Cave Men?

You've seen the pictures—in National Geographic or in school textbooks—of hair-covered, ape-like "prehistoric" creatures who lived in caves thousands of years ago while on their way to "becoming human." Writers often refer to these individuals as "cave men." But did people really evolve from ape-like creatures—and live in caves while doing so?

No, they did not. First, even though some people believe that evolution is correct, and that men evolved from animals, that does not make it right. People believe all kinds of things that are wrong. Humans did not "evolve," but were created specially by God (Genesis 1:26-27).

Second, the fact that a person lives in a cave has nothing to do with whether or not he or she is human. Saying that a man who lives in a cave is "half human" would be like saying a dog that lives in the house is "half human." The place where you live does not determine your "humanity." Throughout history, people all over the world have lived in caves. Pueblo Indians lived in cave villages in the Southwestern United States from about A.D. 1000 to 1300. A century ago, people lived in caves in Palestine. Even today, there are people who live in caves in Africa, Asia, and Europe. In Spain, gypsies make their homes in caves, where they even have stores and schools. Archaeology (the study of ancient things) has shown that people who lived in caves worked with tools, created fancy pottery, and even made furniture (one archaeologist found a rock "sofa" in a cave near Jerusalem!). A skeleton found in a cave in Iraq several years ago had undergone surgical amputation of the arm above the elbow—which shows that people who lived in caves were very intelligent.

Third, the Bible explains that people of the past lived in caves for various lengths of time, and for various reasons. Israeli soldiers hid in caves from the Philistines (1 Samuel 14:11). King David hid in a cave (1 Samuel 22:1-2). The prophet Obadiah once hid 100 fellow prophets in a cave so they could escape wicked King Ahab (1 Kings 18:4). Elijah stayed in a cave while fleeing from Ahab's wife, Jezebel (1 Kings 19:9). After God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters "dwelt in a cave" (Genesis 19:30). When the Midianites and the Amalekites drove the Israelites out of their own land (Judges 6:1-2), the people of God lived in caves for a while.

Did people live in caves in the past? Yes. Do some still live in caves today? Yes. What does that mean? It simply means that at times real people live in real caves. But it doesn't mean that they "evolved" from animals. Don't be fooled by the evolutionists' "fake" drawings. People always have been people, and animals always have been animals. That's the way God created both of them.

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