How Do Cavemen Fit Into The Bible?

Does the Bible say anything about cavemen? How do they fit into the Bible?

Missing Links?

I find it almost humorous that they keep finding “missing links” and then turn out to be frauds. What is more amazing than the claims of finding so-called missing links is that the whole chain is missing. Why are we so amazed at finding a missing link when there’s no chain in which to fit it into? One such example is Piltdown Man which was a paleoanthropological hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilized remains of a previously unknown early human. It is probably the most infamous hoax ever to have been perpetrated in the name of evolution. Eventually, it was found to be a complete forgery. G.S. Miller gave a scathing rebuke about this fraud by writing in 1915 that “deliberate malice could hardly have been more successful than the hazards of deposition in so breaking the fossils as to give free scope to individual judgment in fitting the parts together.”

Are cavemen Human?

During the creation week God declared that he “made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:25). Paul wrote something very similar in writing that “not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish” (1st Cor 15:39) and “There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another” (1st Cor 15:40). The point is that “God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body” (1st Cor 15:38). It doesn’t say time + chance created its own kind.  If some species seem close to or almost human, does it mean that they were created in the image of God? So what if they find another supposed set of “human” remains? Does it mean that they were human? Can we be 100% certain that were their descendants? Were they created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27)? Can every archeologist and evolutionist come with no preconceived beliefs about whether there is a God or not? Some go so far as to concoct fossil evidence where we end up with fabrications of those who only want fame and fortune for their “find.”

Fossil Phonies

There are so many “fossil phonies” that space doesn’t allow for them all but one recent evidence of fabrication was found in 2002 when the journal Nature published an article named “Archaeoraptor’s Better Half: The Other Component of the Infamous Fossil Forgery is Identified as a Fish-Eating Bird” (Vol 420, 2002). It was touted to be a key intermediate between carnivorous dinosaurs and birds but is now known to be a forgery. Even National Geographic was fooled and reported on it in detail and called it a new species between dinosaurs and birds but they spoke too soon.

Archeological work recovered the skeletal remains of several extinct apes in southern Africa that differed only slightly from their modern counterparts and they claimed that the differences provide evidence that the ancient apes were preparing to change into men however, after careful examination by well-known anatomists, they concluded that they are nothing more than extinct apes. Donald Johanson, the discoverer of Lucy found near Hadar, Ethiopia, wrote that he “found a humanlike knee joint that proved beyond doubt that our ancestors walked erect close to three and a half million years ago—long before they developed the big brains that had once been thought to be the hallmark of humanity.” [1] The small skull capacity is similar to humans but calling it “skeletal remains” doesn’t tell us the whole truth that only a few pieces were found and we have to leave a lot to the imagination. It’s similar to doing a “dot to dot” to reconstruct Lucy. It turns out that the scientific findings have shown that the evolutionist’s hypotheses regarding “Lucy,” the best-known specimen of the class Australopithecus, are absolutely groundless and in the February 1999 issue, the famous French magazine Science et Vie stated agreed that Australopithecus could not be regarded as an ancestor of man therefore Australopithecus apes needed to be removed from the human family tree. [2]

Misplaced Bias

Many who dispute the creation account believe in evolution in order that they might not have to admit to the existence of God. Paul knew why mankind tends to do this as he wrote “what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom 1:19-20). That is not my personal opinion but what the Bible says which is why Paul wrote that “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Rom 1:21-23). They “suppress the truth” meaning that they hold it down as if pushing down or holding down (Greek “katechō” meaning “to restrain, hinder, to hold back,” or “to detain”) and it is suppressed intentionally. Did I have bias? Yes, I surely do. No one alive doesn’t have at least some biases, but the truth can be suppressed.

Conclusion

I am not attempting to persuade you into believing in creation or to prove to you that Jesus is God and desires to have a saving relationship with you. My effort is not to convince anyone to believe but to give reason why I am. I fully confess that the gospel doesn’t make sense to most of the world and it is as Paul wrote, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1st Cor 1:18). I pray for and try to befriend every atheist, agnostic, or evolutionist I ever meet because I was there! Paul understood why they do not understand the gospel, writing “who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:11) and “he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit” (Rom 8:27). To all unbelievers we should say, “There go we but for the grace of God.” We’re not better than anyone and remember, we were once as they are now. God is the only reason we’re changed.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

1. Gish, op. cit., p. 120. The two scientists were Lord Zuckerman, a famous British anatomist, and Dr. Charles Oxnard, a professor at the University of Chicago.

2. Isabelle Bourdial, “Adieu Lucy,” Science et Vie, May 1999, No. 980, pp. 52-62.