What Caused Dinosaurs to Become Extinct?

Sometimes I think that I must have too much time on my hands. Or that I think about things way too much. I have often listened to people discussing (mild word for what usually happens) their view points on religion and God. These discussions often lead to such topics as to whether God even exists, creation of man in the image of God vs. the evolution of man from monkeys and apes, or the creation of the world vs. the big bang theory.

A few days ago, I read a hub titled, Asteroids Killed Off the Dinosaurs!! written by JenJen0703. Her hub caught my attention and then as I read it, I knew I had found someone who had the same sense of humor as I do. In this article she quoted herself as having asked someone, "So, what you are telling me is that every single dinosaur had an asteroid with his or her name on it, created just for their death?" That statement struck me as extremely funny. It sounded like something you would see in the cartoons. Asteroids with names on them, aimed at each dinosaur individually.

There are lots of theories out there about what actually happened to the dinosaurs. I am going to share some of them with you (only briefly – I am no expert) and then I will present another possible option. And that’s all it is – an option. I really have no idea what really happened to the dinosaurs, and I doubt that the actual reason for their extinction will ever be proven. But my crazy theory challenges even their existence. Now if I were you, I'd probably think, "She has finally lost it!" But keep reading ...

First of all, let’s look at some of the other theories. Remember, I am not a science major so there will be many of you out there who have done much more study and research on this topic and I look forward to the discussions that ensue in the comments. My only qualification for writing this hub is that sometimes I think too much … period. Sounds like interesting qualifications, don't you think?

A massive asteroid impact as mentioned in JenJen0703’s hub is one such theory. This impact would have caused an enormous dust cloud to envelop the earth and block out the sun causing an ice age that killed off the dinosaurs. I’m not sure why the dinosaurs died when other plants and animals did not, but … that is one of the theories.

Another theory describes a scenario in which large amounts of acid rain, caused by extreme volcanic activity, which in turn was caused by heavy tectonic activity, fell on the Earth. The effect of this series of events supposedly could have changed the Earth’s climate enough to have caused a mass extinction. One such time of extreme tectonic and volcanic activity occurred when the supercontinent Pangaea was splitting apart into continents in their present forms and to their present locations. The volcanic activity would have thrown much dust and acidic elements into the atmosphere, again causing an ice age as mentioned with the asteroid hit. And then once again, not sure why the dinosaurs died when other plants and animals survived … but it could have happened that way.

Another theory that has been bantered about would be caused by changes in the earth’s orbit. Two incidents that could cause these changes might be an asteroid strike or tectonic plate activity. For example, the earthquake in Japan caused a change in the tilt of the Earth on its axis. Changes in the Earth’s orbit could cause climatic cooling. In this theory it is thought that the dinosaurs couldn’t adapt to this climatic cooling, whereas the mammals possessing fur coats could. Therefore, the mammals survived and the dinosaurs did not. Interesting … stranger things have turned out to be true.

Another theory presented supposes that large amounts of methane gas formed around the planet and changed the Earth’s atmosphere. This would cause what we know as the greenhouse effect. It is believed that this large amount of methane gas could have been caused from the digestive processes of plant-eating dinosaurs and/or by deep-sea algae deposits. As an example, cows are known to create much methane through their digestive processes. This greenhouse effect caused climatic changes …

Another theory sets up the scenario of the plant eating dinosaurs over grazing the Earth. This caused an increasing lack of food for them. At the same time the meat eating dinosaurs were killing off too many of the plant eating dinosaurs who were not able to multiply enough to replace those eaten. They both literally ate themselves into starvation. Soon there were not enough plants or meat to keep either type of dinosaur alive.

The last theory put forward states that a nearby supernova (an exploding star) would have caused the Earth to be engulfed in radiation. Yes this would have killed off all the dinosaurs, but it would have also destroyed all other living creatures as well.

Before we move over to play in my sandbox, I want to state that you will need to do so with an open mind. I also need to tell you that I don’t feel a need to defend this theory because it is just a product of my overactive imagination. It’s just another possibility, albeit not as scientific as the ones previously mentioned. In this scenario, not only do you have to keep an open mind, but you will have to think creatively.

Many scientists believe that the dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago. Many Christians believe that the Earth and all that was in it was created approximately 6000 years ago. Let me present to you a scenario that would allow both of these to be correct at the same time. Do I have your attention yet?

Remember, earlier I stated that I was not a scientist, so there will be many more who know so much more than I do about the scientific theories. I would also like to state now, that I am no Bible scholar. There are many much more qualified than I am in this area also. This is just a theory created by an overactive imagination.

Let’s suppose that there really is a creator God. And let’s suppose that He did create the entire Earth, and all the surrounding galaxies, in 6 days, 6000 years ago.

Let’s also suppose that He created man. God knew that his creation would be resourceful, ingenious, creative, and inquisitive. He also knew that man would strive to conquer his world, and would need to be challenged in order to survive.

So when creating this world that we live on, God also created dilemmas, mysteries and challenges for us to ponder and solve. He could have created the Earth with all the fossils already in place making it appear as if they had been here 65 million years ago. He could have created fossil records that allowed people to believe that man descended from apes. He could have done this to challenge our minds, but also to challenge our faith. This theory is possible … it’s as possible as any stated above.

In this scenario, we can find dinosaur bones from millions of years ago found on an earth a few thousand years old. That's quite a feat!