CHAPTER 1

Man’s Origin--Where Did I Come From?
 

Whenever we are seeking to find out the ORIGIN of something, we are asking the question, "Where did it begin?"   "How did it all begin?"   "How did it originate?"  "Where did it come from?"

For example, someone might ask, "What is the origin or the beginning point of the Mississippi River?" Where does this great river start?" If we were to start at the Gulf of Mexico and follow the Mississippi River all the way back to its starting point, we would end up at a location in northern Minnesota. It is there that the Mississippi River ORIGINates!

In this chapter we are concerned about the origin of man. How did man begin? How did the human race get started? Who are my ancestors? One of the most important questions facing every man, woman, boy and girl is the question WHERE DID HUMANS COME FROM? How did man originate?

Of course, this question can be answered very simply by all of us. Each person can say, "I came from my parents, and I originated from them." But, where did your parents come from? "They came from my grandparents!" And where did your grandparents come from? "They came from my great grandparents!" These answers are all true, but they do not get us back to the very beginning. We need to go back all the way to northern Minnesota, to the true source. We know who our parents are and who our grandparents are, etc., but WHO WERE OUR FIRST PARENTS? If we could climb into a time machine and go back in time to the very beginning, what would we find?
 

Has Man Always Been Around?

Has man always been in existence? Has mankind been around forever? Is man eternal, or was there a time when man was not here?

According to Psalm 90:2, who is the One who is eternal and "from everlasting"? ________  Micah 5:2 also speaks of One who is "from everlasting" and who was also born in Bethlehem nearly 2000 years ago. Who was this? ____________________________

Today everyone agrees that there was a time when there were no men on earth and a time when there was no earth! Even those who do not believe the Bible believe these facts.

All would agree that there was a time when man was not here. Today there are billions of men and women and children on planet earth. How did mankind come into existence? How did man originate? WHERE DID I COME FROM?

Today there are basically three ideas about how man began. Only one of these ideas is correct. The other two are false. One very popular idea is that man evolved from lower forms of life. This idea is taught in most schools and in most books and magazines. Many people believe this evolutionary theory. Another idea that some people have is that man owes his existence to UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects from other planets).  This theory has been published in certain books.  Both of these first two ideas are false.  The only true answer as to where man came from is found in God’s Word, the Bible. According to Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:7 and 2:21-23, how did man originate?
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The Theory of Evolution

It is important to understand what the theory of evolution says about the origin of man since so many people believe this theory.  Evolution is commonly taught in public schools and in colleges, and is strongly promoted by the media.

Evolution teaches that man has gradually evolved from lower animals (such as apelike creatures) in a slowly changing process that has taken millions of years. Thus, the evolutionists would say that man is nothing more than a highly intelligent animal.  They teach that man is very similar to the gorilla, except that man is smarter!

Let’s think very carefully about this theory. If man has evolved from some apelike creature, then where did that creature come from? Remember that to find the origin of something, you need to go back to the very beginning (all the way back to the starting point).

Here is how the evolutionists tell the story of man:

In the beginning, about four billion years ago, the air is unfit to breathe. The young earth is without life. The sun beats down; storms lash the coasts; volcanoes pour hissing lava into the ocean’s waters. These natural jolts fuse simple molecules into more complex ones. Amino acids are formed, then interact with each other, and primitive protein is fashioned, perhaps as a worm-like molecule. Somehow the right molecules get together and the first living cell appears. This first living cell is the great ancestor of all plants and animals on earth, including man. From this first cell, all other forms of life evolved. This tiny first living cell is the father of us all!

How did man come from this first cell? (Remember, there are more cells in the human body than there are people in the world.) Here's the story: As time went on, this first cell developed into amoeba-like organisms and other primitive creatures that could survive in the ocean. After millions of years, these creatures evolved into fish. Some of these fish developed lungs so that they could survive outside of the water. Gradually they began to make their way onto land as the first amphibians. These amphibians then evolved into reptiles and the earth soon became populated with great dinosaurs. Some of these reptiles started to develop legs that could move around better, and these creatures became what we today would call mammals. Other reptiles developed wings and flew away to become birds.

Where did man come from? One of these early mammals was known as a tree shrew. He was not much larger than a squirrel and in many ways looked like a squirrel. This creature lived in trees and gradually evolved into primitive monkeys and other apelike creatures. From these apelike creatures there evolved two major groups:  1) the great apes that we can see in zoos today, such as the gorilla, orangutan, gibbon and chimpanzee;  2) a creature who came down from the trees and who started walking upright (all monkeys and apes walk on all fours).  He is now known as MAN!

Our father (that first living cell) would have been very proud of us if he could have seen how far we have come these past millions of years!

This information was taken from two sources:  1) "The Awesome Worlds Within a Cell," National Geographic, September, 1976, pp. 392-393;  2) Evolution, by Ruth Moore published by TIME Incorporated (TIME-LIFE series), 1964, pp.109-116.

