Is animal death a good thing? Most would say no—especially when
death involves something dear to us like cats, dogs, or Bambi.
The Bible paints a different picture, one in which death is
simply part of God’s economy. Discoveries about the first plants
illustrate this principle. Psalm 104 (a creation account
parallel to Genesis 1) describes how God feeds the lions roaring
after their prey (verse 21). It then describes how all animals
wait for God to provide food, but when God hides his face, the
animals perish (verses 27–29). Yet God sends forth his Spirit
and creates again, thus renewing the face of the ground (verse
30). The psalmist clearly identifies God’s hand in providing for
all life on Earth and (when integrated with Genesis 1)
recognizes God’s work in transforming a primordial, hostile-to-
life Earth into splendid abode for humanity. In RTB’s creation
model, we use this passage to buttress the position that, as he
prepared Earth to support humanity, God regularly introduced new
plants and animals for a