The Origin of Man

Of all the questions of origin that of Man is supremely important, and if, as we doubt not is the case, the doctrine of Evolution was inspired by the great "Spirit of Error," as a special effort in these last days to "blind the minds of them that believe not," then we may well conclude that his main object would be to discredit statements of Scripture which relate to the creation of Man. The words, "Let Us make man, in Our image, after Our likeness" (Gen. 1:26), reveal a truth of fundamental importance. Against this foundation truth of Scripture (which is closely linked to that of Redemption by Him Who came in the likeness of Man) Evolution raises the monstrous and impious fiction that Man was made in the image and likeness of the ape, by means of an unbroken continuity of changes imperceptibly small.

      If the explanation of the origin of Instincts presented difficulties which Evolution finds insurmountable, what shall we say of those powers and endowments of mind and spirit which distinguish human beings, and which mark the existence of a mighty chasm, deep and wide, between the highest of the brutes and the lowest of the human race! For it is not in his physical being, his body, that the special characteristics of man are to be found. Physically he is far inferior in strength and activity to many brutes. His bodily resemblance to the largest of the apes is seen at a glance; but that resemblance is superficial, and is easily accounted for, consistently with the truth of Creation. For, since Man has a physical being, and requires organs for locomotion, sight, hearing, manipulation, etc., in common with other [52] animals, his physical makeup would, of course, resemble theirs in respect to those organs, with only such modifications as would be required by the differences in his physical manner of life.

The Charac- teristics of Man

The differences--immeasurably great--between the brute and the man lie beneath the surface, and have their existence in the regions of the soul and spirit, regions which, though so manifestly real, are yet so mysterious that even Man himself has no means to explore them, nor words to describe the simplest of their mysteries. In Man we find a creature who is self-conscious, who can reflect, reason, contemplate; who has the power of abstraction; who can comprehend general ideas; who can arrange his thoughts; who can communicate them to others by oral and written language; who has a sense of beauty; ability to enjoy harmonies of sound or color; a perception of right and wrong; a conscience; and above all, who has a capacity to know God. How vast are these differences! Who can declare their breadth and depth? Who would, unless infatuated by some mysterious delusion, or possessed by the spirit of mischievous error, compare with the chattering ape a being of whom even Charles Darwin says that he can "follow out a train of metaphysical reasoning, or solve a mathematical problem, or reflect on God, or admire a grand natural scene"?

"Missing Links"

The very lowest type of human being has all these marvelous capabilities in common with the highest. Between the two extremes there are infinite gradations, merging one into the other, in such a way that not a line the thickness of hair could be drawn at any part of the scale. But, when we reach the lowest limit in that scale, and look from that point to the very highest of the brute [53] creation, it is not across a mere "break in the chain of continuity" that we are looking, but across an immeasurable chasm. There is much talk about "the missing link." But such talk is nonsensical. Moreover, it obscures the facts of the case; for it is not a mere "link" that is missing, but ten thousand times ten thousand links. There is nothing in all the animal creation which answers to the mental, moral and spiritual nature of Man; or to his power of verbal expression of thought; nothing from which those marvelous and godlike attributes and powers could conceivably be derived by Evolution.

      The low moral standing of savages does not lend support to Mr. Darwin's theory, though he appeals to it; for the lowest of them possesses a capacity for morals, as well as the most highly cultivated of men. According to Natural Selection, says Prof. Fairhurst, "Savages ought not to have any capacities except those that have been constantly in use, and that have been preserved because they have proved useful." But savages have, in common with all men, natural powers which enable them to appreciate moral distinctions, and to receive instruction in regard thereto, and to make progress in education in all directions.

      It is related of Mr. Darwin that "When he sailed past certain islands in the Pacific, he found them inhabited by cannibals; but twenty-five years thereafter be found those very islanders converted to Christianity and enjoying the blessings of civilization. How many millions of years would it take," can any evolutionist tell us, "to convert a tribe of gorillas into God-fearing, man-loving, self-conscious beings, capable of believing that they possessed immortal souls," and that they were the objects of God's redeeming love and saving grace? (Fairhurst: Organic Evolution Considered.)

