If God exists, why did he create life? (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by dhw, Sunday, December 19, 2010, 18:07 (5087 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

TONY: *MOST* natural catastrophes are *necessary*! Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods, lightning; these are all necessary things. Without them life on this planet would not, could not exist. I am not apologizing for God, that would imply that he would have done something that needed apologizing for. Do you know if the parasite that causes malaria is necessary for the mosquito, or has some benefit for it? I don't and don't pretend to. But I do no it is just another living organism that just happens not to be good for humans. Quite a large number of the natural viruses out there aren't even all that harmful to us. The most deadly ones were created by us indirectly through the indiscriminate use of anti-biotics. Other were transferred to us because we were doing things that were harmful to ourselves and our world to begin with, such as the spread of HIV from monkey's to humans. And as I pointed out a long time ago, every natural disaster, bar none(that I am aware of) gives clear and definite warnings before it hits. If a person chooses NOT to heed those warnings, who is to blame for their death? God?-First let me clear up a slight misunderstanding: an apologist is someone who tries to defend a particular idea. It's not someone who apologizes, and I would not dream of asking you to apologize for God. He alone is responsible for his actions!-If "most" of the natural catastrophes that have indiscriminately killed or maimed millions of people through the ages are necessary for life, then a God powerful enough to create a universe must have been incapable of creating life without indiscriminate slaughter. If that comforts and satisfies you, so be it. What about the catastrophes that are not necessary?-I ended my post by asking: "Why did God create a world in which helpless humans could be destroyed at a moment's notice by forces beyond their control? But to avoid the conventional theological digressions, please focus your attention on natural catastrophes and diseases, and on the time before humans even knew the causes of those diseases." -You have answered with: 
1) a question about the possible benefits of the parasite to the mosquito (strange that in your anthropocentric world the survival of the mosquito has precedence over that of the millions of humans it has killed); 
2) the fact that a lot of viruses are not harmful (but I'm talking about those that are); 
3) the claim that the most deadly viruses are caused by misuse of antibiotics (not produced commercially until the 20th century, and in your response to Dr David's correction you have once more focused only on modern human failings, ignoring all other deadly viruses and diseases that have ravaged humanity throughout its history);
4) a reference to AIDS (not known till the 1980s).
 
As for blaming humans for not escaping, perhaps you think our ancient ancestors should have jumped into their luxury cruisers when God sent down the Great Flood. (I'm using that as a symbol for all such natural disasters and for the helplessness of their victims).
 
I respect your faith, and I acknowledge that my attempts to solve the problem of God's apparent indifference to human suffering are hampered by the limitations of my powers of reason. However, I'm afraid I just can't go along with your exclusive focus on those modern diseases that may have been the fault of humans, and your belief that throughout human history the billions of human deaths caused by "most" of God's floods, earthquakes etc. were necessary for the survival of humans. This sounds to me rather like a lawyer defending his client against the charge of burgling House No. 1 on the grounds that someone else burgled House No. 2, and in any case crime is necessary for the survival of the police force, so who cares about the victims?
 
I'm about to go away for the next two weeks (weather permitting), but in the meantime I sincerely hope that neither you nor I will be struck down by one of God's necessary catastrophes or deadly home-made viruses! Maybe we can maintain a better balance when I get back!