Do you think that God recognizes the problems of the world and therefore plants occurrences such as AIDS, cancer, and natural disasters in our society as a way to keep the population in check?

Let me answer your question with some of my own. When you’re confronted by some sudden threat, do you think God, recognizing your danger, stimulates in your body an increase in heart rate, muscle strength, blood pressure, and glycogen metabolism, causing epinephrine to be released into the bloodstream and prolonging the acceleration of such bodily functions? When a boat has been overloaded with too much cargo, do you think God recognizes this condition and causes it to sink? When an airplane has been badly designed, do you think God recognizes this fact and causes it to crash?

I’m confident your answer to all these questions is no. God (if such exists) has fashioned a universe that operates well and in a consistent way (which, incidentally, is why we’re able to understand its operation) without the necessity of his constantly having to intervene to set things right.

God no more created the AIDS virus to keep the human population in check than he created humans to keep the elephant population in check.

ID: 431
posted: 05 Sep 1999
updated: 05 Sep 1999