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We can't help but look at life and see all the things that happen. The good as well as the bad. The good events are easily explained because that is the way everything should be on "God's Green Earth." And God is good after all, isn't He? But the bad things. Especially those incidents which spotlight man's inhumanity to man. Like the recent senseless Columbine High School shootings. How can these things occur? Is it because of the Devil. Many people accept this religious philosophy - but not me. |
I try not to be judgmental but when absolutely necessary I try to lay responsibility smack dab on whomever really is responsible. In this case, the obvious "person" who is responsible is ---- God. Who else could it be.Look at the world from the larger perspective where man is only one part of the planetary ecosystem. How do the other species fare? Let's look at the billions of fish in the oceans. How many die a natural death of old age? Would it surprise you to learn, ALMOST NONE. |
And the vast majority die by being EATEN ALIVE. The same thing is true for just about all the insects and animals in the wild. Bugs eat each other. Birds eat bugs. Larger animals eat smaller animals. Every living thing EATs some other living thing - and most often ALIVE. Granted some creatures are vegetarians and cause no harm to other animals - at the "back end" so to speak. But on the "front end" even these have natural predators and don't escape life "quietly." |
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It's a horrifying concept all the way around that only Man has the opportunity to live a full life. And this, only at the expense of a great many other creatures.
So how could this system exist. Well, God is the "Creator." So He must be responsible. The big question is, WHY? Exactly what is the grand plan? Or is it beyond our understanding?
Answer: There is no grand plan! At least not one in which all creatures' thoughts and actions are micro-managed. Consider the following. Why is it that people don't arm wrestle themselves. Or play chess or checkers by themselves.
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The answer is that we'd have complete power and control over whatever we wanted the outcome to be. These games would be completely boring. No challenge, no sport, and let's face it, no fun whatsoever. Now God has absolute power over E V E R Y T H I N G. He could control each and every living creature every instant of all of their and our existences. But what would be the point? Why would He even bother in the first place? Answer - H e w o u l d n' t ! And the reason is that even God cannot escape the truism that there is no challenge and no surprise if the outcome is guaranteed in advance. Yes, even God can be bored. So rather than control everyone and everything, what God does is "set the stage."
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He creates the universe and the laws of physics and nature - then stands back and watches His handiwork. Evolution may occur over a time frame that makes the phrase "glacially slow" appear fast to us. But from God's eternal reference point, evolution really doesn't take that long at all. And remember, God isn't constrained to straight line passage through time. He can move both forwards and backwards. He's given us every opportunity to be kind to one another, to live in concert with other species, to safeguard the world for future generations - to make the world a utopia. He's watching it all happen. The good and the bad. There's much of each. And He's not bored. |
