PREPARING FOR COLLAPSE (2)
September 8 2014
I had long suspected it, but now a Dutch scientist, Dr. Jan te Nijenhuis of the University of Amsterdam has found proof that we have much smaller brains than our ancestors. That doesn’t mean that you or I are dumber than our forefathers, but it does mean that, on the average, we, the human race in general, have gotten more stupid. His study indicates that we have lost 14 I.Q. points on average since the Victorian era, which roughly covers the 19th Century.
How did he do it? Dr. te Nijenhuis and colleagues analyzed the results of 14 intelligence studies conducted between 1884 to 2004. Each study gauged participants’ so-called visual reaction times reflecting a person’s mental processing speed, considered an indication of general intelligence. In the late 19th Century, visual reaction times averaged around 194 milliseconds, while in 2004 that time had grown to 275 milliseconds.
Why are we getting dumber?
Here are some indications:
(1) Toxic chemicals in the environment can reduce intelligence. Examples include flame retardant everywhere in furniture, lead(found in many lipsticks), certain pesticides, fluoride – used in many city water systems – and radiation, which can reduce brain size. When a tsunami overpowered the Fukushima nuclear plant, radiation spread covering the Pacific, now reaching the shores of California. Expect even dumber TV shows and movies to emanate from Hollywood.
(2) Humans used to eat a lot of Omega 3s when wild game animals were part of their diet. They have much higher levels of these essential fatty acids than domesticated animals. If we only eat the modern, mostly processed food stuff without getting enough omega 3s, expect even more health and intelligence problems.
(3) The Science Daily notes: Exposure to specific bacteria in the environment increases learning behavior. We ingest these bacteria when we spend time in nature. Since most of us are city dwellers, we don’t inhale any of these good bacteria. Also most native culture used a lot of fermented foods containing healthy bacteria. Eating lots of yogurt and sauerkraut is good for the brain.
(4) Exercise boosts intelligence. Run, bike, walk. I get my best ideas when I run. Our forefathers and –mothers – were always physically active. Television has mostly been a curse for society. Shut the boob-tube down and start reading.
(5) Stress reduces sound thinking. With many people working several part time jobs high levels of cortisol – the chemical released when one is under continuous, unrelenting stress – and poverty can physically impair the brain and people’s ability to learn.
(6) Relaxing activities, such as meditation, keeping a journal and prayer have shown to enhance growth in certain areas of the brain.
(7) Lack of sleep reduces our thinking capacity. Many of us suffer from a chronic sleep deficiency.
We must prepare for collapse
Why do I list these items? They are all prerequisites for preparing for collapse, where we’ll need all our wits. Not surprisingly they also are necessary for entering the Kingdom to come. It seems to me that the Lord wants people there who are alert and open to new ideas.
You will notice that many of these 7 conditions have one feature in common: live close to the earth, grow as much as possible our own food, don’t be afraid to get dirt in your system, all of which promote intelligence. Listening to the earth is our holy duty.
Here is a new-old- idea. The Bible on several occasions state that The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7; Prov. 9: 10), which, in essence, says that intelligence starts with ‘fear of the Lord.” This is another reason (#8), perhaps the most important one, why we are losing our marbles: we got rid of biblical religion.
A word of warning. Today, in a totally different society than when these words were written 3000 years ago, we have little idea what ‘the fear of the Lord’ means anymore, so we give these words a pious twist and leave it at that. What do they really signify? First the word ‘fear’. It has nothing to do with anxiety, being afraid, trying to avoid an encounter with God. The opposite is true. The world’s greatest composers and painters are a good example. The ‘fear’ of Bach, Rembrandt, van Gogh – fill in your favorite artist – is the beginning of getting to know them better by listening to their music and admiring their works of art. “Fear” here means ‘awe, admiration, deep respect.’ The same is true of “The Fear of the Lord”. By closely studying God’s work of art, his creation, we can only state: “How great Thou art.” Proverbs states that “In wisdom He made everything.” The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, because getting to fully know his creation takes more than eternity.
Our Western civilization, which is often called Christian, has a faulty view of reality. We correctly believe that God and humanity have a relationship. However for most church goers ‘nature’ is subject to human exploitation and has little or nothing to do with God, so we can destroy it freely, which we do and continue to do in spite of creation suffering severely. Again the “heaven” notion plays dominant role, something which I will touch upon in the next blog. Here is how we usually see reality.
GOD
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HUMAN
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EARTH
We have a connection to God, but, based on an erroneous interpretation of Genesis 2: 15 where the old translation used the word ‘dominate’, we eagerly implement this faulty view, forgetting that, just like Jesus who came to serve (Matthew 20: 28) we too must ‘serve’ creation. This is shown in the triangle below.
GOD
HUMAN ————– EARTH
This basically illustrates that God is supreme. We depend on him. So does the earth. But the earth also depends on us and we on the earth. We all are mutually dependent, a truth that is valid for eternity. Bonhoeffer has said: God, Humanity and Earth belong together. The Earth- not heaven – is our eternal habitat. Therefore we must treat it as such.
More about this next week.