The Nature of Man
The secularists are on the march. In recent times Christians have been rattled by the atheistic stance taken by Dawkins in his book ‘The God Delusion’. Eagerly they read Alistair McGrath’s counterblast in his response ‘The Dawkins Delusion’ and the more easily understood essays by David Robertson in ‘The Dawkins Letters’.
The contrary views of the religious fundamentalists encourage us to deride Darwin’s teaching on evolution and accept literally the biblical explanation of the world’s creation. To the majority of Christians the gradual evolution of the animal kingdom through simple marine life to animals and finally primates would appear to be a scientific fact. In human embryology, man at an early stage exhibits gill-like structures which still persist in a rudimentary form in the adult neck.
The amazing qualities to be found in the animal kingdom are a source of wonder and are today beautifully portrayed on our television screens. But even the most ardent animal lover must concede that it is an enormous and mysterious jump from the highest primates to human beings. Certain qualities are not present in the animal kingdom. Could a gorilla compose music? Has a dog got a conscience? Can a cow exhibit modesty? Whales can communicate over vast distances in the sea but I doubt if they could compose poetry. We hear of elephants being encouraged to paint pictures with their trunks and sell their efforts with success to art dealers. But to me this says more about modern art than the skill of elephants.
When we contemplate the unique qualities of humankind we see a stage of evolution which passes from the natural to the supernatural. It is not unreasonable to suggest that a Deity is responsible for our creation and we believe that a God must have created man for a purpose rather than allowed human beings to simply evolve.
One exceptional human quality is the capacity for love. That an animal can show undying love for their offspring or even their human master cannot be denied. But human love transcends this and can lead to forgiveness and reconciliation. The Christian asks “The Holy Spirit to pour into our hearts the most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues”. Each Sunday we are reminded that nothing is more important than to “love God and our neighbour as oneself.”
It would appear that in all human cultures a belief in some kind of God is ‘hard-wired’ into the human psyche. In the First World War it was said that few atheists could be found trembling with fear in the shell holes of Flanders. And today trawlermen facing the awful hazards of the North Sea do not hesitate to ask God for his love and protection.
Christians looking to strengthen the foundations of their faith should consider the make up and attributes of the human condition and consider what makes us essentially different from the plants and animals. This is not to diminish in any way our admiration of all living things on this planet earth. Evolution as portrayed by Darwin can be interpreted as a manifestation of God’s wonder and skill. But the creation of man is surely a mysterious and amazing fact that is impossible to explain in secular terms.
Robin Stewart