Perhaps the most controversial part about Darwin’s theory of evolution is the origin of species particularly on the origin of mankind. According to Darwin, we (human) are the evolved product of ape, which explained in his theory called natural selection. His theory triggered many individuals to do a research. If I’m not mistaken our very first ancestor (according to a research) is an ape named ‘Lucy’.
In 1974 Donald Johanson and associates discovered about 40% of a skeleton of a short (3-4 foot tall), small brained (380-450cc) creature. This find was named "Lucy" since the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was playing on tape recorder in the tent where Johanson was examining the fossils. Johanson announced that Lucy was 3.5 million years old and walked upright.
In the following year, 1975, Johanson's team unearthed 13 more individuals; four juveniles and nine adults. They were declared to be ancestors of man (hominids) and were named the "First Family". With names like Lucy, First Family, Lucy's Child, etc., how can these finds be anything but human ancestors? Lucy and her associates were portrayed as walking upright, with small human bodies and ape-like heads. This view has been widely publicized.
Read more here..
Personally, me myself believe that Darwin’s theory is right and could be 100% true. I don’t think Mr. Darwin was a bigot. Of course, many individuals and organizations however rejected the theory of evolution particularly on the origin of mankind. Most of them, perhaps every one of them, are those who believe in religion, or those who believe in God as the Creator of the universe and her habitants. Don’t get me wrong. Me myself is a Catholic yet I do have my own theory thou on the theory of evolution. To be accurate, I tried to find the connection between the story of creation and the origin of mankind, which of course is not encourage to do in any religion, I guess.
The story of creation (based on Christianity in the book of Genesis).
1 First God made heaven & earth 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6 And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens." 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then 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 birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
From my point of view, God did not create the earth in days albeit the book of Genesis mentioned. One day in the Genesis is not necessary one day as in one full day from 12 midnight to 11.59pm. A priest once told me that we should not take the bible literally for The Bible is and always will mysterious, and very difficult to understand by mankind unless you are guided by the power of The Holy Ghost.
As we can see in verse 26 in Genesis, 26 Then 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 birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Perhaps this is the main reason why the Church never agrees with Darwin. If man are originally from ape (according to Darwin), then how about the phrase “Let us make man in OUR IMAGE”???? Did Darwin suggest that God look like an ape or akin to ape??? Gosh… This will abate religion. This is really mind-boggling.
I have my own opinion on the above. Darwin is very true on his theory but his theory is actually on verse 24 and 25.
24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the cattle according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
I strongly feel that the process of creating took a very long time or period. God, in His process of creation, tried to create a perfect beast amongst His creation to be the leader of all. While in the process, He actually created an ape (not perfect), and ape (not perfect due to missing function of legs..hahaha), and ape (still not perfect, so much hairy..hehehe), and ape (still not perfect.. have no verbal capabilities), and ape, until one fine day, God said why don’t we create something that is look like us, it should be perfect, thus, He created the perfect ape named HUMAN and this is where Darwin’s Theory is applied.
So, Mr. Darwin, you are very right and salute you for that. The theory of natural selection also perhaps was the best to explain why variations in mankind existed. Although God created us according to His image, our environment tend to change our physical, for instance color of our skin, height, etc. Thus, I believe that we, human are still in the process of evolution (due to the environment or place as in the natural selection theory) albeit we are perfect as His creation.
To my reader, I welcome any argument or suggestion on this topic.
Congratulations to Farizie bin Morinding on his aspiring "Odoi Odu (Oh Grandma" short film which was the big winner last nite on Astro Kirana Short Film Award. I am so proud of him and as a Sabahan myself I wish him a very fruitful career ahead. Indeed It's nice and proud to see another Sabahan won an award in this industry.
