This semester hasn’t been awful yet. (Hah. It’s only the fourth day…) Minor detail right? I’m hoping the homework load is going to be like the snow this winter. But I know that’s wishful thinking and that a blizzard is heading my way. Soon.
But anyway.
One of my classes is an anthropology class. Biological Anthropology to be more exact. APG 201: The Study of Human Origins (aka evolution). Truth be told, I needed a space filler, so basically I closed my eyes and pointed. Honestly, I really didn’t have an idea what anthropology was. (I’d heard it a million times before but as you should know, I don’t pay much attention and I don’t happen to catch on very quick unless I want too.) From the titled I gathered it had to do with human history (I’m so smart right? Haha) So I just enrolled and hoped God would provide the best.
Little did I know, that’s exactly what He was giving me.
The first class went well. We discussed what made us human. What distinguishes us from all other animals on this earth? We were told to pretend to be alien scientists visiting earth and encountering all it contained for the first time. What would we classify humans as? What would we compare them to? The PowerPoint showed a variety of animals for us to choose from. Obviously, we equated them to probably one of the ugliest primates there could be, an Aye-Aye (I believe that’s how it’s spelled).
Okay, so it’s cute in its own respective way. I’m sure God has created SOME other thing that we could dub “Ugliest Animal.”
Later on that night I decided to be a good student and get my homework done. Our textbook for this class is Biological Anthropology (3rd Edition), authored by Craig Stanford, John S. Allen, and Susan C. Anton. Having only read the intro and a few page selections from the first chapter, I must say, I’m intrigued. Right away the first chapter deals with the opposition of creationism and intelligent design. The chapter leads to the point that it should not be allowed in schools or be considered alongside evolution because it is not truly science; you cannot apply the scientific method to these theories (Craig et al. 31-33). “A religious belief in a divine creation relies entirely on faith. The sole evidence of this faith in Judaeo-Christianity is the book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible. Although the Bible is a profoundly important book, its contents are not testable evidence” (Craig et al. 31).
I’m not going to start arguing my point and I’m not going to try and state scientific evidence against them. I do believe their wrong, that’s just not my goal with this specific post. However, I want to say this; I believe God inspired everything in this world, including science. I believe science is an amazing tool God has provided for us to use to heal people, advance our societies, and even spread His Word. Science can be used for marvelous things, as long as we don’t abuse it and go against God’s will.
As I diligently did my homework I came across a couple quotes that evoked a feeling of, dare I say, entertainment? No, that’s definitely not it, but I’m not exactly sure which would be correct.
One quote I would like to counter is this,
“For centuries, people considered the earth to be young and life to be unchanging. Perhaps this is because the reality of evolutionary change is inconceivable to some people. You can’t see it, touch it, or sense it happening in any way, unlike more easily perceived physical laws such as gravity. The 80-year human life span is far too short to watch evolution, a process that typically happens on a scale of thousands of years” (Craig et al. 14).
First off, can I just say this sounds strangely familiar? “You can’t see it, touch it,” (Craig et al. 14). I thought science wasn’t supposed to be based on faith? I thought it was tangible, material stuff to which you can apply the scientific method? Hmm…I think I’m beginning to argue. I don’t want to start making accusations without strong, accurate evidence to back them up.
To the second part of this quote, about our lives being fleeting and not long enough to see evolution. I refute with the fact that this life is too short to NOT watch GOD in action every day of our “80-year human life span” (Craig et al. 14).
Yes, I understand that a lot of non-believing scientists aren’t trying to disown religious belief, but believing that God created this world and all it contains is the first step to see Him moving in everything around us.
Some might say that God is not alive the way He was in the time of the Bible, however, that can be argued. No, there aren’t any pillars of cloud or fire, or horrendous floods threatening our entire humanity, but that wasn’t (and isn’t) the only way God worked. He works in mysterious ways, remember? Through volunteers who go to Haiti and deliver medical help to kids in the mountains. Through a fiction novel portraying the Christian faith in a way never experienced before. Through rescue missions and soup kitchens.
No, God may not be working in the exact way He did in the Old Testament, but that does not mean He isn’t just as alive today. And it most certainly doesn’t mean He’s not working or isn’t paying attention anymore.
So I’m in this Anthropology class, it’s all about evolution and convincing me that my complete belief system is false. But in retrospect, it’s the best place for me to be. Even though it’s a large class, I might be able to be a light to someone. Also, like I said, I don’t know a ton of evidence to start raising debates and trying to answer questions. What better place to learn? I have to know the other side if I want to help people join mine.
Oh, and for the record (even though I didn’t say it in class because I didn’t know how to without sounding like that weird girl who thinks “we all have spirits dwelling inside us”), I believe God created each of us individually and gave every one of us a soul. I believe these bodies are temporary, that they will fall away and perish like the rest of the world. But I also believe that our souls will not die, and that nothing but Jesus is going to give our souls the gift of life in Heaven for eternity.
I believe that is what makes us human.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
SOURCES:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
Stanford, Craig B., John S. Allen, and Susan C. Antón. Biological Anthropology:
The Natural History of Humankind. Boston: Pearson Education, 2013. Print.
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