Image and Likeness
The religious notion that humans were created in the image and likeness of God is a draconian concept hatched way, way back in the dark ages. The simple fact is that all living organisms (including humans) have evolved as a direct response to the natural stimuli coming in from the world around them. Thus the term; environmental stimuli. It is easier to understand this phenomenon if we dissect basic human physiology (which includes the five senses) and psychology (which includes the on-board computer that manages and regulates the many functions of the human body) in order to prove, quite conclusively, that our sensory equipment, our physical features and our mental faculties were designed and engineered to allow us to adapt, to function, to survive and to interact with a very dynamic, noisy, expressive and stimulating universe.
1. Hearing
Take hearing for example. The universe is constantly in a state of flux…matter in motion. When physical objects come in contact with each other they produce sound waves and frequencies which emanate out from the contact point and continue to travel (like dominoes) through the molecular mass we call carbon dioxide (CO2)…or air. Kinda like dropping a pebble into a pond and watching the concentric ripples emanate outwards. This mass of CO2 molecules was essential to the dynamics of hearing because if there was no air mass (no dominoes) to travel though…there would be no sound. And, with no air mass for sound-waves and frequencies to travel though…there would have been absolutely no need for land-based organisms to evolve ears.
So the combination of matter in motion, ‘things that go bump in the night’ and an air mass (for sound waves to travel through) made for a very ‘noisy’ world in deed. That is of course assuming an organism had the right sensory equipment to ‘receive’ and interpret those sound waves and frequencies.
Over the course of biological evolution on Planet Earth – since the first unicellular lifeforms first appeared in our ancient oceans – organisms have been endowed with the ability to genetically adapt to whatever environmental conditions they found themselves in. That ability to adapt is a genetic fundamental which has been written right into the DNA of every living being. Sound waves do not travel well through water so there was little need to evolve the necessary equipment to receive and interpret sound. But as soon as the first tetra-pods began to slither out of the oceans on fins that would (over tens of millions of years) evolve into legs and feet (for walking on land), they (the tetrapods) entered an acutely more ‘noisier’ world.
The tetra-pods evolved into reptilians who dominated the landscape for hundreds of millions of years and eventually evolved into dinosaurs, birds, snakes and placental mammalians (that’s us). Throughout that extended lineage – considering the cacophony of sound waves and frequencies – land-based creatures slowly began to develop the physiological and cerebral apparatus necessary to receive, process and interpret the sound waves and frequencies. Dinosaurs, some birds and even some snakes developed auditory organs although not distinguished by the prominent and fleshy ‘ears’ like those common to the more evolved mammalians. The mammalian’s more-prominent ears and earlobes were composed of skin moulded over bone-cartilage and were often shaped to act like a parabola (similar to a satellite dish) capturing and amplifying transmitted signals. Consider a bat’s ears, cat’s ears or horses ears. Some creatures even evolved the ability to swivel their ‘satellite dishes’ towards the direction of the incoming sound waves.
The fact that an organism’s sensory apparatus and physical features evolved as responses to environmental stimuli is scientifically irrefutable. But at a deeper level the evolutionary process was really all about survival. Over hundreds of millions of years of evolution, birds and mammals have developed vocalizations, calls and other monosyllabic utterances which act as signals to other members of their own species in the immediate area. These vocalizations communicated a variety of different signals, for example, warning calls, predatory dangers, mating calls, establishing territory, etc. which were all essential to that species’ survival.
One last thing…an organism’s sensory apparatus evolved over a long period of time and in concert with the organism’s brain (computer) which received, interpreted and stored the incoming sensory data in its memory banks.
The main point to all this is that an organism’s ‘ears’ evolved as a direct response to environmental stimuli…and not in the image and likeness of God.
2. Smell
A mother skunk had two baby skunklets and she named one ‘in’ and the other one ‘out’. One day ‘in’ got lost and the rest of the family began searching for the missing toddler. It didn’t take very long before ‘out’ came scampering back to its mother with ‘in’ close behind. The mother skunk asked ‘out’ how he found ‘in’ so quickly, to which the skunklet replied…’in’ stinked!
Another prominent feature of land-based organisms was their sense of smell…and the evolution of the ‘nose’ and olfactory apparatus. One of the properties of our physical universe – due to the fragility and tenuousness of molecular composition – is that all forms of matter are constantly emitting or releasing molecular particles into the atmosphere…into the air. These particles bear a unique and distinguishing chemical signature peculiar to a particular species of organism, be it animal or plant.
Pretty much all land-based creatures evolved the sensory apparatus necessary to detect and interpret molecular particles wafting through the air. The equipment included the exterior nose (or snout) constructed of skin stretched over bone-cartilage, the nostrils for air intake, the nasal passage-way which led to the bronchial tubes that carried air to the lungs, and the olfactory gland and nerve endings that transmitted data to the brain.
