@rabbitearbandicoot wrote:
I had decided to not answer questions from anyone but Bob, but I'll make an exception. I also said 'one at a time' , so that is what I'll do - even though you will make something entirely different of my response.
God says..."I have given you every herb ... and every tree ... for meat." What - even the poisonous ones?
Since many plants have evolved poisons to protect against animals that would like to eat them, God's advice is more than a little reckless.
Would you tell your children to go out in the garden and eat whatever plants they encounter? Of course not.
Let's just break down what God actually gave them to eat, shall we?
Let's use the whole scripture shall we and not just the bit that suits you and your agenda.
The scripture actually says:
"29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
So, what did God say was good to eat?
1.It was ONLY:
a). the "herbs bearing seed"
b). the trees which have "fruit bearing seeds'
c). and more to the point the plants that were current on the earth at the time. I have been told many times on here, most of plants that existed in those times are now extinct or have evolved into something else - you in fact say exactly that yourself.
Now, let's deal with your second point in which you said : "Since many plants have evolved poisons to protect ....".
You can't have it both ways - either they were created poisonous or they evolved poisons - which is it?.
- since you say 'have evolved poisons' it is clear that originally they weren't posionous.
So, maybe God wasn't so reckless after all.
Now, when I feel like casting a few more pearls before swine, I MIGHT respond to another one of those points. They are all as ridculous as each other.
Oh dear - where do I start?
I guess we can start with the fact that I never mentioned..."Since many plants have evolved poisons to protect against animals that would like to eat them, God's advice is more than a little reckless."
Curious. I've read and re-read my post, and cannot find those words anywhere! So is it that you really thought you saw them, or are they only a figment of your imagination?
Secondly, if your god made everything, and only suggested eating...
.a). the "herbs bearing seed"
b). the trees which have "fruit bearing seeds'
Are you aware that at least 99% of ALL plants bear seeds and/or fruit? That also includes the poisonous ones! And still others have friuts which are both edible AND poisonous!
So, why would your god either make poisonous plants, (many very similar in appearence to perfectly safe plants), or indeed, allow poisonous plants to evolve? Seems to defeat his original intentions, doesn't it? Making all vegetation edible by humans?
But - if you take natural selection into account, it becomes a far more plausible solution, in that plants have developed, over time, a defense mechanism to protect themselves from eradictaion by ingestion. In the same way that many animal and insect species have developed poisons or foul smells to ward off potential predators.
Ah, but then again, no - it's god's form of latter-day population control, isn't it? He knew that when he decreed that we should 'go forth and multiply, we'd actually breed like rabbits, so engineered a way of curbing the population! He either didn't warn of the inherent poisons, or planned for them to develop at a later date.
Smart man, your god!
And please - feel free to cast some more 'Pearls before this Swine' - I'm more than happy to tear holes in theistic theories.
