"I'm one of those 'higher power' people."
Well, it's only week 3 of my Nutrition class and already I'm being asked why I think humans need to eat to survive and "why our nutrients aren't built in like plants." I actually REALLY enjoyed answering this question and thought I'd share it with you.
Question as posed by professor:
"After reading Chapter 3, I hope you come away with how amazing the human body really is. And yet, there are some short-falls in our bodies which include the inability to produce many of the essential nutrients for ourselves. Plants have us beat in that department. Why do you think nature (or "higher power" if that is your belief system) has made us so reliant on FOOD in order for us to get so many of the essential nutrients needed to survive? In other words, why can't our BODIES produce and provide these nutrients for us? (Saying that the higher power simply "made us this way" will not suffice as an answer). Realize this type of question does not have a right or wrong answer....the purpose is for you to really stretch your thinking to try and figure out why humans are built to be so vulnerable upon our environment."
My answer:
"I’m one of those “higher power” people. I believe that the perfect world was created by God in 6 days and that He created everything exactly the way He did with a purpose. God created man to work, to cultivate the ground and to eat the fruit of the ground for sustenance. When we are comparing ourselves to plants and saying “in order to survive we need the right balance of nutrients from the food we eat, but plants don’t have to do anything,” we are incorrect. Plants “soak up” nutrients from the ground as well as absorbing nutrients from the sun, they have to rely on another source just like we do. Some plants even have to eat, such as the Venus Fly Trap and other plants of that kind. Plants need different nutrients than humans do, because we are not the same. I have always been in awe of how amazing the body is, and chapter 3 just served to uphold that belief. If someone chooses to believe in evolution and that it is a matter of chance that our bodies work and function the way they do, that is their choice. I, for one, am struck with how intricate our bodies work, and how we need specific nutrients to survive, nutrients that have been provided for us through plants. We don’t even need to eat meat, but we can get protein and other nutrients from milk, eggs and beans. It is my belief that we are built to rely so heavily upon our environment because by doing so we rely heavily on God to sustain and provide for us."
Interested to see what type of feedback I get, and praying that I can answer anything Biblically and without reproach. :)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Disobedience
Today in my bible reading I came across a section I hadn't really noticed before. I mean, of course I had read it plenty of times, but for some reason it seemed like something I had never read before.
Romans 1:28-32 says "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do the but give approval to those who practice them."
Well, of course we are supposed to be obedient to our parents, I mean, not only was it one of the 10 commandments, but it is also repeated in the New Testament. Obedience is implied in Matthew 22:39, "and a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself." We are to love and respect others as we would like to be loved and respected or how we would love and respect (and treat) ourselves. I personally feel that this would imply obedience to parents.
More clearly stated, we see that Ephesians 6:1-3 says "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." We are promised that if we honor our parents, things may go well with us. Now, what exactly does it mean to "honor" our parents? Lets see what Webster has to say about it, shall we? One definition is "a showing of usually merited respect," such as recognition. Another definition is "a gesture of deference," and the example was to bow. I personally liked how Bakers Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology put it, "While honor is an internal attitude of respect, courtesy, and reverence, it should be accompanied by appropriate attention or even obedience. Honor without such action is incomplete; it is lip service."
Back to Romans. Most people would come up with many of these things if they were asked to make a list of things that were "sins." Action sins are often rather obvious, while the internal sins of thought and attitude are a lot more difficult to perceive. I often don't even realize when I am sinning inwardly. Fortunately I have learned to realize when I am having an inward attitude problem and check is for a better outlook.
Wow, back to Romans again. (I tend to think about way too many things at once, which leads me on a tangent around and I end up writing about those other random thoughts instead of what I set out to think about.) Anyways... many people don't look at honoring and obeying their parents as important, or as something they need to put time into, but for me, it's really important. I end up seeking my parents advice and council about nearly every big move I make in my like, and even though I don't always get the advice or instruction that I hope for, I know that they are truly seeking to help me make the most God honoring decision, as well as what's best for me.
Anyways, all that from reading a few chapters in Romans today for my devotions. Funny how something so small as a verse can spark something as big as this thought tangent of mine.
Romans 1:28-32 says "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do the but give approval to those who practice them."
Well, of course we are supposed to be obedient to our parents, I mean, not only was it one of the 10 commandments, but it is also repeated in the New Testament. Obedience is implied in Matthew 22:39, "and a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself." We are to love and respect others as we would like to be loved and respected or how we would love and respect (and treat) ourselves. I personally feel that this would imply obedience to parents.
More clearly stated, we see that Ephesians 6:1-3 says "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." We are promised that if we honor our parents, things may go well with us. Now, what exactly does it mean to "honor" our parents? Lets see what Webster has to say about it, shall we? One definition is "a showing of usually merited respect," such as recognition. Another definition is "a gesture of deference," and the example was to bow. I personally liked how Bakers Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology put it, "While honor is an internal attitude of respect, courtesy, and reverence, it should be accompanied by appropriate attention or even obedience. Honor without such action is incomplete; it is lip service."
Back to Romans. Most people would come up with many of these things if they were asked to make a list of things that were "sins." Action sins are often rather obvious, while the internal sins of thought and attitude are a lot more difficult to perceive. I often don't even realize when I am sinning inwardly. Fortunately I have learned to realize when I am having an inward attitude problem and check is for a better outlook.
Wow, back to Romans again. (I tend to think about way too many things at once, which leads me on a tangent around and I end up writing about those other random thoughts instead of what I set out to think about.) Anyways... many people don't look at honoring and obeying their parents as important, or as something they need to put time into, but for me, it's really important. I end up seeking my parents advice and council about nearly every big move I make in my like, and even though I don't always get the advice or instruction that I hope for, I know that they are truly seeking to help me make the most God honoring decision, as well as what's best for me.
Anyways, all that from reading a few chapters in Romans today for my devotions. Funny how something so small as a verse can spark something as big as this thought tangent of mine.
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