[_ Old Earth _] AIG: Are humans just another kind of animal?

[Oran_Taran]

The only humans who don't aprpeciate their lives on earth are those who say our lives were not a miraculous creation but only a composition of organisms, chemicals, molecules, etc.

I most certainly appreciate my life on earth.

unlike animals, we can also commit suidice if our lives are too miserable unlike animals who don't have the capactiy to do more than eat, sleep, and copulate

Animals can and do commit suicide sometimes... like when they're distressed or whatever, they stop eating and stuff... which of course kills them.
And animals do a lot more than eat, sleep, and copulate. Tons of them play (from elephants to whales to dolphins), laugh (chimps, even rats and many other animals laugh), they mourn over their dead (elephants, gorillas, etc) It's been proven that they have emotions such as fear, love, jealousy, and many other "human" emotions (we watched a video about it in my psychology class)

Sorry, but animals can't talk, understand language, speak to humans, or give a dissertation on God.

I concur they can't talk about god, but many animals CAN communicate with humans (in a limited way of course... and they're the smart ones, since they're the ones learning to communicate with us, not the other way around), and many have language within themselves.
Alex the gray parrot (and many other parrots) TALKS with humans, koko the gorilla communicates with sign language and even makes her own signs (nobody ever taught her how to say "ring", so she combined the signs for "bracelet" and "finger"... thus "finger bracelet" means "ring.... she also did the same for other things), chimps, orangutans, and others have also been taught to communicate via pointing to symbols in screens or also with sign language, etc.

that would be like me saying christians are like lemmings, because they will follow anyone anywhere.

and that would be wrong too :P lemmings don't follow anyone anywhere.

I do not have god, I eat, I sleep, I have fun, I think, I learn, I laugh, I dance, I have relationships, etc.. so, now, either Animals can do that to, or you need to retract that statement.

How about both? I'm not sure about DANCING per se (just for fun, with rules, etc), but other animals do all that too.

 

[Heidi]

firstly heidi, your remarks that poke that atheists are less of a human are in clear violation of the TOS. that would be like me saying christians are like lemmings, because they will follow anyone anywhere.

Without God in our lives, humans only live to gratify the desires of the flesh, just like animals.

I do not have god, I eat, I sleep, I have fun, I think, I learn, I laugh, I dance, I have relationships, etc.. so, now, either Animals can do that to, or you need to retract that statement.


btw, Ever seen a chimp use sign language. Its pretty funny, and pretty interesting how intelligent they are. Ever seen a bird think? coming up with BRILLIANT ideas, such as the birds in the UK that will take nuts, and place them in the road, for cars to run over (however, they only enter the road when the cross walk sign is the one color) Or 6000 years ago, when god created that bird, he told it that in 5989 years, he would be able to use that function that god granted him?

Excuse me? I'm simply agreeing with them when they say they are animals. Those are their words, not mine. They say we function as animals. But animals cannot understand God and neither can atheists. So those who do know God are different than animals and atheists, are they not? or are you saying that atheists and animals understand God? If so, then please prove it.

 

[Heidi]

Are you claiming you are not an animal then, peaceforAll? This is the huge problem that evolutionists encounter when they say humans are animals. So which is it? :o

 

[armed2010]

We are animals because we fit the defenition of animals. An animal is defined as "A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

Being that we fit all of these basic characteristics, we are animals.

 

[Heidi]

We are animals because we fit the defenition of animals. An animal is defined as "A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

Being that we fit all of these basic characteristics, we are animals.

Again, since scientists aren't omniscient, they always overlook a myriad of variables when making claims. The overlooked some huge differences between humans and animals. Again, you might be nothing more than cells and organisms, but those who have the Spirit of God in them are not. We are much more than that which scientists do not understand because they don't undertand God. And since no kind of animal has shown that they can understand God, can read, write, walk on 2 legs, talk, build bridges, skyscrpapers and rule over animals and the world, then we are not like any animal in that regard.

This you have descibed what all animals do and I have descrived what only humans can do, but not animals. Therefore, we are different than animals because animals cannot do what I listed above.

 

[armed2010]

We are animals because we fit the defenition of animals. An animal is defined as "A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

Being that we fit all of these basic characteristics, we are animals.

Again, since scientists aren't omniscient, they always overlook a myriad of variables when making claims. The overlooked some huge differences between humans and animals. Again, you might be nothing more than cells and organisms, but those who have the Spirit of God in them are not. We are much more than that which scientists do not understand because they don't undertand God. And since no kind of animal has shown that they can understand God, can read, write, walk on 2 legs, talk, build bridges, skyscrpapers and rule over animals and the world, then we are not like any animal in that regard.

This you have descibed what all animals do and I have descrived what only humans can do, but not animals. Therefore, we are different than animals because animals cannot do what I listed above.

It doesn't matter if we have more than those basic characteristics Carico. To be classified as an animal, you don't have to ONLY have those characteristics, and nothing more. You simply have to fit those basic characteristics. Think of it like being able to ride a rollercoaster. You have to be, oh, 5 ft tall to ride it. Not everyone who rides the rollercoaster is exactly 5ft tall though, some are 5ft 4 inches tall, some are 6ft tall. However, they all fit the criteria of being atleast 5ft tall.

