Growing up — and that's a rather complex subject — I really didn't think much about human origin. The little church I attended back in Hudson, North Carolina, had a sermon about Adam and Eve. What more could a kid want? One of my teachers told the class, "If you students want some extra credit, go see the movie, "Inherit the Wind", and write me up a short report. Easy A."

It was about the Scopes trial. The movie was a pretty good rendition of what most folks back in 1925 thought about evolution versus creation. From my point of view, the movie was more about how clever the lawyers were, so I checked out Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection."

Darwin was less interested in biblical proofs and more concerned about why some critters adapt and survive and others didn't and became extinct. I decided to get some lighter reading and discovered that some pretty good science can rightly prove that the universe — as we know it — began about 13 1/2 billion years ago. Now some of you may argue that these astronomers are off at least two or three weeks, but who can be that accurate?

As a church-going young man, I heard more than my share of some very powerful sermons which declared — and no one was to dispute these without serious divine punishment — that our world was created in 4004 B.C. around 9 o'clock in the morning. I figured that I had best stop all this deep thinking or my brain would either implode or explode. The most intelligent way I could put all this science aside was to concentrate on other areas such as sports or girls. 

Since girls were as mysterious as evolution, I decided to play sports. Until I met Julie, who is and always will be, the love of my life.

So as not to appear as a man who is unwilling to take a stand, let me ask you to do some research. Careful biblical reading will prove that there are at least two creation stories in Genesis. Try Gen. 1:1-31, "Let us, whoever us was, make man and let them (plural) have dominion...." The second creation story begins in Gen. 2:4 and God creates heaven and earth and one creature — a man.

The argument that humankind evolved from lesser life sure fits when we look at what humans have been doing and continue doing in the name of God. It is hardly acceptable. Then there are those wonderful moments in time when humankind exhibits extraordinary qualities of compassion and kindness.

There are those times when we are no better than the predators who seem to kill and destroy for the pleasure of killing and destroying.

Then I look at history and discover such remarkable human beings who have given us insight and imagination that is astounding! Never has this happened in nature and no creature other than humankind displays such contribution.

I believe that we will never solve the mystery of life to everyone's satisfaction ... at least not in the definitive understanding of creationism or evolutionism.

Perhaps we can agree that humankind is a moment in time when something miraculous occurred and continues to occur and cannot be explained by man, only be accepted. Then let us get down to business and solve the problems of our world: hunger, war, illness, separation, conservation, overpopulation, dwindling resources, the budget and whatever you wish to add.

And please read Psalm 8 over and over and over.

Thanks, God!