CHIMPS’ BRAINS WORK DIFFERENTLY
Ecclesiastes 3:20-21
“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
A recent report in the journal Science has reached the startling conclusion that human brains and chimp brains are entirely different. A study led by scientists at Yale University has discovered that much of the gene activity in the human brain is completely alien to that occurring in the brains of chimpanzees. These fundamental differences were discovered in all sorts of areas of the brain – including the cerebellum. The cerebellum is described in the article as “one of the evolutionarily most ancient regions of the brain, and therefore most likely to share similarities across species.” We can see immediately that this statement contains assumptions which are not proven but merely based on prior belief in evolution. Describing the cerebellum as “ancient” implies that it must have been present in ancestors of both humans and chimps, dating back a very long time. The fact that the chemistry in the cerebella of humans and chimps is so radically different should suggest that the two do not have a common ancestor.
Of course, this sort of thinking does not occur to the evolutionary scientists involved in the study reported. Rather, they suggest that the chemistry in the human cerebellum must have been present in the common ancestor of humans and chimps and that it disappeared in chimps but reappeared in humans. But the chemical studies were not carried out on this alleged common ancestor, so even its existence should be doubted.
The truth is that God made humans separately from animals, like chimps. When we die, the animal rots to the ground, while the human soul ascends to God to be judged (Ecclesiastes 3:21).
Thank You, God, that You made fascinating animals, like chimps. We do not know why You made them to look so similar to us, but You have given us a solemn responsibility to discharge, to look after these and all parts of Your creation. Amen.
Ecclesiastes 3:20-21
“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
A recent report in the journal Science has reached the startling conclusion that human brains and chimp brains are entirely different. A study led by scientists at Yale University has discovered that much of the gene activity in the human brain is completely alien to that occurring in the brains of chimpanzees. These fundamental differences were discovered in all sorts of areas of the brain – including the cerebellum. The cerebellum is described in the article as “one of the evolutionarily most ancient regions of the brain, and therefore most likely to share similarities across species.” We can see immediately that this statement contains assumptions which are not proven but merely based on prior belief in evolution. Describing the cerebellum as “ancient” implies that it must have been present in ancestors of both humans and chimps, dating back a very long time. The fact that the chemistry in the cerebella of humans and chimps is so radically different should suggest that the two do not have a common ancestor.
Of course, this sort of thinking does not occur to the evolutionary scientists involved in the study reported. Rather, they suggest that the chemistry in the human cerebellum must have been present in the common ancestor of humans and chimps and that it disappeared in chimps but reappeared in humans. But the chemical studies were not carried out on this alleged common ancestor, so even its existence should be doubted.
The truth is that God made humans separately from animals, like chimps. When we die, the animal rots to the ground, while the human soul ascends to God to be judged (Ecclesiastes 3:21).
Thank You, God, that You made fascinating animals, like chimps. We do not know why You made them to look so similar to us, but You have given us a solemn responsibility to discharge, to look after these and all parts of Your creation. Amen.
EVOLUTION OF NEW SPECIES?
Genesis 1:21
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
It was Charles Darwin’s assumption that new species arose from previous ones by a process of natural selection. Darwin famously illustrated this point by reference to the various species of finch living on the Galapagos Islands.
Darwin’s finches recently received a new airing when a study about a new finch species appearing on the island of Daphne Major was published. Prior to the study, the island had three species of finch. A new bird was observed, which was larger than members of the existing species. Later genetic testing indicated that the bird had come from Española island, 62 miles to the southeast. Because this new bird had no other member of its species with which to mate, it mated with a bird from one of the existing species. The offspring of this so-called “Big Bird Lineage” was followed for six generations. After only two generations, sufficient changes were seen for a new species to be defined. A popular science website comments on these reports, stating, “The majority of these lineages have gone extinct but some may have led to the evolution of contemporary species.”
The problem is that the word evolution is here describing the change of species within an animal kind. This is not what we really mean by evolution when we expect to see new genetic information formed. What we have actually seen is finches changing into finches. Such variations within a kind are normal and biblically expected. This is not genuine Darwinian evolution.
Thank You, Lord, that Your word is true and that all that we study in science makes sense in the light of Your word. Amen.
Genesis 1:21
“And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
It was Charles Darwin’s assumption that new species arose from previous ones by a process of natural selection. Darwin famously illustrated this point by reference to the various species of finch living on the Galapagos Islands.
