> All of creation is groaning under this burden.
>
> Natural disasters. That's an interesting point. Would such things have happened, had sin not entered the world? We could discuss this one for years, never coming to a final conclusion, I think. We are not told what *might* have happened. BTW: This concept is fairly good evidence that there are no other inhabited planets in this universe. No other free-will beings should be punished by our sin - nor should we by theirs - and all through the universe signs are visible of the groaning.

I don't think this is good evidence, even within your own system of belief. Natural "disasters", so called, are only disastrous for humans, whether directly or indirectly. Take a flood -- it might kill dozens or hundreds of people, or it might wipe out some good crop land, but does this mean the landslide punishes every living being in the area, or just humans? Many forms of life will, in fact, gain something from it. If this is valid in the context of humans and (say) mosquitoes, I say it is more valid if we are talking about any potentially existing free-will beings elsewhere in the universe. Something which, to us, looks like creation groaning under a burden of evil (what a great image, by the way), might be what they rely on for life and health.