What Was Before ' the Beginning '....?

[Sword of Christ]

What would not happen is any sign of decreasing complexity. Sadly, of course, we see many examples of decreasing complexity alongside advancing complexity in other areas simultaneously.

I'm sure there are natural rhythms and cycles involved, but we're not going to revert to the single cell stage bar some catastrophe. Even if that did happen on Earth the complexity exists in the universe as a whole, billions of planets like the Earth will now exist. They didn't exist 12 billion years ago. There was accumulative complexity built into the system from the start, the universe is something that grew and developed, there most certainly was a direction or goal to it.

So, for example, the 5 great extinction events we know of caused a massive and sudden decrease in complexity of life on earth - pretty much across the board.

Cycles of decay and death cycles of emergence and new growth, spring and winter. Everything is on a natural cycle of some kind and it is a deliberate one. This is the nature of what the universe is and what it does.

Even if you were to view these as temporary set-backs (or maybe even planned slim-lining) you have to face the fact that some levels of complexity have never been achieved again (to date anyway).

Nothing (we know of) is physically more complex than the human body and brain. There was nothing like humanity before on this planet everything was built up toward the point of ultimate complexity. This being a function of the universe itself as designed, created and sustained by the eternal God who is the ultimate source of all nature. All this is a complete and well manufactured living system. Feel free to point out how science contradicts any of it.

If we look at flight, for example, the Pterosaur, it now appears was the ultimate flier and nothing has come close to what it could do till our machines. It appears their flying ability was far superior to that of today's birds.

Pterosaurs declined and went virtually extinct by the end of the era of the dinosaurs due to competition with birds. Birds were the more effective and advanced organisms you could say. Even if pterosaurs were the most advanced organisms to evolve on Earth it wouldn't detract from the general progression toward civilization. A progression intentionally built into the universe by God, this occured on a planet wide and universe wide scale everything is linked as part of the same process.

Why would God create something more complicated and then abandon it?

He made the processes that lead to the evolution and development of life not the individual organisms. Though human like intelligent civilized life was his goal that's what the universe is for this is what he had in mind and that's why we are here.