viruses Archives

May 7, 2026May 4, 2026

Humans Are Viruses on the Earth – or Not

Humans Are Viruses on the Earth – Influenza Virus — Influenza virus 3D illustration

Perhaps you have seen posts or comments online claiming that humans are viruses on the Earth. The argument is that human numbers are growing, and we “feed parasitically on the body of the Earth.” They say we are swarming over the Earth and leaving no part of the planet “untouched by our pollution and destruction.”

The mantra is that humans move into an area, multiply until they consume all the natural resources, then move on to another area, like a virus. Critics suggest that all other mammals live in equilibrium with their surroundings, whereas humans behave like viruses that spread and consume resources. So the question they ask is whether humans are a disease, a cancer, or a virus on the Earth, what are we going to do about it? How can we stop this human virus?

As Christians, we believe that humans were made in God’s image and that God entrusted the first humans and us with taking care of the planet and ruling over it (see Genesis 1:28). Perhaps we’ve done a better job of ruling over the planet than of taking care of it. Some have pointed out that even though the Bible says we were created in God’s image, we are also the ones who introduced sin into the world.

Hosea 4:1-3 is a Bible passage sometimes quoted by those who insist that humans are viruses on the Earth. In this passage, Hosea tells the children of Israel that because they have been swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery, God will punish them by allowing them to waste away along with the animals, birds, and fish. You could say that applies to us today, but that might be stretching the context.

It is true that God gave humans the job of being stewards of the Earth, to rule over and protect or conserve the creatures that live here. It is also true that we have often failed in that job, but God always gives us another chance to do better. As for humans introducing sin into the world, God also gave us a second chance on that. The most amazing thing we read in the Bible is that God became a human being to live a perfect life, to show us what that is like, and to bear the punishment for our failures.

As we consider whether humans are viruses on the Earth, we must consider our relationship with the Creator. Perhaps if we can accept what God has done through Jesus Christ to restore us to a right relationship with Him, we will find that we can have a right relationship with the Earth God gave us to live on. Remember that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).

January 27, 2023January 25, 2023

Why Would a Good God Create Viruses?

Think of the many illnesses that viruses cause, such as rabies, polio, Ebola, measles, mumps, yellow fever, influenza, HIV, chicken pox, hepatitis, shingles, rabies, and, of course, COVID. That is only a partial list. Some skeptics use this as an argument against the existence of God. Why would a good God create viruses?

Viruses are diverse and abundant beyond what we can imagine. The truth is that life on Earth could not exist without them. Even though many of them cause harm, they are essential tools in God’s construction of life.

By the usual definition of life, viruses are not alive since they cannot reproduce on their own. Instead, they must enter a living cell and coopt its replication functions to produce more of themselves. First, they hijack the 3D-printing machinery of the cell that turns genetic information into proteins. Then they damage the cell as they break out and spread to other cells. At least, that’s what happens in the case of the diseases mentioned. In COVID, the damage is to the victim’s respiratory tissue cells. So, why would a good God create viruses?

Viruses are present in every species of living creatures. They can be considered parasites, but sometimes they are in a symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationship with their host. They may remain dormant or even contribute to adaptive benefits. Problems often arise when a virus from one species enters another species. That is what happened with COVID and many other viral diseases. Most of them are known to have come into the human population from animals.

Scientists have only recently discovered that some viruses serve as food for certain microbes. They found that a single-celled microbe in the genus Hateria can live and grow on a virus diet, eating up to a million viruses per day. In turn, microbes are eaten by larger plankton which are consumed by larger predators which find their way into the stomachs of ever larger creatures going up the food chain to sustain life.

In addition to viruses contributing adaptive benefits to their hosts and providing food for microbes, they also serve other ecological roles. For example, some viruses infect algae. Algae blooms harm marine life, but the invading viruses help to control these aquatic algae blooms. Scientists have also found that viruses have contributed genes to human DNA that assist in embryonic development and help us resist infections and even fight off cancer.

So there are answers to the skeptic’s challenge, “Why would a good God create viruses?” Viruses are not evil, but they are a reflection of the design of the world in which we live. Their complexity allows them to shape and mold every aspect of the design of life.

References: “Viruses as prey? It’s just one of the surprising roles they play” and “How viruses shape our world” on NationalGeographic.com

October 10, 2020October 9, 2020

Viruses Are Critical Agents for Life

The pandemic has made many people think that viruses are a bad thing. However recent research has shown that viruses are critical agents for life. They convert energy and organic matter at the bottom of the food chain into a form that provides us with what we need to live on Earth.

An algae called Emiliania huxleyi uses sunlight and nutrients from the ocean to produce massive algae blooms in the ocean. If it stopped there, the presence of the algae would be detrimental to ocean life. We all know about the “red tide” that afflicts coastal areas of Florida where algae are destructive.

But there is more to the story of Emiliania huxleyi. A virus called coccolithovirus infects the algae, killing it and produing organic matter that is the base of the ocean food chain supporting higher forms of life. Kay Bidle of Rutgers University is the chief author of the study. She says that this relationship is likely to apply to other virus-algae interactions in the ocean.

This new discovery is related to changes in the ocean observed from the International Space Station. The magnitude of this process is huge, and may provide a solution to some of our biggest environmental problems.

The National Science Foundation has reported on this discovery at nsf.gov. Mike Sieracki who is a program director in NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences says, “We are just beginning to understand how these incredibly complex microscopic interactions can affect global processes such as the carbon cycle.”

Viruses are critical agents for life. They are tools that God has built into the creation to provide the food and energy we need. Like all viral interactions, the virus works with other created things, in this case algae, to accomplish its provision for life’s existence.