Balance of nature illustrated (Introduction)

by dhw, Monday, February 02, 2015, 15:40 (3582 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I don't laugh at the obvious fact that living organisms are interdependent, and that if certain elements change their balance, some organisms may flourish and others may become extinct. That is how evolution has always proceeded - with Nature constantly changing its balance, as species come and go. What makes me cringe is the claim that God planned every little twist and turn, right down to preprogramming or separately creating half the weaverbird's nest, half the monarch's lifestyle, half the spider's silk etc., in order to balance Nature in such a way that it could end up with human beings. -DAVID: Keep on cringing. You yourself have said all these theories are possible.-Individually, yes, I accept the alternative, hypothetical possibilities of a) atheistic chance, b) an autonomous inventive mechanism (theistic or atheistic), c) divine preprogramming (within limits - I share your “dilemma” on this one, multiplied by about 100) and/or dabbling, d) that God wanted to create human beings, e) that human beings were not part of God's scheme. I also accept the possibility of certain combinations of these hypotheses, but there are some I would exclude as being too far-fetched, and the one above is among them. I shall indeed keep on cringing.