Ken Ham writes (n a facebook post):

Do I believe in cavemen? Of course I do.

Cavemen are people who lived in caves. Actually, there are people today who live in caves in certain parts of the world. For instance, in central Australia where opals are mined, it is so hot that people live in caves. Some of the American Indians used to live in caves in areas around the Grand Canyon. So there were ancient cavemen, and there are modern-day cavemen!

But despite popular opinion to the contrary, ancient “cavemen” were completely human and in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ, just like every other human being.

When many people hear the term cavemen, they usually think of primitive-looking, hairy (even ape-like), cave-dwelling brutes. That is how they have often been depicted in secular museum dioramas illustrating man’s supposed ancestors or ancient relatives. Neanderthal man was often depicted this way.

Because of this evolutionary type of propaganda, many people are confused about cavemen. However, as I stated above, there is a very simple definition for this term: “Cavemen” are people who live (or lived) in caves!

After Noah’s flood, eight people came off the Ark, and from Noah’s three sons and their wives came all the people who live or have lived on this earth. The genealogies in Genesis make it very clear that these eight people descended from the first couple, Adam and Eve. This means that every person who has ever lived is a relative of everyone else. We are all members of the one human race—Adam’s race—which means we are all sinners in need of salvation.

Now consider what happened at the time of the flood. A massive amount of technology was lost. Except for what Noah took on the ark, the pre-flood world’s technology, architecture, and other expertise were completely destroyed.

It took time for humans to restore knowledge and rebuild technology after the flood. For instance, the Bible tells us that Noah initially lived in a tent (Genesis 9:21).

As time progressed and the population increased on the earth, perhaps some people built homes out of stone. Some may even have taken pieces of the ark to build wooden structures to live in. Others may have found or dug caves to live in. If I had been one of those people, I would have found a cave to live in as I don’t have a talent to build things!

Throughout history, people have lived in different types of structures, depending on the available natural resources, the talents of individuals, and the amount of accumulated knowledge for technological advances.

Now, because of the indoctrination in evolutionary beliefs, many people believe that man evolved from slime, and as he did, he first learned to grunt and then eventually speak. Then he developed stone tools that gradually became more sophisticated as he supposedly evolved.

From a biblical perspective, however, man was highly intelligent right from the start. Adam’s immediate descendants were soon inventing musical instruments and working with brass. No doubt Noah and his family began reinventing some of the technology lost at the flood. As time went on, their descendants developed new technologies as knowledge about the elements and laws of nature increased.

Some people (such as the group we call Neanderthals) probably became isolated from other humans. They lived in caves, invented musical instruments, made jewelry, and buried their dead. Yes, they were “cavemen,” but they were our relatives—descendants of Noah.

They certainly had some external features that made them look a little different from people today, but they were still members of the human race. They may have looked slightly different on the outside, just as Australian Aboriginal people look different from northern Canada’s Inuit, but their genetics clearly show they are all members of the human race.

This brings us to the most important scientific point. In 2000, the Human Genome Project announced to the world that all humans biologically belong to one race. Although the people heading this project did not acknowledge it, they confirmed the Bible’s account of the creation of man—that all people are descendants of Adam and Eve and all belong to one biological race.

Now, because of the immense variability God placed into the genome of each kind of creature, including humans, there is enormous potential for differences on the “outside”—e.g., physical traits. Sadly, many people see these outside differences as major and important—whereas in reality, these differences only reflect the genetic differences that God placed in the genes of each type of creature and humans.

Humans, however, have a difference inside that is vitally important. There are actually two “races” of people! There is only one race biologically, but there are two races spiritually. You are either for Christ or against him (Matthew 12:30); you either walk in light or in darkness (1 John 1:5).

The Bible makes it clear that the two spiritual “races” can be distinguished ultimately only by what is on the inside—the state of one’s heart.

In 1 Samuel, we read the account of Samuel going to anoint a king. He did not know God had chosen David. From the text, we are given the impression that Samuel saw one of David’s brothers and was convinced that he would be the king because of his physical characteristics. However, that was not to be.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, we read, “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

This reminds us all that it is not the outside that matters, but the state of your heart.

It is easy for us as humans to focus on the outside as we look at people—their physical characteristics, their clothing, their lifestyle—but God reminds us that the inside makes all the difference.

As we think about all this regarding the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), we need to remember that the saving power of the gospel is for all our relatives—every human being.

So whether they live in apartments in New York City or in caves in Coober Pedy (real cave-people who even have TV sets) in Australia, or in caves in France, or in ice houses in the Arctic—all humans are descendants of Adam and are thus sinners in need of salvation.

The next time we hear the term “cavemen,”it will make a difference if we consider the fact that all humans are our relatives. What a reminder that, regardless of where people live or what they look like, they are all our relatives!

And everyone has a heart problem (sin) that needs attention. From what we know about most past cultures (including many cavemen), it would seem that many did not deal with their heart problem, and so they died as a member of the wrong spiritual race.

Let that remind us as Christians that we need to do our best to obey the Great Commission so that the good news of the gospel will reach the hearts of every human being. We need to lovingly challenge others to deal with their heart problem and become members of the spiritual race of the Lord Jesus.

Objection: Amazing how all the people in the Americas were killed by the Flood and yet their Indian cultures ancient mythology still mention the Flood.

Response: Actually there was no “Americas” before the Flood – mosts likely one continent that was totally destroyed by the Flood. Flood legends are changed versions of the original account that is preserved in God’s Word.