Where did we come from?
God.
But how and when did God make us and how does that match with the scientific record? Here are three major views held by Christian thinkers.
1. Young Earth Creation (YEC) – Humans were created directly by God 6,000-10,000 years ago. God did not use the process of gradual change over time (evolution) to get us here. Advocates of this view conclude that Earth is young by adding up the genealogies in Genesis with a literal interpretation of the days of Genesis 1 (24-hour days). Evidence for an old earth is often rejected on two grounds: (1) scientific dating methods are inaccurate (2) the global flood has misplaced rock layers and fossils.
The founder of this view is Henry Morris (1918-2006), who founded Institute for Christian Research. Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, is a prominent advocate of YEC.
2. Evolutionary Creation or Theistic Evolution – God used the process of evolution to create modern humans. This means we evolved from pre-human creatures over millions of years. It does not mean we descended directly from chimpanzees. Rather chimps and humans have a common ancestor around 7 million years ago. Evolutionary creationists believe their view is supported by the fossil record and genetics. Although certain fossils have been proven to be fakes (see Piltdown Man), and interpreting the fossil record has been highly contentious, many ancient skeletons have been found all over the world, revealing creatures with human-like features (bipedal, larger brains than apes, small teeth, etc.) along with non-human features (shape of rib cage, size and shape of skull, etc.).
These creatures were not humans like us because evidence for art, jewelry, music, and advanced tools does not appear in the fossil record until 40-50,000 years ago—known as the big bang of human culture.
Francis Collins, former head of the human genome project, and Denis Lamoureux are prominent Christian advocates for this view. For more information on this perspective see BioLogos and Lamoureux’s book I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution.
3. Old Earth Creation or Progressive Creation – Humans were created directly by God millions of years ago. Notice how this view combines elements from the previous views—direct creation with ancient dates. All species, including pre-humans who lived millions of years ago, were created directly by God at distinct points in history. Direct creation accounts for mysteries that evolution cannot adequately explain, such as increased brain size, bipedal movement, and the big bang of human culture. This view accepts human-like fossils dated to millions of years ago and the big bang of human culture at 40-50,000 years ago. But it rejects macroevolution—the idea that species gradually changed into other species over long periods of time. Old Earth creationists usually view each day in Genesis 1 as encompassing millions of years.
Hugh Ross promotes this view through his organization Reasons to Believe.
Question
In light of pre-human (hominin) creatures that lived for millions of years, how do evolutionary creationists and old earth creationists understand the meaning of humans being made in God’s image? Here are three possibilities:
- God selected two pre-humans among many and set them apart in some way with his image.
- God selected a group of pre-humans and set them apart in some way with his image.
- Being made in God’s image was a gradual process in pre-humans, occurring over a long period of time until they became fully human.
Conclusion
Proponents of these views feel strongly about their perspectives. They defend their views in debates and books and through their organizations. But they agree on this point: God created us in his image.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.