Dear Mike,
Interesting question. The question of when did Man become Man and what
that even means has been explored in a number of books by just about every
major paleoanthropologist over the past decade. Most believe that
anatomically modern humans began 100,000 years ago , but many insist that
these people did not start acting like human beings until 50, 000 years
ago.By this, they mean creating art, spirituality, innovation, &culture.
Recent findings in central and southern Africa contradict the hypothesis
that there was such a long haitus between the appearance of modern anatomy
and the appearance of modern behaviour.
Another way of putting it would be, When did Man first become a spiritual
being?We cannot know for sure, but a good starting point may be when humans
began to exhibit the first signs of spiritual belief.The first signs of
religious belief appear to come from Neanderthal burials dating back
100,000 years ago. Some dispute whether these were ceremonial burials,
however.According to the latest genetic findings , Neanderthals were a
separate species from Homo Sapiens, so this may not count.
Evidence of burial ceremonies among Homo Sapiens date to Cro Magnon man
(c. 30,000-40, 0000 B.C.).Certainly, by the times of the ancient Egyptians
and Sumerians, there were signs that human communities had long had a rich
spiritual life.
I have read Dick Fischer's " In search of Adam"with interest but religious
feelings among humans appear to predate his date for the appearance of Adam
and I feel that humans must have known of God ( or the gods) prior to c.
4000BC.
-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of MikeSatterlee@cs.com
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 2:17 AM
To: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: How and when did we become "men"?
Dick Fischer wrote: Since you want the "image" to start before Adam, you
must
say where that begins. Any date you pick would be arbitrary - 4 million
years ago, 100,000 years ago, 10,000 years ago. You can guess, but you
don't
know.
Dick, this raises a question I had hoped to get your opinion on.
Regardless
of whether Gen. 1:26, 27 is referring to God's creation of the human race
prior to His creation of Adam and Eve or to His creation of Adam and Eve,
I
would like to know how and when you and others on this list believe God
first
created the human race? As you say, all we can do is guess as to the
"when."
The "how" may also be a matter of some disagreement here.
I'll volunteer to go first.
I believe God "created" man by making highly evolved primates into
"spirit"
people. A "spirit person" is a person who has a spirit unlike that of
animals, a spirit which returns to God upon our death. (Eccl. 3:21; 12:7)
Being a "spirit person" also means having the ability to comprehend
"spiritual" concepts. Concepts such as eternity, morality, justice and
God. I
believe at some point during the physical evolution of our species God
intervened and gave mankind the ability to comprehend such "spiritual"
concepts. I believe God also then began giving us eternal spirits. I
believe
these were the creative acts spoken of in Gen. 1:27.
I believe our ability to think "spiritual" thoughts has, since that time,
been inherited from our parents. However, the eternal spirits all human
beings have since possessed may be individual gifts which God gives to all
human beings at their births, at the time we take our first breath. This
may
have been what was pictured by God breathing the breath of life into Adam.
(The Hebrew word "neshamah" which is used in Gen. 2:7 can mean both
"breath"
and "spirit.") If this is so, I believe it can truthfully be said that all
human beings, before and after Adam, have been individually "created" in
the
same way that Adam was. (Adam was created from preexisting organic
material,
the dust of the earth, and had a spirit breathed into him directly by
God.)
I suspect God created the human race in this way about 100,000 years ago,
at
the time scientists tell us people just like ourselves first appeared on
earth.
I would much appreciate reading the thoughts on this subject of others on
this list.
How and when did God create man?
Mike
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