One of the Aristotle’s definitions of human being is: Man is a ‘rational animal’, which means a “thinking animal”. While this acknowledges man’s unique ability of ‘intelligent thinking’ and distinguishes humans from animals it still sees them as ‘animals’. If humans are ‘mere’ animals why then they possess this unique ability of rational thinking, which is not there in ‘other’ animals? And the questions follow: Can reason come from non-reason? Can mind be evolved from matter? Can natural selection produce intelligence? Can an ‘effect’ possess an inherent quality which is not there in its ’cause’? For instance, a calculator cannot have the ability to multiply numbers unless its creator, man, has it first.
The Bible sensibly answers these questions. Because of the fact that humans are made in the very image of God, their Creator, they are unique and distinct from other creatures. They inherently got this ability of ‘rationality’ or ‘intelligent thinking’ from their Creator. As we have discussed in our previous article, rational thinking is an inbuilt capacity of a human being, which is readily available in the image of God.
However, humans fail to keep this ability in its original state because of their rebellion against God. The Bible calls it ‘sin’. This sin of first human beings tarnished every natural faculty of human constitution, including its ‘rationality’. The reformed theologians called it “total depravity”. But, as Norman Geisler rightly explained, this total depravity is not ‘intensive’ but ‘extensive’, which means, sin aberrated every human faculty but it did not abolish them completely. This means, humans are still God’s image-bearers, irrespective of their birth, beliefs and backgrounds. This is the reason why non-Christians can excel in their endeavours of scientific advancements. Because human beings bear the (aberrated) image of God still you could see ‘some good’ or ‘good deeds’ in the secular society today (cf. Luk. 23.50-51, Acts 10.31). The Bible endorses this view. It looks at fallen human beings as “God’s images” even after the Fall (cf.Gen.9.6, Matt.22.20-21, James 3.9).
The fallen man had not only lost the original capacity of his human reasoning but started abusing it against the purposes of his Creator and for his own selfish ends. The human endeavor at the tower of Babel is a classic example of this abuse of human intelligence (Gen.11.1-9). God was not against their brilliance or technological advancement but He was provoked to anger because of their intentions and purposes that stand against God’s original purposes explicitly declared in Genesis first chapter. God wanted them to “fill the earth and subdue it” but their intention was “not to scatter abroad” (compare Gen.1.28 with 11.4). God’s desire was that his creatures may glorify His name in every doing (Rom.11.36, 1 Cor. 10.31, Col.3.23) but people at the Tower of Babel craved for the ‘glory of their name’ (Gen.11.4).
The first murder (of Abel) could not have happened without the abuse of God-given human emotions, imagination, intelligence, and free will (cf. Gen.4.5-8) because it was clearly a premeditated murder. The crime reports of today’s newspapers, news channels and social media platforms bear witness to this fact of abusing human intelligence and creativity. According to the Twelfth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (2011), the ‘development of information and communications technologies and the increasing use of the Internet create new opportunities for offenders and facilitate the growth of crime’.
This grim picture of the world must move Christians and the Christian church to involve in upfront evangelism with a deep sense of empathy and concern for the fellow humans (Matt.9.36, 15.32, 23.23, Mark 6.34, Luk.6.36, Matt.5.7). Contrary to popular opinion our evangelistic efforts must be for the good of the world and the glory of God. After all, Christ came to redeem the lost!