DEATH: HUMAN VERSUS EVERYTHING ELSE
Romans 5:12 is commonly used as a “prooftext” for death entering
the world as a result of sin: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world
through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because
all sinned.” If we take seriously the words of Scripture, we need to pay
attention to how this verse ends. If the intention was that death in general
was introduced by human sins, then the verse should have finished with “so
death spread to all” or “so death spread to all creation.” It says neither. The
wording specifically says “so death spread to all men”-to all humans (plural
of anthropos). The wording limits the scope of the curse of death to
those with the capacity to sin—humankind.
This is consistent with the wording of Genesis 2:17, where Adam
was warned, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Again, if we take the
choice of words seriously, God did not say “everyone will surely die” or
“You will bring death into the world.” He declared “you will surely die.”
The recipient of this death is specific to the one with the capacity for disobedience.
DEATH AND EXILE
The subject of death becomes complicated when we realize it is not
simply a physical phenomenon. If it merely represented the cessation of
biological function, then it would be hard to argue that a distinction could be
made between animal and human death. But human death in the Bible is far more
than biology. Death if often equated in Scripture with exile—separation from
the abiding presence of God. It is for this reason that the curse of death on
Adam and Eve was first manifest by being cast from the garden—exile. It is the
same reason that Proverbs 12:28 can boldly declare.
In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.
The righteous will, in fact, experience physical death; what they
will not experience is separation from God. This threat of death is unique to
humans.
DEATH: EFFICIENCY VERSUS WASTE
Within Christian circles, death is often spoken of as wasteful. So
many creatures born only to die and decompose. The order once imposed on the
land in the days of creation is believed to be working daily in reverse toward
the unordered and unfilled pre-creation chaos. And yet, any actual study of nature
reveals the opposite. It is an incredibly orderly system, with the products of
death and decomposition serving as the source of material and energy used by
the next generation of life. The system God put into place is one of continuous
recycling and rejuvenation. Nature may not always conform to our liking (our
cursed experience with nature, but is a beautifully crafted system.
Some may recognize the above but still protest that nature as a
whole is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. The cosmos is a constant
state of decline into greater disorder. It is not evidence of working back
toward tohu wabohu? It is not, for the simple reason that the system of
which creation principally speaks—the place of human habitation—is receiving a
constant supply of order-enhancing energy. The combined sun-earth system
experiences a net increase in disorder as the sun works toward its long
burn-out, but the earth as beneficiary of the sun's light, constantly
experiences localized increases in order. Just consider the transition from
seed to tree, larva to butterfly, or fertilized cell to human baby. All
represent incredible increases in order, happening in billions of organisms
even now. It is a system designed to last far into the future, with no fear of
running out of justice before the return of Christ and final redemption.
CARNIVORY AND “PLANTS AS FOOD”
The fact that Eden has boundaries, and getting kicked out was bad,
means conditions inside and outside the garden of Eden were not the same. IT is
possible that the description of plants for food was the condition inside the
garden. Carnivory outside the garden could have existed without posing any
threat to Adam and Eve. Being cast out did not change nature, but placed humans
in an environment where protections were now less certain—comparable to finding
oneself on the wrong side of a glass barrier at the tiger exhibit.
CARNIVORE DESIGN
Finally, consider the design of predators. They are exquisite
creatures, fashioned in intricate detail for their place in the ecosystem.
Claws, fangs, talons, mandibles, fast-twitch muscles, digestive systems, and
much more all work together to ensure that prey can be captured, rendered, and
digested. In carrying out their role in nature, they ensure that herbivores do
not overrun the plant, wiping out plant life.
At what time did carnivores attain their designs and roles? And
who was responsible? If one were to suggest they were made this way from the
start but initially only ate plants, this means they were poorly designed for
life until sin came along. Alternatively, if one were to suggest their bodies
morphed into carnivorous forms at the fall, this would make sin, or perhaps Satan,
a master creator on par with God. Neither of these options fit with what we
find in Scripture, where God delights in feeding lions their prey and the
sporting of Leviathan in the seas—with every indication it was so from the
start. (Gregg Davidson and Kenneth J. Turner, The Manifold Beauty of Genesis
One: A Multi-Layered Approach [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Academic, 2021],
180-82)