Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
(Above: Are these kids the descendants of an ancient single-celled organism, or the beautiful work of a loving and skilled God?)
At first glance, the Biblical perspective of humankind's origins may appear no more glamorous than evolution's view of an amoeba-like inception...
"...the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7)
"Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man." (Genesis 2:22)
Ribs and dust do not necessarily affix more value to our lives than single-celled organisms——at least not on the surface. The primary difference between these two opposing views of mankind's beginnings rests in God's intentional nature. He formed life with His own hands, and there is both a present and a future purpose for this act of creation. Evolution does not account for any sort of reason as to why life began. It merely attempts to explain the details of how it began.
We humans will never fully understand the mechanisms by which life began, regardless of which viewpoint to which we subscribe. However, those who believe we were carefully conceived by the hands of a Heavenly Father can still proclaim...
"...I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14)
posted by Corey @ 12:31 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Hi again Corey,
Looks like today is my day to leave comments on your blogs.
As humans, we can never understand the creative process that God used to bring about this universe.As a Catholic, I believe God created everything, but, I have no problem with the idea that He may have used evolution to some degree.We certainly can't put restrictions or limits on what He can do.
pag ayo ayo,
Bob.
Hello Bob. Thanks for stopping by. I have heard this perspective about evolution, and how it is not necessarily contradictory to the idea of a Creator. While I do agree that God can use any means necessary to achieve his goals, we are provided with a host of clues in His Word.
In Genesis 1 we see a phrase repeated numerous times that would seem to indicate more of a revolutionary (not evolutionary) process: "Let there be light"..."Let there be a firmament"..."Let the waters bring forth creatures", and so on. He is a God who is working quickly here, completing much in the expanse of single days ("And there was evening, and there was morning...", is a re-occurring phrase indicating a specific and finite timeframe). We certainly don't see any obvious evidence that His creative processes were slow.
Of course, even God's Word is absorbed differently by different people, but we can all call on the same Holy Spirit to aid our discernment, so that may all know His truth. Amen. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
Beautiful- just beautiful!
A recent comment from Matthias:
"Interesting blog,...but I was wondering how you account for all the recent fossils discovered which so closely resemble what would seem to be part ape part man? A species that is simply extinct? I guess I have a hard time understanding the science behind creationism. Maybe you could do a post about that for all of us "doubters" out there."
Hello Matthias. Thank you for stopping by. For some reason I was unable to publish your comment the usual way due to a Blogger error. Your original comment is intact.
Regarding your question, it is my belief that our scientific pool of knowledge will eventually disprove evolution as a viable explanation for how life began. Now, believing that an ape-like creature could eventually become a human may not seem so far-fetched. After all, our genetic make-up differs by less than 1%, though that 1% represents a world of difference. Evolution could potentially account for our physical similarities, though I'm not sure how it explains such a disproportionate jump in intellect, and why no other species come close to approaching the cognitive superiority of humans. Also, if evolution represents a forward movement towards more complex and adaptable creatures (survival of the fittest, or "natural selection"), why, then, are bacteria the most successful organisms on Earth today? They are the most adaptable and prolific living things on the planet. They didn't need to evolve.
I'm not so sure there are documented examples in today's world of a bacteria-to-human (or ape-to-human, or human-to-bacteria, etc.) process of development taking place. I will soon have a new niece, and I'm guessing she will not be any more or less human than I.
With regards to the fossils that "seem to be part-ape, part-man", there seems to be disagreement as to how many primate species actually exist today...or have existed. Every so often you hear about a new species being discovered...not because it is a new species that has suddenly sprung up, but because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of its habitat to outside observers. There will also be discoveries of extinct primate species never before classified, though finding a few here and there that "could be part man" is not a good basis for concluding this was a progenitor of human beings. There are plenty of primates around today, and certainly there would be at least one or two half ape/half man species still in existence walking the earth. Did all of them go extinct, while the "pure" apes are still here? And if these modern apes are progenitors of the half-ape/half-man species then they should eventually give rise to more half-ape/half-man species. The evolutionary process should be ongoing among all species today. But is it?
I love science, by the way, and I think it is a body of knowledge we have been blessed with. At the end of the day, though, it is severely limited by our human minds. Many things will never be fully explained by science because we are trying to fathom the works of something that is beyond the capacity of our relatively feeble brains. It is not natural for humans to fill in these gaps in knoweldge with faith because we are materialistic beings. We have to see to believe...and this shuts out many opportunities to find the truth.
Keep seeking, my friend :) I'm far from a science professor, but I believe in my heart the written Word of God, and this will always direct my path towards the truth.
God bless you...
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