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Human

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Human

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Suborder: Haplorrhini Infraorder: Simiiformes Family: Hominidae Genus: Homo
Species
Homo sapiens Homo neanderthalensis Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo ergaster Homo antecessor Homo heidelbergensis Homo floresiensis Homo rudolfensis Homo rhodesiensis Homo cepranensis Homo georgicus

Humans or human beings are any of the species or races within the genus Homo. Human creationism is the doctrine or belief that each human soul is created, notably by God. The view is thus philosophically opposed to evolutionism or traducianism.

Biblical human creationism is based on the Bible, which states that human beings were created on the 6th day of creation following land animals approximately 6000 years ago. The book of Genesis states that man is distinct from the animals, and was created in the image of God.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26 (NASB)

In contrast, secular paleoanthropologists believe that humans originated from primate-like ancestors in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Furthermore, the theory of evolution presupposes that humans and animals have all descended from a common ancestor. As such, the genus homo is classified under the taxonomic Family Hominidae, which also includes the Great apes, such as the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan.

1 Modern Humans
2 Human Races
3 Anthropology
4 Paleoanthropology
5 Genetics
6 Image of God
- 6.1 Spiritual image
- 6.2 Physical image
7 References
8 External links
9 See Also

Modern Humans

Homo sapiens is the species name given to modern humans. The name Homo sapiens means wise man. Modern humans are assumed by evolutionists to generally differ from our ancient relatives in having a lighter skeletal build and larger brains, while these characteristics still overlap with the normal range found in living humans.^[1]

Human Races

Main Article: Human races

The term human races refers to how humanity comes in a number of varieties, distinguished by features such as skin colour, facial appearance, shape of skull, type of hair and height. Races have generally been defined by some easily distinguished external feature. There have been various different accounts of racial origins. Some have led to racist attitudes, by which people attempt to characterise other races than their own as inferior.

Anthropology

Main Article: Anthropology

Anthropology is derived from the two Greek words (ανθροπος) meaning man and (λογος) meaning word or study. Creation anthropology is an effort to study humans from the perspective that we are the result of divine creation. Like other fields of creation science, anthropology relies upon religious texts for insights into the origin and nature of man. It deals with the study of the revelation of the nature of man both before and after the fall, and both before and after the flood.

Paleoanthropology

Main Article: Paleoanthropology

Paleoanthropology (study of ancient man) is the study of the origins and the ancestors of human beings by examining fossil remains and other ancient evidence. Mainstream anthropologists and archaeologists believe that humans began domesticating animals and plants in the Middle East about 10-12,000 years ago. The earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, developed in Mesopotamia about 7,000 years ago, after humans had developed agriculture sufficiently. This is the same location where many of the early Biblical stories in Genesis are set.

Genetics

Human genetic material is made up of two distinct components: the nuclear genome and the mitochondrial genome. The nuclear genome is divided into 24 linear DNA molecules, each contained in a different chromosome. The mitochondrial genome is a circular DNA molecule separate from the nuclear DNA. Although the mitochondrial genome is very small, it codes for some very important proteins.^[2]

Image of God

As Adam is described in Genesis as being made in the image of God, an important subject in Biblical ontology is regarding the aspect of God that humans now possess. There are 2 basic definitions of the image of God.

Spiritual image

Adam was created to reflect the spiritual nature of Elohim. This belief, by far the most widespread among theists, holds that Adam was created in God's spiritual image, to reflect his reason and personality and ability to communicate. However, it is not believed that Adam was created in God's physical image, because it is believed that God has no physical existence or appearance.

Physical image

Adam was created to reflect the physical appearance of Elohim. This view, much less common than the spiritual view, provides that Adam was created in the physical image of Elohim. It is based on corporealism, or the belief that God has a physical body. Arguments for this view include:

The same words used for image (tselem), and likeness (d@muwth), are used to describe the sons of the patriarchs. (e.g. "And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth;" (Genesis 5:3 )[1]
Elohim is plural, as is the phrase, "Let us make Man in our image," implying that the Elohim (plural, to include Jehovah Elohim and the Sons of God) decided to create man in their image;
Jehovah Elohim (the "Lord of the gods") is described as physically walking through the garden. "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." Genesis 3:8 .
"Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless;"—Genesis 17:1 ;
"Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day."—Genesis 18:1 ;