| |
|
Evolution in the Universe takes many paths, but all the paths that corporeal life follows require consumption of other living matter. It may be argued that plants and single cell creatures live by absorbing only chemicals and light, and thus sustain themselves in a benign manner, but close examination proves otherwise. Bacteria or virus material considered on the borderline of being living matter, infects and destroys that which they need for nourishment, and the amoebae and protozoa likewise surround and consume foodstuffs they encounter, whether this food be living or not. Plants seem to take in carbon dioxide and light and transform this into sugar. Yet the roots of the plant draw up the nourishment the plants need only because they are embedded in soil moistened in the byproduct of other life, which must die for the plant to grow, and some carnivorous plants don't wait for the donor to die.
At the base of life on planets seeded with DNA are simple chemical reactions that form in ever more complex structures and replicate themselves. Those that replicate successfully become the genes of the future, and those that do not remain as building blocks for the more successful DNA chains. Eating one another starts early. Unlike the spiritual realm, where consumption of one spirit by another is never required and in fact cannot happen, carnivorous behavior is intrinsic to corporeal life. Why God so structured the world in this way is not known, but considering that all forming entities begin their life incarnated, there are certain lessons that are guaranteed. As empathy in some degree is also intrinsic to corporeal life, a conflict between the self and the other is a given. Thus, the conscious decision to sacrifice the self is frequently made, and this is the spark that begins development toward the Service-to- Other orientation.