The missing link — to bananas

I decided to add the following to my earlier post about science and religion.

Humans and chimpanzees have over 98% of their DNA in common. But we also share about 50% of our DNA with bananas.

A writer in New Scientist magazine recently remarked that this fact does not make humans a kind of advanced banana; nor does it make humans a kind of advanced chimpanzee. Since the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” in the 1920s, there has been a serious breakdown in relations between science and religion, but much of the debate has been as silly as arguing whether or not humans are bananas.

Humans, apes and monkeys all share “building blocks” from the bin marked Primates. However, these blocks are assembled differently between humans and chimpanzees. So we share a family resemblance because God has been remarkably economical in reusing components in the making of humans; yet we are also uniquely human and not just "Chimps version 2.0".

This has theological implications.

Although there is clear evidence of biological processes which led to the appearance of humans, it is also clear that humans have always been humans: similar to, but different from the apes.

So science is right to categorise us as being in the same group as the apes; Christianity is right to insist on our uniqueness as God’s creation.

But, most importantly, we are capable of rational response to God, something quite different from biology; and it is that, supremely, which most makes us human.