Of Life and Light

All things were made by Him…In Him was life and the life was the light of men (John 1: 3, 4)

The phrase ‘to create’ is now loosely applied to the works and accomplishments of human beings. This phrase is no longer exclusively applied to God. For instance, movies, songs, art and many other accomplishments are often said to be creations of human beings. However, although the phrase is thus applied, there is still a great difference between human accomplishments and God’s creative genius. Only God can bring objects into being, ex nihilo, and impart life to them – both temporal and eternal life.

John introduces Jesus as the pre-existing One through whom all things were created; the Word and co-Creator. Only the source of life can impart life, sustain it, and have authority over it. He alone can destroy it or let it thrive. In the days of His flesh, Jesus demonstrated transcendent power over the regularities of nature. He called back to life dead, decomposing bodies. He infused life in the lifeless cells and tissues of lepers. He defied gravity and strode on water. He spoke to storms and they responded to His voice by quieting down. He demonstrated His power over demonic forces by commanding them to keep quiet and come out of their victims, restoring mental vigor and robustness. He restored sight to the blind using His voice or touch, nothing else. Jesus exuded life in all its fullness. He was the embodiment of life. Through Him inorganic and organic life came to be, spontaneously. He did not have to wait for it to evolve over millions of years from lifeless matter and energy into complex biological forms of life. Life in all its forms was inherent in Jesus although His main focus was eternal life (John 5:24). Earthlings cannot have access to eternal life in Jesus without passing through temporary life.

After the Fall, darkness descended on mankind in the form of sin and death. Mankind was unplugged from the Source of life.  Jesus came to plug us back and to restore us to our original status and place in God.  This is how He destroyed the works of the devil, with His own life.  As the Light of the world, He dispelled darkness. In Him there is no death, nor disease nor sin, only life, and life thrives where there is light as is evident even in the natural world. The darkness that had engulfed our world was so intense that when the Creator arrived, it did not recognize Him (John 1:10). He came unto His own and His own rejected Him except for a band of a few women, fishermen, small business entrepreneurs, and tax collectors. But that was enough. The light He infused in them beamed across the ancient world and continues to do so as a witness to Him who is the Light and Life.

Interesting Info about Prescription Meds

Síle Lane is a scientist who works as director of international campaigns and policy at Sense about Science, which is a charity organization that endeavors to challenge misrepresentations of science and scientific evidence. She advocates for honesty and transparency in scientific research.

It is reported that much information and data related to clinical trials is deliberately being withheld from the general public.1 The data costs not only money and time, but human lives, too. This means that not all medications that are approved and placed on the market for consumption are safe. The health and wellbeing of the general public relies on decision makers composed of physicians, regulators and researchers. However, the effectiveness of decision-making can be compromised if some decision-makers have access to only 50% of the results of clinical trials. In the 1980s a drug called Lorcainide was tested in clinical trials both in the United States and in Europe. Although the findings indicated that individuals who took the medication during the clinical trial were more likely to die than those who were not given the medication, these results were not published until more than 10 years after the drug had been authorized to go on the market. As a consequence, approximately, 100,000 people died from it. Another case involved Tamiflu, an anti-flu medicine. A government regulator in the United Kingdom recommended that the government should buy the drug, based on findings from clinical trials. The government bought it at about £473 million to prepare for a possible flu pandemic. But investigations and analyses of clinical trials about the same drug by an independent research network known as Cochrane found that it was ineffective.

As a response to this alarming scenario, the European Union has passed, which will go into effect in 2018 in which it will be required that all clinical trials conducted within the Union be registered on public databases even before they begin. This way, interested individuals will be able to follow the trials as they unfold. Within one year after the trial is completed, a summary of its findings will be required to be posted on the database. There are also organizations and movements that are springing up such as AllTrials composed of researchers, patients and other stakeholders demanding that policy makers and sponsors of clinical trials publish the findings before they are destroyed. In 2016, the United Nations released a report asserting that all clinical trials results should be published and available to whoever wants to have access to them. Being informed is being armed with power to make appropriate decisions from a position of authority. Ignorance in such cases is not bliss.

 

 

Sources

Lane, S. (2017). The hidden truth about our prescription medications. Science. IDEAS.TED.COM Accessed from http://ideas.ted.com/the-hidden-truth-about-our-prescription-medications/