Darwin’s finches recently received a new airing when a study about a new finch species appearing on the island of Daphne Major was published. Prior to the study, the island had three species of finch. A new bird was observed, which was larger than members of the existing species. Later genetic testing indicated that the bird had come from Española island, 62 miles to the southeast. Because this new bird had no other member of its species with which to mate, it mated with a bird from one of the existing species. The offspring of this so-called “Big Bird Lineage” was followed for six generations. After only two generations, sufficient changes were seen for a new species to be defined. A popular science website comments on these reports, stating, “The majority of these lineages have gone extinct but some may have led to the evolution of contemporary species.”
The problem is that the word evolution is here describing the change of species within an animal kind. This is not what we really mean by evolution when we expect to see new genetic information formed. What we have actually seen is finches changing into finches. Such variations within a kind are normal and biblically expected. This is not genuine Darwinian evolution.
Thank You, Lord, that Your word is true and that all that we study in science makes sense in the light of Your word. Amen.
HUMAN EVOLUTION IN BITS
Psalm 8:4
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
It was the late Stephen J. Gould who popularized the idea of Evolution by Punctuated Equilibrium. This was because he noticed the lack of transitional forms in the fossil record, which is so obvious to those who want to see. Yet, as a committed evolutionist, Gould could not bring himself to the natural corollary of his ideas – that the theory of evolution is just not tenable. So he devised his punctuated equilibrium – a theory unusually based on the non-existence of certain individuals.
Recent studies have suggested a punctuated equilibrium model with regards to human evolution. This is because of finds of neolithic people such as Neanderthals in rock layers thought to be much younger – as much as 3,000 years younger – than existing layers known to contain “modern” human remains.
We have talked about Neanderthals on Creation Moments before and concluded that they were not a separate species of sub-humans, but were, in fact, fully human. However, evolutionists suppose that Neanderthals lived between 30,000 and 300,000 years ago. However, a team of scientists led by the University of Barcelona has suggested that inhabitants of a tribal settlement in Southern Spain would have existed from 26,000 through 37,000 years ago. This would be possible only if evolutionary patterns were proceeding differently in different regions of the world.
It is hard to overstate how controversial an idea this differentiated evolution of humans could be. If humans had evolved at different rates in different parts of the world, we might want to suggest that some people groups are more highly evolved than others. But the Bible maintains that humanity did not evolve, but was all descended from one man and one woman.
We are amazed, Lord, that You would want to put humans like me at the forefront of Your work for Him, but are grateful and thankful. Amen.
Psalm 8:4
“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
It was the late Stephen J. Gould who popularized the idea of Evolution by Punctuated Equilibrium. This was because he noticed the lack of transitional forms in the fossil record, which is so obvious to those who want to see. Yet, as a committed evolutionist, Gould could not bring himself to the natural corollary of his ideas – that the theory of evolution is just not tenable. So he devised his punctuated equilibrium – a theory unusually based on the non-existence of certain individuals.
Recent studies have suggested a punctuated equilibrium model with regards to human evolution. This is because of finds of neolithic people such as Neanderthals in rock layers thought to be much younger – as much as 3,000 years younger – than existing layers known to contain “modern” human remains.
We have talked about Neanderthals on Creation Moments before and concluded that they were not a separate species of sub-humans, but were, in fact, fully human. However, evolutionists suppose that Neanderthals lived between 30,000 and 300,000 years ago. However, a team of scientists led by the University of Barcelona has suggested that inhabitants of a tribal settlement in Southern Spain would have existed from 26,000 through 37,000 years ago. This would be possible only if evolutionary patterns were proceeding differently in different regions of the world.
It is hard to overstate how controversial an idea this differentiated evolution of humans could be. If humans had evolved at different rates in different parts of the world, we might want to suggest that some people groups are more highly evolved than others. But the Bible maintains that humanity did not evolve, but was all descended from one man and one woman.
We are amazed, Lord, that You would want to put humans like me at the forefront of Your work for Him, but are grateful and thankful. Amen.
WHERE DID PEOPLE COME FROM?
Genesis 1:26
“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.”
Anthropology is the study of human beings and where they came from. As a scientific discipline, it has been led for decades by people with evolutionary presuppositions. There are many people within Christian churches – including many pastors – who do not think it matters what we believe about how human beings got here. What matters is the value that we place on humanity today.
The problem with such an attitude is that we need to know where our values come from. An atheist evolutionist can be understood when they believe that human life does not essentially have greater worth than that of an animal. After all, if we evolved from animals, we are basically the same as them. If our pet cat gives birth to too many kittens, we might not be too uncomfortable in disposing of the excess number of kittens, and so it should not be any more of a problem for us to do the same with babies. The reason why Christians – including those who believe in evolution – tend to find such comparisons abhorrent is because we get our values from the Bible.
