GOD APPROVES OF NATURAL DISASTER;
GOD MORALITY APPROVES OF NATURAL DEATH AND SUFFERING !
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God is depicted as looking over the expanse of creation on the sixth day and declaring that all he had made was "very good." This means that God declared that everything was very good, not just some of it. That includes parasites, predators and predation, natural disasters, and all sorts of nasty things that cause death and suffering.
These nasty, terrible things aren't merely unfortunate side effects of what is good; no, they are themselves just as good as everything else. What kind of morality or justice is that?
Genesis 1:31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
So, what does this passage tell us? First, we already know that God is directly and personally responsible for everything in existence. This is something frequently cited by believers as a reason for worshipping their god, after all — absolutely nothing that exists could exist if it weren't willed to be so by God.
Second, the text quoted above states that God "saw every thing that he had made," which means that God is also fully aware of everything that has been created. Thus there was nothing in existence and nothing going on that God didn't know about and didn't understand. This excludes the possibility of something coming into existence by accident or something popping up unexpectedly. It doesn't require that God be omniscient, though that quality is typically attributed to God by believers.
Third, it tells us that God evaluated all that he made and decided that it was all "very good." It's not merely acceptable or the best that could be achieved under the circumstances, but "very good." This is an evaluation that applies to every thing in existence equally. There's no equivocation and no hint that some features are unfortunate but necessary. Thus it's not just flowers and rainbows that are good, but also parasites, predators, and natural disasters.
Appreciating the Horror of Natural Disasters
It's all well and good to talk about natural disasters in the abstract, but it's important to stop and take a closer look at just how horrible natural disasters can be. Remember, they are causing the deaths and suffering of real people — millions upon millions of real people — as well as untold numbers of animals.
The worst natural disaster ever, and certainly of the 20th century, is thought to be the flooding of central China over the summer of 1931. First the Yellow River, then the Yangtze and Huai rivers flooded their banks. At least one million people are believed to have died from drowning alone, with up to three million more dying from disease, famine, and other problems produced by the flooding.
This wasn't the only time flooding from the Yellow River caused devastation in China. In 1887, between one and two million dies when it flooded its banks. China in general has had more than its share of disasters, with a 1556 earthquake in Shaanxi killing over 800,000, a 1976 earthquake in Tangshan killing around 500,000, and a 1920 earthquake in Haiyuan killing over 200,000.
All of this death and destruction occurred in just one region of the planet over the past five hundred years. If we expand our search to just include the rest of Asia, or even just southern Asia, we'll find more disasters, each killing hundreds of thousands of people. As in with the natural disasters in China, these are products of the natural world working as it always has.
Granted, human action on the environment can make these disasters worse, but even if we were to assume the worst of human contributions and exclude that portion, these events would still end up killing tens and hundreds of thousands at a time. What's more, there are natural disasters which we know are coming and which we know will cause massive devastation without our help.
The list is long, and leaving aside threats from space one of the worst may be massive caldera like the one in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It has blown before and, sooner or later, it will blow again. Most of North America will be covered in at least some ash. The Midwest won't be able to grow anything for a decade and the climate of the planet will shift for years at the very least.
It won't be an extinction-level event, but the death and devastation will be unprecedented and it won't be our fault in any way. No, it will simply be the planet operating normally — or, according to Genesis, operating as it is designed to.
Apologizing for Natural Disasters
Even the most ardent apologist won't try to argue, though, that disasters like these are "good," much less "very good." At most it's argued that such disasters are unavoidable necessities — that natural disasters is somehow needed for all the genuinely good things in existence. Sometimes it might be argued that the disasters are punishment for wicked behavior, even though the ones being "punished" include many who are innocent.
I think that the morality and justice of God can reasonably be judged by looking at the sorts of things which God deems moral and just. According to God, natural disasters that kill millions are all "very good." What does this say about the morality and justice of God? Just how moral is it to consign so many creatures to death and suffering due to disasters like floods, earthquakes, and volcano's?
Is It Moral to Create Parasites, Predators, and Death
What are you feelings on the issue? Do you agree that calling natural disasters "very good" is a sign of immorality and injustice, or is there some way to read and interpret this biblical passage that makes God look more moral? If so, your solution cannot add anything new that's not already in the biblical text and cannot leave out any details that the Bible provides.
