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Dinosaurs, desserts and ‘doggy bags’!

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Chloe-birthday-party

Few would deny that young people and children in particular are pressured to ‘conform to this world’, something the Bible clearly warns against (Romans 12:2). As parents we are commanded to ‘train up’ (Heb: chânak, dedicated discipline) our children in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6a). As we resolve to obey God in this (Proverbs 13:24), we have His promise that our youngsters will continue to serve Him as they grow older (Proverbs 22:6b).

With this ‘training up’ of children in mind (‘insulating’, rather than isolating them!), there are many exciting projects and activities we as parents (and also grandparents) can engage in with the younger ones in our families. A big-picture biblical worldview undertaking is one. A ‘dinosaur party’ is another.

As a family, we recently decided to plan around a dinosaur theme for our daughter’s fifth birthday party. Thanks to wonderful resources purchased from CMI-South Africa, Chloe’s special day turned out to be great fun and a big hit with everyone.

Evolution’s pseudoscientific ‘storytellings’ aim to indoctrinate our kids into believing in millions of years of death long before sin, in the process casting doubt on the authority of God’s Word and veracity of the Gospel. We hoped, and were indeed not disappointed, that the day’s activities would be entertaining as well as educational—teaching biblical truths about these ‘weird and wonderful’ creatures that are increasingly demanding our children’s attention.

dinosaur-party

Apart from the usual nice party treats, hidden under paper plates at every seat was a picture-perfect gift for each little guest. With the little ones later returning home, dad and/or mum would of course be the ones doing the actual reading from Creation for Kids: Days 1–7.

Instead of taking home just the usual ‘doggy bag’ with sweets and leftovers, it was particularly exciting to put into the hands of Chloe’s young friends the truth about six days of creation, and of course—dinosaurs! Hopefully a few additional families have by now come to realize that these animals were made on Day 6 during Creation Week just a few thousand years ago—by our Creator and Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom we put our faith and trust for salvation.

As an aside, not so long ago I (Tersia) had an opportunity to share the Gospel with a good friend. When I told her that dinosaurs were created on the same day as man, she promptly burst out laughing! However, she accepted some of CMI’s resources and I trust that the Lord will use the materials and prayer to convict her of the truth of His Word—and her personal need of the Saviour.

From time to time since the dinosaur party, we’ve had unexpected opportunities to share additional truths from God’s Word. For example, people often comment on Chloe’s striking red hair, blue eyes and clear pale complexion. Since I am ‘white’ (light-brown) with dark eyes while my husband is Cape ‘coloured’ (mid-brown) with green eyes and dark hair, when we are together as a family, the question invariably arises, ‘Where does the lovely red hair come from?’

With the importance of human relations in South Africa in mind, we recognise this particular question as a great opportunity to also talk about the biblical One Human Family. We gently explain to folks that ‘external features’ (that we are often programmed to recognise in others), are really just ‘skin deep’. Having descended from Adam and Eve, cutting-edge science has ‘caught up’ with the Bible, confirming the biblical ‘big-picture’ that all humans are indeed closely related.The cure for evolution-inspired racism is therefore not more evolution, regrettably the way forward chosen by our secular educators! Rather, with the ‘problem of the heart’ (Jeremiah 17:9) the ‘heart of the problem’, as fallible fallen human beings equally made in God’s image from ‘one man’ (the first Adam—Acts 17:27), we all need to come into a right relationship with our Creator-God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (the last Adam—1 Corinthians 15:45).

As a follow-up, we usually give away the Two-Tone Twins tracts. After explaining also what CMI’s latest Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels project is all about, the glossy pamphlet of the ongoing Question Evolution! Campaign (downloadable here) invariably follows suit. If they have an Afrikaans background like myself (Andre), they are usually enthralled to hear that The Creation Answers Book (Antwoorde Oor Die Skepping), Refuting Evolution (Evolusie Weerlê),1 and several smaller booklets as well as a number of web articles are now also available in Afrikaans.

Having benefited so much over the years ourselves, it feels great to put CMI resources into the hands of family and friends. We trust that this will encourage other families to do likewise.

Published: 25 April 2015

References and notes

  1. These Afrikaans books are available in the South African store, so exchange rate conversion and international shipping from South Africa may apply. Return to text.

Helpful Resources

Days 1-7
by Russell Grigg
US $2.00
Soft cover
Evolution's Achilles' Heels
by Nine Ph.D. scientists
US $17.00
Soft cover