The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity by J. B. Stump & Alan G. Padgett

Author:J. B. Stump & Alan G. Padgett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2012-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Flourishing and Floundering

The next question is how accurate IN and CT are with respect to the condition of life on earth.4 (Here we assume background information that includes the truth of evolution.) What we find when we examine our biosphere is that, for a variety of biological and ecological reasons, organisms compete for survival, with some having an advantage in the struggle for survival over others; as a result, many organisms, including many sentient beings, never flourish because they die before maturity, many others barely survive, but languish for most or all of their lives, and those that reach maturity and flourish for much of their lives usually flounder in old age; further, in the case of human beings and very probably some non-human animals as well, floundering or languishing often involves intense and prolonged suffering.

In this section, I will defend the claim that, given evolution, IN is much more accurate with respect to these facts than CT is. I will provide two supporting arguments for this claim. First, I will show that, on the assumption that CT is true, we have good reasons to be surprised by these facts, reasons that we do not have when we assume that IN is true. Second, I will show that, on the assumption that IN is true, there are good reasons to expect these facts, reasons that we do not have when we assume that CT is true.

Christian theists must at least start from the position that human beings and other sentient organisms are supposed to flourish (hence the motivation for the doctrine of the Fall). After all, almost all sentient organisms are capable of flourishing in biologically realistic circumstances. This is proven by the fact that many do flourish and by the fact that the differences between those that do flourish and those that do not are in almost all cases relatively small. Second, sentient organisms have a good – they certainly can be benefited or harmed – and no sentient organism can achieve that good without flourishing. Third, a God, being perfect in moral goodness, could not care more deeply about sentient beings achieving their good, and being perfect in power and knowledge, could not be better positioned to ensure that sentient beings achieve their good. Therefore, what we know about the condition of living things on earth, including the fact that huge numbers of human and other sentient beings never flourish at all before death and countless others flourish only briefly, is extremely surprising given CT. It is not what one would expect to find in a living world created by the Christian God.

Granted, it is possible that an omniscient God would have good moral reasons unknown to us to permit sentient organisms to flounder. This is why claims about what God would prefer must be prefaced with “other moral considerations held equal.” But it is also possible, and no less likely, that such a God would have good moral reasons unknown to us to prevent sentient organisms from languishing – reasons in addition to the reasons that are known to us.

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