"How is it then, that so many animals seem fully designed to be
meat-eaters? Some produce deadly poisons, others have armored plates
as elaborate defense mechanisms. If animals were created to live in
harmony, what was the purpose?"
John then discusses 4 (actually 5) scenarios that he feels are Biblically
acceptable. I wonder how many on this list would agree?
1a) "The first is that God, in His foreknowledge, knew that soon things
would change, and so He created animals with features they would need
in the new economy."
[amateur theologian mode on] I've always have trouble with this type of
argument. Does God knowingly set up someone to fail? Did Adam (and Eve)
really have free will to choose or was he (were they) set up? [mode off]
it wouldn't take long for Adam to sin; otherwise some creatures were going
to have a tough time in paradise getting proper nourishment. I sort of feel
sorry for that rattlesnake who would be trying to subdue wild asparagas with
his poisonous fangs ;-).
1b) "Or it may be that these features had some other more benign function
originally."
Again that herbivorous rattlesnake comes to mind!
2) "The second option is that a great deal more potential for variation
was placed in the original genome. At first the animals were designed
to live a herbivores lifestyle, but adopted new habits in the more
harsh world following the curse. Today, following many generations of
variation, adaptation, and selection, animal groups have speciated so
much that extensive variation is impossible."
Wow! That is a more extreme version of evolution than the most ardent
"evolutionist" would promote. Where does his microevolution stop and
macroevolution begin? Granted, John hints that this type of evolution may
be diminishing - since now "...extensive variation is impossible."
3) "Or it may be that something more sinister was involved. Remember
the overall scenario. Lucifer, [...snip...] may have set out to ruin
God's beautiful creation.... Is it possible that this highly intelligent
being performed breeding experiments, or genetic engineering on both
mankind (Genesis 6:2-4 perhaps) and the animals, in his attempt to mock
the true Creator/God and usurp His authority? Perhaps even the ancient
legends of composite mixtures of beasts and half men/half beast have
some basis in fact."
This is my favorite! Its the devil's fault! This argument sounds a lot
like the one used to explain away fossils as creations of the devil.
4) "...[I]n His infinite wisdom, God completely changed creation, with all
things dying and some animals quite vicious, from then on giving eloquent
testimony to the awful consequences of sin. From then on, whenever Adam
saw one of the animals kill another, he would have experienced remorse
for what he had brought on creation."
This is J. Morris' preferred scenario. Yet I really have trouble with it:
God creates evil in the world as a judgement for man's sin. A child dying
from the ebola virus is to remind me of my inherited guilt. I guess I have
trouble reconciling this picture of God with the one I see at Easter.
Steve Smith
[The opinions expressed here are my own
and should not be attributed to my employer]
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