 

[kellivision]

Never mind.

 

[Heidi]

We are animals because we fit the defenition of animals. An animal is defined as "A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

Being that we fit all of these basic characteristics, we are animals.

Again, since scientists aren't omniscient, they always overlook a myriad of variables when making claims. The overlooked some huge differences between humans and animals. Again, you might be nothing more than cells and organisms, but those who have the Spirit of God in them are not. We are much more than that which scientists do not understand because they don't undertand God. And since no kind of animal has shown that they can understand God, can read, write, walk on 2 legs, talk, build bridges, skyscrpapers and rule over animals and the world, then we are not like any animal in that regard.

This you have descibed what all animals do and I have descrived what only humans can do, but not animals. Therefore, we are different than animals because animals cannot do what I listed above.

It doesn't matter if we have more than those basic characteristics Carico. To be classified as an animal, you don't have to ONLY have those characteristics, and nothing more. You simply have to fit those basic characteristics. Think of it like being able to ride a rollercoaster. You have to be, oh, 5 ft tall to ride it. Not everyone who rides the rollercoaster is exactly 5ft tall though, some are 5ft 4 inches tall, some are 6ft tall. However, they all fit the criteria of being atleast 5ft tall.

Who said? :o Those with the Spirit of God in them or those without? Again, I can understand why those without the Spirit see themselves as no better than animals. With that, I agree 100%.

 

[armed2010]

We are animals because we fit the defenition of animals. An animal is defined as "A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

Being that we fit all of these basic characteristics, we are animals.

Again, since scientists aren't omniscient, they always overlook a myriad of variables when making claims. The overlooked some huge differences between humans and animals. Again, you might be nothing more than cells and organisms, but those who have the Spirit of God in them are not. We are much more than that which scientists do not understand because they don't undertand God. And since no kind of animal has shown that they can understand God, can read, write, walk on 2 legs, talk, build bridges, skyscrpapers and rule over animals and the world, then we are not like any animal in that regard.

This you have descibed what all animals do and I have descrived what only humans can do, but not animals. Therefore, we are different than animals because animals cannot do what I listed above.

It doesn't matter if we have more than those basic characteristics Carico. To be classified as an animal, you don't have to ONLY have those characteristics, and nothing more. You simply have to fit those basic characteristics. Think of it like being able to ride a rollercoaster. You have to be, oh, 5 ft tall to ride it. Not everyone who rides the rollercoaster is exactly 5ft tall though, some are 5ft 4 inches tall, some are 6ft tall. However, they all fit the criteria of being atleast 5ft tall.

Who said? :o Those with the Spirit of God in them or those without? Again, I can understand why those without the Spirit see themselves as no better than animals. With that, I agree 100%.

Who said what? It's a catagory based on features. You seem to think that the scientific defenition of animal is "unthinking beast that lives in the woods." Being classified as an animal doesn't mean that we are this, it merely means that we share various basic features with other creatures.

Using your same logic, let's look at plants. Trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, etc, are all in the plant catagory because they all share basic features between each other. But, but, how could a tree be a plant? Trees are huge, sporting very large limbs, thousands of leaves, and can grow extremely tall. You mean to tell me that they are classified amongst tiny, insignificant shrubs, barely reaching 3 feet in height, or flowers, which don't have the numerous leaves that trees have? That's crazy talk!

 

[Heidi]

So why classify us as animals at all? :o What's the purpose? Any child can tell the difference between animals and humans. Only evolutionists appear to have trouble differentiating between them.

 

[armed2010]

So why classify us as animals at all? :o What's the purpose? Any child can tell the difference between animals and humans. Only evolutionists appear to have trouble differentiating between them.

We've found that the many lifeforms on earth share traits with each other at various levels. Thus, a taxonomy was constructed that organized different organisms on earth based on what traits they shared with other organisms. The varying levels of this system include, but are not limited to, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species, which goes from broadest description (kingdom) to a very specific description (species).

Humans are catagorized in the Kingdom Animalia, i.e. the Animal Kingdom because we are "multicellular organisms, differing from plants in certain typical characteristics such as capacity for locomotion, nonphotosynthetic metabolism, pronounced response to stimuli, restricted growth, and fixed bodily structure."

As we begin to get more specific, we go into Phylum. Humans are in the The phylum of Chordata, "consisting of animals whose members have a single dorsal nerve cord and a notochord and gill slits during some stage in their development." We are in this Phylum because we have a single dorsal nerve cord, a spinal cord basically, which makes us vertebrates, and human embryos have gill slits.

Getting even more specific, we reach Class. Humans are in the the Mamalia Class, which consists of vertebrate animals that have mammory glans, are warm blooded, have a 4 chambered heart, and hair/fur. I'm sure that I don't have to explain that humans have all of these.

Next up is Order, and humans are in the Order Primate. The Order Primate consists of animals with 5 fingers, fingernails, opposable thumbs, and primates also share a general dental pattern.

