Return to David's theory of evolution and theodicy (Evolution)

by dhw, Friday, June 30, 2023, 10:51 (510 days ago) @ David Turell

Theodicy
dhw: Now your answer is that theft, rape, murder, genocide etc. make us more complete and enhanced, that he was powerless to prevent mistakes, and he was unable to devise a system which would not produce natural catastrophes, plus murderous bacteria and viruses (but he tried hard, though often unsuccessfully, to provide remedies in advance).

DAVID: The bold is a great distortion of the reality of cellular biochemistry: trillions of reactions per second are normal. Then one tiny miscue causes trouble, unless blocked by one of God's editing systems. This is the only system God found that would work.

You seem desperate to confine evil to tiny “miscues” in the biochemistry! What about the rest? As for the bold, it is clear that your God’s “editing” doesn’t always work. So much for his all-powerfulness.

David's theory of evolution

dhw: Summary: I am aware that everyone must eat. The battle for survival does drive evolution. And you have no idea why your God chose to specially design 99 out of 100 species that had nothing to do with his purpose of designing us and our food, which is why you ridicule his method of design as being messy, cumbersome and inefficient.

DAVID: God purposely used an evolutionary process for His own reasons. I can't ever tell you why.

Thank you for confirming that you can find no sense in your theory concerning your God’s messy, cumbersome and inefficient method of achieving what you believe to have been his purpose.

dhw: you have now extended your range of his purposes from the single one (us and our food) to a battle for survival in which 99% of species become extinct. And I have asked why you think he wanted to create such a battle in the first place. My suggestion is that he might have done so because he enjoys creating and watching the ever changing products of his creation. What is your suggestion?

DAVID: Ever-changing? As God is the all-knowing designer of all complex biochemistry, He always knows the results. You invent a form of God I don't recognize.

The ever-changing products are the different species, 99% of which have disappeared.
As usual, you dodge the question. Once more: Why do you think he wanted to create a battle in the first place? I have offered a suggestion and asked for yours, so please tell us yours.

Edited from “bacterial gut help”

DAVID: God cannot control free-living organisms.

dhw: I note that your all-powerful God is now powerless to control free-living organisms. May I suggest that instead of being powerless, he deliberately gave organisms of all kinds the freedom to work out their own means of survival in the dog-eat-dog free-for-all you have described […].

DAVID: I agree.

dhw: A sensational new development in your theory: you agree that your God created a free-for-all. So wouldn’t that explain the 99% of organisms that had no connection with humans? (See also under “More miscellany".)

DAVID: The 0.1% that survived helped to produce humans. That is how evolution works.

That is indeed how evolution worked. And I’m delighted that you have accepted the idea that it is a free-for-all, which means your God did not deliberately design 99% of life forms that were irrelevant to what you believe to have been his goal.