The Origin Of Man Is The Subject Religion Essay

The Origin Of Man Is The Subject Religion Essay What is man?   asked David in his Psalms thousands of years ago.  It is striking that the relevance of this question has not decreased in the twentieth and twenty first centuries.  Whether a man is only an animal or, maybe, he is just a complex combination of chemical compounds, or, maybe, he is much more than all this, some great creation? The desire to know the history of mans origin is quite natural, as people have not always existed on the Earth.  That is why, the problem of Creation and understanding of human nature is central problem of people of all ages.  This question can be considered from different perspectives: from the standpoint of theology, religion, anthropology, philosophy and history. Views and ideas on the origins of humanity The origin of  man  is the subject of  speculation  since ancient times and  led to the emergence  of  various  myths in different people,  who believed that  the first humans  were created by gods from stones,  animals, etc.  The ancient  Greek thinkers  had different views on the origin of man:  some  believed that man  is eternal, second believed that he was born from marine  sediments.  With  the spread of  Christianity people  accepted the idea that  man was  created  and  inspired  by God. Many people believed  that a man  is  the most highly developed  animal,  the top of  the evolution of the animal  world, he  is mortal,  and  his  life  has no  higher  meaning.  Others believe  that  man  is not  the top,  but  only  a very  selfish  animal  who tends  to  pleasure and enjoyment. So, humans belong to the natural world, until the physical and chemical processes in their body depend on nature.   If we consider the philosophical approach, then we need first to say that in humans there is an element that is above the natural world.  There are different views on this, as, for example, Greek philosophers said this element was mind, and Aristotle proposed a definition of man as a rational animal.  (Stevenson 2004) But  most  important  is  the fact  of  human  consciousness that  elevates  him  above the natural world.  Ã‚  Human consciousness is ascension  of naturalism in the understanding of man, since he is not only a natural being, but also a spiritual being. (Wilson 2004) In the XVIII century, many thinkers (such as Lord Monboddo, Herder, Rousseau, Kant, etc.) suggested the evolution of man from the great apes in savages, and later in modern humans.  In a more clear way this idea was developed by Lamarck in the beginning of the XIX century in his Zoological Philosophy.   Later t theory  of development and evolution  in various  forms  has been  to explain  various scientists. Those who support this theory believe that man was not created by anyone, but occurred in the development of lower organisms.  For example, the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck said that some species of monkeys, under unfavorable conditions of existence, were to descend from the trees and acquired the habit of walking on two feet. Bipedalism led to strong changes of the body, and quadrumanous monkey turned into bipedal, who gradually settled around the Earth. Gradually in new species began to developed the consciousness (Bowler, 2003). The theory of evolution has become one of the most prevalent theories of human origins.  Ã‚  This theory was developed by Ch. Darwin, who introduced the history of development of the organic world of the Earth carried by the interaction of three main factors: variability, heredity and natural selection.  Evolutionary theory suggests that man evolved from apes, being changed under the influence of external factors and natural selection. The evolutionary theory of anthropogenesis is supported with a large number of facts paleontological, archaeological, biological, genetic, cultural, psychological, and others.  However, many of these proofs may be interpreted ambiguously, allowing opponents of evolutionary theory to challenge it. Biblical  Creation of  the world The Bible tells that a man was created in Gods will and in accordance with His plan (Gen.1: 26).  In the all-powerful Word of God was hidden a great creative force to create the world, and then a men.  When God created a man he said: Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in  The Image Of God  created He him; male and female created He them. (Genesis 1:26-27 KJV) A man was created in a special act, and, unlike the animals, in the image of God, that means a man is intelligent, free, creative and moral personality. Like God, man is gifted with the following qualities: Creativity (Genesis 2:20); The mind and the ability to cognition (Genesis 2 :19-20, Col.1: 9; Rim.12: 2;); Willy (Luk.23: 25; 2Petr.1: 21); The ability to choose and evaluate (Genesis 2: 17; 13:11); The ability to love (Genesis 2: 24). ( McFarland 2009) A man  is the image  and  likeness of  God, is  a spiritual being,  rising  over  the natural  and  social  world,  and  able  to transform it and  dominate  over  it. In Genesis 2 we can  learn more about how  man and  woman were created  : And The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul And The Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him And The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which The Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Genesis 2:7,18,21-23) That is,  the biblical  interpretation of  creation of man  is the most  common  that is primarily  due to  the important  role of  religion  in  peoples lives. Biblical  Creation  is very  important for  people, as it  defines the  essence of  man:  Man  is not  just  a body, and  he  was created  in  the image  of  God and for eternal  communion with  God.  This means  that  people are  moral  and  spiritual  creatures with  the ability  to trust,  to choose  to love, etc.  Creation  is the basis  for  our  worship  to God and  His  worship:  Let them praise the  name of the  Lord,  for he commanded, and they were created  (Psalm  148:5).  Thus,  worship  is a gratitude  to the Creator. ( McFarland 2009) At the present  time,  we can  hear  that the question  of creation of humanity is asked rather  strictly: either the  idea of Creation or  the theory of evolution.  However,  such a  statement  seems  incorrect, since  many modern  scholars  note  that the  idea  of Creation  of humanity by God,  the Creator, does not deny  the scientific theories. The religious world does not contradict the scientific, that can be proved by the fact that many prominent world scientists were deeply religious people: for example, Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Mikhail Lomonosov, Pavlov, Albert Einstein.  That is, the science also does not deny the idea of the Creation of humanity by God. Conclusion Each of the ideas, assumptions and theories about the origin of humanity has a right to exist and has its supporters.  Yet, the biblical Creation of the world and man is the most important for people, regardless of their scientific views.  The idea of mans creation by God is the basis of religion and faith of millions of people, the basis of their ideology and view on all the existence of humanity.