Sin and Death
(This topic is very much linked to the age of the Earth, please see Earth's age page)
Young Earth Creationists (YEC) claim that the Bible teaches that there was no animal death before human sin.
Yet the Bible teaches:
Romans 5:12 “Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and so death passed to all mankind in turn.”
This is clear: death came to “all mankind”, not animals. Why would God kill millions of animals due to one man’s one sin? YEC claim that mankind's sin killed millions of animals, which is just not in the Bible; it is an emotional appeal to their worldview. Sin only affected mankind, as only humans sin. The death sighted is both spiritual death (why humans need saving), and the physical death of mankind.
God gave us 66 Books in the Bible, each of which is the Word of God. If studying a topic, like death and sin, one needs to check all 66 Books for info on the topic, not just look for one verse that supports your viewpoint.
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Animals do not sin, so sin does not kill them, same message as Rom 5:12
A predator-prey balance is good, and God said it was good. Predators play a key role in maintaining ecosystem health. They help keep deer and elk populations in check, why we have wolves. Too many deer hurt the ecosystems. A healthy population benefits many other plant and animal species. The carcasses of their prey also help to redistribute nutrients and provide food for other wildlife species. Predator and prey in balance is good see: Psalms 147:9, Job 12:7-10, Job 38:39, Psalm 104:21
The YEC claims are not found in the Bible:
1) The claim: God cursed the earth and changed the laws of physics when sin entered the world. The Bible only says that mankind's work would be harder because of this sinful nature. Mankind had changed, not the earth. The Bible and the Record of Nature state that the laws of physics have never changed. See Unchanging physical laws, see Jeremiah 33:25.
2) The YEC teaching on the state of the earth before sin is unrealistic. Large animals like: elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes are walking around and eating, but somehow every step on, or eat, or kill any ants, beetles, or other small animals. Did whales swim with their mouths shut for day(s)? YEC has lions, wolves, hyenas, other cats, and wild dogs walking around hungry for days or eating plants they cannot digest. This is not in the Bible.
YEC sight Gen 1 where God said "and it was good" as proof there was no animal death before human sin. This is adding words to the Bible. Predator-prey balance is good. YEC have a very low view of the Bible. YEC claim that poetry in the Bible, like the Book of Psalms cannot be used for Bible truth. Psalms 147:9 and Job 12:7-10 say predators are part of God's plan from the start. Romans 8:22 says decay was part of God's plan from the start. But YEC will tell you about their feelings, how the natural death of animals is evil, and God is not evil. So why would God plan for millions of years of plant and animal death? The record of nature tells us why God said it is good, as He made creation. Death was needed to give us millions of tons of biodeposits for human technology. The millions of barrels of oil and tons of coal are from millions of years of plant and animal death. Carbon gypsum (dry wall) and concrete are from millions of years of plant and animal death. Millions of years of plant life and death made the 21% oxogen in the air we need. Death is not evil and the Bible does not teach this. Philippians 1:21: "1 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Death is not evil!
YEC leaders who make personal attacks on others who disagree with their worldview (YEC) are not Bible leaders. See Age of the Earth page
YEC Hominem attacks: A common tactic among young earth ministries is to use emotional appeals and ad hominem attacks on old earth creationists. In a "A Question of Age" conference, pitting young earth and old earth creationists, Answers in Genesis speaker, Jason Lisle presented a very insulting talk, including intimidating Christians (by implying that believing in an old earth is equated with following Satan) and showing missiles being shot at the cross (by old earth creationists). Such tactics are unworthy of those who claim the name of Christ. Implying that old-earth creationists worship another God is tantamount to claiming they are non-believers.
Detailed info:
Young-earth websites and videos primarily appeal to emotion (e.g., "millions of years of suffering and death"). In contrast to the young-earth pages, this page cites over 60 biblical passages that support the Bible's claim that there was animal death, but no human death, before Adam's sin. Most Young Earth creationists claim that there was no death before the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. The doctrine is primarily tied to two passages - Genesis 1:29-30 in the Old Testament and Romans 5:12 in the New Testament. Used 0ut of context, without considering the remainder of the Bible, the verses seem to support the doctrine. Genesis 1:29-30 says that God created plants with seed and fruit and gave them to the animals for food. Romans 5:12 says that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin. Even among young-earth creationists, there are differences in opinion about what kinds of death did or did not occur before the Fall of mankind. Some say that there was no death of any creatures - plants, animals, or humans. Others say that there was no animal or human deaths prior to the Fall. The Bible claims that only humans did not die prior to Adam's sin.
