Purpose of Death Part 2 - Animal Death

We have not yet proved this, but if you will, assume for the moment that God created life billions of years ago. It is a fair question to ask why God would use the death of organisms and animals in his good and very good creation? The PC position is that the death of lower organisms over a roughly 4 billion year period of time was used by God to:

1. transform the earth into an environment fit for higher life forms
2. provide the natural resources that would be needed by humans
3. natural ecology
4. population control for herbivores and food for carnivores

Transforming the Earth
There were lots of changes that were needed in the transition from the primordial earth to the earth which supports advanced life. The faint sun paradox is probably the best example. It can be researched in full at this link:

http://www.reasons.org/resources/fff/2002issue10/index.shtml#faint_sun

To summarize, the early earth’s sun was much hotter than it is now. As it aged it cooled. However as less and less heat is generated by the sun, the earth and its atmosphere needed to adjust in sync with the changes. It is postulated that God used photosynthetic plants, bacteria and methanogens (methane consuming bacteria) along with plate tectonics and volcanic activity to transform the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere to the exact amount needed at each epoch of time corresponding to the luminosity of the sun. Note this is a theory on how God may have done this – subject to further study, and we would not claim that this is absolutely without doubt the way God did this.

Providing Resources for Humanity
When bacteria and other small creatures died and were buried before being eaten by other creatures, they would take water, methane, and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and chemically transform them into fats, sugars, starches, proteins, and carbonates. When buried, they form a wealth of biodeposits such as limestone, marble, fossil fuels, and concentrated metal ores.

Natural Ecology, Population Control, and Food for Predators
Life and death and decay form an integral part of natural ecology at work. The food chain in a given ecosystem is fine-tuned for the optimal survival of the entire system. Take for example an isolated island with a group of herbivores but no predators. It would not take long for the island to be stripped bare of vegetation as an exponential growth in herbivore population occurs. Predation is essential to a lively ecology.

Dr. Ross summarizes this point well.

The timing of humanity’s arrival—near the end of life’s long tenure on Earth—may appear tragic at first glance. But a longer look suggests it may be viewed as a gift. Scanning the horizon of civilization—farms, ranches, towns, cities, and all the transportation and communication arteries linking them—one sees a plethora of building materials derived from nearly 4 billion years of life and death: gems, sand, steel, asphalt, concrete, copper, limestone, marble, plastics, etc. Most of the energy that drives civilization comes from biodeposits—oil, coal, wood, kerogen, natural gas, and so forth. Many of the fertilizers that support agricultural production also come from biodeposits—phosphates, nitrates, and such.

Such bountiful provisions powerfully indicate a Provider who carefully planned and prepared the planet through the ages for human life. They speak of a purpose for the human race. The Bible reveals a purpose that involves, yet goes beyond, the current “heavens and Earth.” [1]

In addition, stay tuned for a more detailed study in our section addressing the theological issues of animal earth.

Notes:
[1] http://www.reasons.org/resources/fff/2002issue10/index.shtml#faint_sun