by Bill Nugent
Article #267
The most influential and important set of fossils in the world for the Darwinist is arguably the 47 bones of an apelike alleged human ancestor named Lucy. This is ironic because most of the evidence for discrediting Lucy has come from evolutionary paleontologists rather than creationists. More light was shed on Lucy when other fossils of her species were found in other parts of Africa.
Lucy’s bones – or casts of them – and mock ups and artistic depictions of Lucy, have been displayed all over the world since the 1970s.
On November 24, 1974, American anthropologist Donald Johanson and a graduate student were making a routine search for fossils in a gully in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia when a small bone fragment caught Johanson’s eye. They dug around and found several more fragments of bone with no duplications and this indicated that the many fragments were from one individual.
Excitedly, they returned to their camp and announced the initial findings. Someone in the camp was playing the Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds repeatedly during the evening. They decided on the name “Lucy” for their soon to be famous find from that song. The entire team returned to the gully the next day and unearthed bone fragments that were the remains of about 40% of the skeleton of what even secular evolutionist researchers describe as similar to a small chimpanzee. They called the new species of extinct ape Australopithecus Afarensis which means “Southern ape of the Afar region.”
Small Brain Case Housed a Small Underdeveloped Brain
Once the fragments were removed to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and assembled and studied, the debates among the evolutionary paleontologists began. All sides agree that the skull and brain case are exceedingly small and must have housed a tiny undeveloped apelike brain. The evolutionists also agree that her upper extremities appear similar to those of modern tree dwelling primates.
The real debate, the real significance, was the pelvis and leg bones that are of such a structure that some evolutionists contend that Lucy would have been bipedal, which is to say that she could have walked upright much of the time. But this claim of bipedalism depends on how they assemble the fragments of pelvis and leg bones.
Some of the evolutionists have noted that the orientation of the iliac blade of the pelvis matches that of chimps, not humans. This clearly undermines the claim that Lucy was bipedal. Evolutionist Christine Berges used high tech analysis techniques and came to the conclusion that Lucy’s bipedalism differed from that of humans. All of us have seen chimps walk on their hind legs and notice how they sway from side to side as they walk. This is because the chimp pelvis is structured differently from that of humans. The claim of bipedalism is far from any degree of certainty.
Educated Men Making Educated Guesses
There is actually very little evidence in Lucy from which scientists make their bold assertions. Remember, this is just a partial skeleton and there are, of course, no soft tissue remains. It’s educated men making educated guesses. They view the evidence through the lens of their Darwinian presuppositions. More evidence has piled up over the years as more Australopithenes fossils have been discovered in other parts of Africa. The evidence suggests that Lucy and all those of her species were fully ape.
The other, more recent finds of Australopithene fossils clearly undermine Lucy from being in any way proto-human. The toe bones are curved like those of tree dwelling apes. Australopithene wrist bones show the ability to lock to enable wrist walking. Evolutionists Brian Richmond and David Strait showed how the neck, shoulder, arm and finger anatomy was suited for tree dwelling. This is not a case of our scientists being able to beat up their scientists. Their scientists are furnishing the evidence to destroy Lucy though they don’t yet admit that Lucy was just an ape.
Similar to a Chimpanzee
The Christian creationist group Answers In Genesis has a Lucy display at their Creation Museum in Ohio. It shows a model of how Lucy would have appeared and shows her on all fours as a chimpanzee-like animal. This model is based partly on the work of Dr. David Menton. Dr. Menton earned a Ph.D. in cell biology from Brown University. He also served as an associate professor of anatomy at Washington University School of Medicine (St Louis). Dr. Menton is also featured in a video titled, Lucy, She’s No Lady, that demolishes any notion that Lucy walked humanly upright and he clearly explains why Lucy was fully ape. Ape to human evolution is nothing more than pseudo-scientific fantasy!
Back in the 70s, there was a media storm around Lucy, which is not surprising in a secular society that clings to evolution as its origins myth. I believe it is very destructive to promote the false notion that human beings are the descendants of animals. The promotion of evolution in the schools and media ultimately destroys the self-esteem of young people and tempts them to abandon any guidance from transcendent moral laws given by God. The family breakdown, crime rate, drug use and suicide can be traced to the nihilism that springs out of the idea that humans originated from animals and that human destiny is loss of conscious existence at death.
Let’s Look to the Creator and Redeemer
God has provided a better way. God has given us revelation of Himself and God has revealed who humans are in relation to Him. The Bible is God’s inspired love letter to humanity. God’s signature on this letter consists of the many hundreds of fulfilled Bible prophecies and the many miracles that occur in answer to prayer.
God sent His Son Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, in fulfillment of over 300 Old Testament Bible prophecies, to come and die for our sins so that we can receive forgiveness and enjoy conscious existence in the afterlife with God. “The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6 circa 750 BC). I invite you to turn to Christ today to receive forgiveness of sins!
The source for much of the material in this article was furnished by the article A Look at Lucy’s Legacy by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell and Dr. David Menton, 6/6/12, published at www.answersingenesis.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
- 1) Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- 2) Believe that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you, to take upon Himself the penalty of your sins (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18).
- 3) Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13).
- 4) Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth (John 1:12, Acts 2:38).
- 5) Follow Jesus Christ as Lord (John 14:21).
Prayer to receive salvation:
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
“Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
(C) 2016 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish for Christian outreach.
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