Can we bridge religion and evolution?
"Nice title for a Sunday post...heathen!"
This article is not medical or religious advice.
This article has both my Christian friends, and my atheist friends, collectively rolling their eyes at me. I wish religion and evolution weren’t trigger words for either side. I don’t want to be naive either. I will present some anectdotal evidence in the piece.
Most of my articles write themselves, from relaying an experience at work or something exercise related. I am really enjoying this draft, however it has been much harder to relay what I am thinking into writing. What are the goals of this piece?
I cherish my working relationship with my religious friends and patients. I want to convey something to them.
I think their is evidence in nature that helps us decrease our pain. Our pain arrises from dealing with forces in nature. We are usually injured when we are not strong enough to overcome the forces in our environment. When we understand how our bodies were designed to work, we might have less pain.
I hate patronizing rhetoric, so I will try to be honest, at great personal risk to myself, and to the enjoyment of others :)
I used to be a hard core atheist ( I grew up around Catholic families, gimme a break), but have softened my stance over the years. I love science, and not the capitalized, religious version, “The Science.” Most of us learned the original science in 5th grade. People have a theory, and we should always test and question that theory to find the answer. Sounds reasonable. Scientists are supposed to act like Spock, without emotion. But we are only human. I read one of Einsteins biographies, and was naive about the fact that he had an ego. In letters that he had written, he was upset that others were questioning his work. Turns out he was right. But didn’t like being questioned.
I think there are many answers in nature as to how our bodies are supposed to work, and that also explains why we have pain. I’ll just present three examples here.
We were probably not built to run on our heels.
For years were have traditionally bought running shoes with huge cushioned heels. Observing native populations and animals, we realize that we are probably designed to land on the ball of the foot. This uses muscle tone, instead of bone impact, to cushion the blow.
Our shoulders were built for hanging.
I know this is a stretch for some. My religious friend suggested I go hang with the monkeys then.
All kids love hanging and swinging from monkey bars as kids. When we stop doing this as adults, a bony prominence grows unhindered towards the rotator cuff muscle, causing pain and pinching. Dr Kirsch talks about this in his book about shoulder health. I have seen this type of stretching be far more effective than lying on a table. Here’s a link to that article.
We’re probably not supposed to eat crappy food, or too much of it.
This is perhaps the strongest evidence towards a nature model. Once we have been removed from a survival situation, our bodies continue to store excess calories as fat, for the next go around.
There are many more anecdotal examples of a link between how we are supposed to treat our bodies, and what we observe in nature.
Why do I keep saying nature? This sounds cheesy, buy I think nature is my religion. It is the thing in front of my face that says there is something extraordinary in the universe. I don’t know who made it or why, but it is my proof of something.
Sometimes when we say nature, people think “tree hugger” (myself included.) Within the last 10 years I realized that I have thrown out many considerations based on the messenger, not the message. “Tree huggers” on one side, “Evangalists” on the other? I don’t like the notion that only one group cares about the environment. There are arguments that conservationism is better for the environment than environmentalism.
The past three years have taught me that there are many religious ideologies, not just traditional religion. Some people believe the virus causes more harm, others believe the vaccination causes more harm. Some people trust the governement, some do not.
I used to be fascinated by the Big Bang theory. Then it started to mean nothing for me, because it was still not an answer as to “why.” Now it seems to sound like a creation story. Who knows.
I have to be careful of assumptions in my own practice. I have seen far better outcomes in patients with low back pain, once I stopped stretching their lower back. Is that always going to be correct? Time will tell.
I want to refer back to the title to end this article. Most of the time I hate listening to highly partisan political debate. The discussions that interest me the most are where both sides find something they can agree on. I know, it’s rare, and it doesn’t sell advertising. But it does happen.
I could have worked this draft over 10 times, but am going to have to stop and leave it at some point.
Outraged?! “He’s a Satanist!” Please share…
Condescending laughter? “He’s going all religious on us…dumbass” Please subscribe…