Re: [asa] Designed Kangaroos?

While Genesis 3 should not be read as historical narrative, & while of course not all death, suffering &c can be attributed to "the fall," we get into difficulties if we make the story only a theological statement about our own sinfulness. The question of an origin of sin in the first humans has to be dealt with - otherwise we're likely to be in the position of saying that human nature itself is "sinful and disobedient" and that therefore God is the creator of sin. Gen.3 is indeed a theological statement about the fact that all human beings sin, and thus about the fact that the first humans (whoever & whenever & wherever they were) sinned. Again I'll refer to my recent PSCF article at http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2006/PSCF6-06Murphy.pdf .

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Iain Strachan
  To: David Opderbeck
  Cc: Michael Roberts ; Peter Loose ; asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2007 1:56 AM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Designed Kangaroos?

  I found the following explanation rather more helpful:

  I cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe, and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. I am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance.

  Darwin - letter to Asa Gray - (1860)

  It would of course take too long to give a full explanation as to why God allows bad things to happen. But I can't accept that it was _literally_ due to one historical woman and her husband eating a piece of fruit. My example was to show how unacceptable a literal interpretation is. The account is clearly an allegory of our own sinful and disobedient nature and our need for salvation.

  If we give cosy examples of God "designing kangaroos for jumping" then we get a good feeling, but if we think about God designing tigers expressly for ripping gazelles apart then it's not so easy.

  Anyway - I'm off on holiday, so won't be responding for a while.

  Iain

  On 7/28/07, David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com> wrote:
    So what is your explanation Iain? Does this help?

    On 7/27/07, Iain Strachan < igd.strachan@gmail.com> wrote:

      On 7/27/07, Michael Roberts < michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk> wrote:

        I don't see design and evolution in contradiction but I would want to ask why God designed the Ebola virus.

      Trivial. God designed the Ebola virus because a real man and a real woman ate a piece of fruit that they weren't supposed to in 4004BC.

      Really, Michael, you lack of knowledge is truly shocking!

      Maybe what's more shocking to some is that I don't believe my explanation.

      [ Ducks to avoid hail of rotten fruit ].

      Iain

  --
  -----------
  After the game, the King and the pawn go back in the same box.

  - Italian Proverb
  -----------

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Sat Jul 28 11:17:34 2007