November 28, 1996 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - Catholic Cardinal John O'Conner told his audience at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Sunday (November 24) that Adam and Eve "may have been some other form than human and it is possible that the first living creature was a 'lower animal." This statement comes one month after John Paul II said the theory of evolution is "more than just a hypothesis."

O'Conner is the head of the New York archdiocese and is one of the most influential Catholic leaders in America.

"It is possible that when the two persons we speak of as Adam and Eve were created, it was in some other form, and God breathed life into them, breathed a soul into them -- that's a scientific question. ... Perhaps the spirit of God that breathed forth life into the Earth ... was a lower animal,'' O'Conner was quoted as saying (Associated Press, Nov. 25, 1996).

It is possible that O'Conner would be correct in his surmising, except for one thing -- the Bible plainly states that Adam and Eve were created directly by God and they were never animals in any form whatsoever. They were made in the image of God from the beginning. Consider the Bible record of what occurred on the sixth day of creation:

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Genesis 1:24-28).

The animals were made before man. God then created man in His own image and gave him dominion over the newly created world and all of its animal inhabitants. Some have confused Genesis chapters one and two, thinking they are two different accounts of creation. This is not the case. They are not contradictory accounts, but complimentary. Genesis chapter two returns to the scene of creation and gives more detail about man's creation --

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).

Thus Adam was formed directly by God and was given life. Genesis chapter two tells us that Eve was made a little later, and she was formed to be Adam's companion.

If the Bible is true, evolution is a lie. The two accounts of man's origin cannot be reconciled.

The Associated Press noted that the New York archdiocese already teaches evolution in its schools.

David Cloud dcloud@wayoflife.org http://www.wayoflife.org/
1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277

WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE ONLINE CATALOG

BACK TO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ARTICLES LIST

BACK TO THE MAIN FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST NEWS SERVICE TOPICAL LIST