To Ape or Not to Ape? That is the Question

Okay, so Darwin says we came from apes. The bible says we came from dust.

Having just returned from a week in Portland, OR, I had the opportunity to peruse the August issue of Spirit, the inflight magazine of Southwest Airlines. One of the featured stories was a profile of Patti Ragan, a big-hearted ex-millionaire who has funneled most of her money into establishing an ape refuge (The Center for Great Apes), a place where a lucky handful of orangutans and chimps, some rejected by Hollywood once they moved beyond cute and cuddly, can live out their lives in a safe, supportive environment (albeit behind bars).

The article, by writer Mike Darling, is accompanied by gorgeous, full-color shots of the Center's residents.

Looking deep into their eyes, I see the intelligence, the wariness, the curiosity, the cunning. So taken with this cover shot, I tacked it to my office wall. Where I see it every day.

I often catch myself glancing over at the hairy, orange beast, trying to imagine myself in any way related to the big lug.

Nope. Sorry. I just can't make the leap. Maybe because humans have moved on, while he's still stuck in hairy land.

And yet I find it easy to believe that a mysterious God -- whom I can't smell, touch, or deeply lock eyes with -- spoke humans into being simply because he wanted our company.

Is that crazy or what?!