Why is heart disease and cancer not mention in the Bible?

by free2beme 9 Replies latest jw friends

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  free2beme

  The two leading causes of death in humans is heart disease and cancer. These are not something new! These are as old as the human race is in history. Yet the creator of all life, the person who knows us inside and out, mentions only diseases in the Bible that can be seen and diagnosed from the outside. Which was limit of man at the time. Experiments with humans, and mapping of the inner human organs did not happen until hundreds of years later. Why did God not put down in his Bible, that is suppose to be his word, thoughts about good health and how to avoid these problems or even mentioning them at all? I know this is reaching into the bag of doubts a bit, but coming from a family that has seen a fair share of cancer and heart disease related deaths, I find it odd that the great doctor in the sky neglected to give tips on good health or mention these problems. Why was God's warning on medical disease limited to what man could see?

  What do you think, more proof that the Bible is man and not God's word, or just nit-picking?
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  Mary

  OK, I'm just going out on a limb here, but heart disease and cancer have become far more prevelant in the last hundred years than in bible times and it's largely due to the society we live in: an abundance of junk food and unhealthy food and sedated life-styles both contribute greatly to cancer and heart disease. In bible times, people were alot more active and the foods they ate weren't fill with preservatives and other junk that is common place today. As anyone who watches TV knows, our present life styles are literally killing us.

  The laws that Jehovah gave the Israelites touched somewhat on health and hygiene which would have benefited them. They were to avoid fat, pork, shellfish (these were considered scavengers and to be avoided). If you look in the bible, their diets consisted mainly of fruit, vegetables, whole grain breads, olive oil and red wine (in moderation) with meat thrown in for good measure sometimes. We know today that this is by far, the healthiest way to eat especially when you combine it with physical exercise.

  So maybe the reason it's not mentioned in the bible, is because it wasn't as common back then as what it is today.......just my two cents worth.
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  IT Support

  What do you think, more proof that the Bible is man and not God's word, or just nit-picking?

  I have no doubt whatsoever that the Bible is man's thought on the divine, rather than the divine's thoughts to man.

  So maybe the reason it's not mentioned in the bible, is because it wasn't as common back then as what it is today

  I agree, but for a different reason. Might it be because heart disease and cancer are predominantly, even if not exclusively, diseases of old age?

  In Bible times, perhaps the actual average lifespan (as opposed to the Bible's claimed lifespans [e.g. compare the ludicrous claims of Methuselah living for 696 years, etc.]) of people was much less than today, so the majority of people died in warfare, of famine, infectious diseases, etc, before they were old enough for these 'modern' diseases to become apparent.

  Perhaps if cancer appeared in a younger person, it was described as 'leprosy,' which I think was used back then as a 'catch-all' to cover a number of modern-day diseases.

  Perhaps, perhaps... Just my .02!
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  free2beme

  OK, I'm just going out on a limb here, but heart disease and cancer have become far more prevelant in the last hundred years than in bible times and it's largely due to the society we live in

  How would we know either way, science did not do atopsys until recent history. I would suspect it was nothing different then today and people did not exactly eat fat free meals and not spoke in the past.
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  Kenneson

  I can't help but wonder if the author of Zech. 14:12 was familiar with cancer. "And this shall be the plague with which the Lord shall strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths."
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  Leolaia

  There was just limited interest or concern on the mechanics of the body and the science of medicine was far in the future. That doesn't mean necessarily that cancer isn't mentioned in the Bible; it is thought by some that the boils that Hezekiah suffered were some form of cancerous tumor (Isaiah 38:1-8; 2 Kings 20:1-11). The suffering of King Herod described in detail by Josephus is thought to represent rectal cancer, or some other form of cancer. But it is not possible to have any certainty about this, as it is not possible to diagnose someone post mortem from the limited details mentioned in an ancient text.
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  free2beme

  First thing most humans want from an advance race that might visit the earth, the cure to cancer. Yet we believe in God and we don't ask that from him. Weird isn't it? Perhaps we really believe more in something that seems possible, then in something that is highly questionable.
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  Frog

  the bibble is a far fetched story book of old. For the same reason that the bibble can't be applied to a majority of aspects of contemporary times.
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  free2beme

  I think over strectching references in the bible to mean something, other then what is plainly said, is another example of our former Witness life. If God really mentioned heart desease and cancer, he would have followed it with some medical advice. Why do we not see this ...

  Let 12:2004

  "... and God said to the people, walk daily at least 2 miles and avoid the fat of animals when eating"

  Micah 15:2005

  "... God looked to Zepheniah and said, remove yourself from direct sunlight and enjoy the shade of the tree, so that your flesh does not grow soars that will shorten your life."

  Det 21:588

  "... do not let the stress of your days lead to the over reaction of your heart to matters, or your day will be shortened."

  Not seeing healthy thoughts like this anywhere. Why not, why does god not offer health advice to his people on the two leading causes of death?
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  DannyHaszard

  I may be in error but the secular writings are absent too??I was intriqued by tales true or false about the first report of diabetes and cancer.Hippocrates the 'father' of medicine discribed his diag for diabetes by having his patients urinate near an ant hill and see if the ants were attracted to the sugar.Cancer is latin for crab this same Hipocrates gave it the name to discribe the spreading crab like metastis of his female patient with advanced breast cancer.