Back when dinosaurs lived, were they related more to birds or reptiles? — Megan of Dyersburg, TN

Dear Megan,

Unlike the popular idea you hear so much, dinosaurs did not evolve from reptiles into birds. They were created by God to be just what they were (see Genesis 1:24-25; Exodus 20:11). Most scientists still classify dinosaurs as reptiles, but they now recognize that they were very different from other reptiles. Like all other major kinds of animals, God created the different types of dinosaurs separately. Many of them looked a lot like featherless birds. Some things about dinosaurs remind us of birds, other things about them remind us of reptiles. But, dinosaurs were just dinosaurs!