Question:
If we are to believe that the earth wasn’t created in seven literal days but over millions of years, how do we reconcile the theology of death entering the world because of original sin? For example, how could animals such as dinosaurs (some carnivorous) have lived prior to the fall of man and then become extinct if death hadn’t entered into the world until the first man sinned?
Answer:
Scripture is talking about human death. Nowhere does it suggest the notion that the animals were created to be immortal. Only humans were given immortal souls. When death entered creation as the result of the fall, it was human death. So the fact that animals may have died before the fall does not conflict with Scripture.