WHAT'S THE PROBLEM

Ask that question in today’s world and you may well be asked to be a bit more specific! Which problem? Which problem out of the multiple thousands, if not millions, that trouble this world today. Problems, many of which, can defy the wit, the intelligence of mankind to resolve! Such resolution is, however, impossible as few understand what caused the problem or problems in the first place. We feel that if we could only get to grips with the cause then we would quickly solve the problem or difficulty. So we try to identify the cause, but then we either identify it wrongly or else if we do establish the cause correctly we then don’t know what to do about it.

Such a situation has now, predictably, arisen in today’s Britain. A report has just been released of a coroner’s inquest into the death of a two year old boy who had a brain disorder which causes fits, sickness and chest infections. Ostensibly he died of pneumonia. His death followed the death of his older sister who at the time was 3 months old. She had had the same brain disorder. The parents have had another baby born with similar neurological problems. After discussion with them the coroner at Bradford, a city in the north of England, said that the little boy’s death should serve as a warning to others. He went on to say “This highlights a cultural and religious issue relating to first-cousin marriages and the potential risk to children that some medical experts say can result from such unions.”

The published report went on to say that in Islamic communities in Britain today such ‘inbreeding’ is common and is as a result of a desire to keep wealth and property within the families. The report went on to show that half of British Pakistanis marry a first cousin and account for 3 per cent of births in Britain. However, they then account for 33% of children born in the nation each year with genetic defects. They are born disabled.

Everyone carries some abnormal genes, but, as the article says, most people don’t have a defect because the normal gene overrules the abnormal one. However, it continues, the chances of a couple having the same abnormal gene are far higher when they are close relatives such as first cousins. A Muslim doctor who runs a health centre in Birmingham put it this way: “We all carry mutations in our genome, the genetic blueprint for our body, half of which comes from our father and half from our mother. But the chances of carrying the same mutations is higher in first cousins and those marrying within very close-knit communities. If both parents carry the same mutations, there is a one-in-four chance of having an affected child – which can result in anything from a mild disability to a catastrophic illness or a miscarriage.”

These marriages are not forbidden in Islam and the Koran doesn’t forbid such close relationships. The bible, however, is very clear in a number of passages concerning marriage and what is a valid marriage and what isn’t. These passages have become enshrined at the base of western thinking and practice even though it is the word of God which generally is ignored. Consequently marriage between first cousins or other close relatives is rare and so too is the birth of babies with serious defects.

Another area concerns that of cancer. In the 66 years, since the ending of the second world war, cancers of all kinds have become a major problem and especially throughout the western world. In fact it is estimated that there are now around 200 different types of cancer. A recent radio programme drew attention to the way cancer has developed these different types so rapidly, and the way the numbers suffering from the disease have also increased, that it is almost as though there is a malignant mind driving it. So rapid is the growth of these various types of cancer you could think of it as an infectious disease. But it isn’t! A lot of thought and research has been devoted to it and the conclusion is that there isn’t just one cause for the disease. It is said that they can start in any type of body tissue, but what affects one body tissue may not affect another.

For example, tobacco smoke breathed in may help to cause cancer, and overexposure to the sun could cause a melanoma on your leg. But the sun won’t give you lung cancer and smoking won’t create a melanoma. However, tobacco smoke is a powerful carcinogen, but not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer! And not everyone, by any means, who sits too long in the sun gets a melanoma! So the reports come to the conclusion that there must be other factors at work as well as carcinogens. And indeed there are! There can, of course, be genetic predispositions, these would mean that the individual could be more at risk from cancer than would otherwise be the case. But this isn’t the whole story!

A feature of life since 1945 has been a degeneration of society in more than one way! There has been a massive rejection of God and His word! This has been accompanied by a breakdown of law and order which has had an adverse and negative effect upon the minds of the population. So there has also been a breakdown of moral standards with everything that that entails. A positive mind can have a positive effect upon the body, but a negative one produces a negative effect! Which is what we have today. Negative, stressed, unhappy, worried people are more likely to develop the conditions for a cancer to appear. But it’s even more than that! The cause of cancer is to be found in many things we do, and don’t do, as a people. We have departed from everything our Creator told us to do! And not do! He, Himself, in His word, said that the world, our society, would in the last days do “whatever was right in its own eyes!” This is now a reality, it is happening, it’s the way our world now is. No wonder cancers are at an all time high, both in type and in number!

God gave us very definite rules about what we should and should not eat! We have ignored those rules. A report from a cancer help society focuses upon a number of issues which, generally speaking, have also been ignored. One report says this “in the western world, many of us eat too much red and processed meat and not enough fresh fruit and vegetables.” God told us, mankind, in the very first chapter of the bible that He had given us “every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” For mankind when first created God intended him to eat fruits, seeds and vegetables. Later, He allowed mankind to eat certain meats. But again, He was very specific and excluded any product of the pig! And with it He also excluded rabbit and similar animals. Then He excluded certain fish and all shell fish! We have totally ignored these rules. God created us, He knows best what is right and fit food for human beings.

It is well known in the western world that hard animal fat should not be included in your diet. But the bible made a point of saying so long before any dietician. The bible says this: “You shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.” It puts it this way because these animals are otherwise fit for human consumption. It doesn’t include the pig in this particular list because as I said a moment ago it makes it clear we shouldn’t even touch a pig’s carcase! Parts of the bible are virtually a dietician’s handbook! Why does the bible make a point of saying we should not eat animal fat? Because as is well known today it is not a fit food! So what can be used instead? What God has already created and can be obtained everywhere in the world. Oils pressed from seeds such as sunflower and from trees such as the olive.

Today’s diet, so the report says, is known to increase the risk of cancer. But that is still only part of the story. There are many additives added to the food produced and offered for sale in the shops. On their own these might not necessarily be a big problem, and some may be of benefit, however added to everything else and combined with everything else they also can become part of the problem.

Have you ever considered radiation? We are aware of X-rays and how these can be a danger if not properly controlled. And, of course, in the hospitals and clinics they are properly controlled. But what about the radiation that fills the space around the planet! We are all bathed day and night, year after year, in massive radiation. And the growth of it seems to be exponential. It builds upon itself. We, that is mankind, have created most of this immense degree of radiation. It emanates from communication systems of all kinds, from powerful radar systems, from the houses, offices, factories in their multiple millions across the planet. A current report from Cancer Research UK lists many of the multiple causes of cancer and lists natural and man made radiation among them.

You may feel we are overstating things somewhat! If anything, we have understated them! Birth defects especially among the immigrant community are increasing rapidly. Reports regarding cancer show a rapidly increasing number of cases. All due to an ignorance of, or disregard of the law of the Eternal God. It’s about time this world woke up to the fact that God does exist and created this planet and populated it for a particular reason. It’s about time this world began to find out what that purpose is and what is it God requires of mankind.

Recently the British newspapers carried reports of two further causes of cancer. One quoted the World Health Organisation who warned that the use of mobile phones could cause cancer. It pointed out that these telephones emit signals in the form of radio waves. These microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation. When we hold a mobile against our ear, the radiation is in direct contact with the tissue in our head. The fear is that this radiation can cause changes to the cells in our brains, especially in the young. The suggestion is to use a hands free system. And also send text messages when possible.

The other report concerned diet and appeared on the front page of one of the national newspapers on 23rd May. It quoted the World Cancer Research Fund which looked at the data on the link between diet and bowel cancer. The conclusion was that red meat and especially pork and also processed meats should be avoided altogether. Why don’t we, in Britain and in the United States take the lead and begin to take the bible seriously. The bible, the word of God, is clearly even more relevant today than it has ever been.

John Jewell