Tag Archives: evolution

Adam

Words from Dic(tionary)

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Adam: (in the Bible) the first man. According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was created by God as the progenitor of the human race, and lived with Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Ape or dust? Darwin or Genesis?

This appears to be our choice.

Would I prefer to incorporate into my thinking that I am a highly evolved primate, who sometime back in my distant history became the offspring of a smart monkey, who decided to walk out from among the trees and mate with another smart monkey, who eventually, over generations, created smarter and smarter monkeys?

Or would I rather believe in fairy dust, formed by the hands of a Spirit which rules the universe, to create the flesh and blood of a human being, completely intact, needing no evolution, and arriving on the scene adult, intelligent and whole?

Wow.

So here’s what I came up with: I have decided to look at the progress of the human race instead of studying its lineage. This is what I see–we are better off believing, pursuing and walking in a philosophy that tells us we came from a garden instead of a jungle.

If we follow the contentions of our dear brother, Darwin, we will justify our irrational, selfish and even destructive behavior–which wants to kill to eat.

If we hold sacred the notion of God being “breathed” into human beings, we will need to follow through on that idea by understanding that we are a people geared to planting and harvesting.

You would have to agree–there IS a massive difference.

Perhaps in a more jaded frame of mind, I would point to historical facts which might make us temporarily believe that we are more similar to our ancestors who hunted down game for survival without mercy. But there are too many examples of times when the human spirit has triumphed and snatched defeat out of the jaws of insanity for us to ignore the creative spark of generosity and holiness that seems inbred.

I think it’s really that simple. The success you will have in your life, your relationships, your family, your business and in all of your interactions with the creatures on the planet we share will be determined by whether you roam this earth as a jungle or till it as a garden.

Do I believe the entire Genesis account? I believe that we are better as gardeners than we are as high-minded, angry monkeys.

And I think somewhere along the line, whether either account is completely true or false, or a blending of one another, when it comes to pushing forward the ideals of humanity, we would do better to present ourselves as Old McDonald instead of King Kong.

Acetabulum

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Acetabulum: (n.)  the socket of the hipbone, into which the head of the femur fits. SPECIAL USAGE: any cup-shaped structure, espcially a sucker.

Skeletons freak me out.

I think I talked about this a few days ago–the idea that we have an “inside” to our “outside” often leaves me beside myself.

Especially when you realize how we’re constructed both in a practical–but also in a weird way. This is never so true as when you look at that socket for the hip–the way it kind of rolls around in there, appearing to have absolutely no practical way to function.

So when I get in a room with a person advocating the theory of evolution over anything else, and an individual who insists on a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation story, I am baffled at how both of them fail to recognize how “fearfully and wonderfully” the human being is made.

I don’t care if there were billions of years of evolution–there is NO way that a single cell could EVER become a hip bone.

I‘m sorry. It’s impossible.

Somewhere along the line, there were LEAPS. What caused those leaps? I know that scientists have their own rendition of the mutations and interventions of nature, which may have instigated such spannings of the chasm. But honestly, when I look at an acetabulum and how it functions–how it rolls and how it’s supposed to last for a LONG time–I am massively in awe.

I guess I am one of those freaks who just believes that it’s ALL true. My concept of God is that He is kind of like a tourist visiting New York City for the first time. He literally wears Himself out, running from one site to another, enjoying every single moment of the vacation, refusing to miss any possible hallmark of the experience.

I think God likes to do it all. I think God tinkered with the amoeba and I think God messed with people. I think He enjoys perfecting things instead of pursuing the perfect.

So when I look at that hip-joint (which I don’t like to do for very long, by the way) I am convinced that there is more that went into that particular invention than we could ever imagine on this earthly plane. In other words, it took the best of evolution, it took the best of intelligent design, it took the best of mutation and it took the best of creation.

The mistake that most people make with God is that they feel empowered by discovering who He is or who He isn’t, and then they box Him up.

There IS no box for God. The minute we tell Him that He can’t do something, He’s already done it. And the minute we’re convinced that He does not exist in any way, shape or form, He goes ahead and finds a form … to shape our way.

Academia

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Academia: (n.) the environment or community concerned with the pursuit of research, education, and scholarship: he spent his life working in academia.

I just don’t know why we can’t find a middle ground–especially in the realm of those who enjoy a walk of faith and individuals who solely embrace a religion of education. It seems like they stand on opposite ends of a scorched battlefield and hurl fireballs at one another.

Is there such a thing as SMART faith? Or perhaps better stated–“faithfully smart?”

Is it possible to believe in the divine blessing of a Creator and still be fully aware that Mother Nature runs her household by “the survival of the fittest” and freely evolves at will?

I don’t know why prayer has to be framed in ignorance, nor do I understnad why the discovery of a great treasure of information can’t be celebrated in reverence to the original Information Giver?

At times I feel pulled. Should I side with those who seem to possess a cranial superiority? Or kneel at the altar with my brothers and sisters who understand the value of repentance and humility?

Am I a weirdo? To me, knowledge is just the wonderful, greasy slide that gets us more quickly to the swimming hole of wisdom. I don’t think it’s possible to understand the wisdom of God without recognizing the tenets of knowledge that get you there. Nor do I think that revering academia and some “Ten Commandments of intellectualism” draws you closer to your Daddy in Heaven.

I like smart things. They further enlighten me of the higher intelligence of the universe–and I’m so benefitted by knowing that there IS a higher intelligence in the universe. It gives me hope that I might one day escape my own stupidity.

There is no actual war between God and knowledge–only a skirmish in our own souls when we believe you can separate one from the other.

Abiogenesis

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Abiogenesis: adv. technical term for spontaneous generation.

My dear God. IS there spontaneous generation?? I was completely unaware.

I looked up the definition for spontaneous generation, just in case. This demanded that I escape the Ab’s and jump all the way to the S’s. (Please know that I repented of this indiscretion.)

I giggled when I read the definition of spontaneous generation. It is the contention that life can be sprung from inanimate objects. The classic case of this, of course, is the idea once believed, that if you throw a bunch of trash out in your yard, the putrid materials will transform themselves into flies.

Of course, anybody who travels, speaks, thinks, writes or shares with the American people knows that it is often difficult to find life in the midst of those who HAVE a heartbeat.

I suppose there’s a certain charm to spontaneous generation. If you really think life can come from non-living pieces of this and that, you don’t necessarily have to believe you need to do anything with your own personal living and breathing protoplasm.

“God will take care of it. If He can make flies out of stinky, He can make geniuses out of public high schools…”

Actually, one of the more discouraging things to do is to sit on the bench at the mall and watch the mass of humanity pass by, pursuing the pleasant task of buying and owning, but still morose, self-absorbed and in many cases, nearly catatonic.

Maybe there is spontaneous generation. Maybe it happens when you keep a good sense of humor in the presence of very mediocre possibilities, knowing that life is fickle and unpredictable, and in no time at all, prospects could improve.

Spontaneous generation-–abiogenesis: some sort of idea that you can actually say “let there be light” and it will appear.

Who do you think you are? God?