Originally posted by twhitehead
Many theists argue that the universe was 'cursed' after Adams downfall. Now I am not sure what to call that. A 'malicious' designer?
It's called punishment for original sin. As a loving father chastises his child to teach him moral right from wrong, so God is chastising us. Theists disagree on whether only man is being punished, or all of creation, for man's sin. Some theists have held that lions were vegetarians in the paradisiacal state before the fall, and that lions too fell, subsequently eating lambs (which before had lived in peace with lions).
There was, allegedly, no death or disease before the fall. So disease must be part of the 'intelligent design' whereby man is being punished. Now consider HIV. The best available evidence to date indicates that the virus affected simians first and jumped species to infect humans. The logical conclusion must be that, if there is intelligent design at work in disease, then God uses apes as incubators, as guinea pigs for diseases to punish man. Malicious design from the ape's standpoint, I guess. Ah, but apes have no souls, a theist will reply. So their suffering doesn't count in the overall moral economy of the universe.
One of the things that bothers me most about the intelligent design position is that it is so far far beyond egotistical that it can only be called ego
maniacal--as if
everything, from viruses to galaxies (cf. Ross's video, linked above), were here just for
us. It's looney tunes.