Uniqueness of Man

Perhaps the most offensive feature of evolutionism to Bible-believing Christians is the belief that humans have evolved by natural processes from apes. In the evolutionary view, moreover, man was not the goal of evolution but a mere happenstance. This stands in startling contrast to the biblical declaration that humans were specially created in the image of God.

“God created man in His own image.” Genesis 1:27

In the first chapter of Genesis, the triune God declared, “‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26–27). Far from being an evolutionary descendant of the beasts, man has been given dominion over them.

HUMAN SKULL vs. APE SKULL: It is easy to identify a human skull if you look at it from the side. The skull has a vertical face with protruding nasal bones (where we set glasses). In contrast, ape skulls have a sloping face and flat nasal bones.

Jesus directed our attention to the second chapter of Genesis when He said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4–5).

Since God did not create any “apemen,” it should come as no surprise that it is quite easy to distinguish humans from apes, whether as fossils or living. While there is an underlying anatomical similarity among all mammals, a child can be taught to recognize the difference between an ape skull and that of a human. (If you look at the skull from the side, for example, the human skull has a vertical face with protruding nasal bones [where we can set our glasses], but the ape skull has a sloping face with flat nasal bones.)

But it is not the biological differences (anatomical or physiological) that definitively set man apart from the beasts. Rather, the mind and soul of man and his God-given ability to communicate with our Creator distance him from the beasts. Thus it is only mankind that is invited to join the Apostle Paul in declaring, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

For Additional Information

• Did Humans Really Evolve from Apelike Creatures?
• The Human Kind
• Apemen & Missing Links Q & A