But the Bible makes clear that our value as human beings is derived from our special creation. Genesis tells us that God simply spoke the animals into existence, but Adam was personally formed by God, who breathed into him to make him into a living spirit. Mankind is made imago dei – in the image of God. This level of value exists because Genesis speaks the literal truth about how humanity came to be.
Praise You, Lord God, for making people in Your image. Praise You that Your image gives us value above that of the animals. We praise You and thank You. Amen.
Genesis 1:26
“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.”
Anthropology is the study of human beings and where they came from. As a scientific discipline, it has been led for decades by people with evolutionary presuppositions. There are many people within Christian churches – including many pastors – who do not think it matters what we believe about how human beings got here. What matters is the value that we place on humanity today.
The problem with such an attitude is that we need to know where our values come from. An atheist evolutionist can be understood when they believe that human life does not essentially have greater worth than that of an animal. After all, if we evolved from animals, we are basically the same as them. If our pet cat gives birth to too many kittens, we might not be too uncomfortable in disposing of the excess number of kittens, and so it should not be any more of a problem for us to do the same with babies. The reason why Christians – including those who believe in evolution – tend to find such comparisons abhorrent is because we get our values from the Bible.
But the Bible makes clear that our value as human beings is derived from our special creation. Genesis tells us that God simply spoke the animals into existence, but Adam was personally formed by God, who breathed into him to make him into a living spirit. Mankind is made imago dei – in the image of God. This level of value exists because Genesis speaks the literal truth about how humanity came to be.
Praise You, Lord God, for making people in Your image. Praise You that Your image gives us value above that of the animals. We praise You and thank You. Amen.
WHERE DID THE RACES COME FROM?
Acts 17:26
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
Evolutionary anthropologists like to divide human beings into different racial groups. These so-called races are defined by distinctives such as eye shape or skin color.
Charles Darwin commented on such racial groups in his works. More to the point, he considered some racial groups to be more highly evolved than others. It will probably not be a surprise to listeners to learn that Darwin, being a white Englishman, considered white Europeans as the most highly evolved peoples. Indeed, he was wont to refer to certain other people groups as “savages” – a clear indication that he thought them to be lower in the evolutionary scale than himself.
Contemporary evolutionists mostly (though not exclusively) adhere to the “out of Africa” model of human evolution. They suppose that all human beings evolved from a bottleneck in East Africa. This enables them to bypass racially motivated ideas. Yet, the idea that human evolution occurred in just one place is not easy to justify in an evolutionary worldview.
A biblical worldview maintains that humanity consists of only one race – Adam’s race, the human race. Genesis 11 shows us that during the Tower of Babel incident, God confused the languages of the people working on the city so that they could not understand each other. Therefore, they had to scatter over the Earth. This is the origin of all the different people groups of the world. The so-called races are not different at all; they merely took different routes as they sought to abandon their location at Babel. Correctly read, the Bible is always opposed to racism because we are all descended from the same Adam and Eve.
Thank You, Father, for all my brothers and sisters in people groups all over the world. Thank You, therefore, that all gatherings of all people are really family gatherings. Amen.
Acts 17:26
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
Evolutionary anthropologists like to divide human beings into different racial groups. These so-called races are defined by distinctives such as eye shape or skin color.
Charles Darwin commented on such racial groups in his works. More to the point, he considered some racial groups to be more highly evolved than others. It will probably not be a surprise to listeners to learn that Darwin, being a white Englishman, considered white Europeans as the most highly evolved peoples. Indeed, he was wont to refer to certain other people groups as “savages” – a clear indication that he thought them to be lower in the evolutionary scale than himself.
Contemporary evolutionists mostly (though not exclusively) adhere to the “out of Africa” model of human evolution. They suppose that all human beings evolved from a bottleneck in East Africa. This enables them to bypass racially motivated ideas. Yet, the idea that human evolution occurred in just one place is not easy to justify in an evolutionary worldview.
A biblical worldview maintains that humanity consists of only one race – Adam’s race, the human race. Genesis 11 shows us that during the Tower of Babel incident, God confused the languages of the people working on the city so that they could not understand each other. Therefore, they had to scatter over the Earth. This is the origin of all the different people groups of the world. The so-called races are not different at all; they merely took different routes as they sought to abandon their location at Babel. Correctly read, the Bible is always opposed to racism because we are all descended from the same Adam and Eve.
Thank You, Father, for all my brothers and sisters in people groups all over the world. Thank You, therefore, that all gatherings of all people are really family gatherings. Amen.
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