Johnson-Pelican chick and theodicy

Posted on July 15, 2014 by jamesbradfordpate

theoutwardquest

If you google Elizabeth Johnson and “Pelican chick” you will see some online articles. She uses the example of the White Pelican’s child-nurture practice as an example of the cruelty of nature and the push for survival behind it..

Typically, the Pelican mom will lay two eggs some days apart. If the first egg hatches, she will care for that chick and pretty much ignore the chick that hatches later. The second chick has about a 10% chance to survive. It is cute and would be viable if she took care of it. But she usually lets it starve. It is an insurance chick. It is born so that if something happens to the other one, then she can divert her attention and nurture to the up-to-now expendable one. It sucks to be a second-born Pelican.

This shows the impersonal drive for survival behind evolution. The same things that make…

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About jamesbradfordpate

My name is James Pate. This blog is about my journey. I read books. I watch movies and TV shows. I go to church. I try to find meaning. And, when I can’t do that, I just talk about stuff that I find interesting. I have degrees in fields of religious studies. I have an M.Phil. in the History of Biblical Interpretation from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I also have an M.A. in Hebrew Bible from Jewish Theological Seminary, an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from DePauw University.
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