B is for Bible;
a book God did give,
To tell where we came from
and how we should live.
We did not evolve,
God made it so plain,
People are people,
we stay just the same..

Genesis 1:26 states: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…"

In Genesis 2:7 we read: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

We read in Genesis 2:21-22: "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."

Compare these verses with Genesis 1:24 which reads, "And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind': and it was so."

Many generations ago, our first parents, Adam and Eve, were not made like the animals. It is very important for children to understand that they are not animals. Even though secular textbooks, television, nature programs, newspapers, public school curriculums, etc., state that man is an animal it is imperative that children be taught the following:

1. Whereas God created the animals by commanding the earth to “bring forth the living creature…” (Genesis 1:24), Adam was made by God who specially formed him from the dust of the ground. God then breathed into Adam. Notice that God did not just command the dust to produce a man as He did for the animals—God himself formed man directly from dust. God did not breathe into the animals, but He certainly did for man. In other words, God imparted something special to the first man.

   God also created the first woman by putting Adam to sleep and taking part of his side to form Eve. No animal was made this way. Only the human female was made from the human male.

   You could also use this to show that there is no possibility that what the Bible states could in any way fit with the idea of evolution. Evolutionary theory teaches that chemicals evolved into the first life, and then after millions of years, some ape-like animal evolved into a human.

   However, the Bible teaches that man was not made from some pre-existing animal, but from dust this does not fit with evolution at all. Not only this, but the first woman was made from the first man! She was made differently from the way man was made. According to evolution, the first human woman evolved from some pre-existing ape-like animal.

   Thus, you can show children that one cannot believe in evolution and say that the Bible agrees with this! The record of the creation of man and woman as recorded in the Bible makes it clear that evolution is totally wrong.

2. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God made the first two humans in His own image. He did not do this for any of the animals only humans. In other words, humans are very special. They are of far greater value than animals.

   The Bible teaches that all humans will live forever, even after they die. Animals do not live forever. Once they die, that is the end of them. Ecclesiastes seems to say this when it tells us: "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3:21).

   Also, as we will learn later, Jesus Christ came to Earth as a human so that He could die for all humans. None of the animals can be saved like we can.

   Jesus, who is God, did not become an animal when He came to Earth! He could become a man because man is made in God’s image.

   Animals cannot think like humans. People can think in an abstract way only because they are different from animals, being made in God’s image.

   Now we can certainly tell children that the body God created for human beings has similar characteristics to the mammals (e.g., hair, warm blooded, feed young on milk, etc.) However, man is in a category separate from that of the animals because he is not an animal.

   Sadly, many people today (even Christians) have been indoctrinated to think of man as just an animal. Therefore, when a baby is developing in its mother’s womb, they think it is just an animal also. As a result, many women who abort babies believe they are just getting rid of an animal just as you would have a veterinarian put unwanted cats or dogs to sleep (in other words make them die).

   If God is so concerned about this world and the animals that not even one sparrow can fall to the ground without his knowing it (Matthew 10:29), then how much more must He be concerned about His creatures that are made in His image? (Matthew 6:28-30).

   We are even told that God’s thoughts about us each day are more than we can count! (Psalm 139). Think about it. God thinks about each one of us all day long-but how often do we think about and talk to God during one day! So often we forget that God is there.

Student Exercise

Have the children construct a chart to classify the creatures and plants God has created. Get them to put three headings: People, Animals, and Plants.

Underneath the “Animal” and “Plant” headings, have them list some of their favorites. Make sure they add apes and monkeys to the animal list.

Underneath the heading of “People,” have them put Adam and Eve (first parents) and the names of some Bible characters (e.g., Noah, Shem, Job, Paul, Peter, etc.). Next, have them put their name at the bottom of the list. You could even have them put a photo of themselves and their favorite animals and plants.

At the top of the chart, have them print:


My name is ______
I am made in God’s image. I am not an animal

At the bottom of the page, they can print:

I am very Special!