Re: [asa] Neo-Darwinism and God's action

Hah! Who knows? I certainly don't.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: D. F. Siemens, Jr.
  To: drsyme@cablespeed.com
  Cc: asa@calvin.edu ; jarmstro@qwest.net
  Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 9:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Neo-Darwinism and God's action

  Can there be intelligence without the potential for suffering?
  Dave (ASA)

  On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:50:32 -0500 "Jack" <drsyme@cablespeed.com> writes:
    I did not mention pain, I mentioned suffering, they are not the same thing. And we are not talking about getting hurt falling out of a tree, we are talking about a child being devastated by Cri-du-chat, or a parent fading away with Alzheimer's disease, and many other things. Its a lot harder to find justification for things like that.
      ----- Original Message -----
      From: D. F. Siemens, Jr.
      To: drsyme@cablespeed.com
      Cc: asa@calvin.edu ; jarmstro@qwest.net
      Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 5:34 PM
      Subject: Re: [asa] Neo-Darwinism and God's action

      I have noted that everything we don't like is condemned as somehow reflecting negatively on the Creator. But please explain to me how a planet without death could be anything but static. Also, we now have many diagnostic tools, though we don't always use them well. But how would beings before the time of modern medicine know about potential threatening matters without pain? If I am free to climb a tree, I may fall, with negative consequences. Should God guarantee that I come to no harm? restrict freedom?
      Dave (ASA)

      On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:28:28 -0500 <drsyme@cablespeed.com> writes:
        I purposely avoided the term "evil". And even though I know that our perspectives are finite and limited, I still think that a universe whose structure requires death, waste, suffering, failed attempts, useless DNA, cancer, dementia, etc. requires some theological work to make Christianity intellectually rigorous.

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Received on Mon Feb 18 22:33:55 2008