From Behe:
So, do I think viruses were designed? Yes, I most certainly do! The viruses of which we are aware — including the coronaviruses, Ebola, and HIV — are exquisitely, purposively arranged, which is the clear signature of intelligent design.
It seems like Behe is saying these are Mt. Rushmores, whereas I think most Christians would consider these Mt. Everests, if anything.
Again, from Behe:
In the same way, most viruses do not affect humans and may well have a positive, necessary role to play in nature of which we are currently unaware.5 (I would bet on it.) From time to time a storm arises in the virosphere and affects humans. But that’s no reason to think either that viruses weren’t designed or that the designer of viruses isn’t good
This does come off a little ill-timed and a bit callous. I’m not sure this is the time for using a global tragedy to prove a point. For many people it certainly won’t leave the impression that the author wanted. I don’t think Behe made either of his cases (viruses are designed, the designer of viruses is good) here.
I would think most Christians would recoil at the idea of God intending for the suffering these viruses cause, if they thought about it for a little bit. The Problem of Natural Evil is probably the most difficult parts of religious belief to wrestle with. If a god exists powerful enough to create the world, why would they create a world with such suffering and pain? Couldn’t they have done otherwise? I don’t think anybody has universally satisfying answers to these questions. Some blame humanity, some blame Satan, some blame individual people, some blame the Fall, some blame God, some blame nature.
I personally take some direction from the following passage from the Gospel of John:
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.
– John 9:1-3 (NRSV)
This passage is certainly not without it’s interpretive challenges, but I take it as a positive affirmation that God works through us to help and heal. So I don’t know exactly the cause and intentionality behind the viruses, but I think Christians are called to help alleviate the suffering, research solutions, and be engaged in the rebuilding of lives and communities in the aftermath. It doesn’t necessarily remove the questions, but it does provide a positive way forward.
