Marla's adventure from Aplastic Anemia and beyond
“A brand-new museum plans to take old-time religion to new scientific heights. The Creation Museum’s goal is nothing less than proving that everything the Bible says about creation, the flood and the universe is literally true.”
Click here to view interview.
Marlakins
It appears that Answers In Genesis is creating quite a stir from quite a few atheists. Why? Well, this Monday, May 28, 2007 is the scheduled opening of Answer In Genesis’s new Creation Museum in Boone County, Kentucky. Ken Ham, one of the founders of AIG, has already completed 43 interviews this week because of the new museum. A thousand guests have been invited to celebrate the opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. One such guest expected to attend is Raymond Damadian, inventor of magnetic resonance scanning aka magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Several months ago I wrote a blog entry about Raymond Damadian and the “Indomitable,” the first MRI machine to make an MRI image of a human on July 3, 1977. Although he had invented the MRI machine in 1977, which is on permanent display today at the Smithsonian Institutions’s Hall of Medical Sciences, the nobel prize awarded in 2003 for the Medical breakthrough of MRI imaging went to two other scientists, Dr. Paul Lauterbur and Sir Peter Mansfield. Both were important contributors to the field of MRI, however Damadian’s work came first. And even though the nobel prize award can be awarded to up to three people, only those two were awarded, leaving Damadian out. It has been suggested that Damadian was denied the award because of his open belief in young earth creation, which is totally irrelevant to his work on the MRI, but goes to show the bias in some scientific circles.
This Creation Museum is another museum that I would definitely visit if it were close to me! I especially would have loved to go to the opening to meet Raymond Damadian. But alas, I will have to just read the press releases on it come Monday.
Marlakins
How old were we originally created to live? I know that question sounds ridiculous to an evolutionist, but for a creationist, the answer is a matter of looking into the Bible at the accounts of creation in Genesis. In Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, including man and woman. Death had not yet entered into the equation until the fall of man. At that point, it is written in Genesis 1:22-24,
“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
From the above passage, it appears that man was capable of living forever. It appears that when the world was created, it was in it’s optimal condition by which man could exist perpetually. After the fall of man, those who had the breath of life began to die. In the biblical sense, “the breath of life” refers to creatures that breathe air and have lungs.” So from the premise I have just outlined regarding how long people can live, I have been interested in the longevity of man.
Is it true that the life expectancy of man is extending? That’s the common party line we hear today. While it does make sense that improvements in sanitation has improved living conditions and lowered death rates, has it extended our lives from times past? What is the age today by which we consider a person “old?” The common retirement age is 65. Many today die before they reach that ripe old age for retirement. What about in times past? Genesis documents lineages and ages of various people. Adam, the first man, was documented to live to 930 years old. His son, Seth, was documented to live 912, Enos lived to 905 years, Cainan lived to 910, Mahalaleel lived to 895, Jared lived to 962, and the list goes on. For those who believe in the bible, I’d like to reference Genesis chapter 12 where Abram is instructed by God to leave the country. Abram leaves with his wife, Sarai, his nephew, Lot, and all their belongings. Verse 4 states that Abram was 75 years old when he started on this journey. It was during this journey that he approach Egypt during a famine. Verse 11 says this,
“And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come in into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.”
So, Abram was 75 years old at the start of his journey. How old was Sarai? Abram told her to say that she was his “sister,” so I’m assuming she was somewhat close to his age, otherwise he could have said that she was his daughter. So how old was Sarai? Seventy, maybe? How many 70 year old women today do we know of who looks so striking that a “Pharaoh and his princes” would find favor in her and give her “brother” sheep, oxen, menservants and maidservants? I would guess that Sarai looked pretty darned good for what we consider a senior citizen today. And yet today in our “advanced” and “life extending” modern society, girls who are in their 30s are considered old for the modelling business. For those who aren’t familiar with the story of Abram and Sarai, they later became known as Abraham and Sarah. Sarah had a son when she was about 100 years old, and according to the Bible, she died at 127 years old. That’s almost twice as old as our senior citizens today who are suffering from all kinds of ailments.
