In attempting to explain away molecular motors Darwinists fumble the ball.

Berra’s Blunder in Molecular Motors
Evolution News | @DiscoveryCSC

Whenever we see new articles and papers about cellular motors like ATP synthase and the flagellum, we get excited, thinking that now, finally, someone might make a design inference that questions Darwinism. That’s why this from Imperial College London, “How bacteria turbocharged their motors,” raised our hopes:

Bacteria use molecular motors just tens of nanometres wide to spin a tail (or ‘flagellum’) that pushes them through their habitat. Like human-made motors, the structure of these nanoscale machines determines their power and the bacteria’s swimming ability.

Previously, the team from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial looked at these motors and discovered a key factor that determined how strongly bacteria could swim. Like human-made motors, bacterial motors have distinct ‘stator’ and ‘rotor’ components that spin against each other. 

“Like human-made motors” – great! They see the light. Our hopes were dashed when we discovered that the goal of their research was to vindicate Darwinism:

The team found that the more stator structures the bacterial motor possessed, the larger its turning force, and the stronger the bacterium swam. Despite these differences, DNA sequence analysis shows that the core motors are ancestrally related. This led scientists to question how structure and swimming diversity evolved from the same core design.

OK. But it’s the way that the reporter, Hayley Dunning, explained evolution that was startling. Don’t evolutionists in 2018 know their own theory?

Ranking: Flagella with 12 stators are labeled “primitive” but those with 17 stators are ranked “sophisticated.” These are arbitrary adjectives.

Lamarckism: The article describes parts of the flagellum “fusing” to allow more stators, and thus graduating to “sophisticated” rank. How mutations did that is not described, nor how the accident became heritable.

Saltation: Darwin stressed that “Natural selection … can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps.” Yet this article alleges that flagella suddenly went from primitive to sophisticated versions in one “quantum leap.”

Berra’s Blunder: The article claims that extra structures attached to the “sophisticated” flagella illustrate evolution, reminiscent of how Tim Berra asserted that you can see evolution in action by watching how Corvettes added parts between 1953 and 1955.

Convergence: Observations show some of the extra structures occurring in unrelated species. She attributes this to the magic wand of convergence: “The extra structures appear to have evolved many times in different species of bacteria, using different building blocks but producing the same functionality.” The writer appeals to convergence in wings and eyes as illustrations.

Inevitability and Creativity: Natural selection is supposed to be blind, random and uncaring, but not here!

We’ll let Dr. Morgan Beeby of Imperial College express these blunders in his own words:

Dr. Beeby said: “Bacterial motors are complex machines, but with studies like this we can see how they have evolved in distinct steps.

“Moreover, the ‘leap’ from 12 stators to 17, while a great innovation, has an aspect of ‘biological inevitability’ in the same way as wings, eyes, or nervous systems in higher animals: the precursors of high torque have evolved multiple times, and one set of them ended up fusing to form the scaffold we describe in our work”.

He added: “Evolution is a creative process, often drawing on variations upon a theme. It is constantly churning out new molecular ideas, many of which fail, but inevitably some get realised multiple times. We have seen this in animals, and now we see this process in the nanoscopic world of molecular evolution too.”

Whatever “evolution” Beeby is talking about is surely not Darwin’s variety, or that of neo-Darwinians, either. He has essentially proposed miracles by another name. Does his paper in Nature Scientific Reports do better? He has Bonnie Chaban and Izaak Coleman as co-authors. Will they correct his blunders? Nope. All three embrace the fake Darwinism wholeheartedly. They see design, but attribute it to a “‘quantum leap’ evolutionary event.” They see the addition of new structures the way Berra saw new parts added to intelligently designed automobiles as an illustration of evolution.

One ray of hope breaks through in the middle of the paper, suggesting that ID has penetrated the conscience of these Darwinians, putting them on the defensive:

How did the Campylobacter-type motor evolve from a simpler ancestral motor? During our previous work, we discovered that each accessory protein is essential, posing a conundrum: how could proteins have been added stepwise to form this (naively “irreducibly complex”) motor?

Of course, they do not provide a reference to Darwin’s Black Box, nor define his term irreducible complexity. They don’t deal with co-option problems, genetic codes, or Scott Minnich’s challenges.

But in this backhanded swipe at Michael Behe, calling him naïve, they reveal an awareness that they are playing defense. “To identify a possible incremental evolutionary pathway, we determined a phylogeny…” etc.  Basically, they arrange flagella from different bacterial species the way Berra arranged Corvettes to prove evolution. Their conclusion, however, seems less bombastic than usual: “our structural and phenotypic results enable us to propose a working model for the incremental evolution of the bacterial flagellar motor.” ID is getting under their skin. The callout quote in the news release affirms Darwinism against ID over the loudspeaker:

Bacterial motors are complex machines, but with studies like this we can see how they have evolved in distinct steps.

