Q: In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus observes, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing [a copper coin, not worth much]? And not one of them falls to the ground without your Father. And, Fear ye not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. But I am not reassured by the thought of being in the same hands that cause the deaths of so many sparrows. Why should I be?!
A: This doesnt seem like a scientific difficulty to me. People in the first century were just as aware as we are that sparrows do not live forever. The objection seems to stem from a misunderstanding of the verse, as if it means that whenever a sparrow dies, it is because God has reached down and swatted it. But thats not the idea that Jesus words in this passage were intended to convey. The idea is that God has empathy with the sparrows. So we can reasonably expect Him to empathize with us in our struggles too.
(One might ask, "How is it that the Creator empathizes with dying sparrows and yet allows the natural processes without which the sparrows would not die?" But that doesn't see to be the question of which this objection consists.)
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: This doesnt seem like a scientific difficulty to me. People in the first century were just as aware as we are that sparrows do not live forever. The objection seems to stem from a misunderstanding of the verse, as if it means that whenever a sparrow dies, it is because God has reached down and swatted it. But thats not the idea that Jesus words in this passage were intended to convey. The idea is that God has empathy with the sparrows. So we can reasonably expect Him to empathize with us in our struggles too.
(One might ask, "How is it that the Creator empathizes with dying sparrows and yet allows the natural processes without which the sparrows would not die?" But that doesn't see to be the question of which this objection consists.)
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
