I know we've had this conversation before, but the argument that God is the designer of life would seem to run into at least some questions around how good a designer he is, or how benevolent he is, based on the nature of some of the creatures he apparently designed.
I can see many things that are clearly NOT what we would call optimum in the world at present, both in human behavior and in other life forms.....but I also believe that a very powerful entity who is an adversary of the Creator has sway over the present circumstances we see in human life and in the natural world in general. Many things seem to fly in the face of a loving Creator.
Taking into consideration the way the Bible describes creation, we see that all creatures were vegetarians to begin with. The fact that no creature was carnivorous tells me that the Creator originally intended that no creature was to harm another. With the giving over of earth's rulership to his adversary (done in order to allow him to prove his case, that he was the better choice as mankind's advisor and deity) it stands to reason that things would not be as God originally intended. He has allowed this adversary relatively free reign and who knows what impact that has had on the natural world? We are told how it affected humankind, but little about how it affected nature.
I believe that a clue is given that reveals how it will become once God's rulership is re-established on this earth.
Through his prophet Isaiah God said.....(and I understand that this may not make any impact on an unbeliever, but for the benefit of those who are......)
Isaiah 65:17-25:
"For look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be called to mind,
Nor will they come up into the heart.
18 So exult and be joyful forever in what I am creating.
For look! I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joy
And her people a cause for exultation.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people;
No more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping or a cry of distress.”
20 “No more will there be an infant from that place who lives but a few days,
Nor an old man who fails to live out his days.
For anyone who dies at a hundred will be considered a mere boy,
And the sinner will be cursed, even though he is a hundred years of age.
21 They will build houses and live in them,
And they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage.
22 They will not build for someone else to inhabit,
Nor will they plant for others to eat.
For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full.
23 They will not toil for nothing,
Nor will they bear children for distress,
Because they are the offspring made up of those blessed by Jehovah,
And their descendants with them.
24 Even before they call out, I will answer;
While they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
The lion will eat straw just like the bull,
And the serpent’s food will be dust.
They will do no harm nor cause any ruin in all my holy mountain,” says Jehovah."
This is the life that any 'normal' person longs for...it resonates in the heart because this is the life we were meant to live...not this poor excuse for a life that we have now, dictated by God's adversary.
The fact that NO creature will do harm to another testifies to me that many things we see now, will no longer be the case in that "new earth" (not a new planet, but a new system of governance that will eliminate all rebels, returning the earth and all things on it to the way it was originally.) Without hope of things ever getting better, how can anyone say that they enjoy living in the world the way it is? Even if there is relative peace in our own household (and this is becoming rarer) the majority of humans on this planet are experiencing anything but ideal living conditions. What workable solutions is man offering them? What can they realistically do without causing more damage and carnage?
