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This question, most likely, has the presumption of theistic evolution or at least 'old-earth' creationism, however answers without that presumption are welcome.

Suffering and pain exist in our world is because of sin (Isaiah 24:2-6 among others); presumably animals and the the entire created universe suffer the "groaning of creation" (Romans 8:19-22) because of sin. And we wait on the redemption of the world through Christ.

However, before the fall, or before humans even existed, there must have been countless animals and creatures who suffered horrifically (as many do today). Why were these animals allowed to suffer, as it seems they did, before sin had even entered the world?

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Why is it that "there must have been countless animals and creatures who suffered horrifically"? – mjgpy3 Dec 8 '12 at 20:07
Probably related: Does Genesis 3:16 imply that there was pain / sorrow before the fall? My hypothetical answer would probably be along the lines of my answer to What was life like in Eden before the fall? – Jon Ericson Dec 8 '12 at 20:47
@mjgpy3 vast amounts of time during which animals killed or were killed by each other and or natural disasters, famine, disease, etc. – aceinthehole Dec 8 '12 at 21:16

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According to the first three chapters of Genesis, it appears that there was no killing in the Garden. Later, when Isaiah prophesied about "the Lion lying down with the lamb," it is an echo of that state of nature which is so unlike the one today. From a Biblical point of view then, I would have to disagree with your premise.

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So, even if you disagree with the premise, and you assume time between the creation and the fall was a very short period of time, say a month, what would certain animals have done for food? You can imagine the lion perhaps eating vegetables, but what about sharks, or t-rex? They are biologically engineered to eat meat, its hard to imagine predators being able to survive long without a kill, and even if they could, then why were they created (biologically) in such a way as to preform best under circumstances which God had not intended them to live? – aceinthehole Dec 8 '12 at 22:18
I'm just trying to stay within the narrative. My guess is that before the fall, the biology was somehow different. The real point that I'm getting at is that the sources available to us do not really have anything more to bear on this question, in the same way that physics has nothing to bear on the first few fractions of a second after the big bang. – Affable Geek Dec 9 '12 at 0:59
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_epoch For the physics context. – Dougvj Dec 9 '12 at 2:50
See? I might not believe in the Big Bang, but at least I've done some reading into it :) – Affable Geek Dec 9 '12 at 3:14

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