Perhaps one might argue that the people who wrote the Bible didn’t count numbers and years like we do today? Then perhaps we should consider the ages of other people mentioned in the Bible. Let’s take a look at Joseph, whose was the last documented death in Genesis. According to Genesis 50:26, Joseph died at 110 years old. Sounds closer to our age. I think the author of Genesis knew how to count, and I believe the days and years he used was relatively similar to a day and year we use today. As is documented in Genesis, “morning and evening” was one day. If the Bible is accurate, then it looks like our life expectancies have been decreasing, and is thus consistent with our observed laws on entropy, a law of science, and also consistent with death entering the world after the sin of Adam and Eve. Evolution teaches us the exact opposite of the law of entropy in that our species first started from some slime, which continued to defy the laws of entropy for millions of years until you have complex living beings like humans. That is not science. But I digress. . . the life span of man is the topic I was originally contemplating, and before I close, I wanted to share an interesting link called Living in Three Centuries, the Face of Age. That link has a slideshow of people and their ages. Click onto the thumbnails if you want to see an enlarged picture with a short narrative next to it. Several of those pictured are over 100 years old. Check out the first picture on the left, top row. He is #72 and is said to be 112 years old, the 16th oldest person in the world, and the oldest person in the USA. Although some of these guys are old, in comparison to Adam, Noah, Seth, Enos, etc., they’re just young whipper snappers! Ha! But for some reason, I don’t think the guys of old looked as beat. Just my “suspicion” given the account of Sarai when she might have been around 70 or so. And then finally, this morning I read my son’s recent blog entry. I think some of what he writes fits right in with what I’ve just been thinking about. Here’s Andrew’s post.
Marlakins
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This morning I was flipping through a Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) newsletter. Boy, some of the stories in there really have me in awe as to how much strength and determination some people have to stand up for what they believe in. For anyone who isn’t familiar with VOM, they are a non-profit organization who focuses their work on areas where there are persecuted Christian churches. As an example, this particular newsletter features an article titled, “The Hidden World of the Malay Christian.” As a hint to what the article is about, here’s the first paragraph:
“A tourist to Malaysia can walk into church on Sunday morning for worship, but a Malay cannot. Over half of the 5 million population are darker-skinned Malays (not Chinese or Indian) who are forbidden to go into a church because they are required to stay Muslim.”
Stories like these really humble me because like my previous post where I mentioned people starving to death, yet I had never even gone one day without food, I have also never experienced being prohibited to enter a church. Sure I’ve had my faith challenged and my beliefs questioned, but never to the point I was denied my right to believe what I do. It’s hard to imagine wanting to go to some church to listen, but being told that I was not allowed and that it was actually against the law. This makes me realize that although people in general share the same feelings–i.e. joy, sadness, fear, etc., some people are placed in extreme circumstances which seem to tease out those who have more strength and determination to do what is right. And I wonder how some people come to be like that. Why is one person able to stand firm with his beliefs, while another would shrink back and hide his true beliefs? And so it’s with that spirit that I like to read the stories of those who have endured incredible or unusual circumstances and remained faithful to God. The strength of these people who have suffered thousands of miles away, and don’t even know me, have actually inspired me and taught me things I would not have known since I have not been subjected to their circumstances. Theirs is an experience I could not have dreamed of without their sharing it. One example that struck me was the perspective of one Christian who as imprisoned for 3 years. This was actually not from the Malay story, but from a writeup to a book called, “Alone with God,” by Richard Wurmbrand. This is what was written:
“Should I Pray to be Free?
Composed in a cell in solitary confinement, 30 feet underground:
My God,
I know how to say ‘Our Father,’ but do not know what to add. Should I ask you for freedom? If so, why?. . .