The idea that no creatures, including plants, died prior to the Fall is the extreme position of a minority of young-earth creationists.3 They claim that only parts of plants are eaten, and, therefore, no plants actually die. Although many grazing animals eat only the tops of grass or leaves, leaving the plant alive, there are exceptions. Even grass grazers occasionally pull up whole plants (including the roots), resulting in the death of entire plants. Some animals eat only roots, such as gophers. Once the roots are eaten, the plant quickly dies. Many sea animals eat diatoms and microscopic plants - ingesting and killing entire organisms. So, unless God changed the way these herbivores eat, plants surely died during the fifth and sixth days of creation.
Some young-earth creationists claim that the Bible indicates that plants do not die. Therefore, eating them does not constitute death. However, the Bible specifically compares the deaths of humans to those of plants, making this idea ridiculous. Both the Old Testament and New Testament compare the deaths of humans to the deaths of grass, flowers, and herbs. Therefore, the idea that the Bible claims plants don't die is not at all supported. Since it is obvious that plants died before the Fall, most young-earth creationists say that the death referred to in Romans 5:12 was the death of animals and humans. Let's examine Genesis 1 and 2 to determine what it says about the death of animals.
Genesis 1:29-301 says that God created plants with seed and fruit and gave it to the animals for food. However, the verse does not say that all animals ate only plants. It merely says that the plants were given as food. Ultimately, all animals rely upon plants for food - even the carnivores. In addition, this decree was never rescinded as it was for humans.7 There is no verse in the Bible stating that animals could, at some point, start eating meat. Genesis 1:29-30 applies only to a specific class of animals. The text indicates that plants were given to the nephesh8 creatures - those that have a soul (mind, will, and emotion). A partial list is given, including the beasts of the field, the birds, and the creatures that creep around. Notably missing from the list are the large creatures of the sea, created on the fifth day. With few exceptions, these animals are all carnivores. Did God make them starve until after the Fall? Finally, as we shall see, Genesis 2 specifically tells us that animals did eat each other prior to the Fall.
God created the carnivores on day 6, before mankind: Genesis one specifically describes the creation of wild animals. Which are the carnivores? The Hebrew words used to describe the creation of these animals refers to animals that eat other animals.
Adam named the animals, using terms that described their carnivorous activity
Before the creation of Eve, God brought the animals before Adam for him to name. The text makes it clear that Adam, and not God, named the animals. This is important for an understanding of what Adam had seen prior to the Fall. If the young earth creationists are correct, one would expect the names of the carnivores to reflect the non-carnivorous activities of these creatures prior to the Fall. However, Adam gave some very unusual names to some of the carnivores. For example, the Hebrew name for lion is derived from the Hebrew root that means "in the sense of violence." Was Adam referring to the violence with which the lion ate its vegetables? It doesn't seem likely! In addition, Adam named some of the predatory birds using a Hebrew word with the meaning "bird of prey." Were these birds preying on fruits and nuts? In naming the eagle, Adam used the Hebrew word whose root means "to lacerate." Was the eagle ripping up plants with its talons? Likewise, the Hebrew root for the word "owl" means to "do violence to" or "treat violently." Although it is possible that Adam named the animals in some language other than Hebrew, and that those names were entirely different than the Hebrew ones, there is no biblical evidence for this idea. Even so, if the names were transliterated into Hebrew at a later point, one would assume that they would carry forward their original meanings, or else the Bible would have never made a big deal about Adam giving the animals their names. If the naming of the animals by Adam was important enough to be put into the Bible, one must assume that those names had meaning that related to their character. Otherwise, why would God have bothered to make Adam go through the exercise of naming the animals. Throughout the Bible, names are given great significance.
Adam's names for carnivores Animal: Lion "in the sense of violence". Cormorant "bird of prey". Hawk "unclean bird of prey". Eagle "to lacerate" and Owl "to wrong, do violence to, treat violently, do wrongly". It is abundantly clear from the names given to the carnivores by Adam that he had seen these animals in action - eating other animals prior to the Fall of mankind. The idea that all animals ate only plants prior to the Fall is contradicted directly by the biblical texts.
The young-earth contention that carnivorous activity began at the fall is without a biblical foundation. In fact, it directly contradicts scripture, since such a drastic change in animal behavior would have required God to continue the creation process - something the Bible says He stopped doing after the sixth day. If this were true, then God must have changed some of the animals to become carnivorous. Why would God judge the innocent animals for the sin of mankind and condemn them to the "evil" laws of survival of the fittest? If God did change some of the animals to become carnivorous, it must be one of the better-kept secrets of the Bible.
God does not see the death of animals as being cruel. So, in essence, these young-earth creationists reveal that either they don’t understand God or care what the Bible says.
