Designed for Diverse Conditions

Genesis 1:28

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It was atheist and evolutionist Dr. Richard Dawkins who once famously said: “Biology is the study of complicated things that have the appearance of having been designed with a purpose.” In terms of the initial appearance of design in many animals, this quote makes a lot of sense. We see that, for example, polar bears are suited to a life in very cold conditions. Dawkins could therefore argue that natural selection had left the polar bear with its thick, warm, white coat, which insulates, and that this appears to be designed, but has been selected naturally. Closer analysis, however, shows that the concept is over-simplistic and does not work for all creatures. Human beings, for example, seem to have the capacity to be able to live almost anywhere they choose by changing their own environment. Thus, those in warm climes may wear fewer clothes or may wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothes. Peoples of the Arctic will, in contrast, make and wear thick, warm, well-covering clothing.

One recent article has suggested that human beings are adapted to be “generalist specialists”. It will not escape listeners’ notice that these words contradict each other; yet, serious evolutionary studies suggest that humans developed genes enabling them to adapt anywhere. Yet, this does not fit with the concept of an environmentally led natural selection. However, the idea fits very well with God’s design for a human race which was to fill the Earth and subdue it as an essential part of their mandate. Author: Paul F. Taylor

Prayer: Thank You for Your plan for humanity, Lord God. You gave us the gifts, skills and knowledge to develop our environments, and to be able to survive. For those survival gifts, we truly thank You. Amen.

Ref: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. “Homo sapiens developed a new ecological niche that separated it from other hominins.” ScienceDaily, 30 July 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180730120247.htm>. Image: Evolutionary human migration map, license: CC BY-SA 3.0.