Since I started this thread I thought I would step in as a pseudo-moderator. I am not a moderator, so don't take my suggestions as gospel. I was hoping that answers to questions would be without rhetoric or vitriol. Examples of less than satisfactory answers are the following (and I am not picking on anyone, just healthy criticism):
bob gray:
I’ll take a stab at this one.
a) We did not evolve from monkeys.
b) If you are a descendant of your mother why is she still alive?
Your heart was in the right place, but I was thinking that we should not answer questions with questions (as in answer b). It might have been better to say that monkeys are our cousins, not our grandparents. This one needs a little more meat, but a very nice start.
mikehager:
Prophex, researchers working in the field of evolution have never claimed that we are descended from monkeys, especially if the term is taken to mean modern monkeys. That is a caricature of evolutionary science crafted by it's creationist opponents.
We and monkeys are descended from a common ancestor that was neither modern man nor modern monkey.
Remove the phrase "That is a caricature . . . creationist opponents" and this one works fine. Again, we (or better, I) want this thread to be as unintimidating as possible (ie free of rhetoric).
Resurrected Hector:
"If god created man from dirt, why are there still dirt around?"
This post is wholly inappropriate for this thread. Again, no rhetoric, sarcasm, vitriol, etc. I would prefer this thread to be unintimidating in order to give our reluctant lukers a place to ask questions that are bugging them.
I would have answered the question as such (very similar top mikehager's post):
Firstly, humans are actually primates, just as monkeys and apes are. To say that monkeys should not be around is saying that humans should not be around either.
Secondly, the relationship between species is much like that found in your own family. Apes, monkeys, and humans (ie all primates) share a common ancestor just as you and your cousins share a common ancestor, your grandparents. Some primates species will be more distantly related than others, just as you have cousins that are more distantly related than others.
Thirdly, evolution does not follow a ladder like progression. Instead, the pattern of evolution looks like a bush. Every individual of one species does not become another species over time. Instead, a sub-group of a species branches off from the larger population to become a new species. It would be expected that at some point the parent species and the daughter species would be in existence at the same time. This usually does not occur for long periods of time, but it does occur for longer time periods on occasion.
I hope the description above helps everyone understand the attitude I was shooting for.