Biology and the Supernatural

Biologists and Christians like to fight each other on theories, but what if we didn't have to?

Here's the argument I'll explore right now: Hormones. The biologist says certain feelings are normal, such as desires for sex (especially at young ages and with the growing rate of precocious puberty). And the Christians say that teenage pregnancies, and teens having sex is because of a lack of morals, and demonic influence.

What if both are right?

Perhaps--now, bear with me, because it's simply a perhaps--spiritual forces affect the balance of hormones. How could this happen? Well, the balance of hormones has something to do with what you eat, and the amount of environment stress in your surroundings. So what if the supernatural forces (the bad ones, now) influenced you to eat a certain way, or God allowed certain stresses to be put on you? Your body would act in it's "imperfected" way, would react in a way to protect itself, and find ways to relieve it's stress. It would most likely cause other hormones to be imbalanced, etc. etc. etc.

I don't know a lot about science in this area, however, I know the brain is functioning based on certain hormones, or proteins. These hormones, or proteins are coded for in DNA and RNA and made in the ribosomes (or transported from there?) and the way to build all of this is by taking in the proper nutrients.

If the spiritual realm could effect our eatting habits, hungers, and desires, it could then control our body's susceptibility to sin ... This, of course, would be a suddle and easy way to distract people, because our reaction to life, weather, etc. is based on the way our bodies were designed to handle them, and they could be playing on the weaknesses in that design (not to diss God's work, but admitting to the fact that we're all imperfect beings).

A deeply integrated need

Lots of people in current times like to shy from the word “religious”. They don’t want to be considered religious, and a lot of times they don’t go to church often.

Yet I think there’s a fear for God still in them.

No, this isn’t because you see them worshipping all the time. It’s not because you see them relying on God for anything. But notice, when people want something really bad, or are completely desperate, their first instinct is to fold their hands, or walk into a church.

Could it be that faith is born with us? What if we were designed with some sort of need for God whether we acknowledge him or not?

Listen to BarlowGirl’s song “Pedestal”. It talks about needing someone perfect. How many young kids find role models? The little girls modeling their Bratz dolls, and wearing Hannah Montana wigs are a great example. What is it in us that makes us need to find a model of the person we want to be, then shadow their steps?

What if God put this desire in us so we’d look to him and follow his steps? It seems plausible, doesn’t it? The “intellectuals” mock the “religious” because someone “created” that God for the purpose of answering questions that no one else had the answers to that science now fills the spaces to. But what if that’s not true. I mean, think about it: if we didn’t have a need to worship, why would we have “created” a God? I think it’s more than brain receptor transmissions. There is something in us that craves an idol, that craves worship. And even those intellectuals who follow science wholeheartedly need something to believe in, something to grasp and passionately pursue.

But science can’t explain this desire in its entirety yet, can it?

broken heart

“Girls become slutty when they get their heart broken.”

The above statement, made by one of my friends, seems to be true. But let’s look into it, and the reason why it could make sense.

I am going to come across as sexist, and strong here, but I’m doing this as not only venting, but as a warning. And no, don’t worry, friends: it’s not my current boyfriend. He’s more kind to me than I could ever ask for. But my last boyfriend? Damn, it still stings.

Girls, please, please, please heed my warning: never chose a man based on his words. Everyone can talk the talk. You know that Satan knows the Bible, right? Probably better than some Christians. Chose your boyfriend based the way he acts. Look at the way he treats his family and his friends. Deeply, too. I’m not saying just the surface, but how he really treats him. Get to know him before you let him in. Get the basics down, and decide then if you want to pursue him further.

And girls know that you deserve his attention. Remember, dating is the step before marriage. Girls, if he doesn’t pay attention to you when in the midst of other girls, and if his hobby is getting other girls’ numbers, say good-bye. Don’t do that to yourself.

I remember one day I spent hours getting ready for a dinner with him. I took hours to make my hair look beautiful, and I wore a pretty dress. I never got one compliment without prying. The dinner, I felt uncomfortable in my dress as my boyfriend talked to the girl beside him and did really nothing to make me comfortable. Then the ride home? He proceeded to stick his hand in my dress. As he walked through the door that night, he smiled and laughed and acted as if nothing ever happened. I yelled at him in the car. He wouldn’t even look at me. And then he tried to make it up with a kiss before he went inside to deceive my family and his.