ATP Synthase

Meanwhile, the other main rotary engine in cells, ATP synthase, has been examined in greater detail than ever before. That is thanks to a cryo-electron microscopy study reported in Nature Communications.

These reconstructions are of higher resolution than any EM map of intact rotary ATPase reported previously, providing a detailed molecular basis for how the rotary ATPase maintains structural integrity of the peripheral stator apparatus, and confirming the existence of a clear proton translocation path from both sides of the membrane.

What does this paper say about evolution? Not much. The Japanese team basically does a lateral pass to other papers for coverage of motor evolution. “Eukaryotic V-ATPases are likely to have evolved from homologous enzymes found in archea and some eubacteria,” they say, with three references to Darwinian papers. The only other mention doesn’t help Darwinians: it refers to “evolutionary conservation of the rotor structure,” once again tossing the ball to another paper.

There’s no mention of phylogeny, ancestry, mutation, natural selection, or any other Darwinian argument. From these papers we can infer that the design argument is having an impact. For one, if there were clear, unambiguous arguments for evolution, scientists would proudly present the evidence for it. For another, they wouldn’t offer indefensible notions like this one from Morgan Beeby:

“We are used to observing evolution at the scale of animals or plants, such as the giraffe’s neck slowly getting longer over time to reach previously inaccessible food.

“However, the evolution at the molecular scale is much more radical. It’s like a giraffe having children with necks suddenly a metre longer.”

Another hopeful sign is that scientists increasingly toss the ball to others to explain how things evolved, rather than try to describe it themselves in a rigorous way. Instead, they seem to focus on the molecular machines’ complexity and efficiency, without Darwinian gloss.

Finally, the occasional back-handed swipes by Darwinians directed against ID concepts, coupled with exasperated attempts to provide stepwise evolutionary models, suggests that intelligent design has not, in fact, escaped their notice. They know, like aging athletes relying on reputation alone, worrying about declining cheers from the stands, that they are playing defense against a young and vigorous challenger.

On common design v. common descent.

Adam and the Genome and Human-Ape Genetic Similarity
Evolution News | @DiscoveryCSC

In Adam and the Genome, Trinity Western University biologist Dennis Venema covers many other subjects besides what you might expect from the book’s title. We have been reviewing this material by the prominent theistic evolutionist and BioLogos author; find the series so far here.

Thus, Venema cites the high degree of genetic similarities between insulin genes in humans and other mammals as evidence for our common ancestry. He writes:

[W]e can see that there is good evidence to support the hypothesis that these two present-day genes come from a common ancestral population in the distant past … What we observe for this short segment is that the gorilla sequence is identical to that of the human except for one letter; the chimpanzee is identical except for three; and the orangutan is identical except for five. As before, this level of identity far exceeds what is needed for functional insulin, and strongly supports the hypothesis that humans share a common ancestral population with great apes. Indeed, the similarities between these sequences make English and West Frisian look like very distant relatives by comparison.

(Adam and the Genome, p. 30)

The obvious answer to this argument is common design — that humans, gorillas, and orangutans were designed based upon a common blueprint. This would explain genetic similarity between humans and other species quite well.

Venema is aware of this objection, and he doesn’t buy it:

Suppose you decided you wanted to design two languages. Would you design them in such a way that they appear to be closely related to each other, especially if your prowess as a designer is such that you can effortlessly design languages in any way you wish? Furthermore, as a designer, you understand that there are many possible ways to design words, grammar, syntax, and so on. Would you make it appear that your two languages are related to each other, if indeed you wanted to convince others that they were separate, independent creations? (p. 32)

There he goes again, telling God what he can and cannot do. It’s a bit of chutzpah, don’t you think? He’s also telling God what God must intend when he does certain things. In particular, Venema is telling God that if he designs two species to be similar then God must thereby intend to tell us that those species are related through common ancestry. And if those species aren’t really related, then Venema tells God that he is being deceitful.

But what if Venema is putting thoughts into God’s head that aren’t there? What if God could have entirely different purposes for designing two species as similar — purposes that have nothing to do with trying to communicate some message to humans about relatedness or unrelatedness?

The reality is that this is not a theological question. There are good logical reasons why different species may have similar genetic sequences: namely, functional requirements. Those requirements have nothing to do with common ancestry. Engineers know from much experience that there are good ways to design things and bad ways. If you want your design to work a certain way, and you find a good blueprint that accomplishes what you seek, then it’s a good design principle to use that blueprint over and over again. That could easily explain why we see similarities in different species — common design to meet functional requirements.

