Evolution took a long time (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, February 01, 2017, 15:34 (2632 days ago) @ dhw

QUOTE: "[…]here is also what I call ‘the big-picture defence’, claiming that evil only appears as such from our limited perspectives. Were we able to see things from the perspective of God, we would see that, in the grand scheme of things, every apparent evil plays a necessary role in making the world more perfect".

dhw: I’ve only quoted this argument because I think it applies equally to David’s evolutionary hypothesis: if only we could see things from God’s perspective, we would see that every innovation, lifestyle and natural wonder extant and extinct plays or played a necessary role in producing human beings. I see both cases as being based on the premise that no matter how illogical an argument may seem, the proponent knows God’s intentions and we should not ask awkward questions.

No one knows God's intentions. We make logical guesses, and try to defend them..

DAVID’S comment: My thought is the same as before. The author's mistake is the usual one, using religion as a starting point. Part of the problem is ascribing to God that He loves us. We do not know that. But God has given us a giant brain to solve the problems presented at least as far as disease presents, as asteroids present, as earthquakes and severe weather present. We have cured much disease and will do more, we can learn to redirect asteroids, and develop better warning systems for earthquakes and weather, as examples of our capabilities. I believe in a tough-love God who expects us to solve problems. Life in the Garden of Eden is easy but boring.

dhw: I like your final comment. It echoes my own hypothesis regarding God’s motive for creating life on Earth. Life in an eternal vacuum would have been easy but boring.

The remainder of your comment raises the question of what you mean by tough love and who you mean by “us”. To take one example, I can’t see any kind of love at all in the death of a child from a natural (as opposed to man-made) disease, tsunami, earthquake, flood, tornado created by your God who expects “us” to find some kind of cure or preventative measure. You said that humans matter to him, but if he doesn’t care about individuals and only about “the big picture”, regardless of the sufferings he has caused, you are coming perilously close to the hypothesis that he created all this for his own entertainment.

"us" should be obvious. It is the human population of Earth. "Tough love" is the best way to parent. Ask my kids how I taught them to budget. We can try to explain why disease is allowed by God, but we also know viruses are used in genetic manipulations to advance evolution; tsunamis are earthquakes and without plate tectonics, there would be no life. My answer to you is there are tradeoffs that God had to allow. We really don't know if He cares about individuals. Religions hope so. Adler gives the odds as 50/50. I view God as a serious operative who never looks for entertainment as a purpose. You are humanizing him constantly.