I cried that night. I knew that meant he was good at acting, but you know what? I lied to myself. I justified him. I justified him. And every time he came back with another girl’s number and looked at other girls. I told myself just what he told me “just because you think someone’s pretty doesn’t mean you have feelings for them.” Or wait, was he just discussing how he felt about me? (Listen carefully to the things he says; if it could pertain to you, he could be lying to you).

And girls, if you see that he’s abusive, leave. Leave. Don’t lie to yourself. If you watch him hurt someone, don’t tell yourself that’s normal. Please don’t try to justify it. If he gets angry enough to hit his little sister over nothing, couldn’t he do the same to you? And trust me, there are guys out there that can control themselves. Their tempers, their hands. If your boyfriend doesn’t know how to control anger impulses, or sexual impulses, you need to learn how to leave. There will be other boys.

Heed my warning. Please.

If you do things to show him how much you love him and care about him, and he uses your notes and gifts to graffiti on, he’s not giving you the respect you deserve.

I know it seems unbelievable, but there are going to be boys that will treat you with respect. There are boys out there that care, and that control themselves. I found one now. But the whole time before I told myself that’s the way they were. I told myself that he acted the way he did because I was boring and that’s just what boys do. They don’t all have to do that. If that’s the extent of your relationship, that’s a true warning sign to get out.

I look back and hate the way I lied to myself throughout my broken relationship. I hate the way that I let the boy have my heart, and let him stomp it out, and in the end, I never saw that he truly hadn’t been treating me right the entire time. Two years in the future is the first time I can look back and say “Wow, he was bad to begin with. How did I not see that?” There were factors that made it harder – like my family being in love with the boy, and my friends not being too much of a help (until after).

Let me tell you something, it’s true: you become sluttier after your heart is broken. You think, when you fall in love with an abusive boy, that that’s all people will love you for and that’s all you’re worth. You are worth more than that. You are worth a lot more than, girls. Give yourself some credit, because if you don’t, no one else will.

And I know that sometimes when boys give you attention, even if you don’t have a crush on them, you think it’s harmless to flirt and it makes you feel better about yourself. I’ll tell you, you’ll end up trusting in them, and in the end you’ll find yourself in the same old boat. They’ll love you because they think that you’re so beautiful. But let me tell you, that’s about the depth of it. They say that they’ll date you and they’ll sleep with you, but the latter is all their looking for. Don’t fall for it; shut boys down. Don’t let them degrade you. Don’t let them hurt you. If their compliments make you uncomfortable, don’t let yourself continue to listen to them.

I hope everyone forgives me for the lack of beauty in these words, but I need a release. I need people to know how much in the end it hurts to be broken like this. Don’t let them hurt you, girls. I’ve cried. I’ve cut. I’ve been so depressed I could hardly wake up in the morning, and the only thing I could do was run or clean or do something that took all my focus to do so I could forget about the hurt. I pushed it aside for years, and never really had the strength to look through the entirety of the relationship. I looked through the “extreme” parts, but never the little things that happened, too. But I see now, that if I had, I could have seen that the “extreme” parts were coming. And I’m finally let myself cry for real without feeling guilty for all of the little hurts. I want to be free of the pain, and I think that by letting me feel it fully, it will be able to be released from me, for good. Don’t fall into the pressure, and become sluttier, and lower your standards because you think that’s all that’s available. Trust me, there are more available than what you think.

The natural and the unnatural

I used to wonder if people thought like me. You know, like am I the only one with such a cold heart? The only one who puts my interests before others at times? The only one that ever ... was completely selfish?

I find myself constantly rethinking every action. Was that act of kindness truly done for my love for the person or was I expecting something in return? I have to wonder if my own actions have alterier motives.