Even Francis Collins acknowledges the merits of this argument, stating:

Some of that evidence is shown in Table 5.1, where the similarity between the genomes of ourselves and other organisms is displayed. This evidence alone does not, of course, prove a common ancestor; from a creationist perspective, such similarities could simply demonstrate that God used successful design principles over and over again.

(The Language of God, p. 134)

Though Collins of course thinks that common ancestry is a better explanation, his point here is exactly right. Reusing successful designs (like reusing genetic sequences) is a completely valid explanation for why genetic similarities exist between humans and other species.

Like many evolution proponents, Venema is thinking inside an evolutionary box. The similarities he observes may boil down to common design, but he apparently can’t see that. Whether we humans properly interpret or misinterpret the meaning of those similarities need not be God’s concern.

Venema’s points here ultimately seem to be rhetorical, though. He writes: “No matter how you slice it, the human and chimpanzee genomes are nearly identical to one another.” (p. 32) This is supposed to impress the reader, leaving no alternative but to conclude that humans and chimps must be related. Venema admits that by some metrics the human and chimp genomes are only 95 percent similar. Fine. But the exact number really isn’t important. What is the metric for demonstrating common ancestry based upon genetic similarity? There doesn’t seem to be one. Venema’s argument appears arbitrary.

Moreover, others geneticists have argued that human-ape genetic similarity might be significantly lower than 90 percent. See,  “Human/Ape Common Ancestry: Following the Evidence.” See also, “Critically Analyzing the Argument from Human/Chimpanzee Genetic Similarity.” Perhaps the best treatment of the issue of human-chimp genetic similarity, however, is the chapter “Genetic Evidence for Human Uniqueness,” by Ann Gauger, Ola Hössjer, and Colin Reeves in the book Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique. We recommend it to Dr. Venema.

Yet another own goal by Darwinists?

Two Evolutionists Inadvertently Demolish Evolution
Cornelius Hunter

Yesterday we saw how, in a new paper, evolutionists Warren Allmon and Robert Ross reformulate the argument for evolution from homologous structures. The paper makes several mistakes, but is important because it is a rare case of evolutionists (i) recognizing the religion in evolutionary thinking, and (ii) trying to do something about it.

In this case the religion is in the claim that God would not have created non-optimal homologies (such as vestigial structures). Allmon and Ross attempt to remove the religion by restating the claim as: God did not have to create such homologies. It is good that evolutionists are finally recognizing the religious aspect of their argument, after having been in denial for so many years. But Allmon and Ross’s solution fails on several counts.

The first failure of their solution is that it strips the power of the argument. The traditional religious arguments (i.e., God would not create those structures) at least had the virtue of providing a strong argument for evolution. Granted it was a religious argument, and granted one had to agree with that particular religion. And granted it ignored the problems of process and pattern (more below on that). And granted it turned evolution into, as Elliott Sober hinted, a “Lewis Carroll world in which down is up,” because the argument required evidence that is unlikely on evolution. The more unlikely, the better. Such is the logic of evolution’s religion. But after all those caveats, at least it provided a strong argument for evolution.

With design refuted, evolution had to be true, no matter how many problems it had. But with Allmon and Ross’s reformulation, design is not refuted. Now the advantage for evolution is not that the alternative is false or even highly unlikely, but that the alternative does not specify what we observe whereas evolution does. Allmon and Ross triumphantly conclude that their new formulation is a powerful argument for evolution. They apparently think this reformulation is merely a minor tweak, and that their new argument is just as strong as the traditional argument. It isn’t.

There is no free lunch. What Allmon and Ross fail to understand is that this is a much weaker argument. But it gets worse.

The second failure of Allmon and Ross’s solution is that it never did get rid of the religion as they had hoped. Allmon and Ross naively assume that the claim God may or may not create these homologies is merely an obvious point of fact. This is a deep subject that Allmon and Ross have rushed into, but suffice it to say that it is not at all clear that God can go with either world. Leibniz undoubtedly would disagree. The Lutheran polymath would argue that because of His perfection and other attributes, God cannot just create any old world. The bottom line, about which Allmon and Ross are blissfully naïve, is that like it or not, claims about God are religious.

But it gets worse. Much worse.

Not only did Allmon and Ross utterly misapprehend and expose the homology argument, they have, in fact, now demolished evolutionary theory. Remember, with their reformulation it becomes utterly crucial that evolution predicts what we observe. In other words, evolution must predict the pattern of similarities and differences we observe across the species. This is because their new formulation was that while design can explain a common descent pattern or other patterns, evolution is narrowly restricted to the common descent pattern.

