Many Atheists and Darwinists give Anatomical and Genetic similarities between apes and humans as evidence for common ancestry. But do these similarities really stand as evidence for ape/human common ancestry?

The answer is no, they do not. Because Anatomical and Genetic similarities could also very well be a result of common design. For example, the similarities we see in cars are a result of common design and not common ancestry. Just as intelligent agents ‘re-use’ functional components that work over and over in different systems (e.g., wheels for cars and wheels for airplanes), genetic similarities between humans and chimps could also be explained as the result of the re-usage of common genetic programs due to functional requirements of the hominid body plan.

So a more fundamental question would be, what stands as a better causal explanation of human origins? Did humans arise as a result of evolution by means of natural selection acting on random mutation or were they designed by a Designer?

Ann Gauger, senior research scientist at Biologic Institute, who has a Ph. D. in developmental Biology and was a post-doctoral fellow as Harward University, and is one of the authors of the book, Science & Human origins, analyses the power of Darwinian evolution, in the book, to produce humans from a common human/ape ancestor in the time available.

First of all, she provides experimental evidence in the book to show that similarity does not mean common ancestry. Secondly she analyses the number of mutations that would be required to go from A. afarensis to H. erectus and the time it would take to do that by unguided Darwinian evolution. What was her conclusion? The number of mutations required cannot occur in the available time. She writes

There is no strictly neo-Darwinian path from chimp-like ancestor to us, no matter how similar we appear to be. The mechanisms of random mutation, natural selection and genetic drift are insufficient to accomplish the needed changes in the time allotted, so other explanations need to be explored1

Thus we see that Darwinian evolution fails to provide an explanation to human origin. However we know from the scientific evidence that a Designer exists, who has the capacity (as He created the entire Universe) and the Intelligence (as He designed the first life itself, and other life features) required to create humans.

Thus we can safely conclude that an Intelligent Designer stands as the best causal explanation for the origin of humans.

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(1) Science & Human Orgins, Pg. 27