I'm reading a fascinating book called Rare Earth on how the precise combinations of everything necessary to sustain complex life appear to be exceedingly rare in the universe. I was rather amused, though, to come across the following line:
"If some god-like being could be given the opportunity to plan a sequence of events with the express goal of duplicating our 'Garden of Eden,' that power would face a formidable task. With the best intentions, but limited by natural laws and materials, it is unlikely that Earth could ever be truly replicated."
Now I realize this statement is just trying to express the uniqueness of earth, not attack God. But while intelligent design theories are frequently (and inaccurately) being ridiculed for creating a "God of the gaps" who does the stuff too hard for us to figure out, it amuses me that these authors seems to think that the design of the universe is too complex even for God to handle.
If you are going to bring God into the question at all, you ought to at least hypothetically let Him have the attributes He's commonly claimed to have. An omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being is the 200-lb gorilla of the universe: He can do anything He wants.
2 comments:
hmmm... why ? What if some refuse to take the "leap of faith" ? :o)
I, for one, do not regard God as you do.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book - I am about to read it again.
Cheers - AM
I'm not critiquing anyone's faith or lack thereof here--I'm just pointing out that if you are going to bring God into the discussion, you need to be willing to seriously grapple with the idea. If there is an all-powerful, all-knowing being, then creating a particular planet would, of course, not be hard for him.
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