It is not necessary to go to holy places in order to be pleasing to You. But neither is it necessary to be at liberty. Which commandment could I keep better in freedom than in a prison cell? Why should I move around? The lily stays in the same place and exhales its perfume.
What does it matter that I am alone? I had this problem when I was a pastor of the church. I had inherited from my predecessor a church with small attendance. In the beginning I was sad about it. But then I quieted my heart and told the brethren, ‘Instead of worrying about those who are absent, let each of us multiply his zeal and fervor and love. It is for these that God looks out. If He finds one man with as much love as only a hundred men would normally have, He is satisfied.’
In my solitary cell, I am undisturbed. I can work on my character to develop the virtue of thousands.
I will not pray to be free. . . ”
Wow, I read that to Brian and asked him what he thought. He said, “I’d ask to be free.” LOLOL He said, the reason he would ask to be free is because he had lots to do! LOLOLOL Does sound like a valid reason, ha! Well, I suppose I’d ask to be free, too! Maybe I should buy Wurmbrand’s book and find out why he was put in prison in the first place. This is what I mean about learning from the lives and experiences of others. From their eyes, I am able to learn more about life and how others experience it. It’s especially helpful since some people go through experiences (like prison and religious persecution) that others may never have. Why do people make the choices they do? Maybe one of the things that draws me to reading other people’s stories is my curiosity of what makes them tick. Some people seem so clever and make interesting choices. Yet, with all our similarities, we are all also quite different, but yet the same! Groups of people have been known to act in a “herd” mentality, but even so, a handful will break free and defy the odds. I wonder how that happens when we all “seem” to start out the same–i.e. we are all born into the world naked.
Marlakins
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A while back when I was doing a search on detoxing mercury, I came across using steam baths or clay baths at a website of a man who claimed that he cured himself of Alzheimer’s disease. His name is Tom Warren. I found that he had written a book called Beating Alzheimer’s Disease, which I subsequently purchased. It is my feeling that he has a lot of good information in his book, and like so many others who have cured themselves of diseases for which mainstream medicine claims there is “no cure,” has come to the realization that there is antagonism towards alternative treatments by the general mainstream medical community. Originally he thought that his doctors would be interested in what he did to reverse his dementia, but soon found that they were not interested. One example of some of the interesting info he gives is in his second book, Reversing Chronic Disease, Getting Well Again. This is what he wrote: “If dentists informed their patients that 50% of a silver filling is mercury, a highly neurotoxic poison, the ADA arranged to have their dental licenses revoked by State Dental Boards. That is a direct proof of a cover-up that any jury can understand.” (Pg. 21) He also claims that today we are told that new silver fillings don’t contain mercury anymore, but they still do–50%, and that the percentage of silver is actually less than the mercury, so it should really be called mercury amalgams, not silver fillings. But I digress. . . the actual reason I felt compelled to write about Tom Warren is because of part of his dedication in the front of his latest book, Reversing Chronic Disease, copyrighted 2003. Often times we can easily get caught up in what “we” have learned or think we know, yet all healing is only possible because God allows it. With God, all things are possible. Anyway, here is part of Tom Warren’s dedication, a thanks that I haven’t seen much in any conventional medical book I’ve opened:
“To Jesus Christ: After I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, I cried out ‘Lord save me!’ That was almost twenty years ago, and today I am alive because of Him. The Lord did not save me because I was a good man. I wasn’t. I think He saved me because I asked, ‘Jesus, if I have to die this death, at least through me let the cure for Alzheimer’s disease be found.’ I take no credit for this book. None. . . ”
There’s a humility there that I really admire and want to always remember when I reflect upon my healing and remission of AA. We always should remember that God is a very big part of the equation. Any knowledge we gain to heal ourselves is freely given to us from God without reproach. We didn’t “invent” any thing, just found stuff that God already had available to us from nature–from the foundation of the world. Too often we trust in man and his concoctions before we trust in God. But the Bible tells us, “Cursed is he who trusts in man.” Although man tells us there is “no cure” for Alzheimer’s, Tom Warren is cured today, 20 years or more after his original diagnosis. I would venture to say that he trusted in God first and that may have been what prompted him to search beyond what his docs were telling him. Warren sought natural methods, which God has available to those who ask and seek. But God tells us not to just seek and ask, but to “keep” on asking, and “keep” on seeking. It seems “persistence” is Biblical, too.
