Did we really evolve from monkeys?

Question

In my opinion we were created by god. How can we evolve from monkeys when they are still around today.

We dont have tails and we dont climb trees. All animals can think for themselves.

also when god created adam and eve because they has sinned he gave each of them their OWN children.So they were not inbreeding at all.

Tell me your views on this topic

In a matter of fact we do not swing of trees with our tails.

we do not have extremly long tails coming out of our backside.

God brought all the animals to Adam one at a time to be given their names. "Elephant", he would say, or "Tiger", or "Porcupine".

But God felt sorry for Adam. "None of these animals is really like him," thought God, "he needs someone to share his life. Someone who cares for him and who he can care for."

That night, God took a rib from Adam's side and made a woman. When Adam awoke the following morning, he found a wife, Eve, lying asleep beside him. Adam was so happy. He took her hand and she woke up. She looked up at him and smiled.

Answer 1

I dont want to be offensive or anything, but I dont believe thats true. Im a Christian and I believe God created us.

Answer 2

Your religious views are personal, but I really don't know any Christians these days who interpret the Bible so literally. In the case of Adam and Eve it is certain that she did not eat an apple, they don't come from the part of the world in which the garden of Eden was supposed to be.

On to the issue of primate evolution, humans certainly did not evolve from monkeys, primate history is roughly as below.

Go far enough back and the earliest primates were small mammals unlike any modern primates. They split into two main lineages which later subdivided further.

The oldest of these contains Prosimians - lemurs, bushbabies and lorises. The island of Madagascar split off from mainland Africa before any of the younger lineages of primates evolved and that's why they have their own group of specialized primates found nowhere else in the world.

The other lineage again split into 2 one half becoming tarsiers and then the other half subdividing into all other primates.

The next major division was between New World Monkeys (those of the Americas) encompassing everything from marmosets to woolly monkeys. The final major split was between the Old World Monkeys and the Apes. Old World Monkeys include macaques and baboons among other things.

Finally, the apes - the gibbons, orang utans, gorillas chimps and humans. None of them have tails and some spend more time in trees than others. Not one of these changed into another, rather primtive apes spread throughout Africa and Asia and evolved there. The two oldest lineages are first the gibbon and then the orang utan which are both Asian. In Africa, the gorilla lineage split off first and then the last split was between humans and chimpanzees. Actually primtive humans pre-date the two modern species of chimp, the chimp and bonobo.

You may still think this is all wrong, despite the evidence that backs it up. In my opinion, it is only the fact that there is only one species of human still alive today that gives people the arrogance to assume that only a divine power could have created them.

If you take the time and spend time watching other apes in particular but even monkeys, you will soon realise how much you share with them - you will recognise most of their facial expressions and what they mean. The reason for this is millions of years of shared evolution in developing large brains, complex communications, cultures and societies.

Answer 3

There are a number of traits that we possess that prove our ancestry from other monkey-like animals. The first mistake you have made however is to say that we evolved directly from monkeys, this is not true. We evolved form apes, indeed humans are members of the great ape family.

So we don't have tails. Really. Don't be so sure of yourself. There is a gene in the human genome, it is degenerate now, but it codes for the tail present in our ancestors. Additionally HUMANS HAVE TAILS they are just not always visible. Our tails are our tail bones. Also 1 out of every 10,000 births produces a child with a small fleshy tail, which is removed from the baby shortly after birth.

Humans don't climb trees? I have climbed trees. I may go climb a tree later today. It is true that humans no longer live in trees as their main habitat. But, ecological conditions and adaptive traits allow for the adaptation to different environments. Coming down from the trees is a major ecological adaptiation of the great apes, although some still do spend some time in trees.

So how could we evolve from something that is still around today. Well the truth is that we did not evolve directly from the species still living today. What happens is that two populations of the same species diverge and form two species, neither of which has to necessarily look like its ancestral form. So two evolved species share a common ancestor, and intermediate forms can be, and have been, tracked in the fossil record.

To answer your other statement. Yes, all animals can think for themselves. They are not under mind control after all.

