One of the primary tenets of Young Earth Creationists (YEC) is that animals did not die before Adam introduced death to the world. Therefore, you would expect to see T rex, McGruff the crime dog, and Fred Flintstone all together in the post-Adamic fossil record. This point of view is typified by the following statement:
Even if we have little interest in geology, we have likely heard through the popular media that most geologists understand that dinosaurs died out million of years before humans showed up on the planet. This is a major point of departure between scientific understanding and the YEC interpretation of the scripture. Let's take a careful look at the pivotal scripture used by the YEC to “prove” there was no death before Adam. The statement quoted above and the numerous variations found throughout YEC literature stem from their understanding of Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (NKJV). What was the message Paul was giving to the Romans, and what is the transcendent message God is giving to humankind in this verse? In chapter 4, Abraham is given as model for Christian faith, before the symbol of circumcision was ever given to the ancestral Jewish people. Paul summarized the discussion in the first part of chapter 5:
Now we come to the critical (for our discussion) verse 12, quoted above. It begins a section of Scripture that is a comparison/contrast between the first man, Adam, and Christ. Paul indicates that sin entered the world through Adam and that because of sin, death followed. Subsequent to Adam's sin, death spread through all of humanity. The transcendent theological principle derived from this verse shows us that sin and its associated separation from God (death) came into the world through Adam. Since the time of Adam, this death had spread throughout humanity. The only way people could ever be rejoined (reconciled) with God was for Christ to return to Earth and pay the penalty for our sin. There is no indication throughout verse 12, or in its greater context, that animals are even a consideration. Although there is some scriptural basis to believe that nature will benefit from humanity’s reconciliation with God (e.g. Romans 8:19-22), the preponderance of biblical evidence indicates humanity is the ultimate object of reconciliation. If we let the Bible interpret the Bible, it is difficult to establish that this scripture indicates no animal died before Adam. But there are also other more technical reasons. Rev. Lee Irons shows that those who deny pre-Fall animal death must 1) assume death (Greek, thanatos) exclusively means “the cessation of biological life” and must 2) assume the world (Greek, kosmos) exclusively means “the entire created order.”
Romans 5:12 is addressing the spiritual state of humanity after sin was introduced into the world by Adam. The introduction of sin initiated a separation from God that is described as death. We understand that as spiritual death. Humanity was in the state of spiritual separation/death until Christ died, so humans could be reconciled to God. Nowhere though this understanding of Romans 5:12 is there any indication that the death brought to the world by Adam's sin had anything to do with animals. Therefore, to use this scripture to “prove” no animals died before Adam (indicating we should expect dinosaurs and humanity to coexist on Earth at the same time) is at best an improper understanding of the Bible and at worst an egregious misuse of Scripture to support “traditional” misunderstanding of Scripture. Editor’s note: This item is offered as part of our “Faith+ Forum” and does not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Bible Advocate magazine or of the Church of God (Seventh Day).
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