3/19/24    993 words    4.5 minutes reading time

The Bible goes to great lengths to provide a clear picture of from where we humans came. As Christians we are encouraged to accept the Biblical version of the origins of our species. We were created by God from the basic elements of this planet (carbon based) and infused with God’s Spirit through His breath into the first of our species, Adam. We have no proof of this, but neither do any of the other belief systems have proof of their thinking on man’s origins. With our current understanding of the science of biology and  life there is probably more scientific evidence supporting the Christian belief of how man was created than for any other theory, including the theory of evolution.

Accepting that there are multiple theories of mankind’s creation, as briefly noted in Part 1 of this blog post, and with the understanding that none of the theories is supported by empirical proof, it is left up to the preferences of the reader as to which version you prefer to use as the basis for your world view. So perhaps the more salient question is does it really matter from where we came?

I believe it does. In the purely materialistic version of the creation story that is promoted by followers of the Theory of Evolution, our beginnings were mere happenstance, a random collision of elements and circumstances that somehow brought about the miracle of life and led us to where we are now. In this version the strongest, cleverest, and most ruthless species are the survivors and conquerors, while the rest become prey and dinner. Without an individual, intelligent creator there are no rules, no direction, no purpose, and no moral codes. Any morality that develops is purely a social construct that enables a species or individual to take advantage of other individuals to perpetuate their own purpose. Even though it seems that in the absence of a higher purpose, there is no real reason for perpetuating the species. When a purely materialistic person looks back at their lineage they may see nothing but a path gnawed and slashed through eons of flesh and realize that the only purpose for their progenitors was to eat their way to the top of the food chain. At that point, what sense of value and self-worth can they attribute to their existence? Especially when you consider  that the viewpoint going along with this belief system is that when you’re dead, you’re dead. And during the short time that you’re not dead you are not just free but compelled to feast upon all the self-gratifying, lustful, gratuitous pleasures that you can devour. Success and joy are fleeting. And since people really have no value other than as steppingstones or objects of pleasure, anyone who is a bother or an obstacle can be eliminated or allowed to succumb to their own poor judgement and unfortunate circumstances without compassion or concern. The only reason for moving forward is to get ahead of the next person. This is how the natural world works. As humans, we are part of the natural world.  This could be evidenced by endless wars, endless atrocities and endless disregard for justice, and morality we humans are inclined to use  to rule our lives in many instances,

However, there is also a spiritual aspect to humans. God created us all, even those who don’t believe in Him. As Christians we believe God to be the arbiter of good. The moral standard is what God says it is. God’s nature is the ultimate expression of what is good and just. It doesn’t matter what our perspective is on what we think should be considered good and evil. God is good, and goodness is a major component in God’s character. Again, it is God who made us and who gets to set the standard for what is good. As such, when God created mankind and breathed life into our natural being we were infused with a natural understanding of good through the spirit that He breathed into us. There is a little good in everyone. Nevertheless, we can choose to be good or evil. Most of us choose both at some time or another. This may be why even those who don’t believe in God can be moral people and do more good acts than many of those who do believe in God.

When a Christian looks back it is impossible for them to ignore the immoral and evil that has emerged when our battles to overcome the evil tendencies of our natural instincts have been overcome by the urges of the animalistic self. For those who have chosen to attempt to follow the spiritual pat, the fight to tame the material self is ongoing and fierce. But I think it may be the foundation of our true purpose. As we succeed in overcoming the urges of our bodies in favor of the moral understanding of our spirits we build great power in our spirits. This strength and power we develop by taming the body could serve us well as our spirit transitions beyond the physical state.

When Christians look back on their lineage they see not only the bumpy, war torn and evil path that points back to Adam, the first human created by God, but also the great spiritual leaders like Abraham, Joseph, the prophets, and saints who pointed the way from God and back to Him. In our lineage we also see Jesus Christ, who was both God and human.  Jesus is the most unique person to have lived. He not only overcame the physical nature of humanity but exists to provide the only bridge available to the rest of us humans back to God. When Christians look back along the road of past generations we see beyond our physical beings into the realm or our everlasting spirit, where we truly came from and, ironically, where we are going.