>Are there human-like
>animals living today? The very thought that Christians might propound
>such a view repels me.
And me. I started to type the following in response to another post
yesterday, but ended up ashcanning it at the end of a busy day that
permitted no time for getting it right.
It seems clear to me that there are distinctions we may never be able to
make, because the needed information is not available, because we may
simply not have the ability to gather the needed information, or because
God may have explicitly denied us the ability to make them. Usually no one
responds when I say these sorts of things, but they are considerations we
need to keep in mind. Ignoring them doesn't make them disappear.
When we find the fossil remains of a human or human-like creature, how are
we to decide they are or are not the remains of a human being? All the
criteria being discussed (art, civilization, tool-making, etc.) are perhaps
reasonable criteria for identifying humanity, but as someone pointed out
(Brian Harper I believe) what we are really seeking in these discussions is
a basis for judging that some fossil remains are or are not the remains of
a human who was capable of having a relationship with God.
In speaking of living humans the Bible teaches that only God knows the
hearts of men. We look at externals but God knows the heart. But we have
such imperfect knowledge of living humans we can interact with, talk with
and question. Our knowledge of archaic humans is more remote. All we know
about them is what they left behind. We ought to be very cautious about
ruling any ancient human-like creature out of the human race. Why? because
we might provide openings for a future Hitler to rule living humans out of
the human race.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)