The Cracked Acorn: Journey of Man

I love to watch an uninterrupted PBS program, especially if it applies to science. A recent 2-hour presentation did its best to trace the genetic JOURNEY OF MAN. With the vast strides in blood science, DNA, etc.

This started as a visual and informational feast. I was all ears till our PBS host said, “humans evolved from apes and apes appeared in the fossil record 23 million years ago. Based on a year, apes appeared in January, the ape-man appeared in late October and the fully erect modern man appeared on the 28th of December.” Less than 15 minutes and we have the “positive conclusion” that evolution is a fact.

JOURNEY OF MAN is an excellent travelogue and nothing else. The possibility that man evolved over many millions of years through countless successful mutations is staggering. I would rather have heard our host admit that man arrived on the earth via the master plan of a Designer and Architect yet to be discovered or identified.(Acts 17:23,24) Instead of focusing on the blood of man, how about the hard factual science of the one organ that has identified us as God’s finest -the brain.

Genesis 2:7 – “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”

When the Scriptures speak, I listen and believe. It may be that in some ways we are likened to the animal kingdom around us but all similarities are very small. We do fit into a proven master scheme that uses flesh and blood and bone. All creatures have a brain.

Animal brains weigh about 500g and the human brain approximately 1100g. Much of the brain is used to maintain the body. The body has miles of neural connections and pathways. Pain in your toe reaches your brain and is identified as “ouch” in less than one-hundredth of a second. The brain is the world’s fastest and most compact computer.

Today’s computer mainframes have yet to even approach this type of lightning speed. The brain is composed of several smaller brains each with its own thought. These thoughts are merged in the brain stem and out of this comes one central thought. These comments come from several pages of brain studies. “Man is unique because he has the ability to think about thinking.” Animals think through mainly instincts that enabled them to find food, multiply, and survive. Man’s thinking ability enables him to be a successful problem-solver. A monkey may use a stick to try and reach food but the only man knows that it may take an extra-long stick or a combination of two or more short sticks.

Comments from the past:

CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND – Louis Pasteur;

NOTHING IN THE WORLD IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN SINCERE IGNORANCE AND CONSCIENTIOUS STUPIDITY – Martin Luther King;

ONE GREAT MISTAKE MADE BY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE IS TO REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE WORLD IS AS STUPID AS IT IS – Madam de Tencin;

FEAR GIVES INTELLIGENCE, EVEN TO FOOLS – Unknown.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them,Be fruitful and increase in number;fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. God saw all that he had made,and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:28,31)