What does scripture say happened after the fall? The reality is that God judged only those who committed sin. The serpent (Satan) would crawl on his belly and be bruised on the head by the seed of the woman. Eve was judged by having more pain in childbirth.21 Adam was judged by having to work harder for his food. There were no other judgments made by God, since all the guilty parties were punished. God does not pass judgment upon the innocent. The young-earth idea that God would punish the innocent along with the guilty actually denigrates the character of God.
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22) All about mankind, no other.
Young Earth creationists say that God judged the animals on the basis of man's sin. However, the Bible says that God is completely righteous in His judgment and does not judge the innocent with the wicked. This young-earth doctrine maligns the character of God. In addition, if one says that animals first died due to sin, then one would have to say that animals have the capacity to sin. Nowhere in the Bible is this doctrine taught. Likewise, if Romans 5:12 is referring to animal death, then the rest of the chapter would have to refer to Christ's death to redeem the animals. This is outrageous! Finally, applying animal death to 1 Corinthians 15:21 would imply that Jesus' death would allow the resurrection of the animals, in addition to His followers. Such cavalier uses of scripture to support one's own interpretation borders on cultic methods, and needs to be corrected by the Church.
God is directly involved in the deaths of some animals to provide food for other animals:
“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,” (Job 38:39) [God speaking]
“Who prepares for the raven its nourishment, When its young cry to God, And wander about without food?” (Job 38:41) [God speaking]
The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. (Psalm 104:21)
There is the sea, great and broad, In which are swarms without number, Animals both small and great... They all wait for Thee, To give them their food in due season. (Psalm 104:25, 27)
“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.” (Luke 12:24) [Jesus speaking]
If God is responsible for causing “this brutal and sickening scene,” does it really matter if the time is millions of years or thousands of years? Sin is sin, whether it be a lot or a little. Since God says that He is directly involved in what young earth creationists say is “cruel, sadistic, and ugly”, then there must be two options. First option, God is a killer. Second option, YEC and Answers in Genesis is wrong (death is not evil).
The purpose of millions of years of death
Young earth creationists have asked what the purpose for millions of years of animal death before the creation of mankind, claiming that old earth creationists have never given an adequate explanation. Although we cannot be certain of God’s motives unless specifically described in the Bible, there are some very good reasons why God spent billions of years preparing the earth for the arrival of human beings. First, time doesn’t mean anything to God, since He created time, along with the universe. Even young-earth creationists believe that God created time. Second, the size and nature of the universe allows us to see God’s glory. If it were to have been created instantly, we would have no idea about its origin. The third reason for billions of years of life before the creation of mankind was to prepare the earth for human civilization. The lives and deaths of plants, animals, and bacteria, buried through the actions of plate tectonics, and converted through high temperatures and pressure, has left the earth with an immense supply of biodeposits. Most people think only of petroleum products—oil, natural gas, and coal—which power modern civilization. The Bible even mentions use of these products before the flood (contradicting the young earth assertion that oil deposits are the result of the flood). However, in addition to high energy biodeposits, living organisms are responsible for the vast stores of limestone and marble (formed from the shells of countless mollusks, corals, etc.). Bacteria are responsible for indirectly forming many of the concentrated metal ores found in the earth. Without all these biodeposits, modern civilization would not be possible. Most Christians believe that modern communication methods (which are dependent upon these biodeposits) will allow us to fulfill the Great Commission within this century. This alone is a great reason why God spent so much time (our time, not His) preparing the earth for human arrival.
Young earth creationists claim that millions of years of animal death reflects negatively upon the character of God, since they say that He would never create a world that was “cruel, sadistic, and ugly.” However, young earth creationists claim that God vindictively condemned the animals to thousands of years of death and suffering because of human sin. Contrary to young earth theology, in the Bible God says that He is a willing participant in the deaths of some animals to feed others. So, young earth creationists actually judge God's actions on the basis of what they think God should do, instead of accepting His stated plan for the role of animals on the earth.
Ref:
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. (Romans 8:22)
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John Terborgh et al., “Ecological Meltdown in Predator-Free Forest Fragments,” Science 294 (2001), 1923-26.
Robert Leo Smith, Elements of Ecology and Field Biology (New York: Harper and Row, 1977), 47-71.
Robyn J. Crook et al., “Nociceptive Sensitization Reduces Predation Risk,” Current Biology 24 (May 19, 2014): 1121–25.
https://blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2012/08/why-predators-protect-biodiversity.html
Some petroleum comes from prehistoric plankton, algae, and microscopic organisms that inhabited ancient seas for millions of years.
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