Why Are There Germs?

Listen

Christians, especially those who believe in creation, hear this question often, "If God created the world perfectly, why are there germs that cause disease? Why did He make them?"

The fact is, only a tiny minority of all microbes cause disease. Almost all microbes, or germs, are "good guys." Not only do they make life possible on earth, but many of them have been put to work helping humans. The most obvious example is antibiotics, which have saved millions of lives since they came into widespread use in this century. But even 2,500 years ago the Chinese were using antibiotics when they treated boils with moldy soybean curds. And microbes make many other common medicines that save millions of lives.

Bacteria are used to turn plant stems into ethanol, which is used to produce gasohol. Some microbes help recover trapped oil, while others help clean oil spills off beaches. Bacteria mine uranium and other important minerals. Without microbes, we would have no cheese, soy sauce or bread. And microbes have even been put to work producing highly nutritious animal feeds. Without microbes, we would be up to our ears in sewage and undecayed wood.

Microbes are one of our Creator's most important creations. He didn't make any of them harmful to other life. They became harmful as part of the curse upon creation that resulted from sin. We thank God that in Jesus Christ He has provided a remedy for our greatest danger - eternal condemnation because of our sin!