Marlakins
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For those of you who are familiar with Richard Dawkins and his recent book entitled, The God Delusion, this YouTube video may be amusing to watch. The interview features a Dr. Terry Tommyrot using Dawkins arguments against himself, ha! I got a chuckle out of it, I hope you do, too.
Marlakins 
This morning I dreamt that I saw a new store that had just openned for business. It looked large, and I wanted to go inside to see what they had. As I entered the shop doors, I saw rows and rows of candies and chips stacked in big heaps like how produce is sold in the markets. Only these candies and chips were larger than life size and all were pre-packaged with big samples to try attached to each bag. I saw tortilla chip bags with tortilla chip samples the size of about 8″x5″ rectangulars attached to each bag. They looked like cheeto flavored. I didn’t feel tempted to eat anything, but was just amused at how much and how big everything was. I continued to browse around when I saw a big glass case like those at fairs where they cook popcorn in movable carts, but a bit bigger. Only this glass cart contained huge, warm, fluffy pretzels. The pretzels were on a carousel that you could turn by a nob from the outside of the glass case. A man and his young son were at the case purchasing a large pretzel for $3.00. I wanted to get a better look, so I got closer and looked inside. The pretzels were vey large and were lying down. The one I saw was shaped like a seahorse. And I thought, “I think I would like to try one of those.” As I was about to turn the nob to get to the seahorse, I heard a phone ringing, and I woke up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go back to sleep, so never did get to try that seahorse pretzel!
A couple weeks ago I was out at dinner with family and a friend. The topic of dreams came up and that thought that dreams do have meanings. This perked my interest because every now and then I read how dreams are important to mental health. Carl Pfeiffer, M.D., one of the founders of orthomolecular psychiatry and author of Nutrition and Mental Illness : An Orthomolecular Approach to Balancing Body Chemistry, wrote about his observation that schizophrenics tend not to be able to recall their dreams. Pfeiffer believed that the ability to dream and dream recall were important to good mental health. He found regular supplementation of vit B6 along with some other supplements improved mental health for schizophrenics and also improved their ability to dream and to recall their dreams. So I do believe that dreaming is important, but I had not thought much that the subject or content of our dreams meant anything. During our dinner conversation, our friend asserted that she believed that all dreams have meanings and the things we dream about represent things. Hmmm.
I don’t see myself as an overly superstitious person, and pay no heed to things like palm reading or astrology. But somehow I feel that dreams might be a bit different, primarily because of how dreams were viewed in the Bible. The Bible warns us to stay away from sorcery and things like that, but doesn’t seem to have anything bad to say about interpreting dreams. There are actually quite a few references about dreams in the Bible where God used them to convey messages to people. One very famous story was of the dreams of the Pharoah. He had dreamed that he was standing by the river “when suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So the Pharaoh awoke. He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.” The Pharaoh wanted his dream interpreted and so Joseph was found to be able to interpret. This was the interpretation of his dream:
“The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: “The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.” Genesis 41:25-28.
Prior to this, Joseph had accurately interpreted the dreams of two of his cell mates.
Another famous Biblical dream was dreamt by Joseph, Mary’s soon-to-be husband. He was considering putting her away secretly because she was pregnant before marriage, when he was told in his dream, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He wil save His people from their sins.”
Young King Solomon also received a message in his dream. Those of you who are familiar with the Bible know that Solomon became king when he was quite young. So the following account is when he had just become king. In 1 Kings 3:5-15 Solomon went to Gibeon and there he had a dream. This is what was documented of that dream:
“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’ And Solomon said: ‘You have shown great mercy to your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You hae chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: ‘Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.’ Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. . . ”
There are other fun stories of dreams and their interpretations in the Bible. A look in the concordance will show that dreams were mentioned in Genesis, Numbers, Judges, 1 Kings, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Isiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Joel, Matthew, and Acts.