Other facts pointing toward common ancestry with chimps and other great apes:

Small bone fragments embedded in muscles. This is present in all chimps, but only in a few humans becuase the trait is now degenerate.

The 4 base Alu gene sequence. It is repeated about 500,000 times in the human genome. The only other genomes in which they are present are in other great apes.

The appendix. This little vestigial trait shows that we had a common ancestor way before the great apes that was herbivorous because the appendix is a small degenarate organ that was formerly used for breaking down plants.

Look at the bone structure of an infant human and an infant chimp. They are nearly identical.

Look at the embryo of a human, chimp, monkey, chicken, frog, and fish. It is extremely difficult to tell the difference between any of them. It may also be interesting to note that human embryos contain pharyngeal slits (gill slits). Although human embryos lack gills, these slits show common ancestry with aquatic life.

It is also interesting to note that the environment surrounding a human embryo in the uterus has the same slat concentration as that of sea water. This is some evidence for common ancestry with a marine organism.

I could spend all day doing this but I think the point has been made. You may want to look into this a little further. The truth can be a dangerous thing. Another interesting note is that the former pope (John Paul 2) declared that evolution was a valid scientific theory (theory means law in science not jsut some random hypothesis).

I thought that Adam and Eve wer given Cain and Abel. Two boys. How could they reproduce?

Answer 4

All mammals came from a common ancestor. Each generation would have a slight adaptation to its environment, hence the wide diversity of todays mammals. Some went back to the sea, some adapted to flying, whilst others stayed small to enable them to live below ground. From each individual draw a capital -Y- to show these changes. Then from the top of each -Y- draw another. Each branch represents a slight change. If you add environment changes to each seperate branch, then this will effect the next generations survival. Or the animal will adapt and thus enhance the survival of the next generation. If we add food, predators,etc, it becomes more complicated. Some branches become extinct, others become specialised feeders etc. Humans came along those same branches and have survived today because we beat off all compitition, or, adapted to our environment most successfully. Some of the great apes and monkeys didnt quite manage it, hence they are with us today.
Inbreeding today has become a problem for humans purely because we have only four different blood groups. Some African mammals suffer the same consequences because of limited good breeding stock.
If animals, and humans are to survive they must expand, move away from there own parents and find suitable partners to continue the line. We have gone around the World and are now on our way back to the cradle of mankind. It will not be for a few hundred years but our genetic link will be broken because our stock will no longer be pure. When extinction looms, another creature that skulks around unnoticed will dominate the Planet.

Answer 5

Umm well monkeys are arund today because they are monkeys..the theroy is that monkeys and humans both evolved from the same geneology....

We don't have tails and swing from trees because we are not monkeys or apes...that's where that key word "evolved" comes into play.

Why is it that people of faith...(and I respect faith, don't get me wrong) seem to think that the theroy of evolution is so far fetched but the idea of a single creator creating to people in a garden is so plausible.

Maybe the first ambeoa is god and when it divided the two cells that were created are adam and eve???

Answer 6

I dont think the adam and eve story is true it just seems so unlikely that mankind would come from just two people. Evolution sounds by far the most logical and just so you know there are times where people are born with tails so thats redundant genes taking effect and with that if we were made instantly why would we have them. And as for the tree climbing i think thats the reason people like tree houses as its an instinct to be high up away from predators when people were still evolving from apes.

Answer 7

To clarify things, what you're really asking is simply; "Did humans evolve, or were we created by God?"

The answer is; we evolved.

The theory of evolution by natural selection is pretty much a done deal. If you were actually to read something about it (which I have little doubt you haven't) you would find that it works, it is, in essence, beautifully simple, there's mountains of evidence to support it and the vast majority of scientists accept it.

And yet religious people like yourself suggest that it is nonsense.

Let's look at your beliefs for a moment shall we? (I'm assuming you're a Christian)

- The man you worship was born, but had no father.

- He could bring people back from the dead.

- He himself came back to life after he had been dead for three days.

- He then rose up to a place called heaven

- He is still around today, and if you talk to him in your mind he will hear you. He is also simultaneously listening to the thoughts of everybody else on the planet.

