Are All – or Some – Neanderthals in Heaven?
Roger J. Burke
August 09, 2010
("…I don't care what they say, you either have it, want it, or you're afraid of losing it" as spoken by Ben – played by Robert De Niro – in the movie What Just Happened.)
While I was thinking about the thematic thrust of this article – faith – it occurred to me that the above movie quote has some affinity with it: because, faith is something that we all have, or want, or sometimes are afraid of losing. Hmmm, I suppose, also, the quote could be applied to heaven, in a roundabout way.
Though if you´ve seen the referenced movie, you´ll know I´ve taken that quote out of context: the fictional Ben was referring to power, and specifically to the power of the Hollywood producer, about which much has been written, filmed and satirized.
But, we all have faith in many things: that the sun will rise and set again each day; that most people will observe the speed limits on the roads; that the damned auto will start every time; that the light will come on when the switch is hit; that the water will flow when the tap is turned; and so on.
And, many even say that they have faith in a God.
We always want more than that, however: we have faith that the kids will behave when parents are out; that the job will always be there; that we can trust husbands/wives/partners; that good will always overcome evil; that wars will end; that a God will help you to win a race, or a war for that matter – or, to plumb to the depths of banality, God will even help win first prize in a lottery, for Pete´s sake.
No wonder many are afraid of losing faith in an almighty power.
These musings came to me recently when, for unrelated reasons, I happened to come across a notorious line from Genesis 1:27 (from The New American Bible, 1971, 2nd Edition). It´s a quote many know well, perhaps too much, thus: "God created man in his image". Now, at this stage of my life as a confirmed realist with a thorough rejection of all things religious, I looked at that claim for a bit and thought: what on earth does it really mean (apart from explicitly disenfranchising and potentially alienating all women)? To be fair to the Bible, though, the text continued on to talk about how God created man and woman.
But, as a teen, I´d realized that the statement – God created man in his image – couldn´t possibly refer to an anatomically correct god. That idea was (and still is) totally absurd; so I decided to totally ignore it as beyond understanding, especially at fourteen. Nearly six decades later, however, I´ve now stopped for another ponder...
Because, well, after asking around and digging into some research, it´s quite plain there are multiple interpretations. In fact, one contact (who, long ago, walked away from a priestly life) said simply: There is no answer that makes sense. Now that answer makes sense to me; but other answers I got (with which I won´t bore you) were just totally nonsensical.
One thing is certain, though: faith in the existence of a God is necessary before you can readily accept that claim at Genesis 1:27.
Well, okay, then – just when did a God make man? If you believe the bible story, about 5000 years ago, or so, when Adam and Eve appeared on the scene. Scientific evidence, however, has shown that homo sapiens sapiens (that´s us) has been around for over 100,000 years, maybe longer; other human species – like the Neanderthals – were contemporary with us, but died out for still uncertain reasons. One of the reasons was probably as a result of contact with us: after all, we´ve had a long tradition of exterminating all our competition.
Many believers would also have it that there are places called heaven, hell, purgatory and limbo (although, I think only the first, not surprisingly, finds categorical acceptance with most believers these days) to which their souls fly after death. So, where do believers think Adam and Eve are now? More importantly, do believers think both are in heaven, or will go there, eventually?
An even more interesting question is this: could Adam and Eve have been Neanderthals? Whoa – that´s a bit wild, I know. But bear with me, please, because according to Wikipedia, "Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies or race of humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis)." So, if you believe the Bible as factual, then your answer to my question must be a resounding ´no´: Adam and Eve were not Neanderthal because all Neanderthals had died out between 50,000 and 100, 000 years ago. Because, to repeat: for fundamentalists, Adam and Eve are Johnny and Jill-come-lately in human evolution.
On the other hand, some rational believers (that is, those who regard most or all of the Bible as allegory, and not the word of God) might admit to the bizarre possibility of Adam and Eve´s ancestry. Anyway, because Adam and Eve almost certainly never existed, what about the rest of the Neanderthals who did actually exist? Are not some of them in heaven, whatever heaven is? Believers logically should admit that, because all creatures were created by God, right? Then, quite possibly, some good Neanderthals too are now enjoying eternal bliss, long before anybody ever put pen to parchment to write the books of the Bible.
