Questions about the origins of our existence are among the most significant that a person may face. From where we came is, for many of us, crucial to understanding who we are and where we are going.
The question of whether the world was created by a supernatural being or came into existence and evolved from purely natural processes has been a source of controversy in philosophy, religion, science and politics for the past 250 years. A literal biblical perspective of humans as God’s creature, made in his own image, has influenced human notions of dignity, liberty, rights, political systems and many other areas of culture and society.
In contrast, a humanist view that humans are merely another species that has evolved through natural processes, and not made in God’s image because there is no God, could imply that there is no fundamental difference between humans and bacteria, only a gradual evolutionary difference. This implies that there is no dignity, liberty or right to exist for humans beyond that which humans themselves determine.
Because the debate inevitably includes morality it has engendered intense emotion from both religious and scientific people. The question of whether or not we were created raises larger questions of whether society should be modelled on Biblical guidelines (e.g. the Ten Commandments) or secular guidelines. Thus, the...
