Did God Create the Human Species?

Apologetics
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Let’s first start with why we are here or why we came to be. Science can try to explain how we came to be, but not why we came to be.

The Bible has two creation accounts. Some anti-theists believe that this proves that the Bible is false, but you need to understand that the Bible is not a Science textbook.

Dr. Scott Hahn breaks down both creation accounts in his book, "A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God’s Covenant Love in Scripture.” If you are interested in reading how one respected Catholic Christian theologian interprets these two accounts in Scripture, I recommend it!

Dr. Hahn warns against reducing these accounts as ancient Hebrew myths.

Did God create the Earth in six twenty-four-hour days? As Catholic Christians, we are free to believe that it was literal 24-hour days and we are free to believe it was over a billion years in the making.

Dr. Scott Hahn points out that a “day” (Hebrew yom) does not always refer to clock-time.

I am reminded of 2 Peter 3:8, “Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.“

Scott Hahn illustrates how, in the first account, Days 1,2, and 3, God addresses formlessness and in Days 4, 5, and 6 addresses emptiness. Days 1 & 4 relate to time, Days 2 & 5 relate to space, and Days 3 & 6 relate to Life. Day 7 relates to God’s covenant and blessing.

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” — Mark 2:27

Does the Second Account Contradict the First Account? The second account is about the creation of man and his role in God’s plan. And as we see, man screws up. The rest of “A Father Who Keeps His Promises” is about how God, our Father, is a God of many chances. It is the story of Salvation History told in the narrative books of the Bible.

As far as specific verses in Scripture that mentions God creating human beings, here are a few:

“For by Him [God] all things were created, in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible…” — Colossians 1:16 (see also Genesis 1:1)

“By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible.” — Hebrews 11:3

"For thus says the Lord, The creator of the Heavens, who is God, The designer who formed the Earth and established it. He did not create it empty, He formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other.’ " — Isaiah 45:18

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him.” — John 1:10

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No one will dispute that the bible was written by men (i.e. human beings)–or perhaps more precisely, the books that make up the bible were written by men. Those books, in turn, were selected by the church from among many that existed at that time, at a conference that took place around325 AD (I forget the name of the conference).

Biblical scholars have pointed out that scribes copying texts often made mistakes, and/or thought they could do better than the texts they were copying.

Finally, how do we know that the original authors (Mark et al) were actually hearing “the voice of god”, as opposed to writing what they thought god wanted people to believe? Or, even more pointedly, what they wanted people to believe? How do we know they were not hallucinating?

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church says it like this, "God is the author of Sacred Scripture. ‘The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.’ (CCC 105)

God inspired the human authors of the sacred books. ‘To compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more.’ (CCC 106)

The inspired books teach the truth. ‘Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.’ (CCC 107)

Still, the Christian faith is not a ‘religion of the book.’ Christianity is the religion of the ‘Word’ of God, a word which is ‘not a written and mute word, but the Word which is incarnate and living.’ (CCC 108)

In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words. (CCC 109)

But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. ‘Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written.’" (CCC 111)

And then it goes into the three main criteria for interpreting Scripture. Dr. Scott Hahn wrote an entire book on this cleverly titled, “Scripture Matters.”

The Catechism goes on to say in paragraph 134, "All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, ‘because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ’ (Hugh of St. Victor, De arca Noe 2, 8: PL 176, 642: cf. ibid. 2, 9: PL 176, 642-643).

The canon of the Bible was affirmed by the Council of Rome (382 AD), the Synod of Hippo (393 AD), the Councils of Carthage (397 AD & 419 AD), the Council of Florence (1431-1449 AD) and finally, as an article of faith, by the Council of Trent (1545-1563 AD).

And your point? You are free to go back to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic if you would prefer.

I cannot read Greek, Hebrew, nor Aramaic, nor can I read the Japanese Bible that a pen-pal gifted me. I find the King James Bible to be quite distracting to read with all the old-English slang.

Some translations are more accurate than others. The best translation is the one you’ll read.

The Apostles walked with Jesus, listened to His teachings, and were empowered by Him. They were not made gods, for there is, but one God.

If they were making up a religion, wouldn’t they make themselves gods or think it was nice to be worshiped like a god? But the Bible says the opposite of this.

