There is plenty of science to be found in and about the Bible. Not only does archeology continue confounding skeptics and confirming biblical truth, as we’ve noted before, but twenty-first-century life sciences and physiology should stand in awe of biblical scientific understanding.
Consider the following Scriptural insights:
“The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).
This thematic principle of the Bible is true in great medical and physiological detail. Scratches on the skin, bacteria in the throat, and sore, infected glands - all these are everyday occurrences and as such are entirely mundane. After a few days, these things disappear. But their presence indicates the tremendous warfare continually taking place on a bio-molecular and cellular level between bacterial, viral, and toxic invaders of our bodies, and the blood-borne armies of our immune system. If it were not for these defending “troops”, the invaders would kill us pretty quickly. Viruses disguise themselves by hiding within the body’s own cells, a “uniform” which the immune system’s “soldiers” have learned to overlook. In this situation, the blood’s defense system must deploy special trained “commandos”, the B- and T-lymphocytes.
The thing that keeps us alive against the ravages of infections and other “uncleanness” is the blood’s immune system. Furthermore, for the spiritual truth part, we can make the connection between our own blood’s immune system cleansing us, albeit imperfectly, from physical infection, and the blood of Christ cleansing us from spiritual infection (sin)! (1 Peter 1:18,19; John 6:53).
“Bright eyes gladden the heart, and good news puts fat on the bones” (Proverbs 15:30). “A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries out the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).
As detailed in the blog post of March 20, many reports have demonstrated the benefits of a “positive attitude” and the problems of a depressed attitude in battling through disease, medical recovery from illness, surgery, etc. Medical science realizes that a good immune system is far and away the “best medicine”, and the body’s immune system is to a large degree a function of the healthy activity of bone marrow.
Bone marrow is a moist tissue rich in fats (50% fat), containing the DNA and plenty of nourishment for the comprehensive production of billions of the different blood cells: red cells for the transport of oxygen, blood platelets for clotting, and the various white cells of the immune system (granulocytes, macrophages, and lymphocytes). While the immune system’s blood cells are developed, concentrated, and trained in other organs and systems of the body, they are all initially produced in the bones. There’s a lot to be said for fat-healthy bone marrow.
“A man’s belly shall be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth, and by the increase of his lips shall he be filled; death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:20,21).
There’s also a lot to be said for the old “gut feel”. Ninety percent of the serotonin produced in our bodies is produced in our intestines. Serotonin is one of the important hormones for providing a feeling of satisfaction and well-being. A huge concentration of over 100 million neurons are in our “gut” and connected to our hearts and brains through the Enteric Nervous System (ENS) and the central vagus nerve so that all three organs can influence each other. Furthermore, our brains are activated by talking, and the opportunity to communicate with others is vital to our well-being. Studies on our need to talk and feel like we are being heard have found that serotonin levels increase from this experience. And there’s a difference between negative and positive speech. That the Bible would make the connection between “a man’s belly”, “satisfaction”, and “the fruit of his mouth” shows a scientific understanding that we are still only glimpsing.
Emotional stress leads to cellular ill-health. More and more we are finding that our emotions and indeed our thinking is related to hormones produced in various organs of the body. The brain, heart, and gut all respond to, as well as generate, these hormones. Stress hormones which arise from depression, fears, anxiety, and anger, are killers which lead to cancer, heart disease, and many other illnesses.
Physical responses to emotional stress are commonly understood by people. We blush when we experience the emotion of embarrassment. We vomit or have tachycardia when we experience fear or surprise. Our blood pressure increases when we are angry. Lie detectors can measure physical changes due to feelings of guilt. Physical function is a result of non-physical factors!
Indeed the Bible’s condensed message is arguably that our physical state is a response to our spiritual state. Think about it. This makes it the greatest physiology textbook of all time. Spiritual well-being, moral behavior, and abiding in Christ, in faith, hope, and love generate emotional well-being and transcend physical well-being. Our spiritual failure from the beginning, our sin, is the source of the suffering and death which plague our existence. And it has led to a certain mental illness – to a certain dementia in us all, which blinds us to truth.
This is why we all need to keep leaning in to the truth and counsel of the Bible! “Blessed is the man… (whose) delight is in the law (word) of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night” (Psalm 1:1-3).
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