But, if Neanderthals are beyond the pale, well, tell me why a merciful – so-called – God would be so cruel as to exclude another contemporary human species from heaven simply because they were different? That sort of discrimination sounds suspiciously like what homo sapiens has been doing for millennia to each other; and to all other animals, by the way.
Hmmm, so did man make God in his image, instead?
Some believers might argue that Neanderthals had no soul, and therefore had no use for a heaven. Excuse me? How could any person – believer or not – know that? That´s just another example of a spurious belief (disregarding, for this piece, the debate about the very existence of soul). For a fun forum, though, where the issue of Neanderthal soul has been debated, just click here.
And, by the way, recent scientific evidence shows that some of us share 1 – 4 per cent of Neanderthal DNA! Should we be surprised?
All of which brings me, and some close associates, to some even more interesting questions for consideration, as a result of my ruminations about the Genesis 1:27 claim. Before I list those questions, however, I´d like to set out some core religious beliefs that, I´m sure, most readers have seen or heard about already:
1. God is Love.
2. Humans need God.
3. Human morals come from God.
4. God is looking out for all of us.
I grew up with those beliefs as part of my culture. I could not escape them, question them, or reject them – although some in my immediate family did all four. With the passage of time, extensive reading, serious introspection, and a well-developed scientific outlook, I have come to avoid all religiosity and now subscribe to the idea that God does not exist. But for readers who are believers: assuming that God does exist, I´d like to share the four questions I posed to one of my associates, recently:
1. Is Love eternal?
2. Why does God need homo sapiens?
3. Why does God need morals?
4. Is God simply playing a reality game?
Actually, there are five questions, the first one being the title of this essay which, for me, has been put to rest.
I assure you that the above questions remaining are not frivolous. In due course, over the next few weeks or months, I intend to post some further thoughts, if not definitive answers.
Copyright © Roger J. Burke, 2010. All rights reserved.
While I was thinking about the thematic thrust of this article – faith – it occurred to me that the above movie quote has some affinity with it: because, faith is something that we all have, or want, or sometimes are afraid of losing. Hmmm, I suppose, also, the quote could be applied to heaven, in a roundabout way.
Though if you´ve seen the referenced movie, you´ll know I´ve taken that quote out of context: the fictional Ben was referring to power, and specifically to the power of the Hollywood producer, about which much has been written, filmed and satirized.
But, we all have faith in many things: that the sun will rise and set again each day; that most people will observe the speed limits on the roads; that the damned auto will start every time; that the light will come on when the switch is hit; that the water will flow when the tap is turned; and so on.
And, many even say that they have faith in a God.
We always want more than that, however: we have faith that the kids will behave when parents are out; that the job will always be there; that we can trust husbands/wives/partners; that good will always overcome evil; that wars will end; that a God will help you to win a race, or a war for that matter – or, to plumb to the depths of banality, God will even help win first prize in a lottery, for Pete´s sake.
No wonder many are afraid of losing faith in an almighty power.
These musings came to me recently when, for unrelated reasons, I happened to come across a notorious line from Genesis 1:27 (from The New American Bible, 1971, 2nd Edition). It´s a quote many know well, perhaps too much, thus: "God created man in his image". Now, at this stage of my life as a confirmed realist with a thorough rejection of all things religious, I looked at that claim for a bit and thought: what on earth does it really mean (apart from explicitly disenfranchising and potentially alienating all women)? To be fair to the Bible, though, the text continued on to talk about how God created man and woman.
But, as a teen, I´d realized that the statement – God created man in his image – couldn´t possibly refer to an anatomically correct god. That idea was (and still is) totally absurd; so I decided to totally ignore it as beyond understanding, especially at fourteen. Nearly six decades later, however, I´ve now stopped for another ponder...
