CLASS 5
IV. The Physiology of Faith Continued
A. The Nervous System Network
While under threat, two primary nervous system elements are jolted into action.
The voluntary nervous system moves our muscles and obeys our direct command.
On the other hand, the involuntary nervous system regulates ordinary automatic functions outside voluntary control, such as our heartbeat, respiration, and digestion.
This involuntary system is itself divided into two branches: Parasympathetic and Sympathetic nervous systems. The Parasympathetic nervous system maintains our internal organs' normal, smooth functioning when calm and at rest. The Sympathetic nervous system has an opposite function and is responsible for mobilizing the endocrine system causing the body to react when we are emotional or excited.
The blood flow to the Kidneys, Intestines, and skin decreases so that more blood can pump to the muscles.
The Adrenal Glands, which can produce more than 150 hormones, send out Glucocorticoid hormones which prepare the internal organs, shutting down systems that may not be needed and arousing others that are more critical.
Adrenaline pours out of the Adrenal Glands for up to an hour, causing blood pressure to rise and the heart to beat more forcefully. We feel a sudden "jolt," often accompanied by dread or terror.
Within seconds, the excess adrenaline can cause our heart to race, our respiration to become rapid and shallow, and profuse sweating begins, accompanied by trembling and shaking.
Our body perspires to cool down, and our hands and feet become cold. Excess stomach acid is released, digestion is inhibited, the spleen reduces our metabolic rate, and red blood cells increase.
Adrenaline simultaneously improves short-term memory and mental sharpness.
The pupils of our eyes dilate and become larger to see more of the surroundings in case of any more threats. We can make decisions fast and then act on them.
Glucose is produced and provided as energy as blood pressure rises due to some blood vessels dilating to ensure the body's muscles get the nutrients they need while others constrict.
Platelets get sticky as they prepare to clot and stop bleeding from any injury we might sustain.
Over time, however, the blood vessel walls get battered as plaque begins to form, which causes a narrowing of the arteries.
Sugar is then released from storage in the liver and pours into the bloodstream along with Fatty Acids because of this increased energy demand.
This rapidly burning fuel is delivered to our muscles, giving us superhuman strength, such as lifting a heavy object like a car pinning someone underneath it.
Next, these hormones continue circulating and keep the body on alert until the third phase, when the body reaches exhaustion and requires rest to refuel. Some consequences include sleeplessness that can result, at least partly, from a depleted source of Serotonin. People feel tense and irritable and experience nausea, acne, and headaches.
The high level of hormones and neurotransmitters can influence the Brain and wreak havoc on the immune system, making us more vulnerable to illness. For example, the hormone Interferon is necessary for specific immune system cells to do their jobs.
Stress can completely wipe out the body's interferon levels, reducing them to zero.
One kind of immune cell is the Lymphocyt, the natural killer cell. Natural killer cells have two functions.
First, they patrol the body and seek out virus-infected cells for elimination.
Second, they protect us from cancer cells.
The immune system has to kill off these invading infections and cells, or the body can be overwhelmed by the infection or the tumor.
B. The Epigenome
Because the human body is an immune system, genes can fix themselves. However, sometimes mutations can't be rectified, so the disease is the result. The Epigenome is a chemical compound that modifies or influences which genes are active and which proteins are produced in a particular cell.
Within the church, there has been the belief that sickness and disease directly result from personal sins committed or a generational curse causes them.
Every human being is born under the curse of sin. They are all individually responsible for their actions. People are not victims of curses placed on them through no fault or by the wrong actions of previous generations. Their sins are their responsibility, not anyone else's!
The Born-Again Christian is no longer responsible for - or subject to - the sins of their father or the generational consequences of their family blood-line because:
“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom 8:1-2 NIV)
The blood of Jesus has already broken every curse from a Christian’s life, or that may be in their bloodline. Because they are righteous in standing before God, they are redeemed from the "curse of the Law.” (Gal 3:13-14 NIV)
During the 20th century, scientists came to believe that genetics plays a major role in understanding the cause of human disease and that genes essentially control a person’s life. Therefore, they are sadly a victim of their heredity genes.
Continuing research within the field known as ‘Environmental Health’ has begun to question whether genetic predisposition makes a person sick and could include the interaction between genes and environmental exposure. Genetic variability between individuals can be measured precisely through research by the Human Genome Project.
The type and amount of environmental exposure to metals and solvents, biological agents such as toxins released from mold and bacteria, and lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity are all considered factors in disease. It is also believed that social factors such as child abuse and maternal care may also affect the epigenome and cause changes.
Science has long held a dogmatic belief in Newtonian physics, which states that humans live in a mechanical universe and the human body is a biological machine with parts that can be modified through drugs and therapies for optimal health. Quantum physics revealed the flaws in Newtonian physics by showing that the invisible, immaterial realm is far more important than the material realm for optimal health and bio-equilibrium.
C. The Genome
Every cell in the human body has a nucleus containing a collection of genes called a genome made up of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). This hereditary material exists in nearly every cell of the body. It is an incredibly powerful information storage device containing about 3 billion nucleobases, which are the DNA double helix's building blocks that resemble a twisted ladder. More than 99% of them are the same in all human beings.
They contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA (ribonucleic acid), which acts as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins.
DNA comprises four chemical nucleobases, with a pair on each double helix ladder rung. The sequence of the nucleobases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to how letters of the alphabet appear in a specific order to form words and sentences.
They provide the genetic code and are composed of different sequences with instructions for making the proteins to carry out a cell's particular function. Humans have about 3.12 billion pairs of chemicals that form between 35,000 and 40,000 genes!
