{SNIP}
Here we have a people who didn't worship. Were they descendents of
Adam? Do they have the image of God? Assuming that Adam is a late
figure, and assuming that prior to Adam
were non-human humans, then can we treat the Ona like animals? The case
of
the Ona is one of those that would be firmly in the gray area. I
believe
that the Ona, with or without religion, are fully human.
glenn
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
Foundation, Fall and Flood
& lots of creation/evolution information
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm
Hi Glenn,
I'm assuming that the creation account in Genesis is not literal. I'm
assuming that mankind was created through the process of evolution and
that this process had a predetermined outcome (was not completely random
mutations of chance) that was to ultimately result in a being which God
could commune with. I'm also assuming that at some point in history
there would have been a being that was finally evolved enough for God to
start this communion with. God had patiently and lovingly waited
billions of years for this moment.
This being would be the first of its kind to have the basic intelligence
required to fully commune with Him. This would have been Adam. Now I
am assuming that evolution is a process created by God and that it has
the purpose of creating all life on earth ultimately ending in creating
and sustaining mankind. I am assuming this process works though many
different organic media though out time building various biological
systems. This process ultimately results in the combination of these
systems to create a being called man which uses these systems to commune
with God. Evidence that early man had religion of one type or another
might be evidence that we have had this basic intelligence millions of
years ago. Of course this would mean that Adam is extremely old which
conflicts with the nice image of a modern looking Adam and Eve living in
Eden. Things aren't always picture perfect I guess.
Now if evolution is a process created by God and it has the purpose of
creating beings with intelligence basic enough that they can recognize
and commune with the Creator I really don't think that it would have
stopped with any one class or ethnic people. Did the Ona have the
capacity to understand and know Him? I think so. Do all the people of
the world today have the ability to understand and know Him? Once again
I think so. There had to have been a time when Adam's children lived
with other beings that simply did not have the capacity to commune with
the Creator. There are a couple of things that I can think of at this
point:
1) Adam lived so long ago that all of mankind as we know it today are
from his line and the pre-Adamites are extinct. (Natural selection?
Part of God's plan?)
2) These other beings outside of Adam's line continued to evolve and
obtain the basic intelligence required and result in the wide variety of
ethnic people in the human race today.
Adam and Eve were not commissioned to be evangelists. They were to be
"fruitful and multiply". Either way it appears that we are the end
product that God has set up this vast universe of interdependent systems
for. Whether we choose to or not... we all have the capacity to know
Him.
Regards,
Ryan
One other thought comes to mind on a different topic in closing. If the
universe began with the "Big Bang" and is continuing to expand, and
stars have only a limited amount of fuel and grow farther and farther
apart, doesn't it seem that this universe as we know it was destined to
be "temporary" when it was created? (assuming natural laws remain and
God does not intervene) If we lived eternally in a universe according
to God's original plan (without sin), would the mechanics of the
universe be the same? I guess what I am getting at is... when sin
entered into mankind's lives (according to Genesis) was the universe
already destined to be temporary? (assuming constants remain the same).