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Why does G-d create so much life?

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
If God planned everything out, then why are there miscarriages and birth defects?

That doesn't negate planning, or rather foreknowledge.

If we read Job, we understand that God withstands evil for the sake of evolution; a gradual process. God knows, but Job presumes. Trial and error precedes Job, in the expulsion from Eden.

Jacob strived with God and overcame.

Sidenote: Job's complete righteousness and Jacob's overcoming God are both exaggerations, entered into impossibility.
 

arthra

Baha'i
There are more species of life of Earth than there are stars in the galaxy. Biologists estimate that Earth is home to one trillion species.
The Largest Study of Life Forms Ever Has Estimated That Earth Is Home to 1 TRILLION Species
Why do you think G-d creates so much life?

Thanks for sharing that the earth is home to so many species! I'm a Baha'i and in our belief God emanates the universe somewhat as the sun shines rays of light. It's part of God's nature. The Creator always has a creation and there will always be a creation.

"The dependence through the creatures upon God is a dependence of emanation: that is to say, creatures emanate from God, they do not manifest Him. The relation is that of emanation and not that of manifestation. The light of the sun emanates from the sun, it does not manifest it. The appearance through emanation is like the appearance of the rays from the luminary of the horizons of the world: that is to say, the holy essence of the Sun of Truth is not divided, and does not descend to the condition of the creatures. In the same way, the globe of the sun does not become divided and does not descend to the earth: no, the rays of the sun, which are its bounty, emanate from it, and illumine the dark bodies."

Bahá'í Reference Library - Bahá’í World Faith—Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Section Only), Pages 315-316

"The Creator always had a creation; the rays have always shone and gleamed from the reality of the sun, for without the rays the sun would be opaque darkness."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 281
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
That doesn't negate planning, or rather foreknowledge.

If we read Job, we understand that God withstands evil for the sake of evolution; a gradual process. God knows, but Job presumes. Trial and error precedes Job, in the expulsion from Eden.

Jacob strived with God and overcame.

Sidenote: Job's complete righteousness and Jacob's overcoming God are both exaggerations, entered into impossibility.
My post was in reference to post #36 in regards to God's supposed "plan", with my response questioning that concept in regards to therefore why miscarriages and birth defects. IOW, are they also part of "God's plan"?

To put it another way, I have problems with any kind of predestinationist concept because it posits God being the instigator of things that also go bad and not just good.
 

corynski

Reality First!
Premium Member
Yes, organic life feeds on organic life. So?



Why is this a curiosity to you?
I'm thinking of the pain inherent in eating living creatures, and in particular I'm thinking of humans eating other humans in those years and years long ago when living in small hunting and gathering groups was likely extremely precarious. Imagine a starving group encountering a few lone hunters.... Even the Bible mentions cannibalism in 2 Kings 6:29. Why weren't we created vegetarians?
 

corynski

Reality First!
Premium Member
I prefer to praise G-d for a lot of wonderful things that have happened over the centuries.
And ignore all the rest? How can you get an accurate picture of the world if you only look at part of it? Reality is 100% of what's out there to my mind. And 'god' says he creates it all, the good and the ugly, making me think otherwise.... It's a brutal world if you haven't looked at it recently.......
 

leibowde84

Veteran Member
Not trying to be sardonic,

But do you really believe, that God started the process, including setting up everything necessary to support life, but had no particular plan in mind for what all this work would result in?

And that the emergence of one single species in a trillion, capable of pondering his creation, making use of all his resources, deducing his own existence... all a bizarre unintended coincidence?
I have yet to see any reason why it would not be the case. When you consider the fact that we don't know we are the only life form that considers its own existence (there could be many other planets with complex life ... but, sadly, would most likely never come into contact with them) along with the fact that life on earth is almost 4 billion years old, it doesn't seem unbelievable at all. It is amazing, no doubt, but there is nothing unreasonable or illogical about it.
 

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
My post was in reference to post #36 in regards to God's supposed "plan", with my response questioning that concept in regards to therefore why miscarriages and birth defects. IOW, are they also part of "God's plan"?

To put it another way, I have problems with any kind of predestinationist concept because it posits God being the instigator of things that also go bad and not just good.

That's what I'm responding to..

That's not necessarily true. But, we find that idea with Isaiah for example, or Jeremiah. For them, God does orchestrate from both angles.

But in reality it's not an orchestration, or a plan. We're referring to an unchanging God, outside of time; a static blueprint for a fluid material space-time.
 

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
That's assuming both are correct, which I don't.

Again, I don't work from those assumptions.

I'm aware. But if you consider it, you might find some of those problems you have with fatalism go away.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
I'm aware. But if you consider it, you might find some of those problems you have with fatalism go away.
I don't have problems with fatalism, at least as far as I know, so I don't know where you're coming from with that. Maybe you can explain? However, for reasons I previous mentioned, I do have a problem with the predestinationist approach.
 

Akivah

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking of the pain inherent in eating living creatures, and in particular I'm thinking of humans eating other humans in those years and years long ago when living in small hunting and gathering groups was likely extremely precarious. Imagine a starving group encountering a few lone hunters.... Even the Bible mentions cannibalism in 2 Kings 6:29. Why weren't we created vegetarians?

I don't know. But cannibalism in human history is the exception, not the norm.
 

Akivah

Well-Known Member
And ignore all the rest? How can you get an accurate picture of the world if you only look at part of it? Reality is 100% of what's out there to my mind. And 'god' says he creates it all, the good and the ugly, making me think otherwise.... It's a brutal world if you haven't looked at it recently.......

Yes, and there is a lot of goodness there as well. The media focuses almost entirely on negative news.
 

corynski

Reality First!
Premium Member
I don't know. But cannibalism in human history is the exception, not the norm.
Thousands of years I'd guess, from the beginning until now. Tremendous amount of pain for animals too..... And why would a god create two sexes? Such grief in the world just because we have two sexes... It just doesn't seem designed to me in any way.
 

DennisTate

Active Member
What's up, Dennis? Good to see you!

David.... I honestly think that you were inspired to mention this forum.....
I have some stuff going on that I believe has to reach a lot of people fast....
all across the religious and philosophical spectrum.... and this is the perfect place to do it.....

I will send you a personal message over on the other forum that will give you a heads up on why it is important
that I found this forum......
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Only if one takes the literalistic approach to Genesis.
Why wouldn't one take a literalistic approach to Genesis?

I mean, I realize that the literal approach doesn't match the facts, but why would we assume that the intended meaning of the story was supposed to take into account facts that weren't known when the story was written?

What in the story would have been implausible to a 1400 BC-ish audience or author?
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
We're referring to an unchanging God, outside of time; a static blueprint for a fluid material space-time.
We are?

Since creation is an act of change - actually, all acts involve change - how could an unchanging God be a creator god? An unchanging god is a god that, by definition, never does anything.
 

Sleeppy

Fatalist. Christian. Pacifist.
We are?

Since creation is an act of change - actually, all acts involve change - how could an unchanging God be a creator god? An unchanging god is a god that, by definition, never does anything.

Exactly right.

We exist within spacetime. We perceive a creation, or a beginning, when in fact there isn't one.
 
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