"13. Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14. Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, 15. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her labour is in vain without fear; 17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding." (Job 39:13-17)
The truly amazing thing about this passage is not that God created a merciless ecosystem where certain animals are incapable of caring for their young, but the fact that the ancient writers, like most unobservant theists today, honestly did not give the matter a second thought! Characteristically, God-believers have always tended not to notice when heinously sadistic characteristics of the "nature" that God created are pointed out to them. Apparently, they have willfully blinded themselves to the implications of God saying he knowingly created an inept creature who is naturally an unfit mother! Why on earth would your god do that, theists?
Population control? Maybe, but if that is so, it is not only wasteful and unnecessary (God could just lessen the amount of eggs laid instead of having them crush them), but not part of what this text says at all. It says she crushes them because she is stupid! She can't help it. She is profoundly dumb! She just doesn't know any better! God intentionally created what would be the inspiration behind the reference, "bird brain." God gave those much needed IQ points that were supposed to go to the bird to us, so we could speak eloquent flatteries to God and remind him of how great he is. I'm sure, if the bird was smart enough to contemplate her short-changed situation, she'd pray for wisdom.
It is a known fact that if a manatee mother has two or more calves, she will often leave all but one behind because she is incapable of counting past one. Like his mother, that lost manatee calf may not be very smart, but I'm certain it experiences the same sense of horror and distress when it is deserted as one of our own children would getting lost in a mall or being sent to an orphanage.
Apologists are content to dilly-dally with what they consider to be new and improved versions of various philosophical arguments and biblical textual evidences that "prove" the God of the Bible's existence. What they should do instead is take a step backwards and deal with simple but inexcusable problem passages like this one!
(JH)
The truly amazing thing about this passage is not that God created a merciless ecosystem where certain animals are incapable of caring for their young, but the fact that the ancient writers, like most unobservant theists today, honestly did not give the matter a second thought! Characteristically, God-believers have always tended not to notice when heinously sadistic characteristics of the "nature" that God created are pointed out to them. Apparently, they have willfully blinded themselves to the implications of God saying he knowingly created an inept creature who is naturally an unfit mother! Why on earth would your god do that, theists?
Population control? Maybe, but if that is so, it is not only wasteful and unnecessary (God could just lessen the amount of eggs laid instead of having them crush them), but not part of what this text says at all. It says she crushes them because she is stupid! She can't help it. She is profoundly dumb! She just doesn't know any better! God intentionally created what would be the inspiration behind the reference, "bird brain." God gave those much needed IQ points that were supposed to go to the bird to us, so we could speak eloquent flatteries to God and remind him of how great he is. I'm sure, if the bird was smart enough to contemplate her short-changed situation, she'd pray for wisdom.
It is a known fact that if a manatee mother has two or more calves, she will often leave all but one behind because she is incapable of counting past one. Like his mother, that lost manatee calf may not be very smart, but I'm certain it experiences the same sense of horror and distress when it is deserted as one of our own children would getting lost in a mall or being sent to an orphanage.
Apologists are content to dilly-dally with what they consider to be new and improved versions of various philosophical arguments and biblical textual evidences that "prove" the God of the Bible's existence. What they should do instead is take a step backwards and deal with simple but inexcusable problem passages like this one!
(JH)
Joe,
ReplyDeleteLet me be the first to congratulate you here on your new blog. You are off to a good start. I think it's going to be as good as your other great projects, and I have enjoyed them and learned a lot from them. Keep up the good work.
Bill Dearmore
Thanks, Bill.
ReplyDelete(JH)