I'm listening to Steve's recordings on Leviticus, and he said the following: "Now this realization that the life was carried in the bloodstream is something that we have come to take for granted because we live after the time where the scientists have confirmed this. But it was only about 300 years ago that secular scientists discovered that this is in fact true, that the life of natural organisms is in the bloodstream, is in the blood. Although scientists didn't discover this until 300 years ago, Moses declared it over 3,500 years ago, another evidence of the inspiration of scripture, because Moses was no scientist -- he wouldn't have known this from his own discoveries in a laboratory with a microscope and so forth." Steve, or others, I wasn't sure what you were referring to here. In what sense has science discovered that life is in the bloodstream? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just not sure I understand what you're saying here.
Thanks, and best regards.
CThomas
Life in the Blood
Re: Life in the Blood
My medical information on the subject came through certain Christian physicians who wrote on the subject, such as Martin R. DeHaan and the surgeon Paul Brand. As for the reference to 300 years, I confess that I have been using that illustration for over thirty years, and do not recall its exact source. I am assuming that the figure is based upon the year 1665, the occasion of the first successful, life-saving blood transfusion. That the life or vitality of one person could thus be transferred to another by the transfer of blood would demonstrate that life is carried in the essence of the blood itself.
As for the meaning of "the life" being "in the blood," I will allow the two aforementioned doctors to explain their understanding of the subject, with which I would find myself in agreement:
“To a surgeon, blood is the emblem of life. That is not just a philosophical or historical concept, but a deeply rooted awareness. Blood is life. Loss of blood is loss of life…the rich, scarlet soup of proteins and billions of cells. To any medical person, blood signifies life and not death. It feeds every cell in the body, sustaining it with its precious nutrients. When it leaks away, life is endangered; perhaps someone else's transfused blood can restore life.” —Paul Brand, MD
"In the human body there are many different kinds of tissues. We define them as muscle, nerve, fat, gland, bone connective tissues, etc. All these tissues have one thing in common, they are fixed cells, microscopically small and having a specific and limited function. Unlike these fixed tissues, the blood is fluid and mobile, that is, it is not limited to one part of the body but is free to move throughout the entire body and touch every other fixed cell as it supplies it with nourishment and carries off waste products and the ashes of cell activity which we call metabolism. In the normal human body there are about five pints of this fluid, and this blood pumped by the heart circulates through the system about every twenty-three seconds, so that every cell in the body is constantly supplied and cleansed and at the same time is in constant communication and touch with every other cell in that body. This blood is the most mysterious of all tissues, being composed of scores of elements and compounds and strange chemical bodies, whose function is not yet fully understood, but all of which have to do with the mystery of life for the "life is in the blood." Once the blood fails to reach the cells and members of the body, they promptly die and no man ever dies until his blood ceases to circulate. The life is in the blood." —Martin R. DeHaan, M.D.
In saying that this information was not known in Moses' day, I should have been clearer. Certainly all ancient societies knew well enough that the loss of blood was associated with the loss of life, and, armed with this knowledge, they could rightly deduce that the blood is the life. However, what could not have been known, prior to modern scientific research, is that the blood is not merely a bright colored liquid, but that it is itself a living stream made up of live cells, which carries all things necessary for life to all the other cells of the body. In that sense, modern people can appreciate the literal sense of the biblical statements to a degree that the writers of the Bible never could have understood them.
As for the meaning of "the life" being "in the blood," I will allow the two aforementioned doctors to explain their understanding of the subject, with which I would find myself in agreement:
“To a surgeon, blood is the emblem of life. That is not just a philosophical or historical concept, but a deeply rooted awareness. Blood is life. Loss of blood is loss of life…the rich, scarlet soup of proteins and billions of cells. To any medical person, blood signifies life and not death. It feeds every cell in the body, sustaining it with its precious nutrients. When it leaks away, life is endangered; perhaps someone else's transfused blood can restore life.” —Paul Brand, MD
"In the human body there are many different kinds of tissues. We define them as muscle, nerve, fat, gland, bone connective tissues, etc. All these tissues have one thing in common, they are fixed cells, microscopically small and having a specific and limited function. Unlike these fixed tissues, the blood is fluid and mobile, that is, it is not limited to one part of the body but is free to move throughout the entire body and touch every other fixed cell as it supplies it with nourishment and carries off waste products and the ashes of cell activity which we call metabolism. In the normal human body there are about five pints of this fluid, and this blood pumped by the heart circulates through the system about every twenty-three seconds, so that every cell in the body is constantly supplied and cleansed and at the same time is in constant communication and touch with every other cell in that body. This blood is the most mysterious of all tissues, being composed of scores of elements and compounds and strange chemical bodies, whose function is not yet fully understood, but all of which have to do with the mystery of life for the "life is in the blood." Once the blood fails to reach the cells and members of the body, they promptly die and no man ever dies until his blood ceases to circulate. The life is in the blood." —Martin R. DeHaan, M.D.
In saying that this information was not known in Moses' day, I should have been clearer. Certainly all ancient societies knew well enough that the loss of blood was associated with the loss of life, and, armed with this knowledge, they could rightly deduce that the blood is the life. However, what could not have been known, prior to modern scientific research, is that the blood is not merely a bright colored liquid, but that it is itself a living stream made up of live cells, which carries all things necessary for life to all the other cells of the body. In that sense, modern people can appreciate the literal sense of the biblical statements to a degree that the writers of the Bible never could have understood them.
Re: Life in the Blood
Hi Steve,
Good answer, but I think this is a typo. Should be five quarts:
Good answer, but I think this is a typo. Should be five quarts:
God bless, HomerIn the normal human body there are about five pints of this fluid, and this blood
Re: Life in the Blood
I cut and pasted the paragraph, so, if there is a typo, it was not mine. By the way, I had heard from another source that the correct quantity was actually eight pints.
Re: Life in the Blood
Steve, this is very helpful. I think I get the point now. Thanks for your help.
God bless,
CThomas
God bless,
CThomas
Re: Life in the Blood
In OT blood was used as an offering for atonement of sin Leviticus 17:11 same in NT Jesus offered his own blood for atonement for his believer.
But I think that Hebrews 13:12 wherein he might sanctify the people with his own blood is figurative and not his literal blood. Hebrews 9:20Saying,
These is the blood of the testament which God had enjoined unto you
Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.
It is not the literal blood but the word that Jesus blood speak is what the Holy Ghost is saying in Hebrews 3:7-8 Today if you will hear hear his voice
,Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
But I think that Hebrews 13:12 wherein he might sanctify the people with his own blood is figurative and not his literal blood. Hebrews 9:20Saying,
These is the blood of the testament which God had enjoined unto you
Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.
It is not the literal blood but the word that Jesus blood speak is what the Holy Ghost is saying in Hebrews 3:7-8 Today if you will hear hear his voice
,Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
__________________
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7
Re: Life in the Blood
Good answer, but I think this is a typo. Should be five quarts:
Right Homer, 5 quarts it is. Plus among many things blood carries oxygen from the lungs to each cell and carries away carbon dioxide. Without oxygen we have no life.
Right Homer, 5 quarts it is. Plus among many things blood carries oxygen from the lungs to each cell and carries away carbon dioxide. Without oxygen we have no life.