But does this mean that ALL dreams mean something? I don’t know. Not only that, many of my dreams don’t seem to make any sense at all! I did a quick Google on “dream interpretations,” and found that there are symbols that they think mean something–i.e. color, seasons, body parts, animals, etc. So I looked to see if there was any meaning to “seahorses. . .” Hehehe. No luck. No seahorse on their list, although there were other animals that were considered common like swans, doves, eagles, etc. Other common dreams are of flying, walking or running barefooted, teeth falling out, etc. I found a list of animals and what they think they symbolize at this link. I have no idea how they come up with this stuff. Maybe their interpretations are all a bunch of bunk, although, I don’t think dreams are a bunch of bunk. I just wonder whether I should be paying more attention to them? Do they actually answer some of my questions? I wonder why I dreamt of a large store full of oversized junk foods? Why did I want to eat a huge pretzel shaped like a seahorse? Well, I know there’s tons more about dreams and sleep, so I’d better stop here for now. I don’t recall ever dreaming about something I wanted to dream about, heh. At least I hardly ever get nightmares, now. I wonder what I’ll dream about tonight.
Sweet dreams, everyone.
Marlakins
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For anyone following along with my yarn journey, I wanted to share that today I got some organic wool samples from a supplier in the UK. Their brochure had some interesting information regarding the textile industry of which the production and processing of wool is part. This is what the brochure has written:
“The textile industry, taken as a whole, is among the top ten most polluting industries in the world and the conventional woollen industry contributes to this from the production of the fleece which then passes through many toxic chemical processes during the manufacture of the end products. Most conventional woollen products are no longer “natural” having been treated by one or more of the following processes: alkaline baths to remove dirt and grease, acid baths to remove vegetable matter, anti-shrink for machine washing, bleaching, dying, moth proofing, and possibly flame proofing; as well as often being blended with man made fibres. It is difficult to quantify the effects of chemical inputs, but there is growing evidence to show that some of the chemicals used in the treatment of wool are harmful to health and the environment.
Most people know something about the organic movement, and may choose to buy and eat food that is grown and produced organically without realising that other “natural” products could or should be organic. . . ”
Another part of their brochure that I feel worth mentioning is their comments on organic farming. I know I have been more vocal about the importance of “eating” organic for our health, even though I have also learned of the importance of practicing organic methods for the benefit of our environment. Even though I have been more vocal about eating organic, I do feel that organic farming is important to caring for our lands. And I do feel that it is Biblical to care for our land because the Bible states in revelation 11:18, “The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” In Genesis we are taught that in the beginning God told Adam to care for the animals and basically take care of the earth, not plunder the earth and render it infertile. Then in Revelation quoted above, God’s wrath comes, and it will be a time for judgement to reward His servants and to destroy those who destroy the earth. I see those who destroy the earth as those who pollute and damage our environment. That’s another practical aspect the Bible has revealed to us. From creation we were connected with the soil. Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. From dust we came, from dust we shall return. Our subsequent health has been closely intertwined with nature–the sun, the air, the soil, water, etc. is essential to our existence. We could not live without any one of them. When we pollute or damage our environment, our health suffers because we were designed to function in harmony with the earth. When the earth suffers and is less healthy, so we suffer and are also less healthy. So very briefly, here is the comment on organic farming on the brochure I received today:
“Organic farming is concerned with a holistic approach to animal welfare and the environment in its broadest sense and strives to minimise pollution in any form by avoiding the use of artificial chemicals wherever possible–artificial herbicides and fungicides are prohibited as are organo-phosphate dips and Genetically Modified Organisms.”
