Caterpillars

In the Toronto freebie daily 24 hours of July 15, 2008 it was reported that a lady tourist who was trekking in northeastern Peru on an organized tour in 2007 had “a freak encounter with tragic consequences”. Ten days after stepping on 5 caterpillars of the Lonomia genus she died. These caterpillars defend themselves from their perceived enemies by secreting a toxin that causes hemorrhaging in humans.

This, of course, is an example of how our universe has been fine tuned for our arrival by an intelligent and benevolent designer who loves us.

To address this bit of noxious mayhem scientists set about concocting an antivenin to counteract the effects of the toxin.

Humans realize that the world in which they find themselves is replete with unknown dangers inimical to their health and life. Life is not easy; it is precarious and can be wiped out in a flash from all manner of natural phenomena.

To say that the universe is designed for the appearance of human life is to say that the designer is a sick kid in love with booby traps. Is this done for the amusement of the creator?

Humans seek a better world than the one that was prepared for us. We do this through the investigation of our world and inventing improvements that make life more comfortable. Hence Carl Sagan's book, The Demon Haunted World, subtitle makes sense: science as a candle in the dark. We have no operating guide for the universe. We must write our own as we go along. No God is more compatible with the indifferent world we find ourselves in than any deity proffered by religion.

Would we not expect to find an uncaring environment in a world without a benevolent designer?

I forget who said it but: “the universe did not know we were coming and now that we have arrived it doesn't give a s__t. “