FootprintsofFaith

Prayers for Andrew David and How to Recognize a Stroke

Andrew David, son of Ron and Faith David, is a young man. He has had a stroke (Note: indications are now that it was not a stroke--we will clarify as we get more information), and the Davids have asked for prayers for him.

"Even now my witness is in hearven; my advocate is on high.  My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend." Job 16:19-21

In honor of Andrew, I thought it wise to post a recent e-mail that I received on ...

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Start by thinking STRT! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S* Ask the individual to SMILE.
T* Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently, for example, "It is sunny out today.")
R* Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

We now add a final test...

T* Ask the person to 'STICK' OUT THEIR TONGUE. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke. 

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher!

For now, let us keep Andrew in our prayers for a speedy recovery and God's peace and presence with he and his family.

"Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.'" Mark 9:23 NKJV

There Is Room for Rigorous Science and Faith in God

Francis S. Collins, a self-confessed "obnoxious athiest," is a world renowned biologist who led the international Human Genome Project that mapped the 3.1 billion chemical base pairs in humanity's DNS. After watching the faith of others in the face of death and loss, he realized that as a scientist he should not reject something without even looking at the evidence as to whether God exists. After reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, he struggled with his doubts, but while hiking in the majestic Cascade Mountians in Oregon, he fell on his knees and asked Christ to be his Lord and Savior. He is now speaking at conferences around the country on his newest book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. He has confessed, "For a scientist, it's uncomfortable to admit there are questions that your scientific method isn't going to be able to address." But he, along with 40% of scientists, believes that there is no incompatibilty between belief and scientific rigor.

As I have often felt, science has little to say about religion, and religion has little to say about science. They are both ask different methods of knowing. Collins argues that a literalist interpretation of scripture is dangerous and unnecessary. The Bible was not written to be a scientific textbook. It was a story of God's love for his creation. Collins calls for a truce between the Anti-God materialists and for rigid believers who spurn orthodox science because both deny truth.

In short, I couldn't agree more. Believers need not fear science and science should not fear believers. What do you think?

Source: "Richard Ostling, "Biologist is unexpected disciple for faith in God," Ventura County Star, JUly 29, 2006, p. E-1,10.