Hi there,
So yes, I feel like any place would be as good as any other to proclaim, that I have made my "peace" with 'Evolution'. I understand that without Evolution, my definition as a human, would not be as "pronounced" and I understand that what I think is "pronounced" may not last to the next generation, if it turns out that selection pressures are against it. But! But, I have also come to understand, that my adaptations are not successively "stronger" the more I throwback to apes of the distant past. Apes are not shaping my Evolution, any more than any other animal.
No doubt you want "evidence"; perhaps if Apes could show they were missing "wisdom teeth" or something, that would be a 'sign', or perhaps if Apes in contact with humans were continuing to gain IQ, that would be a 'sign', or perhaps if Apes lost their "fur", that would be a 'sign'. All these things point to the idea, that there is a shared inheritance of "Evolutional adaptations, under the current selection pressures that are across species". The point is, that there are expectations you can make of Evolution, without resorting to distinction that design would indicate.
Perhaps if people were reaching the end of their life, without exhibiting apeish responses to shared selection pressures, that would be "evidence", or perhaps if subsequent generations were growing in what I call 'flourishing' as a human being, that would be "evidence", or perhaps, if humans intuited a greater selection pressure than the natural ones (like "climate change" for example), that would be "evidence". The point is that there are things that are happening already, that point to a unique design. It's not in the absence of selection pressures, that were there when Man emerged from the jungle, but rather in addition to them, in the sense of greater refinement, that grasping your power at the head of the food chain "affords" you.
The thought experiment that I really want to get across, though, is that the more I show myself as "adapted" without reference to ape ancestry, the more you are compelled to acknowledge that there is an "Evolution" there, that has a lawful expectation of being separated from the animal kingdom. Specifically, the resurrection of Christ, was free of an obligation to change, from Man to animal - in order to save the animal in Man, from destroying Man and his place over the natural world. Christ never did the indignity, of changing from Man, to lower, simply put, because changing thus, would never save man, when Man already had evidence of the hand of God over Creation. No adaptation escapes, Jesus. As is only madness to contradict, Jesus always takes the position of being ready to adapt more (in principle) - not as "anything", but as "for anyman". Jesus can learn anything, Man can learn.
I am not trying to say "there is some sort of trick" to the adaptation of Christ, He simply humbles Himself - as we all must, at some point do. We must be humble! If we do not, there will be adaptations, that we never achieve - for the Man, that we -- in God -- were. We needn't blame "Evolutionists" for this, because we have the better Witness of the Holy Spirit, to guide us; but by the same token, we must not heed 'Evolutionists' that say "everything human, must spring from ape history" - it is just not the truth! If I can adapt to the end of my life, without 'ape history' being the sole inspiration, I will always be able to adapt "more", that's just a fact.
Maybe it needs a word of its own, I don't know: actually what Jesus said was "don't judge by appearances, but judge righteous judgment" - there is a truth to "adaptation" that surpasses the need to evolve further at all: if you are at the peak for your species, that's it, you don't need to adapt again, even to make a point! Even that might need a word of its own! I hope you aren't trapped into a commitment to Evolution, that doesn't leave room to appreciate these two points (that you can evolve consistently without apes and that you can reach the peak for your species, not relying on apes, more or less)!
So yes, I feel like any place would be as good as any other to proclaim, that I have made my "peace" with 'Evolution'. I understand that without Evolution, my definition as a human, would not be as "pronounced" and I understand that what I think is "pronounced" may not last to the next generation, if it turns out that selection pressures are against it. But! But, I have also come to understand, that my adaptations are not successively "stronger" the more I throwback to apes of the distant past. Apes are not shaping my Evolution, any more than any other animal.
No doubt you want "evidence"; perhaps if Apes could show they were missing "wisdom teeth" or something, that would be a 'sign', or perhaps if Apes in contact with humans were continuing to gain IQ, that would be a 'sign', or perhaps if Apes lost their "fur", that would be a 'sign'. All these things point to the idea, that there is a shared inheritance of "Evolutional adaptations, under the current selection pressures that are across species". The point is, that there are expectations you can make of Evolution, without resorting to distinction that design would indicate.
Perhaps if people were reaching the end of their life, without exhibiting apeish responses to shared selection pressures, that would be "evidence", or perhaps if subsequent generations were growing in what I call 'flourishing' as a human being, that would be "evidence", or perhaps, if humans intuited a greater selection pressure than the natural ones (like "climate change" for example), that would be "evidence". The point is that there are things that are happening already, that point to a unique design. It's not in the absence of selection pressures, that were there when Man emerged from the jungle, but rather in addition to them, in the sense of greater refinement, that grasping your power at the head of the food chain "affords" you.
The thought experiment that I really want to get across, though, is that the more I show myself as "adapted" without reference to ape ancestry, the more you are compelled to acknowledge that there is an "Evolution" there, that has a lawful expectation of being separated from the animal kingdom. Specifically, the resurrection of Christ, was free of an obligation to change, from Man to animal - in order to save the animal in Man, from destroying Man and his place over the natural world. Christ never did the indignity, of changing from Man, to lower, simply put, because changing thus, would never save man, when Man already had evidence of the hand of God over Creation. No adaptation escapes, Jesus. As is only madness to contradict, Jesus always takes the position of being ready to adapt more (in principle) - not as "anything", but as "for anyman". Jesus can learn anything, Man can learn.
I am not trying to say "there is some sort of trick" to the adaptation of Christ, He simply humbles Himself - as we all must, at some point do. We must be humble! If we do not, there will be adaptations, that we never achieve - for the Man, that we -- in God -- were. We needn't blame "Evolutionists" for this, because we have the better Witness of the Holy Spirit, to guide us; but by the same token, we must not heed 'Evolutionists' that say "everything human, must spring from ape history" - it is just not the truth! If I can adapt to the end of my life, without 'ape history' being the sole inspiration, I will always be able to adapt "more", that's just a fact.
Maybe it needs a word of its own, I don't know: actually what Jesus said was "don't judge by appearances, but judge righteous judgment" - there is a truth to "adaptation" that surpasses the need to evolve further at all: if you are at the peak for your species, that's it, you don't need to adapt again, even to make a point! Even that might need a word of its own! I hope you aren't trapped into a commitment to Evolution, that doesn't leave room to appreciate these two points (that you can evolve consistently without apes and that you can reach the peak for your species, not relying on apes, more or less)!
