Interestingly, the Awake article on dinosaurs (feb 8 90) managed to have a sub-heading "When did they live?" but managed to completely avoid answering the question.
Eyeslice
ARTICLE AS FOLLOWS:
Discovering ?The Great Reptiles? of the Past
WHEN you stand on the edge of the Red Deer River valley, just south of the town of Drumheller in Alberta, Canada, you stand on the edge of two different worlds. At eye level, in every direction, are the endless wheat fields of the Alberta prairies. But looking down the cliffs into the dry and barren valley, visitors can imagine another world far removed from their own?the world of the dinosaurs.
In this valley, with its steep canyons of multicolored sedimentary rock layers, hundreds of dinosaur bones have been unearthed. Some people in this area call the barren canyon ?the badlands.? But visitors, young and old alike, are filled with astonishment as they view the fossil legacy of some of the most amazing animals that ever lived on earth.
Discovering Dinosaurs
Before 1824, dinosaurs were unknown to man. In that year the bones of several kinds of fossilized reptiles were unearthed in England. British paleontologist Richard Owen called these animals Dinosauria, from the two Greek words deinos and sauros, meaning ?terrible lizard.? The name remains in common use to this day, although while dinosaurs are reptiles, they are not lizards.
Since 1824, dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent. The fossil record, left in layers of sedimentary, or water-laid, rock, indicates that there was an extraordinary abundance and variety of dinosaur types at a time in earth?s history called the Age of Dinosaurs. Some made their home on land, while others lived in swamps. Some perhaps even lived in water, much like the present-day hippopotamus.
Large quantities of dinosaur remains?including such nonskeletal evidence as tracks?have been unearthed in the Great Central Plain of North America. The prairies of central Alberta have yielded many dinosaur remains, including nearly 500 complete skeletons. In the 1920?s, expeditions discovered dinosaur bones in the Gobi Desert of central Asia. In the 1940?s a Soviet expedition in Mongolia discovered a dinosaur skeleton some 40 feet [12 m] in length.
In 1986 Argentine scientists discovered the fossils of a plant-eating dinosaur in Antarctica. Until then, Antarctica had been the only major land area where dinosaur fossils had not been found. Just before that, an American researcher found dinosaur bones on the North Slope of Alaska. Throughout the last hundred years, deposits of dinosaur bones have been uncovered in so many places that it has become apparent that dinosaurs were widespread in the remote past.
When Did They Live?
Dinosaurs played a dominant role in life on earth during their age. But then they came to an end. The rock layers containing human fossils consistently occur above those layers containing dinosaur fossils. Because of this, scientists generally conclude that humans came on the earthly scene later.
In this regard the book Palaeontology, by James Scott, states: ?Even the earliest species of Homo sapiens (man) lived long after the disappearance of the dinosaurs . . . After tilting (through earth movement) has been allowed for, rocks containing fossil men consistently occur above those preserving the bones of the great dinosaur reptiles and it follows that the latter belong to an earlier age than the human remains.?
In the Red Deer River valley, there is a layer of sedimentary rock that contains dinosaur bones. Just above this, there is a purplish-brown layer that follows the contour of the hillside. On top of the purplish-brown layer is a layer of brownish siltstone containing fossils of subtropical ferns, indicating a hot climate. Above this, there are several layers of coal. Farther up the hillside are coarser-grained layers of earth. There are no dinosaur bones in any of the higher layers.
The book A Vanished World: The Dinosaurs of Western Canada states that ?all of the 11 major kinds of dinosaurs . . . ceased to exist in the western interior at about the same time.? This, and the fact that human bones have not been found with dinosaur bones, is why most scientists conclude that the Age of Dinosaurs ended before humans came on the scene.
However, it should be noted that there are some who say that dinosaur bones and human bones are not found together because dinosaurs did not live in areas of human habitation. Such differing views demonstrate that the fossil record does not yield its secrets so easily and that no one on earth today really knows all the answers.
Characteristics
Scientists have concluded that east of the North American Rocky Mountains, a great shallow sea once existed. This sea was hundreds of miles wide, extending from the present Arctic Ocean to Mexico. Along the flat shoreline were lush, marshy forests. Fossils suggest that many types of dinosaurs flourished in this ecological setting. The edmontosaurus, a duck-billed dinosaur about 30 feet [9 m] long, apparently browsed in herds in cow fashion through the swamp. Well-preserved three-toed footprints and the fossilized contents of the stomach led paleontologists to this conclusion.
Other evidence suggests that some dinosaurs displayed social habits. They likely herded together, perhaps in groups of hundreds or more. Discovery of successive layers of nests and eggs in the same place indicates that some dinosaurs returned to the same nesting sites year after year. Skeletal remains of infant dinosaurs near the nests, states Scientific American, ?strongly suggest sibling social behavior and also imply the possibility of parental attendance on the young after their hatching.?
The fossil evidence thus demonstrates that there were vast numbers and varieties of dinosaurs. But just what did they look like? Were they all fearsome, gigantic monsters??terrible lizards?? Why did they seem to disappear so suddenly?
[Picture Credit Line on page 3]
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.: Photo Number 43494
eyeslice
JoinedPosts by eyeslice
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46
Allosaurus & Eve ...
by Taylor S. ini was always fascinated with dinosaurs as a kid.
i remembering asking my mother how come the bible doesn't mention the dinosaurs ... i mean, if he created everything, he must've created the dinosaurs.
why no mention?
