an accident, that humanity matters, and that the One who made all things is intentional and good. Genesis answers questions about why the world exists, not how it unfolded across millennia.

But it goes both ways—we do this with science, too.

We turn to science for answers about meaning and purpose. We hope that with enough data, enough discovery, enough understanding, we’ll uncover scientific answers to the questions that tug at our hearts: 
“Why am I here?” 
“What’s the point of it all?” 
“Is there more to life than this?” 
But those kinds of questions belong to a different realm. Not because science is lacking, but because those answers require something other than measurement and observation.

Science is incredibly good at what it does. It helps us understand the world—how stars form, how DNA works, how ecosystems thrive or collapse. But it doesn’t tell us what makes beauty beautiful or why compassion stirs something in us or what love ultimately means.

The tension between faith and science often isn’t about contradiction. It’s about category. We ask each to do something it wasn’t designed for.

Wisdom, I think, begins with learning which questions to bring where. When we want to understand the age of the earth or how species evolve, science gives us the tools. When we wrestle with meaning, with purpose, with how to live, religious traditions carry deep wells of insight.

Both faith and science lead us into awe. Both require humility. Both can deepen our understanding—if we let them speak in their own voices.

So, next time someone asks where dinosaurs show up in Genesis, maybe the most faithful response is: “The Bible isn’t trying to tell us about dinosaurs. It’s telling us something even bigger—about who we are, who God is, and how we live in relationship with both Creator and creation.”

When we bring the right questions to the right places, we just might find that both faith and science have space to breathe—and maybe even help each other point toward truth.

Peace,
Travis Segar
Pastor for Care and Community