Perhaps Life Is Becoming Dull

Hello! I haven’t gone to Haiti to get my kids. Maybe I will hear something this week.

My mom was discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning, in her right mind! She had a CT scan and and MRI that were both normal in that they couldn’t explain her mental status changes. She does have a very bad sinus infection. She had a carotid doppler to check out how well blood flows through her carotid artery. She also had an EEG to see if she was having seizure activity. The last two tests haven’t been read yet. So, she was discharged with orders that she couldn’t drive until she followed up with the neurologist. With all the testing and prodding, the doctors also found a urinary tract infection. Geriatric patients sometimes have mental status changes as a first, even primary, sign of a  UTI. Could my mom be considered a geriatrics patient? Certainly, not. Why, that would mean she was old! I am not emotionally prepared to accept this so I won’t.

My grandfather’s blood pressure is stable. He is out of the ICU. He has been diagnosed with hepatolithiasis, essentially he has stones in his liver. One of them escaped his liver and is blocking the flow of his pancreatic enzymes. He was hospitalized on Thursday with pancreatitis and a systemic inflammatory response. I am not quite sure what can be done about his underlying problem. The doctor might try a minimally invasive procedure with sedation. Or, perhaps his physicians can try lithotripsy. I am not sure breaking up the stones will work. My grandfather is medically fragile. He uses an electronic chair because he is very weak. I would describe him as frail. I would not describe his as cachectic or emaciated; he is a large man. I just don’t know if the shock wave will be able to travel through his body and arrive at the stone possessing enough strength to do the job. I suppose now that he is stable, the physician will need to develop a treatment plan. Treatment plans don’t get made on the weekends.

I have a worry! By way of background, Marissa was asked to the prom and she said yes. She didn’t tell me at first because she wanted to go and was afraid I would say no. I didn’t really get the chance to help her identify all the steps she needed to take to go from saying yes to going to the prom. She started thinking of many of them on her own, but much like “clean your room,” the task was too big for her and created paralyzing anxiety instead of action. She cannot break a big job into little jobs. She will probably always need someone to help her do that. I am usually that someone, but there was that sticky worry that she might be told no. So, she didn’t ask me until it was too late. The boy who asked her rented a tux and was looking forward to going to the prom. Marissa didn’t even buy a dress. The Wednesday before the prom, somehow it was decided that they wouldn’t go since Marissa didn’t have a gown. This boy isn’t talking to Marissa. Marissa doesn’t understand why. Anyway, does anyone think it was time Marissa’s FASD became transparent to her peers? Marissa doesn’t want anyone to know, but it is long past the time that she could easily ”pass” for neurotypical. When people don’t understand her, they interpret her behavior based on their own reality. Why would a girl tell a boy she would go to the prom and then not plan to go? Well, a shy, awkward young man might come to some very wrong conclusions.

Friday Marissa and I went to see Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. As I reviewed the concepts put forwarded in this documentary, I wondered how a Christian (and a home schooler who selects her daughter’s science curriculum) should respond to the animosity in the science community toward people who believe in a designer. My basic thoughts are that science should be taught as science and philosophy should not be taught as science. Science classes should focus on those things that are observable, measurable, testable and repeatable. How life began is none of these things. On a more universal level, I do not think Christians should continue to try to force school districts to add Creation or Intelligent Design to their science curriculum; they aren’t observable, measurable, repeatable or testable either. Speciation, adaptation and natural selection occur and can be observed in nature. Curriculum that speculate as to how life first began or whether or not speciation, adaptation and natural selection account for all life on this earth belongs in the area of philosophy and religion. Christians accept that God is the Creator by faith. Atheist accept that life occurred by chance by faith.

In my opinion, the fight has never been what happened to start life. In fact, the argument is not really about science at all. I have a masters degree in nursing. I took two semesters of chemistry, microbiology, human anatomy and physiology, advanced human physiology, and pathophysiology to get my undergraduate degree. I took graduate level physiology classes to get my masters. My nursing classes were heavily based upon the sciences. I was a nurse educator. Darwinism was not an issue. In my entire post-high school academic career, there wasn’t one test question relating to the theory. Even if evolutionary Darwinism is true (and I don’t believe it is), it is a slow process, a process that I won’t observe occurring in my patients. I could understand all of the concepts taught in those classes without ever wondering, “How did we get here?” I believe the main issue is, “What is the nature of man?” In Evolutionary Darwinism, man is a cosmic mistake without inherent value; a person’s value is directly tied to what he or she contributes to society. Man doesn’t have free will. He most certainly wasn’t endowed by his Creator with rights. Ethical decisions are focused on what is best for society and ignore the individual. I cannot embrace this view of man; I find it hopeless. Atheists find real hope in this view of man though. I think Christians sometimes imagine that this is because atheists want to sin and misbehave without answering to a higher authority. In some cases, that might be true. But, I think the bigger draw to this worldview is that, if evolution is true, mankind is still evolving. What hope is there for an evolved man? We could create Utopia. Sadly, history shows us Utopian societies don’t stay that way. A man-centered world simply doesn’t have an adequate way to deal with evil. Oops! There I go looking to the past instead of a perfect, evolved future again. We want the same thing you know. Christians look for a perfect future too, but not by mankind saving itself. Our perfect future comes when Christ returns to rule and reign on this earth, a one-world government that is available for all willing to submit to Christ’s authority. No one will be forced to be a part of the Kingdom through military might, coercion or a corrupt government.

Last, I was surprised by the interview with Richard Dawkins. He is supposed to be a great atheist apologist. Rule of thumb: When debating intellectual ideas, it is not nice and, more importantly, does not strengthen your argument to call people who don’t think like you insane, stupid and ignorant. I would never, ever tell an atheist he or she was insane, stupid or ignorant. Most of them are not. In fact, I would never even tell them they were going to go to hell. If someone doesn’t believe in a Creator, I will tell them why I do. If someone believes in a Creator, but isn’t sure that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the Creator, I will tell them why I think that the Judeo-Christian God is the Creator. If someone believes in the Judeo-Christian God, but does not believe Jesus is the Messiah, I will tell them why I believe Jesus is the Messiah. I am prepared to tell people how God has worked in my life since accepting Jesus as my Savior. But, it is simply not my job to change their mind. Don’t believe me? Read your Bible. I am not prepared to sit in judgement over anyone.