This got me a little curious, so I did a quick Google and found this link. It lists 64 different types of polluting industries and industry activities. Interestingly, “hospitals” are on this list, ha! I have suspected that, but never really researched it. I thought with all the chemicals and drugs used in hospitals as well as all that nuclear medicine, it must be a hazard living near one, like I do! Ack! Well, at least it’s not next door! What has run through my mind is that hospitals have a lot of poisons to dispose of, and when all their patients are drugged up and taking chemos, some of that stuff comes out in their feces and urine, and where does that go? The oceans? Reclaimed water for city use? If I recall correctly, a few years ago I read an article which revealed that traces of “Prozac” was detected in city water in parts of England. How did that stuff get into the water? It is well known that drugs are commonly not fully metabolised in the body so that a certain percentage passes through and ends up in the urine or feces. That means that all these people taking chemos, hormone replacements, any myriad of drugs will be peeing out a percentage of it, and where does it end up? Polluting our environment. And we’re not even talking about all the plastic supplies that have to be disposed of like rubber gloves and catheters, bags, and tubings, etc. So, I try to do my little part and support local organic farmers. Biodynamic is even better.
Well, it’s getting late again, and rather than end on a depressing note, I want to post a few cute things that my email friend, Viv, sent to me. I’m only posting my favorite ones that made me laugh, although there were other clever ones. Take a look at these sandwiches:
LOLOL Is this why we’re not supposed to play with our food? Unfortunately, I doubt any of these are organic, so I likely will never get a taste of them.
Have a nice day!
Marlakins
The internet has been such an asset for me in regard to research. However, I have realized that even among all the helpful information available over the internet, the internet is not without censorship and those who want to censor information (see the importance of network neutrality). I have already encountered the opposition to alternative or natural medicine on the net, and have also seen some sites that are opposed to Christian views. More recently, I have found another site which appears to be censoring information on “Creationism.” My son recently posted a section in Wikipedia regarding the neanderthal under the “popular culture” section. Due to the intolerance to the opposing view of the “theory” of evolution, his post was “removed.” A pitiful explanation given was that they didn’t need more Creationist views, so they would prefer to just “note” or “mention” that there is opposition by Creationists to the evolutionary model. Where is the freedom to express ideas? Is it not more “logical” and “fair” to present all views and let the reader decide which they feel has the better explanation? Rather than argue with those bigots, I’ll just post my son’s article here. At least this way, this information is still available on the net for those who seek truth and are willing to consider other possibilities before coming to a conclusion.
Just as I’m typing this my son just informed me that someone put his Creation article on neanderthal back up at Wiki. . .(with a goofy biased comment regarding it’s content, but oh well, cripes. Seems they’re scrambling to find stuff to refute it, which is fine. Just leave the article up for consideration. I’m just gonna post in here, too, just in case someone takes it off again. . . grrr).
~~~In Creation Media~~~~
see also creationism
Creation scientists have put forth several alternative views to the identity of the Neanderthals. These theories and beliefs are primarily from the young earth creationism camp. These views are not held by the scientific community[I differ with this comment from my son's. There are bonafide scientists who DO believe in the young earth model]. One which holds no basis in the scientific evidence is the argument that Neanderthals are not of the group ”Homo”, but rather belong to the category of apes. Other Creationists, such as with the Answers in Genesis Institute state that Neanderthals were fully human, along with categories such as Cro-Magnon, but unlike the full ape australopithecines. (Anthropology and Apeman Questions and Answers). According to some, diseases such a rickets caused the unusual shapes of the bones. An additional factor to disease may have been undue stress on the jaw, since the Neanderthals were likely to have used their mandibles as tools. This theory is put forth in the book by the author, Marvin L. Lubenow, entitled ”Bones of Contention: A Creationist Assessment of Human Fossils”. The Creationists who support the full humanity of Neanderthals as ”Homo sapiens neanderthalensis,” or even as ”Homo sapiens sapiens,” use as support the find that Neanderthal DNA is 99.5% to 99.9% identical to modern humans. They point out that 99.9 percent is the same percentage similarity as between any two modern humans National Geographic.
