Answering Life ’ s Ultimate Questions : Part Two
In Part One of this series , we looked at the answers Genesis provides for who holds ultimate authority in this world and how we got here . In this article , we ’ ll look at one of the essential questions all worldviews must answer .
By Jeff Keaton
Question Three : What does it mean to be human ? “ Then God said , ‘ Let us make mankind in our image . . .’” Genesis 1:26
Have you ever thought about the vast difference between all other species and humans ? If , as the theory of evolution teaches , humans are simply the most highly evolved animals , how did we get so far ahead of all other species ? Why are we the only species that can think , design , plan , and communicate at such an advanced level ? We build things no other species can build . We organize governments , discover amazing ways to enhance our health and well-being , and build complex societal structures . We control everything on earth . As powerful as a lion is , it has no ability to put humans in cages . We have , as God commanded , taken dominion of the earth .
In a world where most don ’ t understand what makes humans special and different , we kill millions of babies in the womb but fight with religious fervor to save whales , find homes for abandoned cats and dogs , and care for our pets better than many care for their children . Humans are blamed for polluting the planet and being a nuisance to “ Mother Earth .” Some of the wealthiest people are doing everything they can to convince young couples not to have children so that we can reduce the human population . Humans are seen as the primary problem the earth faces .
God answers the question of what it means to be human in Genesis 1:26-27 : “ Then God said , ‘ Let us make mankind in our image , in our likeness , so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky , over the livestock and all the wild animals , and over all the creatures that move along the ground .’ So God created mankind in his own image , in the image of God he created them ; male and female he created them .”
According to a biblical worldview , humans are not the problem ; they are God ’ s solution . He has made us superior to all other species by stamping His image and likeness upon us .
10 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW