I am a work in progress.
We all are, really.
And this progression started a long time ago, despite what many people like to believe.
So let me say this before I write another word: To all my friends who read and take the Bible as a factual account of history. I respect your right to do so.
I think there are some great things in the Bible: Some good lessons and some truly beautiful passages.
But I don’t view the Bible as a factual description of past events. I don’t think naked Adam and Eve met a talking snake.
I do, however, believe in evolution.
Evolution is a fundamental concept in biology. It refers to the process by which species of living organisms change over time. And those organisms do so through the gradual accumulation of genetic changes.
It is the central organizing principle in the field of biology and helps explain the diversity of life on Earth.
A good example of this is height. Back in the 1700s, the average male was 5’5″ or less. Today, the average male ranges, on average, between 5’9″ and 6’0″. We have evolved to accommodate our changing environment, like taller cabinets and higher basketball hoops.
Back to my Bible pals. I know. Some people continue to argue that evolution isn’t a valid scientific theory because it can’t be tested. But this just isn’t true. Scientists have successfully found evidence that supports the major tenets of evolution.
Not only that, but many, and I mean many, field scientists have been able to use fossil records to answer important questions about natural selection and how organisms change over time.
But it is important to get the terminology right when talking about evolution, and monkeys are not a part of that. No, human beings did not evolve from monkeys. Humans and modern apes, including chimpanzees, evolved from a now-extinct common ancestor.
Old Uncle Whats-His-Face. A common ancestor.
This “ape thing” is another myth that always gets in the way of evolution. People think the Theory of Evolution says that we descended directly from apes. They then argue that if evolution exists, then apes must have changed, step by step, into humans. Therefore, there should be no apes. Apes should no longer exist.
But. The theory does not say this. And. The bottom-line rebuttal is simple: Humans didn’t descend from apes. Again. We came from what biologists call a “common ancestor.” This apelike ancestor, which probably lived 5 to 11 million years ago in Africa, gave rise to two separate lineages, one resulting in hominids — humanlike species — and the other resulting in the living ape species.
Like a family tree. Where two different lines emerge. One from this brother and the other from that brother. Uncle Harry and Uncle Vern.
I think for some people, it is easier to believe that we started from two miraculous humans who appeared suddenly in some garden and started canoodling amidst sharing an apple, all the while being goaded by a nefarious snake. Most people don’t want to believe we have the same genetic foundations as apes.
Personally, I think the ape family is pretty cool. I mean, hasn’t everyone seen the video of the orangutan with the sunglasses? It doesn’t get much cooler than that, cousin.
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“We are the products of a long evolutionary process, and we bear the marks of our ancestry in our bodies and in our behaviors.” – Carl Sagan
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“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” – Theodosius Dobzhansky
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“Evolution is a fact, and the sooner we all get used to it, the better off we’ll be.” – Richard Dawkins
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Where we came from. Just look at our belly buttons.