The scent (smell) of predators, the scent of prey, scents relating to mating season, the scent of forest fires, the scent of carrion, even the scent of water. Every aspect of the organism’s sensory equipment was designed as a response to data coming in from the exterior world. The ability to respond and evolve would have been virtually impossible without the more fundamental ability to genetically adapt to environmental stimuli in the first place. Environmental stimuli would’ve been irrelevent – like one hand clapping – without the organism’s ability to genetically adapt.
Sight
When light rays from the sun (or perhaps a flashlight) strike the surface of an object, the rays are reflected (deflected) into the surrounding environment. Most living, sentient organisms (even insects) have evolved sensory apparatus to receive and interpret light data being reflected from the surface of objects. The human subspecies’ optical apparatus was no doubt the inspiration for the invention of the modern digital camera. It consists of eye lids (shutters), an iris or lens (for focusing and depth of field), a retina lined with millions of photo cells (for reception) and an optic nerve (which connects and sends data to the brain for processing and storage). For all living, sentient organisms, their optical sensory apparatus evolved as a direct response to data coming in from the world around them.
(Note: There’s not much point in explaining the other two senses, being taste and touch. Most readers will get the general drift of the essay so let’s move on).
Setting the Table – Going Super Nova
The popular notion that humans were created in the image and likeness of God was fabricated back in the dark ages and grew (evolved) into a staple of modern Judaeo-Christian mythology. And although the creative force that governs the unfolding of our universe was not a party to the ‘image and likeness’ fabrication, that creative force still played an influential role in determining how the universe unfolded and how life evolved on Planet Earth. That key role (played by the Creator) was to ‘set the table’, to establish the elemental properties and the bonding dynamics of atoms that would facilitate the evolution and existence of myriad lifeforms, molecular structure, matter-in-motion and things that go ‘bump in the night’.
To conclude this essay, I would like to expand a bit more on the ‘elemental properties and bonding dynamics of atoms’ and their foundational influence on the creation of the Milky Way galaxy.
The fundamental chemistry and the elemental properties which govern the unfolding and functioning of our ‘Milky Way’ today were synthesized and established long, long ago during a very precise and very specific event in our galaxy’s history. That very specific event is known as a ‘Super Nova’. A central precept of physics states that when mass is compressed, a commensurate amount of heat is generated. In the case of the Super Nova that birthed our galaxy, an ancient (super) star collapsed (imploded) upon itself – caused by the star’s intense gravity – thereby generating an incomprehensible magnitude of heat in the process. According to Newtonian law, the massive implosion triggered an automatic and equally massive explosion and Viola!…the Milky Way galaxy was created.
It was during that extreme and instantaneous ‘heat’ event that the pre-existing chemistry and the atomic properties (of the old star) were ‘cooked’ and ‘rendered down’ to such an extent that the process transformed and altered the old star’s chemistry and elemental properties into a uniquely reorganized paradigm which would then form the foundation for a newly-birthed galaxy…our galaxy…the Milky Way.
The process of ‘cooking’, ‘rendering’ and reconstituting the elemental properties of the old star into the current model (the Milky Way) provided living organisms today (on Planet Earth) with some very sophisticated tools and mechanisms to help them survive, thrive and evolve. One of these mechanisms was the precise and highly organized Periodic Table of Elements. The Creator – besides being a superior intelligence – must have been a master mathematician as well to have orchestrated such order and balance in the elemental structure of our galaxy.
Another amazing and sophisticated mechanism synthesized by the rendering dynamics of a Super Nova was covalent bonding. In fact, the covalent bonding of compatible atoms (with compatible electrons) is the basis of all molecular structure. Look at the world around you…this mind-boggling cacophany of shapes, forms, sizes, textures, colours…whether animal, mineral or vegetable…whether solid, liquid or gaseous…is all courtesy of covalent bonding. Our atmosphere and the air that we breathe…the great oceans, mighty rivers and lakes…the forests, wetlands and deserts…all are courtesy of covalent bonding. Living organisms….the flying things, swimming things, the slithering and crawling things…the four-leggeds and two-leggeds…and even these amazing human bodies..all are courtesy of the properties of covalent bonding.
To review, three of the known wonders of our elemental world are (1) the mathematical masterpiece of balance, design and order as laid out in the Periodic Table of Elements, (2) a living organism’s ability to genetically adapt and evolve as a direct response to environmental stimuli and (3) the covalent bonding of compatible atoms to create molecular structure. These three wonders were synthesized (rendered) during the extreme heat event of a Super Nova and these mechanisms now constitute nature and the natural world we see around us…that we can experience and enjoy day after day here on Planet Earth.
Dennis Lakusta
Nanaimo BC, 2025