# God designed autumn foliage for human enjoyment

**URL:** <https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/god-designed-autumn-foliage-for-human-enjoyment/12271>\
**Category:** Conversation\
**Tags:** Design\
**Created:** [October 28, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/god-designed-autumn-foliage-for-human-enjoyment/12271 "2020-10-28T18:27:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 46

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**Author:** ![AllenWitmerMiller](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/allenwitmermiller/32/2519_2.png) [@AllenWitmerMiller](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/AllenWitmerMiller)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/god-designed-autumn-foliage-for-human-enjoyment/12271/46 "2020-10-29T19:16:24Z")

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What bothered me most in Tom Gilson’s rejoinder was:

> Nathan Lents answered him, “Maybe @TomGilsonAuthor can enlighten us as to why we can’t say the trees are beautiful.” I didn’t. I said they can’t say it honestly and coherently.

I’m fine with someone expressing their personal belief that _among God’s purposes_ in creating the various processes which produce the various leaf pigments there was also the goal of creating visual beauty. My problem is:

(1) _“I said they can’t say it honestly . . .”_ If they can’t say it _honestly_, does that imply dishonesty?

(2) _“I said they can’t say it . . . coherently.”_ So are they incoherent?

Implying dishonesty and incoherence—and that was the impression I got in reading that sentence—seems rather insulting, IMHO.

For the record, I’m one Christian who sincerely believes that an atheist can be dazzled by the beauty of nature while being both honest and coherent.

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