To Understand Man That’s a God-Thing

There is Something Special About Mankind

Scattered Groups – Part 2

The study of the human species is quite difficult and complex. Why is this such a complex topic? I actually love that it’s a complex topic because it tells me that the human species is unable to be defined by humans. People have been trying to define the origins of mankind for thousands of years. Due to this I’ve concluded that it takes God’s understanding to explain the specifics of life that we classify as humankind. There is something quite notable that all the research points to without saying it outright. There is something special about man. God made man in a way unlike any of His other creations. ^[1] Therefore, it’s more complex than anything else He created. If you think about it, God placed humankind in care of all the other creations. Thus, He gave humankind the ability to understand the other creations, but to understand man that’s a God-thing.

One’s Explanation
Allow me to provide a little support in why understanding humankind is a God-thing. How is it, as you research human origins, some studies date humans back to a minimum of 60 thousand years and other resources date back to a maximum of 2 million years? For humankind to be so smart, this sure is a huge difference and a large gap for errors, if I can call it that. The point still remains we don’t know and that brings me to this word, theories.

A theory is a substantiated explanation. In other words, it’s one’s explanation. If you can explain it then you have a theory no different than anyone else’s. While I have no intent in proving out theories or providing my own, what I will do is draw conclusions that the theories tell us. Without these theories we would have no way of understanding what we see in the world around us. The challenge we face when reviewing theories is this. We tend to prefer one theory over another. Often we disregard one theory when we favor one more. For example, people tend to believe in creation or evolution. The question I have is why not both or portions of both. Again they are both theories and have some credibility that’s worth noting.

You have heard the word “sapiens” before, but more specifically “Homo Sapiens.” However, what you don’t know is that when you use this term you are speaking of a descendant of one location, Africa. This “Homo Sapiens” idea gives two theories their merit. Please don’t hear what I’m not saying. My point is to expand our thinking beyond what humans come up with to a higher level.

1. “Out of Africa” Theory
   This “Out of Africa” theory implies that all humankind can point back to one of two places in time. This is where it points back to your Bible. Those two places are: 1) The Garden of Eden and 2) Noah’s Ark. If people are truly believed to be “Homo Sapiens” that would also mean that one of these places in history actually existed or both. It would also mean that the existence of “Homo Sapiens” provides proof of The Garden of Eden or Noah’s Ark. No one has made that point clear. With that said, this theory brings us right back to God and Him creating the people groups we see today.
2. “Multiregional” Theory
   The “Multiregional” theory is also known as the replacement theory which says that “Sapiens” replaced all previous species of humans which again places us right back in the Bible. Multiregional means that this group spread out across the earth from one location to form regional groups, people groups. Imagine this for a moment. We’ve just heard of two of the most accepted theories of creation, both of which point back to the Bible. If this is true, then we know more about God’s people than we thought we did and it’s found in the most popular book in history.

Using the two theories above, there are a few facts that I’ve seen repeated. Keep in mind none of which are concrete. They are all one’s explanation. However, they give us a clue to the evidence that we’ve found in the world around us. Scientists and historians have classified man-kind into four species of humans or groups. Not to get too scientific but those classifications are as follows: 1 – Sapiens, 2 – Neandertal, 3 – Erectus, and 4- Denisovan. What’s not totally obvious and what they don’t simply spell out is where these classification derived geographically. Sapiens represent African descent. Neanderthals represent Eurasian (Middle East & Europe) descent. Erectus represents Eastern Asian (Chinese & Korean) descent. Lastly, Denisovan would represent everyone outside of the first three (i.e. Melanesian and East Australia). Now for the reason I mention all of this. It brings us right back to where we started, four people groups or better stated four groupings of God’s people.

Based on the theories, what we know for sure is that people are scattered across the globe and they are for the most part members of one of four distinct groups of people. Knowing that will help us understand the abilities, skills, traits, and talents each, given to us by God through His creation. It also explains why we tend to argue and disagree over human origins. Putting the theories and facts together undeniably points us back to God. Discovering the gifts in people not only points us to God, but will give light to the God in each of us.

Question: have you ever felt like there was more to the human race than people normally let on?

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[1] ‭‭Genesis 2:7 NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬, Bible.com, accessed March 7, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/GEN.2.7.NLT

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