The above is man’s version of the story. If we were to ask the monkeys, they might say something like this:

Three monkeys dining once in a coconut tree
 Were discussing some things that they heard true to be.
"What do you think?"    "Now listen, you two;
Here, monkeys, is something that cannot be true,
That humans descend from our noble race!
Why, it’s shocking--a terrible disgrace.
Whoever heard of a monkey deserting his wife,
Leaving a baby to starve and ruin its life?
And have you ever known of a mother monk
 To leave her darling with strangers to bunk?
Their babies are handed from one to another,
And some scarcely know the love of a mother.
And I’ve never known a monkey so selfish to be,
As to build a fence around a coconut tree,
So other monkeys can‘t get a wee taste,
But would let all the coconuts there go to waste.
Why, if I'd put a fence around this coconut tree,
Starvation would force you to steal from me.
And here is another thing a monkey won’t do:
Seek a cocktail parlor and get on a stew.
Carouse and go on a whoopee disgracing his life,
Then reel madly home and beat up his wife.
They call this all pleasure and make a big fuss--
THEY’VE DESCENDED FROM SOMETHING,
BUT CERTAINLY NOT FROM US!!!"

There are many problems with the theory of evolution.  Here are just a few:

1.  It's impossible for life to come from non-life.  Evolutionists teach that the first living cell evolved from non-life. There is no evidence that this ever happened.  Life does not just happen by chance.  The reason we have life on this planet (animal life, plant life, human life) is because the Creator made it so. God created all plants and all living creatures. 

2.  There is no evidence that amphibians evolved into reptiles.  There is no evidence that reptiles evolved into mammals.  There is no evidence that reptiles evolved into birds.  The fossil record does not back up the claims of evolution.  Evolutionists have a theory that has never been proven.

3.  There are variations found in the various "kinds" of animals which God created.  For example, think of all the varieties of dogs.  Think of all the varieties of cats.  Think of all the varieties of humans.  All humans came from the same parents (Adam and Eve) and yet we do not all look alike (different colored skin, different eyes, etc.).  God has made the various kinds of animals with great genetic potential for variation.  He did this for humans as well.  However, one kind of animal does not change into another kind.  Animals always reproduce "after their kind" (Genesis 1:11,21,25).  Lizards do not change into birds. Reptiles do not evolve into lions.  Dogs do not evolve into cats.  Land mammals do not change into whales.  Eels do not evolve into snakes.  Apes do not evolve into humans.

Many things that the evolutionists say cannot be true because they are the exact opposite of what God says. To see what God says, open your Bible to Genesis chapter 1. You will need to find out on what day of the creation week certain things were created:

  1. The evolutionists say that life must have begun in the ocean. But God says that the first plant life was created on Day _________ and the first life in the ocean was not created until Day _______.
     
  2. The evolutionists say that there cannot be life without the sun because the sun would have needed to beat down upon the primitive ocean to produce life. But God says that the first plant life was created on Day ______ and the sun was not created until Day _______.
     
  3. The evolutionists say that reptiles evolved into birds, but God says that birds were created on Day ____ and reptiles (or "creeping things") were not created until Day ______. If birds were on earth before reptiles, then how could birds have evolved from reptiles?
     
  4. The evolutionists say that apelike creatures came along thousands of years before men (because they believe that man evolved from apelike creatures).  But God says that men and apes were both created on Day _______.

The theory of evolution faces some very serious problems. For example, the evolutionists have never really answered these questions:

  1. How can life come from non-life?   Even a one-celled organism is highly complex and could not have evolved by chance.
     
  2. How can there be so many wonderful and amazing CREATURES without an intelligent CREATOR to make them?
     
  3. Every creature on earth shows evidence of amazing design.  Think of the web-making capability of the spider, the defensive mechanism of the skunk, the amazing design found in every animals that is able to fly, etc.  If there is DESIGN, then should not there be a DESIGNER?   Suppose you came across a beautiful painting of a lake surrounded by mountains.  You ask the owner of the painting, "Who painted this beautiful nature scene?"  The owner says, "No one painted it.  It just happened by chance.  One day I spilled several bottles of paint and my accidental spill resulted in this painting."  Would you believe this person?
     
  4. How could all of these wonderful forms of life have come about by mere chance?    Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  The evolutionist would want to rewrite it this way:  "In the beginning, it just happened!" 

This last question is especially important. Evolutionists say that animals have been able to change from one form to another as a result of certain "accidents of nature" referred to as chance mutations. For example, how can reptiles over millions of years accidentally develop wings? How can a fish accidentally develop lungs?  How can a land mammal accidentally develop into a whale?  How can molecules accidentally fall together to form the first living cell? These things are about as likely as throwing a pile of paper (10,000 sheets) out of an airplane and having all of the sheets land in a neat pile on the ground, one on top of the other! It could never happen!

Evolution teaches that man is nothing more than an intelligent animal, and like all other animals, man is an ACCIDENT of nature. Evolutionists suggest that man is just lucky to be what he is! There is no reason or purpose as to why he is here--it just happened that way!  Man is nothing but a freak accident of nature!  No one made us--we just happened!   It is all a terrible lie! 

