Why didn't the invention of the microscope destroy Christianity?

Question

Jesus clearly states that demons, and God, are responsible for illness, but it turns out that common viruses are the real culprit, even in illnesses like Leprosy.

If Jesus could be so wrong about something that we take for granted today, why trust anything else he said?

His followers can claim that he healed a leper or two in his day, but the same claims were made of Vespasian, the Roman Emperor (See "The Lives of The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius) and many others. That hardly compares to the near elimination of the disease by modern medicine.

Apparently, Christians can't even read their own books, much less understand them.

Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

John 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Luke 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Answer 1

Oh but wait.... Aren't viruses just tiny demons?

(insert your own spurious justification here)

What you overlook is that if evidence had anything to do with religious faith, there would be no believers in the first place. To base an argument against belief on evidence is pointless. It is probably pointless to argue against belief at all. Don't let it stop you trying though.

Answer 2

Your misunderstanding of the Bible is not surprising given you do not approach it for help or understanding and given that you accept your own interpretation without scrutiny or benefit of the advice, counsel and fellowship with those who believe. Seek God and give a Bible study group a chance.

The Matt 10 quote is consistent with demons being a separate problem from illness and disease. Things can be separate and co-exist.

The John quote is off-point. It addresses the relationship between sin and disease or infirmity and Jesus is clear that (at least in this case) disease does not imply previous sin.

The Luke quote is hardly proof of anything. One particular woman had an infirmity that was demon (Satan) caused - Jesus does not imply that all people who have similar infirmities are possessed by demons. Besides, Jesus was addressing the question of "working" on the Sabbath - not giving a medical seminar.

The Matt 12 quote is similar to the Luke quote.

Finally, why intentionally take things out of the larger context? By your logic, Jesus should not have used language that his audience could understand and relate to but should have used medical terminology that would not have been understood. This is inconsistent with a Jesus who continually used parables and metaphors to convey things that were difficult for His audience (and us) to understand.

In every case you cited, Jesus had specific points that He wanted to make - valuable, important points - that have nothing to do with your silly, misguided nitpicking.

Peace in Christ...

Answer 3

Your straw man arguments don't hold any depth. You seem to just be parrotting something you read in a book. The Bible does not teach that illness is linked to demon possession. Those that were delivered of illness and demon possession were delivered of both. But, the demon did not cause the illness. It could be that the demon was taking advantage of the illness or malady.

Microsopes actually help argue the case for Christianity because of the order, structure and complexity at the smallest levels. Protein machines in the nuclei of cells are a good example of an intelligent Designer--Jesus Christ.

Answer 4

If you actually take the time to read the Bible, you would discover that it contains over 600 laws in the Old Testament many of which deal with the issue of sanitation, washing hands, burying "waste material" outside of the city, not touching dead corpse, etc. All of these are proper things to do in light of the existence of microbes, germs, etc. The Bible did not take the time to teach about germs, but it did include health laws that fit their existence thousands of years before they were known to exist.

The Bible was never intended to be a manual on science, but a guidebook for living. So the rules of sanitation are adequate for people to stay healthy. They do not need to understand germs to avoid them.

But that brings up the issue of divine healing. Nowhere does the Bible claim that Jesus healed lepers by casting out demons. Every incidence of "demon possession" included a mental condition (such as the mad man living in the cemetary cutting himself) or seizures that appear to be epilepsy or a similar condition. Note that neither of those conditions are caused by germs. So the discovery of germs has no effect on the issue of whether mental illness has a spiritual cause in some cases.

So sorry, your question is pointless...but nice try.

Answer 5

Ever read the book of Acts in the bible? The apostles did everything Jesus did: healed the sick, drove out demons, even RAISED THE DEAD. Read it and you'll see. These were signs of the power of Jesus Christ.

There are many other documented miracles in the Church, even during our present day.

I'm not sure where you saw Jesus say that illnesses are caused by demons. Please point me to that.

By the way, faith and science are not opposed. Read the catechism:

159 Faith and science: "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."

God bless.

Answer 6

Questions are good my friend and I am encouraged by your question you asked today. I hope I am not reading you wrong, but I believe that by you just asking this question could possibly mean you haven't completely ruled out the God of Christianity actually does exist and deep inside you are seeking Him, hoping that HE does exist. I pray this is the case. If you were so convinced He didn't exist you wouldn't be wasting you time trying to disprove something you are convinced is not true. I don't have all the answers, but I have faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Jesus clearly states that demons, and God, are responsible for illness:

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The Holy Bible says that sickness and suffering came into the world only when man first sinned.
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but it turns out that common viruses are the real culprit, even in illnesses like Leprosy.

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if all illnesses were caused by a virus, then antibiotics would be the cure all for all sickness.