GOD MORALITY APPROVES OF NATURAL DEATH AND SUFFERING !
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God is depicted as looking over the expanse of creation on the sixth day and declaring that all he had made was "very good." This means that God declared that everything was very good, not just some of it. That includes parasites, predators and predation, natural disasters, and all sorts of nasty things that cause death and suffering.
These nasty, terrible things aren't merely unfortunate side effects of what is good; no, they are themselves just as good as everything else. What kind of morality or justice is that?
Genesis 1:31: And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
So, what does this passage tell us? First, we already know that God is directly and personally responsible for everything in existence. This is something frequently cited by believers as a reason for worshipping their god, after all — absolutely nothing that exists could exist if it weren't willed to be so by God.
Second, the text quoted above states that God "saw every thing that he had made," which means that God is also fully aware of everything that has been created. Thus there was nothing in existence and nothing going on that God didn't know about and didn't understand. This excludes the possibility of something coming into existence by accident or something popping up unexpectedly. It doesn't require that God be omniscient, though that quality is typically attributed to God by believers.
Third, it tells us that God evaluated all that he made and decided that it was all "very good." It's not merely acceptable or the best that could be achieved under the circumstances, but "very good." This is an evaluation that applies to every thing in existence equally. There's no equivocation and no hint that some features are unfortunate but necessary. Thus it's not just flowers and rainbows that are good, but also parasites, predators, and natural disasters.
Appreciating the Horror of Natural Disasters
It's all well and good to talk about natural disasters in the abstract, but it's important to stop and take a closer look at just how horrible natural disasters can be. Remember, they are causing the deaths and suffering of real people — millions upon millions of real people — as well as untold numbers of animals.
The worst natural disaster ever, and certainly of the 20th century, is thought to be the flooding of central China over the summer of 1931. First the Yellow River, then the Yangtze and Huai rivers flooded their banks. At least one million people are believed to have died from drowning alone, with up to three million more dying from disease, famine, and other problems produced by the flooding.
This wasn't the only time flooding from the Yellow River caused devastation in China. In 1887, between one and two million dies when it flooded its banks. China in general has had more than its share of disasters, with a 1556 earthquake in Shaanxi killing over 800,000, a 1976 earthquake in Tangshan killing around 500,000, and a 1920 earthquake in Haiyuan killing over 200,000.
All of this death and destruction occurred in just one region of the planet over the past five hundred years. If we expand our search to just include the rest of Asia, or even just southern Asia, we'll find more disasters, each killing hundreds of thousands of people. As in with the natural disasters in China, these are products of the natural world working as it always has.
Granted, human action on the environment can make these disasters worse, but even if we were to assume the worst of human contributions and exclude that portion, these events would still end up killing tens and hundreds of thousands at a time. What's more, there are natural disasters which we know are coming and which we know will cause massive devastation without our help.
The list is long, and leaving aside threats from space one of the worst may be massive caldera like the one in the Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It has blown before and, sooner or later, it will blow again. Most of North America will be covered in at least some ash. The Midwest won't be able to grow anything for a decade and the climate of the planet will shift for years at the very least.
It won't be an extinction-level event, but the death and devastation will be unprecedented and it won't be our fault in any way. No, it will simply be the planet operating normally — or, according to Genesis, operating as it is designed to.
Apologizing for Natural Disasters
Even the most ardent apologist won't try to argue, though, that disasters like these are "good," much less "very good." At most it's argued that such disasters are unavoidable necessities — that natural disasters is somehow needed for all the genuinely good things in existence. Sometimes it might be argued that the disasters are punishment for wicked behavior, even though the ones being "punished" include many who are innocent.
I think that the morality and justice of God can reasonably be judged by looking at the sorts of things which God deems moral and just. According to God, natural disasters that kill millions are all "very good." What does this say about the morality and justice of God? Just how moral is it to consign so many creatures to death and suffering due to disasters like floods, earthquakes, and volcano's?
Is It Moral to Create Parasites, Predators, and Death
What are you feelings on the issue? Do you agree that calling natural disasters "very good" is a sign of immorality and injustice, or is there some way to read and interpret this biblical passage that makes God look more moral? If so, your solution cannot add anything new that's not already in the biblical text and cannot leave out any details that the Bible provides.
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