Here is a little video of Richard Dawkins, Michael Ruse, et al., claiming that were are apes…and should be proud of it to boot!
This glorified animal approach is part of atheism’s consoling delusions: the consoling delusion of absolute autonomy and the consoling delusion of lack of ultimate accountability.
We are fans of the Question Evolution! Campaign which was initiated by Creation Ministries International.
This not only makes the point, but does so in a rather amusing fashion. I can't help but chuckle about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a laugh or cry situation, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThe Richard Dawkins "I am an ape" video delivers a strong message. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, how should I apply this principle to the following questions?
ReplyDeleteAm I a Mammal?
Am I a Vertebrate?
Am I an animal?
Carl Linnaeus is widely praised as the one of the greatest biologists of all time and the father of modern ecology. But more than anything else he is revered as the founder of modern taxonomy. His genus+species naming system remains with us today as well the classifications of kingdom, phylum, class, order, and subspecies. And creationist Christians proudly point to him as one of our own, whose exploration and categorization of living things expressed his praise for a Creator who designed a richly diverse and complex tree of life. Linnaeus considered his lifelong taxonomy work an extension of the naming which began with Adam himself. And it was Linnaeus who first called humans Homo sapiens..
The Christ-honoring Carl Linnaeus classified God's ultimate creation, humans, as:
Kingdom: Animal
Class: Mammal
Phylum: Vertebrate
Order: Primate
SubOrder: Anthropoidea ["human-like", Simians/monkeys]
InfraOrder: Catarrhini ["downward-nosed" Anthropoids have similar-pointing noses; humans and Old World monkeys]
Linnaeus had no "family" taxonomic category in his day; that was added to the Linnaean system after his death. He struggled to figure out just how to express the many similarities between monkeys, apes, and humans. The Hominidae family, also known as the Great Apes, includes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and the Homo genus where Linnaeus placed humans.
So, more than a CENTURY BEFORE DARWIN Carl Linnaeus had no concept of the theory of evolution but used the similarities and differences between organisms to create a classification system for all life, including humans. And in that naming/categorization system, Linnaeus called me....
an ANIMAL,
a mammal,
a vertebrate,
a primate,
an Anthropoid of the Catarrhine type,
and a Homonid (also known as among the Great Apes.)
So was Linnaeus wrong? Would any rational person deny that humans are animals? And if they DO deny that we are animals, are they just playing word games, as in an Equivocation Fallacy?
Does it make sense to deny that we are vertebrates, seeing how we have a spinal column? And if we are not a PRIMATE, what are we? And are we going to deny that we are made of "the dust of the ground" just as the Bible says of all the animals he created?
In the Dawkins video, the reverend emphatically denies being an ape. Why? Any literate person with a dictionary knows that there are multiple definitions for the English word "ape", and as with so many words in our language, the zoological term used by scientists is not the same as its popular definition used by the general public. Indeed, the same can be said for the word "animal". If someone in a wretched prison cells protests, "I am not an animal!", we understand what he means. But when a scientist studies zoonotic disease transmission, he MUST consider humans to be animals if he is going to protect public health!
So if Carl Linnaeus joined my church today and happened to see the Dawkins video, what do you think he would say? Would he agree with Dr. Dawkins that humans are vertebrate animals? Would Linnaeus agree that we are primates? Do you think he would agree that I am a catarrhine Anthropoid? How about a Hominid of the Great Apes?
Now remember, Carl Linnaeus lived a century before Charles Darwin and knew nothing of the Theory of Evolution.
What do you think? What/which biological descriptions can be admitted by a Bible-believing disciple of Jesus Christ?