Confusion from Christianity

I have a lot of residual confusion from Christianity. There was evidence presented from a Christian perspective that still holds me captive. The jist of it is that I do not believe in evolution, nor do I believe in the Biblical creation account, but here is where my confusion still lies.

There is evidence that dinosaurs lived up until about 500 years ago. Yeah, you read that right. Not 500 million years, 500 years. What evidence is this? There is eye witness testimony of humans and dinosaurs roaming the earth together. There are carvings and drawings, in tact, of animals that can clearly only be described as dinosaurs from primitive people.

The confusion comes from the fact that this isn't good for either Christians or evolutionists, although Christians like to claim it as their own.

Evolutionists claim that all dinosaurs died off millions of years ago, so they like to ignore this evidence, or say these people had very creative imaginations.

Christians claim that before the flood, the environment was different and it supported dinosaurs. Then, after the flood, the atmosphere changed and dinosaurs died off. Why did it take them so long? The flood was supposed to be around 4000 BC. So, they stuck around for six millennia post flood, then the atmosphere started to kill them off? That makes no sense.

What happened to the dinosaurs?

At first I thought maybe humans killed them off out of fear because they were so large and scary. A rhinocerus and a lion are also large and scary, and we haven't killed them off for it. Many dinosaurs were herbivores. They were no threat. And if we killed them for tusks or some such thing, there would be a lot of evidence of it. I don't think we did kill the dinosaurs, but what did?

The flood is a tough one for me. I admittedly have limited knowledge of geology. Here is what I do know.

All around the world, there are flood myths. Many cultures have a flood myth. In the myth, the flood was devastating, and only a few people lived to tell about it, usually having survived by boat. Is this real evidence?

No! Let's think this one through, Christians. Every place that I have heard of that has a flood myth is in a coastal region, you know, a region where flooding might be common. If there was a flood that was not catastrophic to locals, it would never have turned into an enduring legend. If there had been no survivors, no one would have known about it at all. This fact is irrelevant to the legitimacy of a world wide flood. One does not lead decisively to another.

Then, there is geological evidence. The biggest piece of geological evidence is the existence of fossils. Fossils are not created by erosion or regional flooding. A flood would have to be pretty violent in order to create fossils. Other major natural disasters, like earth quakes and volcanoes are also capable of making fossils. However, the locations of fossils lines up more with a catastrophic flood than with other disasters. Evolutionists have altered their time line to be one scattered with massive, catastrophic disasters. The simplest, most logical conclusion would be a world wide flood, but many scientists are not willing to look at the possibility in fear that it would prove Christianity or something. Silly. If the Bible is correct on some things, it does not mean that it is correct on everything. Of course, if non Christians conceded that the flood happened, the Christians would not be able to shut up about it.

I don't believe the six day creation story. That much I am certain of. I don't think that the God of the Bible is capable of it. Here are some residual questions that I ponder.

How old is the earth?

Christians say it is about 6000 to 10,000 years. They say that God created it with an aged look. Okay, I can buy that an all intelligent creator could do that, but the God of that Bible is irrational and inconsistent. He is not capable. But I could believe that it could happen.

Is intelligent design true?

It must be. We live in a world of amazing physical laws. Could it exist by chance? Probably not. But that does not mean that such intelligence was directly involved in the earth's creation or that they are involved in the affairs of men?

What higher powers are available to us?

Christianity claims that we can reach out to the higher power that is behind the Bible. I believe that is true. I believe I have sought and known what they call "God" and what he offered was insufficient. Looking at his character and his claims, I do not believe he has power over the afterlife, so all of these promises of "Jesus saves" are fruitless, and Christians are of all men most miserable. (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Who else is there? Allah? No, thanks. Who else? Is there any other God available to us? Is there any other intelligent life that will enhance our lives? Who has power over the afterlife? Not who claims to have the power, but who has the real power?