In 1859 Charles Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.. Opponents of his view, notably the Christian Church, misunderstood his ideas and thought he believed that human beings evolved from apes.. This misunderstanding persists even today, nearly 150 years later! It is astonishing that so much education has failed to overcome this silly idea.. Humans and apes evolved from an animal that was not quite like either of them - a common ancestor. Apes have evolved alongside humans.