Evolution or Creation? In the Image of God or Beast?             The first man, Adam, was called a "son of God." (Luke 3:38) No animal has ever enjoyed that distinction. Yet, the Bible shows that humans have a number of things in common with animals. For example, both humans and animals are souls. When God formed Adam, "the man came to be a living soul," says Genesis 2:7. First Corinthians 15:45 concurs: "The first man Adam became a living soul." Humans are souls, so the soul is not some shadowy entity that survives the death of the body.             Concerning animals, Genesis 1:24 says: "Let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind." So while dignifying humans by revealing that we were created in God's image, the Bible also reminds us of our humble status as earthly souls, along with the animals. Yet, there is something else man and beast have in common.             The Bible explains: "There is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies . . . There is no superiority of the man over the beast . . . All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust." Yes, in death man and animals are also alike. Both return "to the ground," "to dust," from which they came.—Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20; Genesis 3:19.  But why are humans so profoundly distressed by death? Why do we dream of living forever? And why must we have a purpose in life? Surely, we differ greatly from animals!                                      Where We Differ From Animals             Would you be happy to go through life with no purpose other than to eat, sleep, and reproduce? The thought repels even dedicated evolutionists. "Modern man, this enlightened skeptic and agnostic," writes evolutionist T. Dobzhansky, "cannot refrain from at least secretly wondering about the old questions: Does my life have some meaning and purpose over and above keeping myself alive and continuing the chain of living? Does the universe in which I live have some meaning?"             Indeed, denying the existence of a Creator does not still man's quest for a meaning to life. Quoting historian Arnold Toynbee, Richard Leakey writes: "This spiritual endowment of [man] condemns him to a lifelong struggle to reconcile himself with the universe into which he has been born."  Yet, the fundamental questions about human nature, our origins, and our spirituality persist. A huge gulf obviously exists between man and animals. How great is that gulf?                                 Gulf Between Humans and Animals             A prominent proponent of the evolution theory in the 19th century, Thomas H. Huxley, wrote: "No one is more strongly convinced than I am of the vastness of the gulf between . . . man and the brutes . . . , for he alone possesses the marvelous endowment of intelligible and rational speech [and] . . . stands raised upon it as on a mountain top, far above the level of his humble fellows."             Evolutionist Michael C. Corballis observes that "there is a striking discontinuity between humans and the other primates . . . 'Our brain is three times as large as we would expect for a primate of our build.'" And neurologist Richard M. Restak explains: "The [human] brain is the only organ in the known universe that seeks to understand itself."             Leakey acknowledges: "Consciousness presents scientists with a dilemma, which some believe to be unresolvable. The sense of self-awareness we each experience is so brilliant it illuminates everything we think and do." He also says: "Language does indeed create a gulf between Homo sapiens [humans] and the rest of the natural world."             Pointing to another marvel of the human mind, Peter Russell writes: "Memory is undoubtedly one of the most important human faculties. Without it there would be no learning . . . , no intellectual functioning, no development of language, nor any of the qualities . . . generally associated with being human."             "Human behavior poses many other Darwinian mysteries," acknowledges evolutionist Robert Wright. "What are the functions of humor and laughter? Why do people make deathbed confessions? . . . What is the exact function of grief? . . . Now that the person is gone, how does grieving serve the genes?"             The evolutionist Elaine Morgan admits: "Four of the most outstanding mysteries about humans are: (1) why do they walk on two legs? (2) why have they lost their fur? (3) why have they developed such large brains? (4) why did they learn to speak?"               How are these questions answered by evolutionists? Morgan explains: "The orthodox answers to these questions are: (1) 'We do not yet know'; (2) 'We do not yet know'; (3) 'We do not yet know', and (4) 'We do not yet know.'"                                         Evolution - A Shaky Theory               The writer of the book The Lopsided Ape noted that his aim "was to provide a broad-brush picture of human evolution through time. Many of the conclusions have been speculative, based as they are mainly on a few old teeth, bones, and stones." Indeed, even Darwin's own original theory is not accepted by many. Says Richard Leakey: "Darwin's version of the manner of our evolution dominated the science of anthropology up until a few years ago, and it turned out to be wrong."             Many evolutionists, according to Elaine Morgan, "have lost confidence in the answers they thought they knew thirty years ago." Thus, it is not surprising that some of the theories held by evolutionists have collapsed.                                               Woeful Consequences             Some studies have found that the number of females a male animal mates with is related to the difference in body size between the sexes. From this, some have concluded that human sex habits ought to be similar to those of chimpanzees, since chimp males, like their human counterparts, are just a little larger than the females. So some reason that like chimps, humans should be permitted to have more than one sex partner. And, indeed, many people do.             But what seems to work well for chimps has generally proved to be a disaster for humans. Promiscuity, the facts show, is a road to misery strewn with broken families, abortions, disease, mental and emotional trauma, jealousy, family violence, and abandoned children growing up maladjusted, only to continue the hurtful cycle. If the animal mold is correct, why the pain?             Evolutionary thinking also casts doubt on the sacredness of human life. By what authority is human life sacred if we say there is no God and view ourselves as nothing more than higher animals? Our intellect perhaps? If that were so, then the question raised in the book The Human Difference would be very appropriate: "Is it fair to treat humans as more valuable than dogs and cats just because we had all the [evolutionary] breaks?"             As the newer version of evolutionary thinking spreads, it "will inevitably affect moral thought deeply," says the book The Moral Animal. But it's a cruel morality that rests on the premise that we were formed by "natural selection," through which process, as H. G. Wells put it, "the strong and cunning get the better of the weak and confiding."             Significantly, many theories of evolutionists that have nibbled away at morality over the years have fallen before the next wave of thinkers. But the tragedy is that the damage such theories have caused remains.                                     Worship the Creation or Creator?             Evolution turns one's eyes down to creation for answers, not up to the Creator. The Bible, on the other hand, turns our eyes up to the true God for our moral values and our purpose in life. It also explains why we have to struggle to avoid wrongdoing and why humans alone are so troubled by death. Moreover, its explanation of why we are inclined to do what is bad rings true in the human mind and heart. We invite you to read these satisfying answers from the Bible.               **For more info, please visit www.watchtower.org.