Sin death and beyond

SIN, DEATH AND BEYOND: M.M.NINAN
Could physical death be part of God’s original plan?
The Garden of Eden has a reputation as a perfect place, with no death, pain, or even danger
for humans or animals. Yet Genesis only teaches that the original creation is “good”, not
“perfect.” Some verses in Genesis 1-2 suggest that God’s creation was not safe or pain-free.
D. C. Spanner points out that God charged humanity to “subdue” (Genesis 1:28), a word that
implies danger.7 Also, Genesis 2 places Adam and Eve in a garden; in the ancient near east,
this was a walled enclosure, protecting the inhabitants from the wilderness and dangerous
animals beyond. The Bible is clear that the culmination of God’s plan in the new creation is a
place without tears, pain, or death (Revelation 21:4), but is less clear whether the first creation
shared these traits.
The death of plants and animals is actually an essential feature in a healthy ecosystem. Plants
provide food for animals, and animals return nutrients to the soil upon their deaths. Without
predators, populations of some species would explode and crowd out others, maybe even
pushing those species to extinction. Predators tend to pick the most populous species to eat,
limiting its growth so that other species can compete successfully.
Was There Death Before the Fall? Matt Fradd
http://www.catholic.com/blog/matt-fradd/was-there-death-before-the-fall
Animals
Okay, if the tree of life was necessary for Adam and Eve to live forever, one might reasonably
ask, did animals have access to the tree of life? The answer seems to be no.
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