Study Questions on the Origin of Mankind
- Creation SuperLibrary’s “The Origin of Mankind” section
- Video: “The Origin of Mankind” (ORIGINS series)
- Book: The Illustrated ORIGINS Answer Book, Paul S. Taylor (Chapter: “The Origin of Mankind”)
RECONSTRUCTIONS BASED ON FOSSILS: Fact or Fantasy?
Based only on fossil evidence, how accurate can reconstructions of ancient humans and apes be?
Reconstructions cannot be reliable. Not only do very few actual fossils exist of these creatures, but often entire reconstructions are made from very scanty fossil information.
Secondly, even with a complete skull, one cannot accurately determine important characteristics such as the color of the skin, the color, texture and amount of hair, or the shapes of the fleshy nose, lips or ears. It is evident that reconstructions are often based on imagination rather than fact.
OBSERVED SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MEN AND APES—Why do you think men and apes are similar in various respects?
Can you think of any logical reasons the Creator might have done it this way?
The fact that there are similarities between humans and apes and the entire animal kingdom is logical from a Creationist point of view. We realize that all the creatures had a common Designer.
One of God's purposes in making these similarities may have been to establish a deeper relationship between man and beast—a commonality. God gave Adam dominion over all the animals. And it was important that man be able to relate to the animals and be sensitive to them. We both bleed; we both have nerves in our skin; we both have brains; we both have eyes. If God had made animals completely different in every way from us, perhaps made them out of silicon or something, would we really be able to relate to them in the same way?
God also created animals for us to enjoy. When one looks at the many different creatures God made, one cannot help but notice that He must have a strong sense of humor. Yes, he made some animals to impress us, others to help us, and others to awe us. But some He seems to have fashioned with an appearance to make us chuckle. There are animals with clownish colorations, comically long noses, and cartoonish features. Some animals seem designed to make us smile.
When you go to the zoo, where do you always find many people laughing and staring into the cages for hours? The monkey and ape house! It is not hard to imagine that one of the reasons God made these animals in man's image was to amuse us—to make us laugh.
See also
- Is there fossil evidence of ‘missing links’ between humans and apes? Did ancient humans live millions of years ago? GO
- Does the DNA similarity between chimps and humans prove a common ancestry? GO
Can Evolution Be Harmonized with the Bible?
Can the idea of man evolving from animals be harmonized with the Bible's declaration that there was a real Adam and Eve and a real fall of man to sin in the Garden of Eden?
No. Evolution would require billions of years of death and suffering prior to Adam's sin. The New Testament tells us in many places that death entered the world through Adam's sin, not prior to it (Romans 5:12-21; I Corinthians 15:21-22).
To accept the Evolution of man also logically requires one to abandon a literal reading of Genesis 2:7. This says that man was made from the dust of the Earth, not from living matter—not from some animal.
After Adam's sin, God told him, “From it [dust] you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Surely, nobody would believe that when we die we return to the form of an ape. The theory of Evolution cannot be harmonized with a literal reading of the Bible.
See also
- Is the Bible clear about the age of the Earth and universe? Answer
- THEISTIC EVOLUTION - Is it biblical? Answer
- GAP THEORY - What is it? And is it a good theory? Answer
- BIBLICAL IMPORTANCE - Is the age of the Earth a “trivial” doctrinal point? Answer
- Progressive Creationism - Who is Hugh Ross and what does he teach? Answer
- PROGRESSIVE CREATIONISM - Is it a viable option? Answer
WHY NOT ADAM?—Why do you think that so many people have put great effort into trying to prove that Mankind descended from animals, not from Adam?
(A partial answer):
From the earliest days when sin took control in the world, people have attempted to deny the existence of God and His record of Creation. Man has continually rejected God and attempted to contradict all evidence that He exists.
See also
- Read about The Fall of Humankind GO
What was Adam, the first man, really like? Learn many unique and surprising things about this person from whom we all descended.
SIN HAS AFFECTED ALL CREATION—What has been the effect of sin on humankind and all Creation?
Through Adam, death entered the world. Death and suffering came upon animals, as well as humans. All creation looks forward to the day when paradise will be restored.
Romans 8:18-23 tells that all creation groans and awaits its redemption from this curse.
See also
“Missing Links”: Not Absent in Our Schools
Based upon what we have learned and observe today, does it surprise you that these “missing-links” are still taught as facts in our nations leading biology textbooks? Why? Or why not?
(The reasons are many and varied. Have your group suggest some ideas. This helps focus people on how Evolutionists and school administrators think.)
See also
- Is the religion of Secular Humanism being taught in public school classrooms? Answer
- Are we living in a moral Stone Age? Answer
- What do you do when your teacher is an evolutionist? Answer
- Which colleges and seminaries teach a literal Genesis, including six-day, young-Earth Creation? Answer
Author: Paul S. Taylor of Christian Answers. ORIGINS video series is produced and copyrighted by Films for Christ.
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