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Creation or Evolution?

Recently it was reported that the Bonobos were in danger of extinction. What is a Bonobo, you may ask, it is a form of Great Ape. According to the website www.bonobo.org

‘Biologically speaking, bonobos are the closest you can get to being human without being human. Bonobos look more like humans than other apes, and display many behavioural similarities as well. Bonobos and people share more than 98% of the same genetic make-up (DNA). Bonobos and their cousins the chimpanzees, are more closely related genetically to us than they are to gorillas!’

What does sharing more than 98% of DNA mean? One scource states that Chimpanzees are 96% to 98% similar to humans, depending on how it is calculated. ( Yet coming up close behind are CATS, which have 90% of homologous genes with humans!).

Homlogous is another word for ‘similarity’. Similarity is not an absolute indication of common ancestry (Evolution) but certainly points to a common designer (Creation). As an example of this think about two very different cars the Landrover Freelander and the Mini. These two vehicles can be considered to have close similarities; they both have front wheel drive and a sideways mounted engine a concept developed by the designer Alec Issigonis for space saving and efficiency.

So, similarity can suggest not a common ancestor but a common designer, which is what the Scriptures tell us about the creation of all life on earth in the first chapter of Genesis

24  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them.

laetoli footsteps-4

A few small steps for man

Many Scientists who believe that man really did evolve from the Bonobo, may now have difficulties with the Laetoli footprints. 3-D image of a Laetoli footprint are shown in the image to the left. An MRI scan of a Laetoli footprint (left) and a modern human footprint (right) are shown in false-colour. The warmer the colours, the greater the depth.Preserved in volcanic ash and discovered by Mary Leakey in 1976, from the start they have been a problem for evolutionists because of their seemingly human appearance. Now, information recently published in Planet Earth magazine confirms that, even though almost 4 million years old, the footprints are almost indistinguishable from modern human footprints,. The toe pattern is much the same as the human foot, which is much different than the feet of chimpanzees and other non bipedal beings. And as such the belief that humans have evolved from the Bonobo Apes cannot be sustained as according to Scientific thought the Bonobos didn’t come on the scene until 2 million years later!

Dating fossils etc., can be problematic, as any date offered cannot be positively proved right or wrong and different labs can and do give very different results for the same sample. The above example is not intended to endorse that man has existed for millions of years, but rather to demonstrate that the deductions of Evolutionists may not be as exact as they claim. Evolution teaches that long periods are absolutely necessary to allow for huge numbers of ‘beneficial’ mutations to occur so that life emerges and slowly climbs the ‘evolutionary tree’ to its pinnacle – man.

However, the Bible teaches us that God created all things in six days.

 Exodus 20: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Now whether this means six literal days or six periods of time. God the Creator spoke and it was done.

Psalm 33: 6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Man has his theories of how the world came into being but they are just that, theories, no one was there to prove them.  God says to Job "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding." Job 38:4.  

Sadly, man, in general, seems to prefer to turn away from God and His creation and embrace a ‘theory’ which requires just as much faith to believe it. And evolution does require blind faith. It takes, faith, for example, to believe that a patch of skin would become light sensitive and ‘evolve’ from this to form the eye, a very complicated organ consisting of cornea, iris, lens, retina, optic nerve and fovea. These parts then work together to transform light rays passing through your pupil into information that your brain can interpret. So we also need neural pathways for the information to travel on and a brain capable of interpreting what has been seen. Quite an achievement on the part of ‘random mutations’!

Sexual reproduction creates another problem for the evolutionist. They suggest that at some stage, living blobs of jelly which reproduced by division, changed entirely to produce creatures which came together to reproduce. This is a wise move because it ensures diversity in the offspring which helps the race to cope with adverse conditions. However, evolution does not make wise decisions, it is all down to random chance. With survival of the fittest, you don't have second chances, either it works or the species dies out, and for sexual reproduction, it not only needs to be working on one but two creatures and each are developed differently but work in harmony.  This is not a system that can develop over millions of years, this is no accident, this is the design of almighty God who created them male and female and "after their kind."

The Creation Account
If you believe in Evolution, then the Creation account in Genesis 1-3 must be denied; for there we read of God creating Adam, Eve and all creatures. But it is more serious than that because, Adam’s sin, the curse of death falling upon mankind and the promise of a seed- Jesus- to save and to bring in eternal life, must also all be shelved.

If man evolved from the apes and then hominids, pain, suffering and death must have always been present. Thus the warning to Adam that he die, if disobedient, would have no relevance as death had been present all along. Creatures, according to the Evolutionists had been dying for millions of years.

Also, if, things did not occur as described in Genesis, then the references to Adam, etc., in the rest of Scripture must also be incorrect, for example:-

References to the Creation in Scripture...

Jesus speaking  about divorce states..  ‘from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.’ (Mark 10:6) He also speaks of ‘the beginning of creation’ in Mark 13:19

Paul, writes of ‘the creation of the world’ (Romans 1:20), and Peter of ‘the beginning of the creation’ (2Pe 3:4)

With regard to Adam...

Job refers to him in Job 31:33 and there are 7 references in the New Testament.

Luke’s genealogy of Jesus finishes with...

Lu 3:38  Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Paul writes of Adam’s sin bringing death into the world and eternal life through Jesus.

Romans 5:14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam‘s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

17  For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

And Paul sums it up succinctly in 1Corinthians 15:22  'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'

In his letter to Timothy Paul states  1Ti 2:13  For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Deny the creation of Adam and the fall and the whole fabric of New Testament teaching is torn apart, with its principal writers being shown to be fallible. And yet, we cannot pick and choose what we believe in the Scriptures and what we reject for ’ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:’ (2Timothy 3:16)

When warning of the Judgement to come, Jude writes of Adam as being an historical person, Jude 1:

14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,

Since the earliest times God has warned of a day of Judgement, when men and women who have turned away from Him will have to answer for their sins. That day is coming soon. Now is the time to think about God’s mercy shown both in the wonders of His creation.(Ac 14:17  Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.) and in providing His only Son to grant the life which Adam lost, even eternal life to all who seek to serve him.

 

NB check out an excellent video which shows just how elegantly and precisely, God has crafted even the tiniest of His ‘amazing machines’ which can be found in every cell and which run like clockwork. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/drew_berry_animations_of_unseeable_biology.html 

Acknowledgements:

3-D image of a Laetoli footprint from http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=1095 

Bonobo image from Wikipedia and used under the GNU license