Dinosaurs are reality. Maybe the only reason for challenging creationists at every turn is that they try to foist mystical beliefs upon us even in the face of facts. These people will arouse my challenge anytime they try to force the teaching of something called "creation science" in my local public schools.
Some people need an inner belief in a higher level of being than what they can perceive around them. This is a personal and philosophical matter. I, for one, will accomodate someone's need for this type of belief. There are those who presume mystical origins for things around them which they cannot (will not?) take the time to understand. To keep this to your self is one matter, but to foist mysticism on others who do take the time to learn and who can understand these physical phenomena is a trevesty. I do mean travesty.
Creationism presented in the newspapers, to school boards, and this forum is a delusion. We know that because it will not help us live with our environment. Science evolved for exactly that purpose. Why creationists feel the need to compete with technology I cannot fathom. There are a couple of people who post to this forum who try to use the latest technology advancements to find gaps in the knowledge base and use this to say ultimately that science is wrong and creationism must be correct. It has provided some lite moments. Like a game of Go, science is connecting the dots around them and their irrelevance is overtaking them.
Science is all about finding the dots and connecting them. Self-replicating molecules, the origin of life elsewhere in the solar system or the Universe, the human condition, and human sentience overlap some large number of the dots. Adventure is the thing, not mysticism.
What ever happened to the fella called John Paul?