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eyeslice
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Just what do JW's now believe about the "UN"? Do they believe its the beast
by booker-t ini am wondering if any posters out there know what do jw's believe about the un now.
do they believe that it is the beast of rev and the disgusting thing mentioned in daniel or do they feel that it is just another organization with faults and errors but can be used in a nice way by jw's?
when i told my mom about the un scandal she said she had heard about it and the elders told her the library card excuse.
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eyeslice
I agree, this is an area they have been very vague about over the past few years. Very strange one would think for a religion blessed with "increasing light" from God.
At one time they were very clear (dogmatic) about what they taught/believed but nowadays I bet most elders would struggle to give an answer on this.
Eyeslice -
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Comments You Will Not Hear At The 2-27-05 WT Study
by blondie incomments you will not hear at the february 27, 2005 wt study (january 15, 2005 issue)
end in 1925. christ completes his conquest.
are jws the only ones who think we are living in the time of the end?.
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eyeslice
Hi Blondie
An excellent review - once again.
I don't know about you but this article struck me as being one of the most 'doctrinally significant' in a long time. Most of the Watchtower articles nowadays are bland and vague but this one is very specific and re-states in no uncertain terms, a number of fundamental JW doctrines.
1. Christ invisibly returned in 1914 - pars 3 to 5
2. The number of spiritual sons of God are limited to 144,000 par 7
3. Satan and his demons are confined to the earth since 1914 - par 10
4. Apostates are a constant threat - par 13
5. Religion will be destroyed by the political elements (subtle change in recent years was UN) - par 16
6. The end is 'soon' - par 16
7. The faithful and discreet slave are not to be questioned - par 21
Eyeslice -
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Ozzie's Weekend Poll #126 (It's all about feelings!)
by ozziepost inand a great big g'day!
to all those who've joined us in the past week or so, especially those from the land downunder.. how's things with you this weekend?
the weather's gloomy around bethel today (so what's new, you reckon!
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eyeslice
failed and fooled
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Anyone had a near death experience?
by holly inor anything similar???
the nearest i came was knocking myself out - my life actually did flash before my eyes.
it could only have been seconds before bumping my head and hitting the ground, but i flashed through scene after scene of life events, from childhood to adulthood.
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eyeslice
Certainly there is no evidence that 'nearly death experiences' indicates an immortal soul or after-life.
The mind is a complex thing.
Eyeslice -
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What's the Watchtower's definition of an "Apostate"?
by JH inif a person doesn't go to meetings nor in the field service, he's considered "inactive".
an inactive person is not an apostate.
if an inactive person joins a forum like this one, he is automatically considered an apostate by the watchtower org.
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eyeslice
The WTB&TS is all about the rules laid down by themselves and the unquestioning loyalty that is expected to be shown by the rank and file. It is NOT about helping people to find their own spiritual path and spiritual enlightenment. Hence, the broad defintion of apostacy is willfully going against anything the WTB&TS teaches or says.
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If you could live to 200 - what would you do with your life?
by truthseeker inif a pill or some treatment was developed to allow you to live to 200 - what would you do with the rest of your life?.
let's just say that you started to get old around 175. you're in your 50s.
would you work longer, enjoy life, help a needy cause or travel?.
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eyeslice
I'd travel more - life is too short to see everything I would like to.
I have been fortunate enough to have travelled, lived and worked in quite a few countries, includeing the US, Europe, Australia, and my favorite place of all, Asia.
Travel, as they say, broadens the mind.
Eyeslice -
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The GB have a certain malevolence
by truthseeker inthink of all the failed prophecies that the watchotwer propagated.
think of the lies and deceit they have fed us.
yet, they keep finding excuses as to why doctrine changes.
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eyeslice
I am not a great believer in conspiracy theories - perhaps there is no malice.
They are victims just like the others.
Eyeslice -
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Addictions,, are they caused by a deep unfulfilled need for Spirtuality??
by frankiespeakin ini was watching a video "the wisdom of the dream" volume 3 it's all about carl jung.
in one part of the video it talks about addictions and brings up the fact that one of the men that started aa, was a man who was told by c. jung that the only way for him to cure his addiction to alcohol was for him to have a religious experience,, he was also warn by jung that if he didn't have a religios experience he would never cure his addiction.
jungs notes about this subject says: "spiritus contra spiritum" .
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eyeslice
Not sure about the spiritual need and addictions.
However, there are great problems with the way the WTB&TS deals with addictions. They simply have no idea of the reasons behind why some become addicted to either smoking, alcohol or drugs. Their line is simply disfellowship them.
The most disgusting case I know of was regarding an ex-missionary. He had served as a missionary just after WWII (one of the first in fact). He returned home and served as congregation servant (as they were known in those days) for years. He remained single, looking after his aging mother who was one of the annointed. She eventually died and he was left on his own. He eventually found a companion and married late in life (60's I think) but after a few years she took ill and died. The poor guy turned to drink and was disfellowshipped.
So here is a guy who spends his life faithfully in the borg, compared with the sin of alcoholism, the rest of his life is almost saintly, yet he gets drummed out.
I do not understand it.
Eyeslice -
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who is who on here??
by holly ini know there are mostly ex jw's on here.
i just wondered how many of you are ex jws, left or df'd, how many are still in but have lost heart?.
are there any jws on here who still believe its all the truth, go to meetings and trust the organisation?.
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eyeslice
I was raised in the truth and stayed with it until a year or so ago when I simply stopped all association with the local congregation - at the ripe old age of 51.
I was an elder, did assembly parts, etc. My family and I were seen as pillars in the congregation. Not disfellowshipped or disassociated - too many family in for that.
I still believe in God and the example set by Christ. Pity the Witnesses do not imitate Christ's love.
Eyeslice