I am actually in the process of reading a collection of essays on depression. In one of them, it talks about how love is not natural. Think about it from a Darwinian stand point: the purpose of life is survival. Competition is normal. Fighting is normal. Everything is to fight to survive.
It talks about how physically love isn't really beneficial. To feel love does, but to give it does nothing. But it's a relationship that can be mutually beneficial. But really, there is nothing we do selflessly. To love one's self, and to fend for one's self is most natural. We love to receive in return.

It is for this reason, that depression and suicidal tendencies contradict nature. During those states, however, you do everything for yourself, but want to end the Self. Self-destruction isn't natural.

I think that's important to recognize. It teaches us something valuable: what's not natural can occur. Therefore, with little or lots of help, the nature can be conquered, and the nature can be thrown off.

Does altruism occur? I'd say yes. Sure, it contradicts nature, as does suicide and self-destruction but yet they exist. We can create the natural, and we can destroy it. Recognition of this, I believe is the first step.

But see, it's always what's unnaturally occuring that teaches us about what actually is naturally occuring. Mental illness teaches us how the brain functions when it's normal, and causes us to look at what caused it to be messed up. Retardation and genius teach us about the brain. Cancer teaches us about regular cell growth and division. Do you see how it all ties in?

It's not so bad, then, to have the unnatural, or to have the natural occuring. Both teach us about each other, and help us to correct either the natural or unnatural to make better lives for ourselves.

Beware

In eighth grade, my science teacher started talking about a chemical by saying all it's bad attributes. "It kills _____ people every year. It's toxic if taken in it's purest form. It's all over the earth..." And she went on and on about how horrible the chemical we'd be dealing with would be. Oh, but the chemical she was talking about? Water.

Perception is everything. We need water to survive, but she was able to make it look like our enemy (with a lot more description and facts than I have remembered).

I just want people to know there are two sides to every story. We've been told this numerous times, but after all I've gone through fighting in court, and with a current situation I'm dealing with, now more than ever am I fighting to make people believe that there are multiple truths.

One reason I could never be a lawyer: I cry if the justice that is deserved isn't served. And most of the time it isn't. We always pick on the weak, or the one that has no say. And you know what, when you're in a court room, who are you supposed to believe?

And although there are two sides to every story, sometimes the reason that the story is twisted is due to an emotional response triggered in your body. I was reading an essay in the book "Unholy Ghost: writers on depression" called "Toys in the Attic" by Chase Twichell and he talked about consciousness. He discussed how our bodies react differently on different drugs, and how the different medications and nature change our body's language. In his mind, "self" is fiction and to understand the world, you need to be out of the "self", because the "self" can change the way the world is perceived. On top of that, our bodies create chemical reactions based on our situations as survival instincts that create our dillusions that we sometimes believe.

I must say a lot of the more interesting science articles I've read have dealt with how the human body responds to pain. Religious people who have a picture of Jesus or the virgin Mary in front them when they are in pain have a lesser pain reaction than those who don't believe in it, and look at those pictures. Or even if the religious people look at a picture that's recognizable but not attached to them. Then, just yesterday, I heard the study of how when people said a curse word of their choice while their hands were submerged in freezing cold water, they were able to withstand the pain longer than those saying words that weren't vulgarities. The argument is that the curse words trigger a "fight" response from the fight-or-flight instincts in us, that help those people to deal with the pain better. I read another article a few months ago that explains how our brains actually create it's own marijuana reactions to deal with pain, but of course, without the bad side effects of it.

I just want to point out the incredible strength of the human mind, and body. With that, I'd like to point out, that most of it originates from evolutionary backgrounds, and animal-like instincts that we have that cause our bodies to work in ways that will best help us survive. On discovery.com you can watch videos about the body's response to stress, and starvation and a lot of these things that we do subconsciously as a result to our environment that we're not even aware of.

With this knowledge, I'll let you know that you'll come to times in your life where you will be dealing with unreasonable people. They know what they've seen, and heard, and felt. They can justify what they've done. They believe they are being rational. And there are times when YOU'LL be the one that's irrational and won't recognize it. I would like to give you ways around insanity, ways to prevent insanity, however, sometimes, it's our body's way of protecting itself.

I guess in the end, all that's left to say is beware.