If men wanted to write a book about what they wanted, rather than what God wanted, don’t you think they would create God in their own image, rather than man in God’s image, much like the secularists do today? Many have tried. I recommend Trent Horn’s book, “Counterfeit Christs.”

The so-called prophet Joseph Smith justified having many wives. The so-called prophet Muhammad justified having multiple wives. Some of the inspired authors of the Old Testament had multiple wives and we saw how that worked out. Don’t you think the authors of the New Testament would also say that they could have multiple wives and not the opposite?

And would they go to their death for a lie that they made up? Or would they say, “Psyke! We were just joking around : )”

C.S. Lewis made the brilliant point that either Jesus was Whom He claimed to be, mentally insane, or a con-man (and therefore an evil man).

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As a Christian you are not allowed to believe man is a product of evolution you can believe everything else is but not Man.Man is a created being created by God Genesis is not just allegory.You have to believe in Man as a created Being not a product of evolution.
People want man to be and believe man is a product of evolution which goes against the bible.The theory of the evolution of Man is false and from Satan and has turned countless people away from God and into atheists.

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Are you a Christian? I have to ask, because a lot of times, non-Christians try to tell Christians what they can and cannot believe.

I side with you (and more importantly the Bible), that we were God’s intention when He created us. And He gifted us the responsibility of having dominion over the other species (Genesis 1:26-28).

When Christians, who believe in evolution, talk about believing in evolution, they usually don’t mean that we evolved from apes, pigs, or some other creature. What they usually mean is that what God has created could have taken a long period in which natural processes gave rise to life. That it did not happen in literal 24-hour days.

So, you are correct in saying that Christians can believe in the evolution of everything else, but man. It does not mean that you must believe that Eve was created from Adam’s literal rib-bone. Nor that the first two human beings were actually named “Adam” and “Eve” (though I do). You do have to believe that human beings disobeyed God’s commands and for this reason were given many chances to reconcile with God, but failed to do so. So, God sent His only begotten Son to right the wrongs that man has done.

We must believe that God ordered creation towards God. And man has done things to bring about disorder in this world. And when we disobey or do things that are contrary to God’s natural design, that is disordered.

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So I should just keep my moth shut and let other go on in error because I might upset them.Were talking about people who claim to know the faith and I should not correct them.Genesis is not allegory as you try to put it.
God sent his only son because man fell into a fallen state ( original sin) in the garden of Eden by Satan himself.It was their goal to keep humanity from heaven it still is their goal or do you not understand that.Without the fall of man there is no reason for the Christian faith or for Jesus to come.What do you think he’s saving you from?What does the Church teach that Adam and Eve is a fable to learn from that the fall never happened no it teaches the exact opposite.
People today have no belief in it anymore unfortunately you can’t explain Christianity without it.Genesis is very important the whole faith falls apart without it and becomes nothing.If it never happen why is Jesus making a sacrifice of atonement nothing happened for him to have to come and make the sacrifice.This is a war between the fallen Angels and God for the souls of Humanity they want none of us in heaven.Its what the war is about.The bible clearly tell us this.But everyone is clueless about it Christian is about something else.Jesus becomes just a nice Guy forgiving sins for some reason and makes a sacrifice for no reason if Genesis never happened.

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I am not upset. I have not said what you claim I am saying either. No one said that you should not speak the truth (or your understanding of what is true), even if it offends others. They have the right to be offended. We live in a culture that holds not-offending-someone as the highest form of virtue, even over speaking the truth. Do not worry about offending others when speaking the truth (if done charitably).

I agree with you, that Genesis is not an allegory. I was simply pointing out what some Catholic Christians believe.

The Catechism, paragraph 283 says the following:

“The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: ‘It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me’” (Wis. 7: 17-22).

Paragraph 286 goes on to say, "Human intelligence is surely already capable of finding a response to the question of origins. the existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through His works, by the light of human reason, (Cf. Vatican Council I, Can. 2 # I: DS 3026) even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error. This is why faith comes to confirm and enlighten reason in the correct understanding of this truth: “By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear” (Heb. 11:3).

Paragraph 289 concludes, “Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint these texts may have had diverse sources. the inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of creation - its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation. Read in the light of Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living Tradition of the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the “beginning”: creation, fall, and promise of salvation.”

