Re: Evidences of God - Animals - Arctic Tern

 On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 21:43:27 GMT in alt.atheism, Jeremy (Jeremy
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) said, directing the reply to   alt.atheism 



>This is a post in a series of postings.  If you haven't read the
>previous post then please do so as it sets the way for this one.
>-----
>
>The argument I am trying to make at this point is that we can see
>evidences of a designer in the world around us.  This is the first post
>of several posts where I want to look at some animals that exist here on
>earth.

[snip]

>I would suggest that the best explanation would be that the system was 
>designed that way.
>
>Again, this is only one example.

Here's another: the Ichneumon  fly.

A particularly nasty variety of insect. 

Ichneumons parasitise most insect groups - especially moths and
butterflies and other Hymenoptera, as well as spiders. 

The females lay their eggs in or on the larvae or pupae (rarely eggs
or adults) of the host. The ichneumon larva feeds on the fats and body
fluids of the host until fully grown, then usually spins a silken
cocoon. The species that parasitise hosts in open habitats usually
develop as internal parasites; those that attack hosts in concealed
places, such as wood burrows, usually feed on the host externally. In
most cases a single larva develops in one host; in some cases,
however, many larvae develop in a single host. 

It is difficult to imagine a good or beneficent God designing such a
means of reproduction, where life is brought forth by the literal
eating alive of another living entity. Such a design may be efficient,
but it is by no means beneficent.

As Darwin said:

I am bewildered. I have no intention to write atheistically. But I own
that I cannot see as plainly as others, and as I should wish to do,
evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. There seems to
me much misery in the world. I cannot persuade myself that a
beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the
Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the
living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. 

The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, New York, Basic Books, 1958,
vol.1 p105 
--
"Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You." 
- Attrib: Pauline Reage.
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