Happy anniversary, Lucy?
No, not Lucy from “Linus & Lucy.” And not Lucy from “I Love Lucy.” This is a different Lucy. One that you are supposedly related to. Did you know you even had a great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great (I think you get the point) great-grandmother named Lucy?

Hang in there. This will all make nonsense in a minute. 😁

​So, where did you come from? Yes, your parents, but I am asking a bigger question. Where did humanity come from? The answer depends on who you ask. There are two main lines of thought. 
One view posits that mankind came from an ape-like creature starting about 6 million years ago through the process of Darwinian evolution. This is the view that is taught exclusively in our public schools and state universities. It is generally believed to be a “fact of science,” and it is further believed that no serious person denies it.
“No educated person any longer questions the validity of the so-called theory of evolution, which we now know to be a simple fact.” - Ernst Myar (Evolutionary biologist)

“It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).”   - Richard Dawkins (Oxford University)
A second view holds that God supernaturally created mankind in His own image. Many believe the biblical account found in Genesis is largely or completely accurate.

There are certainly various other views (such as being created by aliens), but these are the two that most people adopt.

So, whose birthday are we celebrating? Who’s this “Lucy” character?

Many of you already know who I am referring to. For those of you who might be in the dark, let me “splain” it. (Alright, that was an unintentional bit of humor but only for those who are old enough to remember the, “I Love Lucy” show, which aired from 1951-1957. No, I was not alive back, then but I have been able to watch numerous re-runs, which I enjoyed. That was back when life was much simpler. The humor lies in the fact that Lucy’s husband, Ricky, was often telling her, in his endearing Hispanic accent, “You gotta lotta splainin’ to do!”)​

​The Lucy I am referring to is the alleged ancestor of all humanity. Here’s the extremely abbreviated story.
In 1974, Donald Johanson (American paleoanthropologist) discovered a set of fossil remains in Ethiopia. He believed them to be from a hominin (i.e., an extinct human ancestor). Only about 20% of the entire skeleton was found, and two central claims made were that it was about 3.5 million years old and walked upright (a trait seemingly only found in humans).

Lucy has been touted for 50 years as strong evidence for human evolution. In fact, as I write this December article in November, Lucy’s 50th anniversary was only two days ago (Nov 24), and I didn’t even think to send a card! Maybe next year. Anyone can make a big deal out of 50 years, but it takes real foresight to plan for 51!

How did Lucy get her name? Interesting story, most people don’t know. Johanson and other colleagues were listening to music by the Beatles while celebrating the discovery. Specifically, they were listening to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Hence the name, Lucy. Now, you can use that bit of trivia to be the life of the party wherever you go. But if you really want to impress people or get asked to leave the party, you can tell them her real designation is Australopithecus afarensis. That simply means “ape from the Afar region of Africa.”

Not all that glitters is gold. There are major issues with Lucy being a human ancestor. Space prohibits sharing much of the details, so I will just focus on a few major issues.
When they discovered Lucy, they did not find the foot or hand bones. Why do we see human-like feet on Lucy in the museums? After her discovery, scientists found footprints about 1,000 miles away that looked just like human footprints. Hmmm. “Houston, we have a problem.” If humans were already around, then Lucy would not have been on her way to evolving into one. Interestingly, they later discovered more australopithecines and did find the foot bones. They were long and curved, just like a chimpanzee! Oops! Don’t update the museums, though. That would cost money and, more importantly, hurt their story.

​Another key feature, allegedly indicating Lucy walked upright, was Lucy’s hip bones. I really don’t have time to “flesh this out,” but one scientist, during a television special, bragged about how he was able to grind down a cast of her hip bones to make them fit the way he KNEW they must have, in order to walk upright like humans. In other words, they fit just like a chimp’s hips, but through some modification, he was able to make them fit more like an upright human! Wow, how impressive! I kept thinking, “Do you hear what you are saying? Am I the only one seeing the irony here?”

Just as an aside closing note, human and chimp DNA are NOT 98% identical as often claimed. That assertion is a complete myth, but it sure works when trying to convince others that chimps and humans evolved from a common ancestor millions of years ago.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26-27).
​So that I’m not too much of a wet blanket, “Happy 50th anniversary, Lucy!” You, Lucy, were created by God, but not in His image, and He gave mankind dominion over you.
If you have any questions about this or any other issue, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

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