Genomes use genetic code within DNA to instruct the cells on how to control genes. The genetic code uses a 64-letter alphabet language called codons and duons stacked upon each other.
One describes how proteins are made, and the other instructs the cells on how genes are to be controlled. Duons appear to stabilize certain beneficial features of proteins and how they are made and inform cells how to make life-bearing proteins, and then instruct those cells on how genes are to be controlled.
The human body contains trillions of cells and essentially has two genomes containing all of the genetic information in the body. They comprise the DNA in chromosomes and the DNA in mitochondria which are structures in the cell's cytoplasm. The cytoplasm is the substance of a cell that lies outside the nucleus, which is responsible for converting nutrients into energy production in the body as the primary energy source of each cell.
At the end of each chromosome are ‘caps’ called telomeres that protect the DNA during cell division. Telomeres shorten slightly each time a cell divides and are used as an index of cell aging. Studies have found that there is an association with psychological distress, obesity, weight, smoking, drinking, and several other factors, such as impairment of the body’s immune system, which may contribute to the shortening of the telomeres and result in accelerated biological aging which could contribute to early onset of diseases such as cancer, dementia, diabetes, and depression that are usually found in those advanced in age.
D. Designer Genes
Within the genome are protein-coding parts called genes. The genome contains two copies of every gene inherited from the mother and father. The human body has between 20,000 and 25,000 genes. They hold the directions for making the body's vital proteins function correctly. Different sets of genes are turned on or off in various kinds of cells at different points in time. Differences in the types and amounts of proteins produced determine how cells look, grow, and act.
Each cell in the body activates only a fraction of its genes. The majority are left dormant. The cells don’t know what to do with the DNA without instructions called epigenetic markers. Every cell membrane has receptors that pick up various environmental signals.
This mechanism controls the "reading" of the genes inside the cells. The cells can then decide if they want to read the genetic coding depending on the signals the brain sends. Regulating which genes are turned on or off is essential to normal development as it allows cells to react quickly to environmental changes.
A genome mutation can severely affect protein production, leading to health issues. Because of sin entering the genes of the human race through the fall of Adam and Eve, mutations that changed the genetic code continued to occur.
E. Epigenomics
Researchers are exploring the Epigenome through a field called Epigenomics which is the study of all the chemical tags on the genome that control the activities of genes. This differs from Genomics, which is the study of all the changes that occur in the order, or sequence, of the DNA building blocks that make up the genome.
Scientists once thought that diseases were caused mainly by changes - or mutations in DNA sequence - that either disrupt protein production or lead to abnormal proteins. Recently, researchers have learned that changes in the Epigenome may cause or contribute to multiple diseases, making Epigenomics a vital part of efforts to understand the human body better and improve health.
The central dogma of molecular biology has been that biological information is transferred sequentially and only in one direction (from DNA to RNA to proteins). John Cairns, a British molecular biologist, produced compelling evidence in 1988 that human responses to the environment determine the expression of their genes.
Genes in the brain are malleable. That means they can be turned on or off in response to internal and external environmental stimuli such as nutrients, conscious thoughts, emotions, and unconscious beliefs.
Many factors influence whether genes are turned on or off. One is methylation, the first layer on top of the DNA sequence. During methylation, enzymes attach methyl groups composed of one carbon and three hydrogens to the backbone of the DNA molecule in specific genes and begin turning genes off or on by affecting interactions between DNA and the cell's protein-making machinery.
This means that the body's health can be determined by a person’s thoughts and how they react to daily challenges and circumstances. The scientific study of this is called Epigenetics.
F. Epigenetics
The word ‘Epigenetic’ literally means "above the genome.” It was first used by Professor Conrad Waddington at the University of Edinburgh in the 1940s to classify changes between the genome and phenotype, which is “the observable properties of an organism that are produced by the interaction of the genotype and the environment.”
Professor Waddington defined it as “the science concerned with the causal analysis (gene action) of development.” The meaning of Epigenetics has evolved over the years as the study of gene expression and how different environmental and lifestyle factors can alter their behavior without actually changing the genetic makeup.
The epigenome is a dynamic system that determines whether genes are active or inactive. Genes can be turned off and on throughout life through internal (physiological) and external influences (environmental, psychological, spiritual). Research has shown that dysregulation of the epigenetic process can lead to disease through various processes that can determine whether a gene is turned off and stays silent or turned on and becomes active.
Future research on epigenetic changes may improve the understanding of how nurture could alter nature and how the impact of social interaction and various environmental stressors can cause chemical signals that change the expression of genes in the brain and other body organs.
At the center of Darwinian theory is the belief that evolutionary change occurs over millions of years of natural selection. The mounting evidence accumulated by Epigenetic research has resulted in rethinking Darwinian Theory by suggesting that human characteristics are “memorized” by the cells and transmitted between individual generations and not through evolution.
A Christian does not have to worry because their family tree shows a history of genetic sickness and disease.
Jesus Christ is the great “Redeemer.” He has promised to deliver, heal, and restore. God has placed a hedge of protection around every Christian that is made from the shed blood of Jesus. He will never “allow” the enemy to terrorize His children with sickness, disease, heartache, and sorrow. Jesus is faithful and true to His promises!
G. The Beautiful Design
This section may have seemed overly technical, but the human body and its systems are very complex. We have truly been fearfully and wonderfully made. The Beautiful God designed us beautifully! We are His Temple, which requires daily maintenance to stay healthy. The best way to avoid its breakdown is to trust God with every cell of our body.
PRAY – CAN WE ALL COME TO AGREEMENT ON THIS SECTION?
