Hi Laika. You said, " If humankind has the resources to end hunger and then opts not to, why is it fair to criticise others for doing what they assume is the same thing?"
Well you see, I don't think the issue is as black and white as that. It is true that we have the power to feed a few billion more people than exist today. The problem is there are many things that can hold one back from such a thing, not to mention that in some instances our efforts will be futile.
For example, suppose I wanted to feed the hungry baby boy you see in the picture. I presume that he is in Africa. Well, I live in the US, and to get him food from here takes considerable expense. Most food perishes within a time limit, so depending on the food I send, I may also have to refrigerate it or process it so as to extend it's expiration date. Then there is the transportation, either via air or water. When it arrives, how can I guarantee someone else will not take it, for the simple fact so many are already starving?
Well then, you might just object and say, "send more food! What is the problem?" The problem is I as an individual have limited resources of my own, and cannot send much more. I need to form a coalition of some sort, in order to send more food and hopefully achieve my goal of ending hunger at least for that one child. Well, I finally manage to feed the child. As he grows, so too does his family, because he becomes a father of his own. There are now more mouths to feed depending on the same resources... the same amount of food has to be divided up more and more, to the disadvantage of the individual.
Now add to that situation the scarcity of food and water in Africa, along with its poor administration and the ignorance of the populace in general, and my efforts are simply going to be a drop in the bucket. Millions upon millions will still go thirsty or hungry.
In any case, let's look at the bigger picture here and see where the problem stems. Resources are limited. Humans like to reproduce and when resources are relatively plentiful, death and illness are low. This means the population spikes exponentially like it has this past century. Even though for a time you will have plenty of people eating plentifully, food production fueled by the limited resource (oil) that sparked this exponential growth will plateau, it will level off, and then MANY more will be hungry and will starve. There will probably even be war over food shortages.
One looks at this situation and thinks to oneself, if God exists, he has doomed humanity to failure. He put us in a small planet, in a vastly, enormously huge universe that as we know is extremely hostile to life, with limited resources, and with innate desires to reproduce extensively. A designer that has infinite resources and power would not limit their creation to futility. This is one of the reasons I don't believe. It makes no sense, and indeed, there seems to be no evidence of a Creator intervening in our affairs.