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His followers can claim that he healed a leper or two in his day, but the same claims were made of Vespasian, the Roman Emperor (See "The Lives of The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius) and many others.

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There is a living book, that doesn't just make claims of miracles, it continues to guide God's people and help change lives even as we speak. That book is the Living Word of God.
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Have you examined the evidence and validity of the "The Lives of The Twelve Caesers"? Many people believe the book is founded on gossip and citations of historians who had lived in the time of the early emperors, rather than on primary sources of that time. Besides that most of the Roman Emperors of that time worshiped idols, false Gods and many claimed they were gods. It would make more sense that books such as Lives of The Twelve Ceasers would want to leave out anything that threatened their power. Jesus was such a man, they knew he was diety and did all they could to disprove it then and today, 2000 years later some of the greatest minds in the world are still trying to disprove that God exists and Jesus came to earth in the form of man to live, die and be raised from the dead, all for us. The cure for all disease is life in Christ. We may still get sick while living in this temporary place, but when Jesus comes to take us home, we will be healed, no more sickness.

Man created the microscope, man created a name for what he observed under the microscope - in this case viruses, then we created names for each virus. If it is so easy to believe that man created these things, then why is it so hard to believe God created mankind, the planets, animals and the universe? He also created us in His image, therefore being in His image we are able to create things, find cures for diseases and even create viruses that can kill millions of people. Without God, we would'nt be sitting here discussing this. How he created everything remains so hard for many to believe because His intelligence is far greater than ours. We make discoveries that at the time are called brilliant, but these discoveries are only bits and pieces of God's brilliant work. It's like trying to reverse engineer a complex software program so someone can modify it and claim they have made a great advancement over older software. We try to study God's creation but often times come to the wrong conclusion.

Why is it so easy to take "The Lives of The Twelve Caesars" as reliable and truthful even though it is been described as racy, packed with gossip, dramatic and throughout the book the author subjectively expresses his opinion and knowledge.

The Holy Bible is considered by millions of people as reliable, factual and truthful. It has been dissected by man since the beginning. If it were not true, why would so many people be trying to disprove it. I am not looking down on you or resentful of your comments, but encourage that there is hope for people such as yourself that still have questions. For a Christian, a question such as this is a door opened by God who will work through a believer to share the message of Salvation. God Bless You Friend

Answer 7

Wow, the thickness of these people's skulls is amazing. Their heads seem to be of normal size, but their skulls are exceptionally thick. There can't be much room for a brain in there. Perhaps that's why they can't connect the logical dots, but can imagine all sorts of stuff that never happened and isn't written even in the only book they hold so dear. Saying god invented bacteria, but called them demons is like saying god created atoms, but called them organs. They can't handle the truth. Fantasy land is so much better.

Answer 8

Matthew 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

As we read on in Matthew we get a clearer picture of what Jesus was doing:

5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Jesus gave instructions to the twelve as stated above. What was it that they were given freely? The gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ the Messiah and the abilities to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and even cast out demons. No they were to go out and do the same, as He instructed them.

Now all this happened before the sending out of the 77 and The Great Commission.

Continuing in Matthew we see Jesus tells the twelve of things to come:

21 "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

These men didn't go out following the instructions of the Master in hopes of gaining wealth or as to boast of being god like. They did it because they had seen great miracles performed by Jesus, they did it because they knew Jesus was the one that was sent to earth to set the captives free. They did it for love and not for personal gain. I would like for you to direct me to the scriptures that quote:"Jesus clearly states that demons, and God, are responsible for illness" and also having an open mind would appreciate it if you quote in The Lives of The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius where the Vespasian performed such healing. I notice that you seem to be stuck on responsibility for illness and "healing a leper or two" in your statements above. Did these Vespasian die for their people so that they may have eternal life? Jesus, sinless and perfect, sacrificed himself so that people like you and I can be set free from the root cause of illness and suffering as well as suffering on the cross so we might have eternal life in heaven instead of eternal seperation from the Great Creator of all. Death were is thou sting.

I would like to talk with you more on all the other versus of the Holy Bible you posted in your comments and listen to what you have to say about The Lives of The Twelve Caesars. I believe you have probably studied the writings of Suetonius. If you have studied writings by Gaius Asinius Pollio, Cremutius Cordus,The Acts of Augustus and others. I am particularly interested in Alexander Thomson translation of Lives of The Twelve Caesars.

Time permitting I will address the other scriptures you quoted later.

Answer 9

Hey, there are people who trust doctors when they tell them "It's just a simple procedure."
and then the patient dies....or needs two or three emergency surgeries to correct the doctor error.
Maybe God gave man the microscope so he could try to find cures for diseases.

Answer 10

Anyone can say "Jesus clearly states..." and easily lead away those who are not strong in what they believe. Care to quote Him, the Lord of Lords? (This means where in the Bible, silly!)