If anyone would like to know what the Church says about these first three chapters of The Bible, in regards to Creation, can continue reading Paragraphs 290-324 In the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Another great read on this topic is Dr. Scott Hahn’s A Father Who Keeps His Promises. He dedicates an entire Chapter (or maybe two) on the two creation accounts in the Bible and what they tell us about not only how God created, but why God created.

I hear what you are saying and I do not disagree with you. My point was just that, as Catholic Christians, we are free to believe that the inspired author(s) of the Book of Genesis were trying to convey a truth through a literal step-by-step account, or through allegory (though there are truths that cannot be ignored in either case, which both you and the Catechism have pointed out). Hope this makes sense.

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People think all they have to do is believe Jesus existed but that is wrong you must have faith in his death and resurrection that is where you find your salvation.If not what is it people believe.
We cannot ascend to heaven on our own because of the fall of humanity only in Christ death and resurrection can that happen if you don’t believe in it what is your faith about.
I am being general about it all no detail or is it aimed at anyone.

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My point is Genesis cannot be written off as allegory or your messing with the entire faith.It should be taken seriously.Man is a created being not a product of evolution the bible is very clear on this.God created the world for Man. We don’t even fit in nature we destroy and consume we have no use in nature.Nature was made for us to survive or there would be nothing.

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I’m not seeing how believing that the Creation accounts in Geneses are allegories, therefore means that one believes man evolved from other species. Man can, and has evolved over time. Brain patterns change based on how and what we consume (whether the types of foods we eat or information and images we take in). One could believe that God created human beings, but just not in the way that Genesis describes.

When God created woman (Eve, which is Hebrew for “life”) from “man,” in Hebrew, Adam, it says she was created from Adam’s rib bone. Did God literally create woman in this way? I believe so, but He might not have. The point is that God created both male and female and using the bone of Adam’s side could symbolize that both are equally important (in their respective ways) to God.

Throughout the book of Genesis, the entire Bible, and in our current history, man has disobeyed God and have tried to make gods of themselves (the great deception is that man is greater than God and that man is in no need of The Savior).

You and I agree on most everything. I think the difference between you and me is that if the truth is that God did not created exactly as depicted in Scripture (like a user’s manual or a blueprint) your faith would be shaken. Whereas, mine would not be shaken (even though you and I both take the accounts as literal). I at least understand that God might have designed differently, but the truths conveyed still remain.

The Catholic Faith often talks about both/and, whereas others see an either/or. To illustrate what I mean, when I tell someone that I did not vote for Kamala Harris, they assume that I voted for President Trump, when in fact, I voted for neither of these. Just because someone does not believe the literal accounts of Creation, does not therefore mean that they do not believe that God created man, nor that mankind did not disobey God and therefore not in need of Jesus. You are putting them into an either/or camp. Either they believe as you believe or they believe as your enemy believes. This is false. Both can believe things that are true and that are revealed in Sacred Scripture, but both cannot be right about other aspects. If God created the world in six literal days, then you would be correct and they would be wrong. But, if God created the world over a billion years, then they would be correct and you would be wrong. Or maybe God created in neither of these ways. And yet, the truth of Scripture still remains, that God created man, man disobeyed God, God gave man many chances, man still chose selfishly, God sent His only, begotten Son to show us the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And Jesus died as an atonement for our sins, so that we might live (2 Corinthians 5:15). And it was God’s love for the world, that He did this (the infamous John 3:16).

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As Catholics, we are allowed to believe in Evolution, the church has even acknowledged that there was a first organism from which all life descends.

We are not allowed to believe that this was wholly done with just materialistic causes, nor the soul evolved, but Evolution did happen to human beings,

And our DNA, btw, shows it did. Some of the most important features of our biology are in viral DNA. We have broken genes for egg yolks and producing vitamin C that we don’t use.

And we can find direct continuity with Apes. They have the same shared SNP patterns we use to show how humans are interrelated, its the same technique, the same science.

Your scrupulosity may demand a literal interpretation of Genesis, but mine does not. St. Augustine wrote that off 1800 years ago. We can and should understand Genesis allegorically, because there is no firmament in the sky, and there is no corners to the Earth.

Reading it literally produces contradictions you can’t solve.

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Disregard my reply to your other post. You have clarified what I critiqued over there, here. Thanks : )