A Question of Throats

Image by FotoFyl / Erifyli Tsavdari

Sometimes answering anti-Christian questions on Quora doesn't require any special knowledge of biblical scholarship or Jesus' teachings. Sometimes it just requires a little logic. And this time it seemed like some people might take my answer more easily if I approached it the way an evolutionary biologist might, then transpose it into the key of Christian belief. That may make it a bit easier for the questioner to see why we aren't "bothered" by God's design of the human throat.





Q: Why aren't Christians bothered by the fact that God made man with a throat that is used for breathing and eating? It’s a highly inefficient design.

A: From an evolutionary viewpoint, regardless of our opinions of the efficiency of this design, it's widespread development in numerous animal groups (e.g., birds, reptiles, mammals, etc.) suggests that it’s a dependable, tried-and-true mechanism. Although other designs are found in nature (e.g., the spiracles and air sac design found in bees), natural selection has seemingly chosen the ”throat design” for most land animals, including humans.

Therefore Christians who see humans as designed by God needn't worry. Although their God may not have chosen a design favored by modern engineers, he has installed a mechanism in his birds, reptiles, and primates, including humans, that has proven over time to be quite satisfactory.

Do Exoplanets Shake Your Faith?

Exoplanets

Courtesy of NASA/JPL

Not that long ago it was a doubtful idea that we would ever find planets outside our solar system. Yet according to Wikipedia we've now found 3,537 extrasolar planets since 1998. Once in a while you will see this fact (or the possibility we may find life on one of those planets) offered by journalists as something that might, well... shake the faith of Jesus' followers right down to our boots.

Because faith is such a precious, fragile little thing, you know.

There are a number of reasons people offer as to why life on other planets might disturb us, one of which is the notion that Jesus would have to visit each and every one so he could die horribly all over again. As one theologian recently put it, "It's been argued for a couple of centuries now whether one incarnation of God as Jesus Christ for the entirety of creation is sufficient."

Fortunately, early Christians have already been there and done that.

Cosmic

According to the Apostles, the sacrifice of Jesus is of cosmic significance. It isn't limited to the planet it took place on; it isn't limited at all, in fact. In any way. It touches every person that exists.

The early Christian movement was pretty clear on this. Paul the Apostle, for instance, told Jesus' roman followers that, "the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God," (Letter to the Romans 6.10). The Letter to the Hebrews is even plainer: "He came to offer himself only once. And that once is enough for all time. He came at a time when the world is nearing an end. He came to take away all sin by offering himself as a sacrifice," (Hebrews 9.26 ERV).

"Christ died for all," Paul succinctly puts it, "therefore all have died," (Second Letter to the Corinthians 5.14).

"Once for all" -- One death and resurrection, infinitely valuable, is able by itself to put the sins of the universe right -- and what other universes there may be.