After this, things start to get very specific, with Humans being in the Family Hominidae, and the Genus Homo, in which things begin to narrow down and we are grouped with other lifeforms with DNA compositions extremely similar to our own, Homo consisting of a very small number of lifeforms.

After all of this, we reach the most specific classification of all, Species, of which we are Sapien. Basically, anything that shares our exact physiology and we are able to breed with and create successful offspring with. What we call "Human".

This is the organizational system, and as you can see, Animal is one of the earlier and very broad catagories. That is why it includes so many lifeforms, including humans. If anything Carico, it might make a better argument for you to argue for the inclusion of "God knowing" or something into the Species Sapien classification. Atleast then you're arguing about a very specific classification, instead of something extremely broad.

 

[protos]

Q: Are humans just another kind of animal?

Yes. A very smart one, but yes.
[quote:79057]If one accepts the evolutionary teaching that we evolved from some apelike creature, then we are just a higher form of animal.

actually no, there are no "higher" and "lower" species... except maybe if you count the success/adaptability of the species, in which case cockroaches and many others would win over humans every time.

While humans have bodies somewhat similar to mammalsâ€â€they’re not just animals

And that's taxonomy. Anatomical and physiological similarities.

All they need to do is get out of their laboratories and see reality. Only then will the differences between animals and humans be obvious to them.

Scientists are the ones who study animals and humans, not you. You're the one who needs to see reality, there is nothing that separates us from other animals. Intelligence doesn't count btw. One doesn't say a kid with down syndrome isn't a human anymore because he's mentally challanged.

Why AREN'T we animals then? give me scientific reasons.[/quote:79057]

Ladies and gents!

The above is a perfect example of an evolutionist! They contradict in spite of everything and everyone. They only think they're right. To claim that people are animals, and truly no offense, you must be highly ignorant of history. Even by evolutionary standards we are not animals, just that we evolved from them. However, seeing that The Bible says that we aren't animals and we shall have dominion over them, those indoctrinated with evolution will try to contradict it senselessly in any way they want.

 

[Oran_Taran]

Even by evolutionary standards we are not animals, just that we evolved from them.

Wrong. By evolutionary standards we are animals. We're also apes.

 

[Heidi]

Even by evolutionary standards we are not animals, just that we evolved from them.

Wrong. By evolutionary standards we are animals. We're also apes.

I'm sorry that you cannot tell the difference between animals and humans. All children can. You can learn a lot from them. ;-)

 

[armed2010]

Even by evolutionary standards we are not animals, just that we evolved from them.

Wrong. By evolutionary standards we are animals. We're also apes.

I'm sorry that you cannot tell the difference between animals and humans. All children can. You can learn a lot from them. ;-)

Carico, did you even read my post?

 

[Frost Giant]

Even by evolutionary standards we are not animals, just that we evolved from them. However, seeing that The Bible says that we aren't animals and we shall have dominion over them

I wasn't aware that the Bible was written in English.

 

[Heidi]

So how do evolutionists distinguish the difference between humans and animals? :o All rational people can do this by simply looking at them. But evolutionists cannot. So shall we invent another term to distinguish between them because it is simply a fact that animals and humans cannot interbreed? Otherwise, calling humans animals suggests bestiality. But of course this confusion in some people all comes from wanting to deny that God exists. ;-)

 

[2Pillars]

I agree, man is a special creation. There is a difference between animal and Human Intelligence, but today's science is ignorant of it.

The difference is that animals are innocent, for they don't know good and evil. Humans do, and will be judged for the deeds done in the flesh, whether they be good or evil.

Genesis 3
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:


God Bless

 

[noblej6]

Hi,

I cannot believe that Heidi and a few others are still here hung up on the human is animal thing. I explained the scientific classification system to you months ago. Someone just went thru the whole thing in detail up a few posts and you still don't understand.

Scientists are not making any mistakes about humans being animals. That is the basic classification of humans. Their only other choice as far as what 'kingdom ' are they from is PLANT.

There is only PLANT or ANIMAL...gee, which one would aunt Elsie best fit in?????

Is there a difference between an ape and a fella from Mississippi? Yes, there is, a real big difference. Are there any simularities? Yes, some real big simularities.

Now who told you that modern man evolved from modern day apes?

When something EVOLVES the old thing disappears and a new entity comes into being...over many many centuries usually.

I just bet you a thick nickel you have never yet taken a cyber trip to the Smithsonian to look at the skulls of ancient skeletal remains. Don't be scared that what you will find will go against the bible because it doesn't. All it means is God created earth and everything on it using the amazing tool of evolution.

noble6

 

[Oran_Taran]

There is only PLANT or ANIMAL...

No there isn't.
There's also fungus, protist, archae, and bacterium.

When something EVOLVES the old thing disappears and a new entity comes into being...over many many centuries usually.

not necessarily. The old POPULATION BECOMES the new one, but whole species don't evolve. That is why there are bacteria, primates, and many others still around.
and anyway it wouldn't be centuries, it would be millenia/millions of years.

Yes, there is, a real big difference. Are there any simularities? Yes, some real big simularities.

More similarities. Just look at DNA, chimp DNA is 98-99% identical to our DNA.