It’s not God’s job to cut deaths, it’s ours

I have read Nicholas Hales’ letter (Bath Chronicle, July 2) with great care.

Nicholas speaks of creationists’ beliefs and accuses the writers of the Old Testament of falsely using paradigms to explain things and of lies in the Old Testament, an implication of deliberate intention to mislead.

Christians, including Catholics, believe that both the Old and New Testaments are divinely inspired by the Holy Trinity of God the Father, maker of Heaven and Earth and

Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord and the Holy Spirit, Lord and giver of life.

Surely the story of the Garden of Eden and the temptations of Eve and Adam are still a wonderful teaching metaphor or short cut.

Somewhere along the evolution of Homo sapiens, either over many generations or fairly quickly, the full knowledge of good and evil came to us humans and we became fully aware and responsible for our actions. Science presently seems to indicate that we are all descended from one African woman, who crossed into the region of the Fertile Crescent at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the traditional location of the Garden of Eden. May be the Bible is not that inaccurate.

As for Noah and the Ark, when I was a child, rather a long time ago, a toy Noah’s Ark filled with pairs of animals, not dinosaurs, was the wished-for Christmas present.

I have read various modern evidence-based theories supporting the idea of a massive flood, perhaps as a result of the retreat of one of the ice ages. Maybe this coincided with the disappearance of Neanderthals, who may have been the half-way house to Homo sapiens.

But I ought to concentrate on the “placebo effect” of religion. I have set my sights on “the wondrous face of Jesus” and I also look forward to meeting my guardian angel to thank this angel of God for so much. This is my plan A, my placebo. If there is no afterlife, only a “Great Big Nothing”, I do not need a plan B.

Nicholas Hales ends with that great thorny question: why does God heal Julia from cancer and do nothing about the millions of children dying every year from preventable causes?

The answer is simple, because these children’s deaths or stunted growth are preventable, it is up to us to manage things so that very substantial reductions are achieved.

Among preventable causes are our inclination to carry wars to the bitter end, climate change, lack of knowledge of good farming and medical and hygienic practices, lack of materials, tools and education, all things requiring effort to overcome.

We have exhibited tremendous effort to cope with Covid-19, it can be done, if there is a will. This is our job not God’s – after all, Julia only turned to God when the medics could do no more. Bernard Barron Bath