# Why would god create drug-resistant bacteria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 20, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241 "2014-06-20T20:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/21 "2014-06-24T07:31:05Z")
I doubt you’ll win any arguments with this one; responses will tend to be: “Those bacteria were there all along, or the people saying they are new, are lying to you. Nothing new has arisen, therefore evolution is false.” “So what? - It’s only a _micro_ change - not like a cat turning into a dog, therefore evolution is false.” “It’s not a _beneficial_\* change, therefore evolution is false.” (\*I mean, I know it’s an advantageous change for the mutant organism, but try explaining ‘beneficial’ to a creationist, in the context of a disease becoming more virulent. From their POV, God’s sick, broken world just broke a bit more and got sicker.) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/22 "2014-06-24T13:10:23Z")
\*\*Why would god create drug-resistant bacteria? \*\* Because he’s an asshole. Obvie. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/23 "2014-06-24T13:30:24Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘’’ > “Those bacteria were there all along, or the people saying they are new, are lying to you. Nothing new has arisen, therefore evolution is false.” > … > (\*I mean, I know it’s an advantageous change for the mutant organism, but try explaining ‘beneficial’ to a creationist, in the context of a disease becoming more virulent. From their POV, God’s sick, broken world just broke a bit more and got sicker.) I’m guessing that this is their strongest argument. They can submit that there are no new bacteria, just many more of the variation that was already there. I agree that addressing a mutation as a preexisting variation verses a means of evolution is kind of turning your back to the obvious, but they manage to convince themselves anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/24 "2014-06-24T13:45:10Z")
He was pretty clear about this, back in the day… any malady can be cured simply by having faith that God’s power will cure it, everything from illness to leprosy to blindness to demonic possession. We shouldn’t need antibiotics at all. He’s creating antibiotic-resistant diseases specifically so we’ll stop killing them, which will then cause us to stop using antibiotics and instead seek healing through His power. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/25 "2014-06-24T16:37:57Z")
He’s waiting for them to evolve into organisms that can build him a starship (which he doesn’t need anyway\*\*) \*\* because he’s nonexistent ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/26 "2014-06-24T16:48:49Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > He was pretty clear about this, back in the day… any malady can be cured simply by having faith that God’s power will cure it, everything from illness to leprosy to blindness to demonic possession. We shouldn’t need antibiotics at all. He’s creating antibiotic-resistant diseases specifically so we’ll stop killing them, which will then cause us to stop using antibiotics and instead seek healing through His power. Hmm, yes, it’s [an interesting plan](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2014/03/gods-plan.html). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241/27 "2014-06-24T17:11:51Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Why would God create anything? Is he bored? I always thought He created us so that he’d have someone to be impressed with how powerful he is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-god-create-drug-resistant-bacteria/691241.md?page=1)