Board index ‹ Creation and Evolution

[Shepherd]

This question really only applies to Christians who believe in Intelligent Design, or who don't believe in evolution at all.

Why would God create parasites like tapeworms, heartworms, or these things: https://youtu.be/XEnc0B93wRw

[jimwalton]

The argument of intelligent design doesn't insist that we can explain every occurrence in the universe as of optimal perfection, but instead that the universe has so many particulars present that are of very narrow parameters that it's implausible that so many things of such refined constraints just happened—and aren't we the lucky ones.

I don't particularly subscribe to the "Intelligent Design" camp, but I do believe that the universe shows so many elements of fine-tuning that one has to run circles of logic and science to avoid that plausibility of an intelligent source.

Second, I do believe in evolution, so maybe I'm not the audience you were hoping for.

Still, the point of my first paragraph still stands, if that's helpful to you. Proponents of ID don't necessarily claim that every minuscule detail is explainable by ID.

[Charon]

> The argument of intelligent design doesn't insist that we can explain every occurrence in the universe as of optimal perfection

But it should, assuming the designer is perfect/omnipotent/etc. Every less-than-perfect thing in the universe is a point against the perfect designer hypothesis.

[jimwalton]

Part of my post that I guess you missed was that I also believe in evolution. The system was designed to change on its own. As I'm sure you know, some mutations are beneficial and some are deleterious (like a corona virus). God didn't create these, but they arrive as the system plays itself through the way God made it to progress (through natural selection and genetic mutation, adaptation and accident you know the science).

As we can see, God created the universe to be dynamic, not static. A states universe would be basically non-functional, but a dynamic one allows for detrimental effects. All things considered, a dynamic universe is vastly superior to a static one, and is even necessary for life. The result of that is we occasionally get things like tapeworms and corona viruses. The Bible doesn't teach dualism (Yin/Yang), but it does teach a certain symbionce between positives and negatives, what is helpful and what is deleterious. After all, we know that some viruses are beneficial and some are disastrous (like the Black Plague of the 14th c.). The fact that the universe doesn't have everything in uber-perfection is no reflection on a stupid designer, but more a manifestation that the Designer knew what He was doing in creating a dynamic world. Aside from all the environmental and biological necessities of dynamism, such "problems" (like volcanoes, earthquakes, parasites and viruses) are really what spurs science on. Despite their detriment, we can also view these elements as gifts to call us to scientific inquiry and knowledge.