Creation Science Rebuttal
Creation Science Evangelism
Birds from Dinosaurs?
By Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 29 August 2005
In one article on Kent Hovind's website, Creation Science Evangelism, Bruce Malone argues against the popular theory that today's modern birds descended from dinosaurs. 1
I will be the first to admit that the jury is still out on this one, as not all paleontologists are convinced. However, one cannot help when reading Malone's article to notice some glaring mistakes, which demonstrate the quality of his scientific work and conclusions. He makes three observations concerning this theory.
1. "Birds have a totally different respiratory system than reptiles." While nice to know, this is irrelevant, because dinosaurs are not reptiles. Reptiles are a totally different class of animal from dinosaurs. All reptiles are cold-blooded. However, many paleontologists believe that many of the dinosaur species were warm-blooded, especially those of the Raptor family, the most likely ancestors of birds. Therefore, Malone is probably comparing apples and oranges.
2. "The hollow bones, muscle design, keen eyesight, neurological commands, instincts, feathers, and a hundred other unique bird features are completely different from reptiles." Again, nice to know, but irrelevant, because dinosaurs are not reptiles. When the study of dinosaurs first began, they were compared to reptiles, and reputable scientists at the time referred to them as such. This is no longer the case.
3. To paraphrase, Archaeopteryx is too old (150 million years) to have been a transitional form between dinosaurs and birds. Malone is truthful here, as many believe it was a true bird. However, this matters not. If the fossil record were complete, this would be a valid argument, but we will never have a complete fossil record. We have no way of knowing, when this transition occurred, if it occurred. Nor do we know how many times it occurred. Archaeopteryx may have become extinct, and did not evolve further, but another line of dinosaurs could have evolved into birds, separate from archaeopteryx. This may be indicated by the many excellent feathered dinosaurs found in China in recent years.
Rather than relying on current scientific information, Malone, in referring dinosaurs to reptiles, is mired in pre-1970s scientific information. Such is the poor quality of his scientific research.
1 Malone, Bruce, Fine Feathered Friends and Dinosaurs, CSE website (www.drdino.com/articles.php?spec=26) (copy link into your browser's address bar to view). Link last checked 26 Jan 06)
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