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TeacherAide The First Epic SESSION 12 ILLUSTRATING THE POINT London Zoo Displays Humans In the
summer of 2005, the London Zoo posted a sign in front of their newest exhibit,
reading, "Warning: Humans in Their Natural Environment." The exhibit
featured eight Homo sapiens in a sealed enclosure adjacent to another sealed
enclosure of various primates. The human "captives" were chosen from
an online contest, and spent their time sunning on a rock ledge, playing board
games, and waving to spectators. A signboard informed visitors about the
species' diet, habitat, worldwide distribution, and threats. The goal of
the exhibit, according to Zoo spokesperson Polly Wills, was to downplay the
uniqueness of human beings as a species. "Seeing people in a different
environment, among other animals," said Wills, "teaches members of the
public that the human is just another primate." Tom
Mahoney, one of the participants in the exhibit, agreed. "A lot of people
think that humans are above other animals," he said. "When they see
humans as animals, here, it kind of reminds them that we're not that
special." What a
contrast to the biblical promise that human beings are fearfully and wonderfully
made in the image of God. - “Humans
Are Ones on Display at London Zoo”, Yahoo News (8-26-05) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keeping Promises Writer and
speaker Lewis Smedes says: Yes,
somewhere people still make and keep promises. They choose not to quit when the
going gets rough because they promised once to see it through. They stick to
lost causes. They hold on to a love grown cold. They stay with people who have
become pains in the neck. They still dare to make promises and care enough to
keep the promises they make. I want to say to you that if you have a ship you
will not desert, if you have people you will not forsake, if you have causes you
will not abandon, then you are like God. What a
marvelous thing a promise is! When a person makes a promise, she reaches out
into an unpredictable future and makes one thing predictable: she will be there
even when being there costs her more than she wants to pay. When a person makes
a promise, he stretches himself out into circumstances that no one can control
and controls at least one thing: he will be there no matter what the
circumstances turn out to be. With one simple word of promise, a person creates
an island of certainty in a sea of uncertainty. When a
person makes a promise, she stakes a claim on her personal freedom and power. When you make a promise, you take a hand in creating your own future. -
THE
MORE YOU KNOW Percentage of teenagers who believe
God was involved somehow in creating humankind: 81 Gallup Poll (released March 8, 2005) A Solemn Agreement A
solemn agreement, such as the pact between Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:44). God’s
love and grace are shown in the readiness to make covenants with people. When
God promised Noah that he would not again destroy the world with a flood, he
made a covenant with him (Gen. 6:18; 9:9-17). A very important covenant existed
between God and Israel (Exod. 24:1-8), which is pictured in the book of Hebrews
as the “old covenant.” When the people repeatedly broke that covenant, God
promised a new covenant based on forgiveness and the writing of his law on
people’s hearts (Jer. 31:31-34). Jesus inaugurated this new covenant with his
blood (Mark 14:24; 1 Cor. 11:25). – The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A.
Elwell, Editor
THOUGHT
I HEARD YOU SAY “We are not congealed stardust, an
accidental byproduct of cosmic chemistry. We are not just something, we are
someone.” -
George
Weigel “To burn a heretic is not to defend
a doctrine, but to kill a man.”-
Sebastian Castellio “You can observe a lot by
watching.”- Yogi Berra
“The glory of Christianity is
to conquer by forgiveness.”- William
Blake “Forgiveness is the final form of
love.”- Reinhold Niebuhr
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