Because, well, after asking around and digging into some research, it´s quite plain there are multiple interpretations. In fact, one contact (who, long ago, walked away from a priestly life) said simply: There is no answer that makes sense. Now that answer makes sense to me; but other answers I got (with which I won´t bore you) were just totally nonsensical.
One thing is certain, though: faith in the existence of a God is necessary before you can readily accept that claim at Genesis 1:27.
Well, okay, then – just when did a God make man? If you believe the bible story, about 5000 years ago, or so, when Adam and Eve appeared on the scene. Scientific evidence, however, has shown that homo sapiens sapiens (that´s us) has been around for over 100,000 years, maybe longer; other human species – like the Neanderthals – were contemporary with us, but died out for still uncertain reasons. One of the reasons was probably as a result of contact with us: after all, we´ve had a long tradition of exterminating all our competition.
Many believers would also have it that there are places called heaven, hell, purgatory and limbo (although, I think only the first, not surprisingly, finds categorical acceptance with most believers these days) to which their souls fly after death. So, where do believers think Adam and Eve are now? More importantly, do believers think both are in heaven, or will go there, eventually?
An even more interesting question is this: could Adam and Eve have been Neanderthals? Whoa – that´s a bit wild, I know. But bear with me, please, because according to Wikipedia, "Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies or race of humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis)." So, if you believe the Bible as factual, then your answer to my question must be a resounding ´no´: Adam and Eve were not Neanderthal because all Neanderthals had died out between 50,000 and 100, 000 years ago. Because, to repeat: for fundamentalists, Adam and Eve are Johnny and Jill-come-lately in human evolution.
On the other hand, some rational believers (that is, those who regard most or all of the Bible as allegory, and not the word of God) might admit to the bizarre possibility of Adam and Eve´s ancestry. Anyway, because Adam and Eve almost certainly never existed, what about the rest of the Neanderthals who did actually exist? Are not some of them in heaven, whatever heaven is? Believers logically should admit that, because all creatures were created by God, right? Then, quite possibly, some good Neanderthals too are now enjoying eternal bliss, long before anybody ever put pen to parchment to write the books of the Bible.
But, if Neanderthals are beyond the pale, well, tell me why a merciful – so-called – God would be so cruel as to exclude another contemporary human species from heaven simply because they were different? That sort of discrimination sounds suspiciously like what homo sapiens has been doing for millennia to each other; and to all other animals, by the way.
Hmmm, so did man make God in his image, instead?
Some believers might argue that Neanderthals had no soul, and therefore had no use for a heaven. Excuse me? How could any person – believer or not – know that? That´s just another example of a spurious belief (disregarding, for this piece, the debate about the very existence of soul). For a fun forum, though, where the issue of Neanderthal soul has been debated, just click here.
And, by the way, recent scientific evidence shows that some of us share 1 – 4 per cent of Neanderthal DNA! Should we be surprised?
All of which brings me, and some close associates, to some even more interesting questions for consideration, as a result of my ruminations about the Genesis 1:27 claim. Before I list those questions, however, I´d like to set out some core religious beliefs that, I´m sure, most readers have seen or heard about already:
1. God is Love.
2. Humans need God.
3. Human morals come from God.
4. God is looking out for all of us.
I grew up with those beliefs as part of my culture. I could not escape them, question them, or reject them – although some in my immediate family did all four. With the passage of time, extensive reading, serious introspection, and a well-developed scientific outlook, I have come to avoid all religiosity and now subscribe to the idea that God does not exist. But for readers who are believers: assuming that God does exist, I´d like to share the four questions I posed to one of my associates, recently:
1. Is Love eternal?
2. Why does God need homo sapiens?
3. Why does God need morals?
4. Is God simply playing a reality game?
Actually, there are five questions, the first one being the title of this essay which, for me, has been put to rest.
I assure you that the above questions remaining are not frivolous. In due course, over the next few weeks or months, I intend to post some further thoughts, if not definitive answers.
Copyright © Roger J. Burke, 2010. All rights reserved.
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