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"In regards to the first paragraph there was no death."
Why do you make that assumption? The serpent was possessed by the devil from prior to Adam's fall, which means that Satan fell from Heaven prior to Adam. Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Therefore, it is consistent with Christianity to say that Satan was acting and influencing the world with natural selection prior to the creation of Adam. Satan had already been thrown to earth (Job 1:7), and the devil brings death and destruction to wherever he inhabits (Heb. 2:14).
"Also each part of creation was deemed good which means no improvement is necessary."
Only God is good. The present earthly state is not perfect. If it were perfect, there would be no need of a new heavens and new earth (I Cor. 13:9).
"Variation of the species is given as a curse not a blessing. Gen 3:17 Thorns and thistles are a bad thing not a good thing. Disease and death are a bad things not a good things."
Variation is a good thing. Be fruitful and multiply and God saw it was good is said throughout Genesis.
As for thorns and thistles, Gen.3 does not say that God created them after the fall, rather, a more accurate translation for Gen.3:17 is:
"Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
In other words, Man could have had the easy life in the garden, but because Adam did not obey God, Man was expelled from God's presence and instead had to toil with the ground for food (i.e., agriculture).
The thorns and thistles are good as they are part of God's creation. The bad aspect of them is that Man must face the harsh realities of the natural world where parasites and protection mechanisms (e.g., thorns, etc) are needed in the natural world.
"As to the spiritual aspect of Matthew. God did not send randomly mutated seed and then select the best fruit. He sent the same seed to every one. The ones who prepared themselves by making a conscious effort to comply with His directives have prepared the soil-of-their-minds.
Fruit is then produced based on the willingness of the mind to let it. No one can improve on the perfect mind of God and so we are all inferior imitations. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 10:24 the student is not above his teacher.
It is enough that the student be as his teacher."
I think you miss the main point of natural selection. Seed represents the word of God being randomly thrown to those who will hear it. The word of God not only brings spiritual enlightenment, the word of God is also the means by which creation occurs.
"But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water." II Peter 3:5
In the same manner as God's spiritual creation, the physical creation is constantly 'hearing' God's word, but it is prevented from fully responding to that word because it is in the bondage of decay and destruction (Rom. 8:19).
"I am curious as to the reason you would wish to restrict God from the use of supernatural ability."
I don't wish to restrict God, but rather I marvel at God's wisdom to issue restraint while the natural world is experiencing childbirth pains (same verse, Rom. 8:19). The whole point of allowing a natural world in the first place is so that the children of the natural world can grow up to be the heirs of the natural world (Rom. 8:21). In other words, there's a transformation process occurring and that God is not finished with the creation. This creation transformation is the purpose of Man, and that once the time is right, the natural world will be overthrown (i.e., natural selection will no longer be dominant).
So, it is not I restricting God, rather God is restraining purposely to accomplish his will.
"If this is not so exactly what supernatural
(BEYOUND YOUR COMPREHENSION )involvement would you feel comfortable allowing God to have in creation?"
I would love God to overthrow the natural world at this point, but at this epoch in the universe's history, God has chosen to allow Satan to roam freely and bring naturalism to the world which brings sin and death. God is powerful, and he can create and perform his will even within this context, and once the time is right in the evolution of Man, God will restore an order that is not natural selection based, but will be spiritual selection based. All in good time.
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