- If you do what he says, he will reward you, but this might not happen until after you are dead.

And you think evolution is nonsense? Hmmm? Make a sentence that includes the following words: kettle, pot, calling, black.

Here's a question for you; Where did God come from? (and no, "He's always existed" is not an acceptable answer.)

I believe in a democratic society, so I believe in your God given right (if you'll excuse the phase LOL) to believe in whatever you like (as long as it doesn't adversely affect anybody around you).

However, if you believe in God, I think you are gullible and easily lead.


P.S. God has just told me that if you give me all your money, you will definitely go to heaven. Please contact me directly for my bank details so that you can transfer all your money to me! :)

Answer 8

Oh, a hot potato of an argument if ever there was one.

I respect your views on religion. There is, however, a good deal of evidence to substantiate the theory that we evolved from apes.

Firstly, the 'tail' issue. You are right, we don't have tails. However, it is highly likely we used to. Why is this? Because our spines end with a tail bone. It is true, you can see it on an X-Ray. It is very similar to other tail bones on apes, and the theory suggests that evolutionarily, the tail gradually shortened and disappeared as we had no need for it.

There have also been a huge number of findings of skulls and bones etc of humans that clearly bear a resemblance to apes, the skulls are wider than ours, and the jaw heavier (like an apes), but they are clearly not the skulls and bones of apes.

It really shouldn't upset your views on religion though. I mean, God could well have created apes, then decided to let those apes develop into humans, couldn't he? One argument does not disprove the other, surely! All it disproves is the theory that we all evolved from one man and one woman, which, quite frankly, seems far fetched to me.

Faith is a wonderful thing, but don't let it shut your eyes to the wonders of the world. These questions are designed to be debated and pondered over!

Answer 9

I do want to be offensive when I hear nonsense like this.

We didn't evolve from monkeys, however, monkeys and ourselves have common ancestry. Monkey, man, monkey-man - you decide.

Adam and Eve are an allegorical story to explain creation - it's no more intended to be taken literally than stories to children about storks bringing babies.

I'm not saying that there is no God - I just don't know, or believe that we can ever know - but if you persist in believing and spreading this creationist nonsense, you are making Him look foolish by seeking a stupidly facile explanation for His creation.

Just seen your addition. You really do believe this nonsense, don't you? And there's nothing I can say to convince you that you are an adult still believing a child's simple explanation for an immensely complex event.

It's a good job that God and Adam spoke English, so we know the names of the animals.

Answer 10

Sigh(!) I wish people who post this kind of question would restrict it to the Religion and Spirituality section where is belongs. When are people going to understand that the Bible is a great book for moral guidance, but is really crappy when it comes to science and technology. People are happy to accept all the benefits of technology but when one little bit of science contradicts the Bible, oh no, that bit MUST be wrong.

We did not evolve from monkeys. Apes and man have a common ancestry dating back to the period when the African Rift Valley started to open up. This led to the animals living in East Africa having to adapt to climate change in that region. The Hominids evolved in a savanna environment where it was advantageous to walk upright rather than all fours.

The next time you fill your car's petrol tank with fuel that came from rocks that were layed down 140 million years ago, you might like to reflect what the Bible says about this. Oh, it doesn't say anything? Well, obviously petroleum science is rubbish as well then.

Answer 11

My view is we evolved from monkeys then apes then hominids (even though they wouldn't be the same as todays monkeys/apes we would still label them monkeys/apes if we saw them). There is nothing in evolutionary theory that says the old species must go extinct when a new species evolves. Most new species evolve from isolated populations of the parent species. Sometimes they might later replace the 'parent' species (like we replaced other hominids), but often not, especially if they live in very different environments.

All the species of monkeys and apes have become more adapted to their environment since we split, as we have adapted to ours. Which has included loosing our tails and tree climbing. Hence monkeys and apres today are our cousins, not our ancestors.

I have often wondered by people think evolution and God are incompatible. Even if you take the Adam and Eve story literally, could it not be possible that they were the first to be given souls? and the dirt and rib bit could refer to evolution. I dunno, I don't take it literally so I can't judge.