      What these facts of common knowledge prove is that all men are akin to each other; that all are in [54] common endowed with attributes God-like in character, bestowed from above, not derived from beneath; that they are wholly distinct from the brute creation; that by sin the moral nature of Man has been ruined; but that Man, in his most degraded condition, is capable of being regenerated and renewed under the potent influence of the Gospel of Christ. Thus, the pertinent facts of common knowledge, which are universal and the same in all the centuries of our era, are in perfect agreement with the statements of Scripture concerning the Creation, the fall, and the recovery of Man through Divine intervention, and are utterly opposed to Evolution.

Ancient Hu- man Remains

We would deem it a waste of time to discuss in detail the human bones, found in various localities, and which have been put forward by the evolutionist--hard pressed for proof--as being the remains of a type of Man somewhat nearer to the ape physically, than any now living. It suffices to say that the actual character of such fragmentary remains is, in all cases, more or less a matter of speculation; and that not a single human skull or other bone has ever been discovered that differs in any marked degree from corresponding parts of human beings now living. Furthermore, we have shown that the real problem of the evolutionist is, not to account for Man's physical being by Evolution (impossible as that is) but to account for the origin of his mental, moral and spiritual attributes which are his real distinguishing characteristics. As to those, the facts all bear witness that Evolution is a monstrous delusion--doubtless a phase of that "strong delusion," to which, according to the prophetic Scriptures, they of the last days were to be given over, who "received not the love of the truth that they might be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10-12). It will [55] suffice, on this branch of our subject, to quote a few passages from recognized authorities.

      The great Virchow, one of the very greatest of chemists, an investigator and anatomist of the first rank, says:

      "We must really acknowledge that there is a complete absence of any fossil type of a lower stage in the development of Man. Nay, if we gather together all the fossil men hitherto found, and put them parallel with those of the present time, we can decidedly pronounce that there are among living men a much greater proportion of individuals who show a relatively inferior type, than there are among the fossils known up to this time."

      Honest evolutionists will not dispute this. Thus, the "Engis skull," found in Belgium, and gleefully hailed as that of the much sought "missing link," was conceded by Prof. Huxley to be "a fair average skull, which might have belonged to a philosopher, or might have contained the thoughtless brain of a savage." This Engis skull is supposed to be the oldest known up to now.

      Again quoting Prof. Virchow:

      "We seek in vain for the missing link. There exists a definite barrier separating man from the animal, a barrier which has not yet been effaced--heredity, which transmits to children the faculties of the parents.

      "It was generally believed a few years ago that there existed a few human races which still remained in the (supposed) primitive inferior condition of their organization. But all these races have been the objects of minute investigation, and we know that they have an organization like ours, often indeed superior to that of the supposed higher races. Thus, the Eskimo head, and the head of [56] the Terra del Fuegians, belong to the perfected types. All the researches undertaken with the aim of finding continuity in progressive development have been without result. There exists no man-monkey and the 'connecting link' remains a phantom."

      The above quotations are as given in Th. Graebner's work "Evolution: An Investigation and a Criticism," from which we also quote the following:

      "No one has stated ascertained facts touching the origin of Man more succinctly and more clearly than Prof. Dr. Friedrich Pfaff, professor of natural science in the University of Erlangen. He shows conclusively that the age of man is comparatively brief, extending only to a few thousand years; that man appeared suddenly; that the most ancient man known to us is not essentially different from the now living man, and that transitions from ape to man, or from man to ape are nowhere to be found. The conclusion he reaches is that the Scriptural account of Man, which is one and self-consistent throughout, is true; that God made Man in His own image, fitted for fellowship with Himself, a state from which Man indeed has fallen, but to which restoration is possible through Him Who is the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His Person." [57]

[EATB 52-57]