In addition the idea that some man-like creatures of the past were not
truly human could be used to support ideology which declared people living
today -- the presumed descendents of these not-quite-human creatures -- to
be subhuman. Any rationale for differentiating between various humans can
be used to support racism. Some Christians in the past have looked down on
blacks because of their presumed descendence from Ham, and as abhorrent as
it seems to us today, people have in the past referred to certain races as
"less evolved" than others.
I don't believe that either valid Christianity or sound science will lead
naturally to racism, but people who have a disposition to racism will
utilize whatever bit of authority they can twist to their support. For
that reason I would be quite pleased if Glenn's view about the humanity of
early hominids eventually became accepted. Then no one would ever again be
able to say, "well, they're more directly descended from Neanderthals and
therefore aren't 'as human' as we are."
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
William_E._Hamilton@notes.gmr.com
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)