It’s perfectly understandable why some people are uncomfortable with the idea that humans are closely related to apes. Firstly, because it is essentially part of our nature to believe in our superiority, genetic, physical and of course moral superiority to other species. However, I suspect that there is a more pressing issue behind this question. The debate around creationism versus evolution has raged ever since Charles Darwin came up with his ground-breaking theory. However, the response to this by many Christians in particular, has ranged from the dismissive to attempts to pull apart the theory of evolution and reconstruct it to fit into the concepts they argue are outlined in Genesis chapters one to three. And there lies the problem. The mistake that many creationists when it comes to constructing arguments against evolution is that they miss the point about the creation account in Genesis. In a nutshell, all Genesis has to say about the creation of the world, the universe and everything else in it is that God was and is behind it all. Whether it took him seven days or seven billion years is irrelevant (the number of days God is supposed to have taken to form the earth has as much to do with Jewish teachings about the Sabbath than definitive creation timescales).
In essence, whatever Christians believe about the making of the world is not meant to reflect the detail of the Genesis account. What we are all meant to agree on however, is that in some way, form or other, God created the world and everything in it. Whether evolutionists hold that view or not doesn’t matter either – but one can’t help but stand back in awe and wonder at the complexity, intricacy and heart-stopping beauty of the world we live in – including our own humanity.
