Dinesh D'Souza On Why We Need Earthquakes
D'Souza reviewed a book for Christianity Today titled, Rare Earth, written by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee, which he recommends. The answer proffered is that without earthquakes, "the planet couldn't support creatures like us." Here's my response:
I see nothing in the natural order of things that could not be fixed by God through perpetual miracles. As far as the theist is concerned the laws of nature are just that anyway, perpetual miracles. As David Hume wrote, the ordering of the world by natural laws "seems nowise necessary for God." And if divine hiddenness is invoked then there would be no one who would ever conclude God was involved if the Indonesian tsunami did not take place, precisely because it didn't happen. I wonder if Christian theists have really thought through the implications of a God who prefers the present set of natural laws that exist over constant divine miraculous maintenance. Is God lazy or something? What is there that is more valuable to God about this present ecosystem that takes precedence over human suffering? Besides, it seems obvious and even noncontroversial that the more power and influence someone has to avert suffering then the more that person has a responsibility to do something about it. If all it took was a “snap” of the fingers for God to stop that underwater earthquake which caused the Indonesian tsunami that slaughtered a quarter of a million people, then an omnipotent God is to be ultimately blamed for not doing so. And if God’s so-called “reason” for not doing so is to control over-population then a much better population control method would be to reduce our mating cycles in the first place.
Click for the Link.
[First posted 4/28/09]
I see nothing in the natural order of things that could not be fixed by God through perpetual miracles. As far as the theist is concerned the laws of nature are just that anyway, perpetual miracles. As David Hume wrote, the ordering of the world by natural laws "seems nowise necessary for God." And if divine hiddenness is invoked then there would be no one who would ever conclude God was involved if the Indonesian tsunami did not take place, precisely because it didn't happen. I wonder if Christian theists have really thought through the implications of a God who prefers the present set of natural laws that exist over constant divine miraculous maintenance. Is God lazy or something? What is there that is more valuable to God about this present ecosystem that takes precedence over human suffering? Besides, it seems obvious and even noncontroversial that the more power and influence someone has to avert suffering then the more that person has a responsibility to do something about it. If all it took was a “snap” of the fingers for God to stop that underwater earthquake which caused the Indonesian tsunami that slaughtered a quarter of a million people, then an omnipotent God is to be ultimately blamed for not doing so. And if God’s so-called “reason” for not doing so is to control over-population then a much better population control method would be to reduce our mating cycles in the first place.
Click for the Link.
[First posted 4/28/09]