God and evolution (Evolution)

by dhw, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 14:27 (2794 days ago) @ David Turell

TONY: I know I am late in coming to this conversation, but once again it seems like both of you are overlooking the simple, basic concept of "a time and place for every activity under heaven."
Why would god create animals before plants? Why would god create humans before animals?

Genesis 1
Then God said: “Let us+ make man in our image,+ according to our likeness,+ and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every creeping animal that is moving on the earth.”+ 27 And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.+ 28 Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth+ and subdue it,+ and have in subjection+ the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth.”
29 Then God said: “Here I have given to you every seed-bearing plant that is on the entire earth and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. Let them serve as food for you.+ 30 And to every wild animal of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving on the earth in which there is life,* I have given all green vegetation for food.”+ And it was so.

WHY would god create mankind to "have in subjection" all the animals if there were no animals created? Why would he create all the animals if there were no "green vegetation for food" for them to eat. Things happened in their proper TIME.

DAVID: Tony, you are quite correct. Of course animals had to come first and then plants and finally humans. My point is God does not see this as delay but preparation.

This is a different and welcome approach to the subject, but it glosses over most of the problems raised by David’s reading of God’s mind. I’ll continue to wear my theist’s hat, but I can’t think of any way in which to bring our three approaches under one umbrella except by asking some questions. I’ll cut out references to evolution, at least for the time being, since you don’t believe in it.

1 Do you think God’s only purpose in creating life was to produce humans, and everything else was related to that goal?

2 Do you think God specially designed (by preprogramming or dabbling) the weaverbird’s nest, the monarch butterfly’s lifestyle and the fly’s compound eye, and he did so in order to “prepare” the way for humans, or to keep life going until humans arrived? (Please stick to these examples, which are carefully selected from a long list of “natural wonders” that David has posted.)

3 Similarly, do you think that all extinct life forms, lifestyles and natural wonders were specially designed by God and related to the goal of producing humans?

4 Assuming God is purposeful, what do you think was his purpose in creating humans and all the creatures under human “subjection”?

Apologies again for the interrogation!