Crst

The case of Ota Benga is one ideal instance of how evolution teachings can be taken sideways to devalue human life. The whole idea of using science to support eugenics and racism is as flawed as it gets. By displaying an African pigmy in a zoo to prove to the general public that human beings came from ape is both disturbing and fabricated. Ota Benga lived in the jungle and bonded with wild animals like the ape they made him carry around. That does not necessarily give any evolutionary scientist to support a theory saying human beings descended from them. At the time when westerners were civilized, it would have been fascinating to see an African living a rudimentary style. That is purely an effect of social and economic differences and in no way related to evolution. One point these scientists took to their advantage might have been Benga’s short statue. They were making an argument that his tribe of pigmy people was an illustration of how people in the jungle shared similar attributes as the apes. But it should be noted that their height might have simply been genetic or a result of limited vitamin D in the dark jungles. Generally, I oppose any theory that uses the name of evolution to come up with life devaluing world view. There might be plenty of unanswered questions about origins of species, but when it comes to the value of life, creation gives an absolute alternative. When we know that we are made in the image of God regardless of race, we can be assured to treat anybody with dignity. Skin color, height, behavior, and languages do not devalue a human being but rather show diversity of intriguing creation.