Another view is proposed by author and webmaster Dr. Jack Cuozzo, which contends that Neanderthals were fully human individuals who lived to extreme age. Jack Cuozzo homesite. His book Buried ”Alive: The Startling, Untold Story About Neanderthal Man” gives details to his researching a number of original Neanderthal skulls. His theory states that the unusual skeletal shapes are due to the life-long outward growth exhibited by the bones of humans. Long life is also used to explain in part the great deal of injuries that appear to have been sustained by the individuals. Under this view, the Neanderthals would have been physically superior to modern humans due to them having been closer to the creation, and therefore having been less degenerated from the “fall” than modern humans. Attesting to this view is the apparent strength and dexterity described in CNN of the Neanderthals, as well as their greater cranial capacity. Under the Cuozzo theory, all modern humans are 100% descended from the Neanderthals. The proponents of the full human views generally accuse evolutionists of ignoring or downplaying physical evidence of the Neanderthals’ technological sophistication, due to evolutionists not wishing to compromise their “dogmatic” paradigm. (Those Sophisticated Cave Men). The purpose of these Creationist theories is to attempt to fit them into the early Biblical accounts of people living past nine hundred years. This would place the neanderthals in the period before Noah’s flood as well as in the period shortly thereafter. Noah, who lived to be 950 years old according to the Bible, would have been a Neanderthal, as would Adam (930 years) and Methuselah (969 years).
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A friend of mine sent me an email last night. I thought it was very cute, and relevant in that “attitude” is so important to our well-being and happiness. The Bible tells us to keep our minds on good thoughts. I think there is a reason for that, and that is that our thoughts affect our minds and bodies whether it is positive or negative. Negative emotions have been shown to lower or depress our immune systems, while positive emotions have been shown to boost our immune systems.
Some say that laughter is a way to give your body an internal massage. Have you ever laughed so much your sides hurt? I know I have, and boy can laughing be a rush! Even the Bible says, ” A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”
Getting back to “attitude,” I do think a good attitude is important to health and the ability to heal. There are more passages in the Bible which seem to indicate the affects of attitude on our health. Another example is, “A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.” Proverbs 15:30 states, “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.” Proverbs 16:24 states, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Psalm 51:8 states, “Make me hear joy and gladness,That the bones You have broken may rejoice.” This makes me wonder sometimes about the increase of disease in the world and the difficulty to heal these new diseases. Could part of it be due to wrongful attitudes? I’m sure there are many, many causes, but I feel that attitudes do contribute to our health, either for good or bad. In search of information for blood diseases, I have come across some angry or unhappy people who even though we share the same or similar illness seem more bent on pitting natural healing against conventional drugs rather than just plain rejoicing in success whether it’s from natural or conventional. I think that shows a bad attitude. Why are people so angry? It’s people like that who I try to avoid because the Bible makes references to grief causing rottenness to the bones and to avoid strife. Also, from a person who has suffered a bone marrow disorder, I realise the importance of our bones. It encases the blood producing cells in our bodies, blood being essential to life. A study of blood in the Bible also yields many references to the importance of blood and life.
A search on “mind” in the Bible also seems to yield many references to not only our physical health, but our spiritual health. We are instructed to keep our minds on good things. “8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” And, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” The examples go on and on, and that is why I think the Bible is so practical. Often people spiritualize the Bible, but I think it has so much practical advice that we can use now, which helps our physical needs.
The bottom line is, I believe we need to cultivate good thoughts and good attitudes, so that we can live more fully, and that is why the email my friend, Vickey, sent me last night has moved me to share what she sent. It was titled “Attitude.”
Attitude
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror,and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today?” So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. “H-M-M,” she said, “I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today?” So she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. “Well,” she said, “today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.” So she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. “YEA!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”
Attitude is everything.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly…….
Leave the rest to God
With love
Thank you, Vickey.
Marlakins
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