God and mass extinctions of life

As humanity has learned more about the history of life upon Earth a startling realization has emerged from the discoveries of the past: there is not only one but several absolutely catastrophic events when almost all life forms have faced extinction.

New and more accurate information about the rock sediments and their chemistry, patterns of distribution of life forms and organisms, statistics of fossils and comparisons of geological layers and their contents have brought the cycle of life and death into better focus.

History of life is generally grouped into major periods, Old life, Middle life, New life, or in Greek Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Today the evidence seems to suggest phases of radiation, such as the Cambrian explosion of life, followed by stability of the life forms followed by a violent End of the World.

Biologists are not convinced about evolutionary patterns between Ediacaran and Cambrian organisms. It may well be, that future science will find evidence of massive extinction of Ediacaran enigma.

The awful destruction of life upon earth at the end of Permian seems to have wiped out over 90% of the known life forms bringing an abrupt end to the Paleozoic era. The statistics may be exaggerated but the numbers are there in the scientific publications.

First major mass extinction widely known to the public is the Yucatan hit of an asteroid probably leaving the Kuiper belt some160 million human years earlier. At about 65 million years ago the asteroid crashed on what is today Gulf of Mexico causing "nuclear winter" and the extinction of much of the flourishing life in the Mesozoic world. This brought to end the rule of dinosaurs upon Earth and opened way to us mammals to take over.

There are probably many more massive extinctions of life forms - I am just providing some examples of what this thing is.

God of Israel
For many smart people it is quite difficult to understand how a rational God who is supposed to be good and loving would create life forms and then mercilessly destroy them in whatever way He chooses. Philosopher's God does not look like that. You create something ... so let it stay.

But the God of Israel we meet in the Bible is behaving in such an irrational manner.

The Great Deluge described in Genesis 7 is an intentional mass extinction of all life upon Earth. 

And the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, all that was on the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man and cattle, and the creeping things and the fowl of the heaven, and they were destroyed from the earth. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
Genesis 7:18-24 KR21

I am not saying here anything about the Flood as a historical event. I am simply saying, that this is what is written in the Bible about the God of Israel.

Hebrew spirit brings also here ethics and morality saying that the cause of the Flood was the evil deeds of people. The comparable myths in Sumer and Babylonia lack this aspect ... the gods were annoyed that people made so much noise or there was some other not-so-ethical reason for the Flood from which Utanapishtim survived in a big boat. 

The Bible is telling, in fact, that God of Israel intends to bring massive destruction and extinction upon Earth in the near future. The apocalyptic writings and especially the Book of Revelation talk about not so nice eschatologic events divine will allows upon humanity and nature followed by a new beginning, a new world.


Remnant stays
The continuous experience of the Jewish people is a rather awesome God. They have faced mass extinction not only in the gas chambers of the Third Reich but also in the hands of the cruel Assyrians and the mighty Babylonians and were almost destroyed by Amalek when not yet a nation. Their experience is that when God is in action, a remnant stays.

Unless the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isaiah 1:9

In the nature we see similar action by God of Israel - the next period of life is somehow already present in the current fauna and flora. There is continuity despite of the mass extinction and disappearance of highly successful designs like the trilobite that survived for three hundred million years.  

We mammals did not come into existence after the Yucattan hit, it allowed our furry species to dominate the changing planet Earth after the dinos were gone. 

And actually, Devonian fish survived the Permian End of World, dinosaurs survived as birds the End of Mesolithic life and homo sapiens sapiens survived the end of the last Ice Age.

The Jewish people are a remnant but today they are living and flourishing in their ancient home their God promised them.

Because of this very concrete example we Christians may also learn to trust more the God of Israel... that He keeps His word and while He utterly destroys this world we know and love a new and better one is already hidden in this one.

Also, we do not need to join the Atheists and others who see in the mass extinctions of life on Earth behaviour of Creator that a real logically thinking and good God would not let happen.

Bible tells us that God is a bit different from what we think.