Dr. Charles Jackson
Another thing that one of my students brought up once is this…
Sure we’ve taught monkeys how to use sign language to communicate with us. And there’s no doubt that they have feelings and thoughts. Anybody with a pet knows that.
My dog lets me know when he’s happy, wants to go out, feels sad or ashamed, etc. And I know they have dreams when they’re asleep. Evolutionists say adult great apes have the IQ of a 3 year old human. And my wife insists that horses are equal to 10 year old humans—ha—they are pretty smart!
But does that put them up there with us? No.
Even though chimps can now tell us what they’re thinking, it’s usually not very interesting.
“Where’s my baby?”
“I want a banana now.”
“I’m sleepy.”
These are pretty much the things they have to tell us about. The important cue is that they never ask
“Who made me?”
or “How did the stars get there?”
or “What’s the meaning of my life?”
These questions seem to have to do with eternal matters and things about God and the worship of him. Oh yes, the rocks and the badgers will praise him, along with the trees of the field and the heavens declaring his glory but—are they doing it “on purpose,” like us? No.
The more I teach this class and see these discussions, the more I think that God-consciousness and God-worship seem to be traits possessed only by the single creation “made in the image and likeness” of God Himself.
So, let’s keep on discussing these things, but I think you’ll see that this is at least a part of what it means to be a human and to be different from the animals.
Oh and…
If we’re so close to monkeys—how come they can’t read us near as well as dogs can? And the newest research has shown us, dogs are really smarter than monkeys. It just doesn’t all add up into Darwin’s fantasy of “grandeur in this view of life” (the evolutionary view, that is). Quote from the end of his book).
Think about it. ~Dr. J
While it is certainly true and significant that we are more intelligent than either dogs or chimps, I believe the real difference is one of type rather than degree. While our problem-solving skills, emotions, and flexible responses to different situations are, in general, superior to those of animals, these traits still exist in other life forms. What is really unique to us is the possession of a soul, entailing consciousness, abstract thought, and the ability to know and love our Creator. This is what makes us distinct from animals and expresses the image of God in us!