Religion and Theology

The origin of Earth and life has intrigued theologists, philosophers, and scientists who have been presenting different opinions based on religious beliefs, reasoning, and empirical results. I interviewed three people- a friend, a relative, and a teacher to take their opinions about the creation of Earth, origin of human life, common ancestor of humans and apes, and the existence of Adam and Eve. I am summarizing the findings of the interviews in a brief report, which is also corroborated with the scholarly references.

Friend My friend is a student of science and takes deep interest in evolution and creation phenomena. He told me that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and the life originated 3.8 billion years ago (Than, 2007). This study was based on scientific evidence that had used DNA and RNA sampling for reaching the conclusion. He also stated that the length of the day in Genesis 1 was the same as today i.e. 24 hours. My friend believed that man and apes have a common ancestor (Menton, n.d.). Since monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans show traits that are similar to the human beings, he inferred that man and apes have a common ancestor. He also asserted that Adam and Eve were real human beings because human life has to be created from a man and a woman, and according to his knowledge, Adam was a man while Eve was a woman.

Relative I also interviewed my relative who is my cousin sister, and she is married with two children. She believed that the Earth was created along with the rest of the universe about a million years ago, and the life also existed around the same time. However, she gave her opinion without any scientific or theological knowledge. Regarding the days in Genesis 1, she guessed that the days might been have longer than 24 hours. She disagreed with the belief that man and apes share a common ancestor because man is more superior than apes. My relative said that human beings are intelligent, can think wisely, can communicate with each using speech, and can walk on two feet. In contrast to the human beings, the apes lack all these features, and hence, man and apes do not have a common ancestor. She thought that Adam and Eve were not real human beings and were only imaginary characters because there is no written text that supports their existence when life originated about a million years ago.
Teacher To have a third opinion about the evolution and creation of life on Earth, I interviewed a former teacher in my neighborhood who taught history and also had deep interest in theology. She asserted that the Earth and human life were only 6000 years old because this evidence is confirmed by the Bible (Hodge, 2010). She also stated that the days were of 24 hours duration in Genesis 1 (Grigg, n.d.). However, she opposed the viewpoint that man and apes have a common ancestor since the similarity in the DNA and resemblance of a few traits do not put human beings at par with the apes (Batten, 2001). She remarked that Adam and Eve were certainly real people because the Bible and several other texts also support it (Introduction to the True Bible Code, n.d.). My teacher asserted that Adam was a man while Eve was a woman.

After interviewing three people from three different occupations, I have also learnt about the creation and evolution of human life and Earth. I support the scientific viewpoint that Earth is 4.5 billion years old and the existence of life about 3.8 billion years ago. Carbon dating and DNA studies have proved the period of creation of Earth and the existence of life. I also believe that the length of day in Genesis 1 was 24 hours. Besides, I think that man and apes have a common ancestor since their DNA shows similarity, and moreover, the chimpanzees have intelligence close to that of human beings. I also believe that both Adam and Eve were real human beings, and Adam was a man while Eve was a woman. I am grateful to my instructor for enlightening me about creation and evolution through the teachings in this course.