Evolution & the Christian Faith Lesson 11: Ape Men; DNA Tenets of Evolution 1. Man (homo) evolved from Primates (pithecus). 2. This evolutionary process has taken at least 5 million years. 3. Fossils prove the numerous stages of this process. 4. This evolutionary process occurred through natural selection (“survival of the fittest”) and through mutations, as Darwin wrote. 5. The various human groups are not necessarily related to each other. 6. The evolutionary process was entirely natural – no supernatural cause or participation. Teachings of the Bible 1. The Triune God created one human couple, and all humans are descended from these “first parents” 2. Any human bones discovered in caves or elsewhere are the remains of people who have lived on earth since the Creation about 6000 – 7000 years ago, and most likely lived after the Flood. 3. There were variations within the human race that have since become extinct (such as Neanderthals). 4. Any primate bones discovered are simply extinct species of apes – nothing more. 5. The entire evolutionary process from primates to humans is an absolute farce - contrary to the Bible, to science, and to common sense. Neanderthals The first Neanderthal remains (a partial skeleton) were discovered near Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1856. The first complete skeleton was discovered in France in 1908. Currently there are over 300 full or partial remains, mostly from Europe and the Middle East. Evolutionists are unable to explain where Neanderthals came from, or what happened to them. Neanderthals – first conception Neanderthals – long-held conception Neanderthals – Modern conception Piltdown Man Step 1 - Discovered in a gravel pit by workers in Piltdown, England – 1908 - Pieces of a skull, a lower jaw with some teeth. Piltdown Man Step 2 - An entire skull, with the dark parts the actual pieces, and the light parts modern plaster Piltdown Man Step 3 – Artist renditions, and what is usually given to the public via the media Piltdown Man • Step 4 – Fifty years later - found to be a hoax Nebraska Man Nebraska Man was a name applied to Hesperopithecus haroldcookii, a putative species of ape. Hesperopithecus meant "ape of the western world," and it was heralded as the first higher primate of North America. Haroldcookii was given as the species name in reference to the original discoverer of the tooth, Harold Cook. The tooth was found in Nebraska in 1917. Nebraska Man Nebraska Pig Peking Man - Homo Erectus Discovery first announced on the basis of a number of fossilized teeth in the 1920’s. Later a skull cap and a few other bones were found. Still later hundreds of fragments were discovered at the same site, including 6 skull caps. Plaster casts exist, but the actual remains disappeared during WW2. Java Man – Homo Erectus Found in Java in 1892 (3 bones – each displayed twice in the picture ->) The discoverer always believed it was an ape that was a forerunner of man Others concluded it was a close relative of Peking man, and classified both as “homo erectus” Homo Habilis (“handy man”) Lucy - Australopithecus Lucy - Australopithecus KP 271 – Kanapoi Hominid • Found in Africa in 1965 • Dated to 4.5 million years old, making it the oldest human fossil we have. • Indistinquishable from Homo Sapiens- from us. • Determined to be an ape, solely due to the fossil age. DNA DNA - Description • DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that contains the genetic code of organisms. • DNA is in each cell in the organism and tells cells what proteins to make. • DNA is inherited by children from their parents. This is why children share traits with their parents, such as skin, hair and eye color. • The DNA in a person is a combination of the DNA from each of their parents. • When DNA is copied, mistakes are sometimes made. These “mutations” can be good, bad, or neutral DNA – Evolutionists’ attempt to prove Humans are descended from Chimpansees • There is a 96% similarity, and a 4% difference, between the DNA of man and chimps. • But since there are over 3 billion elements of DNA, that translates to 125 million differences. • 35 million DNA bases are different • 45 million in man; not in chimps • 45 million in chimps; not in man • The number of chromosomes is different • There is a difference in the amount of proteins produced • Human DNA matches gorillas more than chimps. Evolutionists: • Do not consider the Biblical narrative of Creation, which is the Truth, as well as a model that gives a better answer to the existence of the human and primate fossils • Are not true scientists, in that they allow the theory to interpret the facts, rather than the facts the theory • Deny the fundamental difference between men and apes, a difference so great that cannot be bridged by the evolutionary process Do not consider the moral grandeur of man made in the image of God Evolution & the Christian Faith Lesson 11: Ape Men; DNA .