i highly doubt that evolution is mentioned in the bible but i encourage people to consider the possibility. our God is an almighty God and we should not restrict his power. for us humans, we might invent something and then need to reinvent it over n over to fit the changing times and fashions. but whos to say that God cant make something that can evolve? just because we cant do it, doesnt mean God cant. same goes for the 'day' measure in genesis. i also believe that the 'day' may not be literally what we measure as 24h as we do now, but i read that we should consider the possibility that God did make the everythingness in 1 day.. but anyway God is timeless so im not sure how that fits in haha.

also, i have a question for everyone... what does it mean to be made in God's image? does that mean having 1 head 2 arms 2 legs? the way i see it, we are made of 3 parts: mind, body, soul. just like God... God the father(aka the 'willer', Jesus the son(who acts on the father's will), and the Holy Spirit(which is, spirit). if we were all made in Gods image defined as 1 head 2 arms 2 legs then there would not be people born with deformities. we dont know what adam looked like... but we do know that he had ribs. and plenty of other creations have ribs. so we cant rule out the possibility of evolution either.

who knows... as we know it, ancient humans looked different from what we are now... forget monkeys.. but this i can say for certain: God did make MAN. if man really evolved from apes, the bible would read 'let us make monkey in our image.'

Technically God has made creatures with the ability to "evolve" in the sense of adaption, or micro evolution. There's really no scientific or biblical dispute there, as micro evolution has been observed and it does say in genesis that God created creatures "according to their kind" as I mentioned before. The real problem with macro evolution (evolution from bacteria to animals) is that it would require millions of years of death and survival of the fittest. But is says in Romans 5 that death entered the world through sin (i.e. Adam). So, disregarding macro evolution is not "limiting" what God can do (personally I think it's limiting to say that He didn't just speak everything into existence by His Word), but judging by the lack of scientific evidence for it and the way it appears to clash with scripture, I think it's safe to say that macro evolution didn't happen. Also, the fact that other creatures also have ribs doesn't have to point to a common ancestor, couldn't it point to their common creator?



In regards to the created in His image question, I don't think that God is referring to a physical image, rather that we are self-conscious, rational thinking and moral beings who exercise free will. Basically, the things that set us apart from and above the animals.

I agree with Ralph, one of the biggest reasons why I found evolution hard to accept is that it means death/suffering existed before the fall. And I view the fall as a literal event.

Marcus I reckon that the bible establishes clearly that God is spirit (therefore without a physical shape) and so I'd say being made in God's image means having a spirit too, which confers onto us our sense of being, individuality, character etc. I'd be slow to say that our mind/soul/body-ness reflects the trinitarian nature of God... not only because I don't think that that accurately reflects the different roles of the trinity, but also because I don't see a distinction between our mind and soul. I reckon that we humans have a dual nature - a soul living (and expressing itself) through a physical body.

I'd also encourage people to consider the possibilities of evolution and long times, but to also understand that if you only look at Genesis you can argue for anything. I believe that if you look at the whole Bible, some theories become completely implausible.

As to being made in his image... I don't think it's really explained well in scripture. One idea that made a lot of sense to me was that our souls, the real us, are made in the image of God, and we also have the capcity to be filled by the spirit of God himself (our spirit is what makes us distinct from the other animals). Our souls are made of a mind, a will and the emotions. God also has a mind, will and emotions, and indeed his are the full supreme sovereign mind, will and emotions, and ours are but a grubby image of his.

frankly i find it hard to try to categorise or compartmentalise what we are made of.. because i cant really think of a description for the spirit.. but im leaning towards character and personality.

in lieu of what danni has said, i think its very difficult to understand what we are made of.. our ingredients are really just dust + breath of God. tada. im gonna keep this in my 'human knowledge and wisdom is too limited to understand' folder.

and anyway i think God did a fantastic job making all of us.. all beautiful in our own right. some people just need to smile a bit more. haha. doesnt matter what humans looked like one or two thousand years ago.. you(yeah, you) are beautiful!

You know, in all these years, I never knew you thought I was beautiful. Thanks marcus.

But yeah you're right - the fact that we are both spirit and body at the exact same time...incredible hey. Definitely something that isn't easily explained. Makes you really marvel.