Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Story of Louis Pastuer (1935)



“There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.” Ecclesiastes 1:11 (NIV)
In past years revisionist historians have been rewriting the worldview of Christians who have made some of the major discoveries in biology and medicine. It appears that postmodern revisionists are rewriting history to support their agenda of a more “secular” explanation to science. The Judeo-Christian worldview is not politically correct in most universities. This is true in regard to past scientists such as Louis Pasteur who believed in creation. According to reliable, primary sources such as RenĂ© Vallery-Radot, Pasteur’s son-in-law, Pasteur’s unique view and application of operational science gave him a significant advantage, benefiting mankind in a number of critical areas.
Shortly after Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, Pasteur began to challenge the idea of spontaneous generation—the foundation of the evolutionary view on the origin of life. Pasteur’s simple, but elegant swan-necked flask experiments not only put to rest the organic life-from-non-life idea, but also set the foundation for the law of biogenesis: life only comes from life. The genesis of germs in hospital patients were the result of microbes having parents, not a result of spontaneous generation. This revolutionary idea would have application in many areas of medicine. It forms the basis of sterilization, asepsis in surgery, and the germ theory of disease.
Pasteur had the uncanny ability to combine theoretical, operational, and applied science—the mark of a truly gifted scientist. Pasteur understood the variability of microbes and how he could apply this principle in vaccine preparation. For example, he noticed that Bacillus anthracis cultures sometimes lose their pathogenic ability when heated, and then retain this modified, nonvirulent, or “attenuated” trait through many generations. He applied this concept to vaccinate dozens of sheep that would have otherwise died at a critical time in France. His understanding of this natural variation was also successfully applied in developing vaccines for chicken cholera and rabies.
Although his scientific pronouncements were sometimes abrasive to his fellow scientists, he remained firm in his convictions, borne from painstaking research. Pasteur had a strong religious and humanitarian spirit. He firmly believed in God, as the Creator of all living things. From his knowledge of the Gospels, he wanted to benefit mankind by having his ideas used to “heal the sick.” Ref. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/arj/v1/n1/louis-pasteurs-views

What do you think of Louis Pastuer? Does this article and the movie agree? What is historical revisionism? How do worldviews affect moviemaking?  What scientist would you like to see a movie about?

Intelligent Design - Naming

An example of intelligent design is where Adam named the animals in Genesis 2:19.

"And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every owl of he air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

A name of an object reflects its characteristics and the ability to name something reflects an ability to taken dominion over it.

Does your house cat give you a name?  Do plants name animals? Do people name people? Do light bulbs name electricity? What does God name in Psalm 147:4 or Isaiah 40:26?  Do you see any parallels with naming and the grammar stage of the Trivium? Do you see a line of authority and dominion?

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Biblical Worldview and Germ v. Terrain Theory of Illness

"The news media writes frequently that germs cause disease. Infectious diseases such as swine flu, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, MRSA, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and AIDS have captured the national headlines in recent months. With each passing year, these headlines reveal that some new disease outbreak or plague threatens thousands of lives. For example, in 2009 the news flash “Swine Flu Threatens the Globe” was broadcast across the nation, alarming many people. The emergence of a new strain of flu (H1N1) was said to place millions at risk.

Today, we take for granted that germs cause disease, and many people fear them. Yet for centuries, the concept of germs was virtually unknown. Leprosy, plagues, and pestilence were diseases of mystery through most of history. The cause of infectious (or contagious diseases) was not known. Many speculated that mysterious miasmas caused sickness or that mysterious elements were spontaneously generated. Miasma was thought to be a poisonous gas- or vapor-filled particle of decaying miasmata (matter) that caused various sickness and disease.

Today, the term germ is well known and refers to disease-causing microbes, i.e. pathogens. A pathogen is a microbe capable of causing damage to the host creature in which it lives. One of the central themes in biology is the germ theory of disease (Rutherford and Ahlgren 1990). The germ theory is one of the most important concepts to understand in the age of pandemic flu, MRSA, E. coli, Salmonella, and other deadly infectious diseases.

In this short paper, we provide historical background on the emergence of the germ theory of disease in the 1800s. Christians, Jews, and non-religious scientists have contributed to the germ theory over the past 150 years. The basic history of the germ theory is given in many texts, most often giving credit to the experimental work of Pasteur, Lister, and Koch. However, the role of worldview, and the fact that many of these scientists were Christian and creation biologists, is often left out (Table 1).1 This article seeks to illustrate how creation and biblical thinking led to the germ theory in a logical chain of development. In this article, we would like to show specifically how the historic, biblical worldview of Creation, Curse, Corruption, and Contagion played an important role in the chain of thinking that led to the germ theory (Tables 1 and 2).2 "  Read the rest of the article here.


There is a debate raging across the world as to the validity of the germ theory. Here is a quote from the Biological Terrain Theory folks, which was developed about the same time as germ theory:

"Raw Milk Revolution also explores the debate between the germ theory of illness, to which Western (allopathic) medicine subscribes, and the holistic theory (homeopathic), which the probiotics community hails. One seeks to wipe out all microbes (via drugs, vaccines and pasteurization) to make food sterile. The other recognizes that microbes act in accord with the biological terrain in which they live, and so promotes consuming live foods that boost “friendly” bacteria. (This chart, which also appears in the book, nicely lays out the differences. For a more detailed explanation, see Biological Terrain vs Germ Theory.)  Gumpert quotes the probiotic argument: “People certainly can and do get sick from pathogens, but they do so because of failures in their own immune systems, rather than because the germs are so strong.” He then refers to “an entire body of research [that] has emerged on the benefits of probiotics in preventing illness.”  Recognizing these ideological differences on what causes illness, Salatin asks, “Is not freedom to choose our food at least as fundamental a right as the freedom to worship?”

What do you think?  It is germs that cause disease or a problem with immune system terrain? How should Christians think about these differences?  What science and math could be used to determine which is true and which is false?  Does the sinful nature of man play a role in one or the other viewpoint?  What are the implications for the Kingdom of God?

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Starting Point for Math and Science


"..but a philosophy which begins with matter, structure or change as its ultimate and starting point can never result in a deliniation of the ways of the self-contained Creator of nature. Christian thought has consistently gone astray, throughout most of its history, by seeking to answer the world in terms of the world's own categories." RJ Rushdoony

So, if God really did create heaven and earth, which He did in six literal 24 hour days, then nothing can have any meaning or interpretation that is correct apart from acknowledging this fact.

 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.Proverbs 3:6

Science and math deals with God's created matter and therefore there is beautiful and has thorough meaning in every respect.   It is the joy and responsibility of the Christian to draw near to God in even those details.

Therefore, it seems that it is only time and interest that limits our  discovery of these meaning since God is both the Creator and Providential controller of every electron and quark in the universe.


What are your thoughts about the above points?
Is this important?
Does God's Word apply?
How does our sinful nature impact or view and practice of math and science?
Is the Old Testament old and outdated?
How can we expect the Holy Spirit to be involved in math and science?
What is sin and how can we sin in math and science or can't we sin in math in science?

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Welcome!

This blog will be used during the 2011-2012 academic year as the place for Dr. Bartlett's high school students to post and comment on Biblical thinking in science and math as applied to practical life and seen in God's awesome creation. I expect this to be very interesting as math and science connect to current events and issues such as the Federal Rerserve System, germ theory, NASA search for alien life forms, systems engineering and global socialism, The Reformation influence on discovery and invention, raw milk, and more.