Venomous Lizards and Good Creation?

There are many reptiles with venom, most of which are snakes. People think of rattlesnakes, cobras, and others. Ever hear of the gaboon viper? The bite is often fatal, and if not, tissue damage may necessitate amputation. Narrowing the list, there are lizards with venom.

Unlike snakes, they do not have injection mechanisms. The Gila monster (pronounced HEE-la) in the American Southwest and down Mexico way a mite, latches on and chews its venom in. Rarely dangerous to humans. It is fair to wonder why these exist when creation was very good (Gen. 1:31).

Gila monster, Wikimedia Commons / Josh Olander (CC BY 4.0)

The question becomes more challenging for biblical creationists because we maintain that in the beginning, everything was vegetarian (Gen. 1:29-30). But some critters are built to be fatal. God created everything with genetic diversity, and one possibility is that when Adam sinned and brought on the curse, genetic switches were activated so they could survive in the changed world.

The familiar disdain for snakes most likely stems from the assumption that all snakes are venomous. In reality, of over 3,700 snake species, only roughly 600 species are venomous, and only about 200 species are considered seriously dangerous.

Venom in nature, particularly snake venom, has long presented a challenge for creationists to explain the origin of these deadly designs. But the “problem” is much wider than just snakes, touching almost every class of animals. For a change, let’s look specifically at lizards to illustrate and discuss this broader challenge.

You can read the entire article or listen to the audio version at "Lethal Lizards." The interesting video below has some evolutionary nonsense. I suggest ignoring that and learning the interesting (and verifiable) material.