Pastor's Corner by Pastor Larry
September, 2005
I was attracted to a caption that read, “London Zoo exhibits a troop of humans—eight men and women cavort next to fellow primates”, a few days ago in the Mercury News. In part, this short news article reads:
LONDON – At London Zoo, you can talk to the animals – and now some of them talk back. Caged and barely clothed within a rocky enclosure, eight British men and women monkeyed around Friday for an amused, bemused crowd behind a sign reading “Warning: Humans in their natural environment.”
“Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals . . . teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate,” said Polly Wills, adding that it lets them “have a gawk at people.”
Chemist Tom Mahoney, 26, decided to participate. Anything that draws attention to apes, he said, has his support. “A lot of people think humans are above other animals,” he said, it kind of reminds us that we’re not that special.” Visitors’ reactions varied.
It is amazing how some human beings look at themselves. It is depressing to even think some people look at themselves as mere animals instead of supreme beings created in God’s image and likeness. This chemist has the wrong notion to think that humans are not that special compared to other animals. How sad it is to have a wrong view of the true image of human beings! If somehow people think that they are no better than animals (a more intelligent one at best), then no one can question anyone’s “animal” behavior. I wonder whether this is one of the reasons why we are seeing more and more cruelties in our society. People who practice cruelty are merely living their “natural animal” behavior. Isn’t that a scary thought?
Are we really just another animal species? It is impossible to look at Darwinism in this short newsletter, and it is not my intention anyway. One thing we need to realize is that not all atheistic scientists adopt
We are more than animals because we not only have a body and a soul (the two components animals have), we also have a spirit which is used to communicate in spiritual world—either with God or other spirits. No animal could posses this characteristic. You will never see an animal build altars to worship God, but archaeological findings prove to us that throughout generations of different cultures, people built altars to worship higher spiritual beings.
Before I sign off, let me just share that the Bible tells us human beings are made with God’s image and likeness. Though we are marred by sin, we still reflect some of God’s image. Therefore, we must respect our fellow men and ourselves, and as Christians, we also need to learn to restore God’s image. Our self-image must be healthy because God, the Creator of everything, cares and loves us.
Pastor Larry
