There’s interesting articles, most recently in the Tuesday, March 14, 2006 issue of the Wall Street Journal, D4, column 3, that report from the journal Chest the findings that too much of a good thing (antibiotics) are correlated strongly with high rates of allergies and asthma. Now, please note, CORRELATION is not CAUSATION and this is where all studies should be taken with suspicion. But I love this quote,

Clean, germ-free living may actually leave children more susceptible to developing allergies and asthma, a theory known as “hygiene hypothesis.” “We may be programmed to sample the microbial world so our immune systems can grow,” says Homer A boushey, who directs the Asthma Clinical Research Center at the University of California at San Francisco.

I read this same conclusion years ago in Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey’s book Fearfully And Wonderfully Made. In it Dr. Brand, who is an expert in the treatment of Hansen’s Disease (loosely known to students of the Bible as Leprosy) and states that a little dirt actually a good thing!

What are the implications for ministry? Well, I always look at the social implications of parents refusal to head to the nursery because their little one “always get’s sick when they do.” Now we have some health implications as well. Also, clean and germ free are quite frankly unavoidable goals and now might be considered unhealthy in the long run!

I just finished reading The Spirit of the Disciplines by USC professor Dallas Willard and he states why our bible is so deeply important for you and I, listen to this:

“How do such Bible stories help? Upon a realistic, critical, adult reading, by those prepared to be honest with their experience, the Bible incisively lays bare the depths and obscurities of the human heart. This is why it continues to play the decisive role it does in human history and culture and why it is fitted to be the perpetual instrument of the Spirit of God for human transformation, as 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17 indicates.”

 I love that, “realistic, critical, adult reading”! Too often our readings are forced or loosely tied into our own involvement with their SIGNIFICANCE FOR US.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/03/really_old_scho_1.html#more

The editors of Leadership Journal have a fantastic blog, “Out of Ur.” I’ve linked you to an insightful post which draws parrellels between the choices that American Evangelicals make regarding how they relate to culture and 1st Century Judiasm. The writer of this post rightfully states that where we send our children to school says the much about our attititudes toward culture. Answers aren’t offered, but the tension is clarified. Great read.

For nine years, Kid’s Screen invites programmers of children’s tv around the world to build their dream line up. Click here to see tv producers would schedule if they had no budget constraints.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-03-09-cigarettes_x.htm?csp=34#

“The National Association of Attorneys General, relying on Treasury Department data, reported Wednesday that 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States last year. That is the lowest number sold since 1951, according to the attorneys general.”

“Anti-smoking advocates say one of the most difficult trends for them to counter is the effort by cigarette manufactures to market their products using in-store promotions and steep price discounts, which they say can be particularly attractive to kids.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/national/09arson.html?hp&ex=1141966800&en=454a9c72d457af49&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Gratefully, the three college students responsible for the church arsons have been arrested. Authorites describe the incident as a “joke” gone bad, and that there were no racial motivations.

I can accept the lack of racial motivation, however the excuse “It was a joke” doesn’t wash. In recent years, there’s been much research on the profiles of fire setters. Decades ago, Freud believed that fire setters recieved sexual gratification from setting fires. However, more recent research shows a continuum of behaviors that starts with curiousity and escalates to crisis fire setting. Visit this website for info on fire setting theory. Most fires are started by curious preschoolers. However, some continue due to the attention and power that their behavior generates. 

In 2001, I lost my children’s wing to an arson. I wrote about it here.