Saturday, September 29, 2007

The descent of Man

Creationism vs. Evolutionism
There are still differences of opinion about the descent of man. In the past, there have been bitter disputes over what doctrines should be taught, especially in public schools.
Today however, we understand that all theories should be given equal weight and taught side-by-side. Accordingly, we will outline the two schools of thought and demonstrate the advantages that result from this evenhanded approach.
Evolutionism
Evolutionists hold that man arose by the same gradual process as other creatures. This belief follows from the principle that the same laws of nature apply to man as to the rest of the physical world.The Evolutionist Model demonstrates how an ancestral "ape-man" could have evolved an upright stance and humanlike physiology. However, it does not explain the tremendous expansion of the intellect and other intangibles that characterize humanity.
Creationism
Creationists, on the other hand, believe that man was created instantaneously by a cosmic powered super-being from another dimension. This belief is based on ancient, heavily retranslated writings taken from badly decomposed fragments of scroll found in a series of caves in the middle-east.The Creationist Model explains the advent of human intelligence by ascribing it to divine fiat in the creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve. A major weakness is that it fails to account for the origin of Adam and Eve's daughters-in-law.



Opinion
When I am asked what's my side to this unending issue on the origin of man, I couldn't possibly answer directly to it. Because I'm torn between the two major ideas-scientifical and religious beliefs. I don't easily believe on things which have no valid proof, which makes me believe on the evolutionism, or the scientific one. But I'm a Christian, so I also believe in God. Therefore, I believe in His words.By doing so, I partly believe that it is He who created man. Got my point?
I say I believe in the scientific origin of man – the famous Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin. I believe in his theory because he presented and supported his works with facts, facts which are keenly obtained through investigation, experimentation and observation. And we know that a fact is a very good basis. It's a very good pillar to a never-ending argument.
I say I also believe in the religious belief, which states that man is created by a supernatural person – which we call God. The reason for this is that I believe in His words, not just that I'm a christian. And so far, despite the emergence of the theories of some scientists, the religious belief, which is Creationism, is still the strongest basis. It is because the scientifical origin, or the evolutionism, has still some flaws. The missing link has not been found, although there have been studies stating that man indeed came from monkey species. Or should I say, the missing link is still unknown.
I didn't say that creationism is a perfect theory, or belief. It's just that I'm a devoted christian, and I believe in Him, though there are times that I believe more on the evolutionism. I don't know. It's like I believe on two clashing ideas. I took a part from one side, and a part from the other. It just really makes me wonder that the idea presented in my reference is indeed applicable. It says there that why can't we combine the two ideas? The bible failed to mention the wives of Adam and Eve's sons. Maybe their wives were the early hominids, or australopithecus or something. And it is starting from there.
As long as the evolutionism hasn't been totally approved, I'm still going on the creationism side.

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