The Darwinian Theory of Evolution and Creation Account of Genesis: Contradiction or Complementary?
Isaac Boaheng 
Issue: Vol.10 No. 5 May 2024 Issue Article 6 pp.182-193
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241056| Published online 21st May, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The question of the origin of humans has been fiercely contested for a long period. One perspective is the creation model, which asserts that the Universe and all its components emerged through the deliberate actions of God, driven by design and purpose. Conversely, the evolution model posits that the Universe’s formation occurred solely through mechanistic processes, devoid of any supernatural intervention. Narrowing the scope to humanity, the evolution model contends for the gradual evolution of the human species through a process of descent with modification from an ancestor shared with apes, while the creation model proposes the direct creation of humankind by God in his image. Certainly, the implications either model has on human dignity are very important for human existence. Whether God created humankind directly or through evolution from an ape-like ancestor has a bearing on human dignity. It raises, for example, the question as to whose image humanity bears: God’s or apes’? The way one answers this question will definitely affect his or her human-divine and human-human relationships. A literary research approach was used to gather data from books, articles, and dissertations. The data were critically examined to consider the arguments for either side of the debate. It was found out that both biblical and scientific data may allow for variations within a particular species (microevolution) but not the production of one species from another (macroevolution). The findings suggest that the creation model must be accepted with its attendant implications for human dignity.
Keywords: Evolution, Creation, Human Dignity, Origin
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Isaac Boaheng holds a PhD in Theology from the University of the Free State, South Africa. He is a Senior Lecturer in Theology and Christian Ethics at the Christian Service University College, Ghana, and a Research Fellow at the Department of Biblical and Religion Studies, University of the Free State, South Africa. He has many peer-reviewed publications.
Boaheng, Isaac. “The Darwinian Theory of Evolution and Creation Account of Genesis: Contradiction or Complementary?,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.5 (2024): 182-193. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241056
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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