Anyone who can contemplate the eye of a housefly, the mechanics of human finger movement, the camouflage of a moth, or the building of every kind of matter from variations in arrangement of proton and electron, and then maintain that all this design happened without a designer, happened by sheer, blind accident--such a person believes in a miracle far more astounding than any in the Bible. To regard man, with his arts and aspirations, his awareness of himself and of his universe, his emotions and his morals, his very ability to conceive an idea so grand as that of God, to regard this creature as merely a form of life somewhat higher on the evolutionary ladder than the others, is to create questions more profound than those answered.

"Is There a Substitute for God?", by David Raphael Klein, Reader's Digest, March 1970.

 

The Theory of UFO’s

There are other people who explain man’s origin in a different way. These people do not believe the Bible, but they also do not believe many things that the evolutionists teach.

These UFOLOGISTS (as they are sometimes called) believe that intelligent creatures from another planet had something to do with how human life started on this earth. Here is one theory:

Erick von Daniken (the author of Chariots of the Gods) says that somehow--although we really do not know how--all animals and plants evolved on this planet. He accepts evolution up to that point. He then says that about 40,000 years ago super-intelligent creatures from outer space visited our planet. These space men found the apes who were then living on earth, and by genetic engineering they caused mutations in the ape population which led to the production of man. Then about 7,000 years ago these space creatures returned to earth and chose two of these apelike creatures, and with some more genetic engineering they made Adam and Eve.

These ideas seem silly, but there is some truth to them. These UFO people realize that man could not have come about apart from an INTELLIGENT MIND or and an INTELLIGENT DESIGNER. They realize that there are great problems with the theory of evolution which says that there was no intelligent mind which produced man. Evolutionists teach that things evolved by blind chance. To say that intelligent man was made apart from any intelligent design is very foolish. That would be like saying that the world’s largest computer was not made by anyone but just fell together somehow by accident.

If you want to baffle the UFO people, just ask them this question: Where did the super-intelligent creatures from outer space come from? Who made them? Did other space creatures help them to evolve?

These UFO believers also see another problem with evolution. How did the Egyptians, for example, build the pyramids?  All who study the pyramids recognize that it took brilliant minds to construct those amazing burial tombs! It took great intelligence and know-how and technology! It would be a great challenge for modern man to build the same structures today, even with all man's modern machinery!

The pyramids are a great problem for the evolutionists. Evolution says that primitive peoples of the past were quite ignorant and primitive.  They believe that as the years went by men became more and more advanced and intelligent. The UFO people say that there was only one way the Egyptians could have built the pyramids: intelligent people from another planet must have told them how to do it, or they actually helped them to do it (some have even said that they used their flying saucers to carry the huge pieces of rock and drop them in place).

The theory of evolution does not fit the facts. The theory of UFO’s might make good science fiction reading, but not too many are going to believe a theory that is so "OUT OF THIS WORLD." That brings us to the third alternative:
 

God’s Truth About the Creation of Man

Circle the correct answer in each of the following:

According to Genesis 2:7, man

  1. was made from an apelike creature.
  2. was transported from outer space.
  3. was made from the dust of the ground.

According to Psalm 139:14,

  1. man has wonderfully and accidentally evolved.
  2. man has been wonderfully made by brilliant minds from another planet.
  3. man has been fearfully and wonderfully made by a marvelous Maker whom we should praise and thank!

According to Isaiah 45:11-12, who is responsible for man being upon the earth:

  1. no one; it just happened that man evolved.
  2. beings from another planet.
  3. the LORD, the HOLY ONE, the ALMIGHTY MAKER.

The best way to settle this issue is to ask the One Person who knows the most about man’s origin and who is the best Authority on the subject. Who is the best Authority on the origin of man? (See Matthew 19:4-6.)

  1. A university biology teacher
  2. The editor of the National Geographic magazine
  3. The President of the United States
  4. The Lord Jesus Christ
  5. Your parents

What did the Lord Jesus say about the origin of man? Read carefully Matthew 19:4. Was Jesus a believer in creation or a believer in evolution? ______________________________________ Did Jesus believe what the Bible says in Genesis 1:27? ________ How many times do you find the word "created" in Genesis 1:27? _______ How many times do you find the word "evolved" in this verse? _______ Did Jesus really believe in Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:4)? ______

The Lord knew exactly what He was talking about. Indeed, He was the One who created Adam and Eve! See John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16.

Does it make a difference when a person realizes that an all-wise, loving, eternal, all-powerful God created the first man and woman?  Recognizing a personal Creator makes man much more than an animal or an accident of nature.   If we are really made by an all-powerful God, then He must have had a reason for our creation.  There must be a purpose for why we are here.  We will study the reason man was created in the next chapter.

Now that you have thought about the things discussed in this chapter, how would you answer this important question:  WHERE DID I COME FROM? _______________________________________________________________________________
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