How much time do you spend thinking about bacteria, fungi, and viruses, collectively known as microbes?
Lately, we’ve all probably thought about germs a little more, but where did these disease-causing microbes come from if God declared His creation “very good”?
When creation biologists view microbes from the creation perspective, they start with the biblical assumption that the original microbes were beneficial. Let’s look at one microbe which is feared for the death it causes: cholera. Cholera causes severe intestinal illnesses in humans. It commonly comes from contaminated food or water. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera, which makes a variety of poisons.
Most strains of Vibrio cholera grow harmlessly on almost all ocean shells and some fish. Their purpose is to break down chitin, sea shell material or the exoskeletons of shrimp, crabs and other sea creatures. If this microbe did not break down chitin, our oceans and beaches would be littered with billions of shells. With the chitin broken down, nutrients are returned back to the oceans. Cholera has a beneficial purpose. It was created “very good”.
Just because something in nature causes harm, there is no reason to conclude that it was originally created to have this purpose. Death, disease, bloodshed, and evil exist because of the downward deterioration of creation once sin entered the world, not because everything was originally created this way. This was due to mankind’s sin and the curse, not how God originally designed it. The useful purposes of even deadly bacteria, such as cholera, clearly demonstrate this Biblical principle.
(Source: Inspired Evidence – Joe Francis, Answers Magazine, Good Designs gone Bad Sept. 2009)
0 Comments