With that the two Harvard-trained Epicureans just inadvertently blew up evolution. This is because what we actually observe is not the common descent pattern.

The actual comparisons between the species have contradicted the common descent pattern over and over. It is, as we have documented so many times, not even close. If evolution predicts the common descent pattern, then by modus tollens, evolution is false.

The Divine Law and bloodXIII:"The Gold Standard" Don't take my word for it

New “Gold Standard” Improves Outcomes for Elective Surgery Patients
larryrondeauwriting business writing


Research carried on for decades in the U.S. and Europe has resulted in a new “gold standard” for elective surgery that significantly improves patient care, lowers costs and saves lives.  It is practiced regularly in leading medical centers across America, including Massachusetts General Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Cleveland Clinic, as well regional teaching hospitals like Hartford Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital and New Jersey’s Englewood Hospital, which pioneered its use.  It has become the official standard of treatment of the U.S. military for elective surgery.[i]

This new “gold standard” is actually an updated and improved version of a nineteenth century practice:  bloodless medicine and surgery.  According to surgeon Nathaniel Usoro, MD:

Kocher, MDVirtually all surgeries prior to the 20th century were essentially ‘bloodless.’ And some were remarkably successful.  Theodore Kocher, for instance, did his first thyroidectomy in 1872, and by the end of his career he had done 5000 thyroidectomies with only 1% mortality.  Kocher never transfused any patient and he won a Nobel Prize.[ii]

Dr. Kocher’s procedures were safe and successful because he meticulously avoided unnecessary bleeding.  The new bloodless surgery does that as well using up to date technology. In addition, it often makes use of the patient’s own blood, which at one time was thrown away during surgery.  It is “bloodless” because it avoids costly transfusions of donated blood that actually produce lower success rates than procedures that salvage the patient’s own blood.  As Dr. Usoro continues, “Many clinicians are surprised to learn that blood transfusion is based on tradition and associated with a poorer outcome (unrelated to infectious hazards) in a wide variety of patients.”[iii]

But isn’t blood “The Gift of Life?”

gift of lifeMarketing campaigns have trained most Americans to believe that “blood is the gift of life.”  And for some patients with massive traumatic blood loss, transfusions of donated blood can indeed prove to be lifesaving.  Around the time of World War I, when medical researchers learned how to safely store blood for weeks and match it correctly to patients, a new era in medicine was born.  Bloodless surgical techniques were set aside as transfusions became an automatic feature of modern surgery.  It appeared to be a genuine improvement.

surgeryBut then physicians conducted studies to compare outcomes of those who underwent what had become traditional surgery including transfusions with those who had the same procedures without blood.  This crucial body of research revealed that bloodless surgery patients experience substantially fewer complications, shorter hospital stays and faster recoveries.

Speaking at a medical conference Dr. Joseph Sweeney, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University and Director, Coagulation and Transfusion Services for the Lifespan hospital group made these important points:

Studies show that patients who are anemic at the time of surgery have poorer outcomes.
Blood transfusions do not improve the prognosis for most anemic patients, as once widely believed.
Research has revealed a previously unknown transfusion risk that bloodless surgical techniques can eliminate. [iv]
capillaryBlood banks have worked hard to reduce the chance of transmitting blood borne infections through transfusions, with varying degrees of success.  But research has uncovered another risk that is hard to avoid without using bloodless surgery.  Dr. Sweeney explained that red blood cells stored for just six days become rigid.  Transfusions can hinder circulation through a patient’s capillaries, the tiny blood vessels that bring oxygenated blood to sustain individual cells.

The Journal of the American Medical Association stated, “Some studies actually indicate no increase in tissue oxygenation with blood transfusion.”[v] Rigid red cells can stop up tiny capillaries, actually starving the cells they were transfused to nourish.

Cleveland ClinicA major research study of patients who underwent heart bypass surgery at The Cleveland Clinic supports this conclusion. Those whose doctors used bloodless surgical methods were much less likely to suffer serious complications than those who had traditional bypass surgery with transfusions of packed red blood cells.  Summing up their detailed findings, researchers wrote:

Our results suggest that transfusions should be avoided to the extent possible.[vi]


It has now become clear that transfusions of donated blood, even carefully screened and washed red cells, increases the risk of serious complications. New surgical methods are needed.  Fortunately, these were developed over the years by innovative surgeons and anesthesiologists.  They were willing to take on the challenge of operating on patients who refused blood transfusions, most notably Jehovah’s Witnesses who were determined to obey the biblical injunction to “abstain from blood.”[vii]

Denton CooleyPatients who steadfastly refused blood transfusions formed a pool of experimental subjects, “human guinea pigs” who permitted doctors to try new procedures so that they could have the surgery they needed without violating their consciences.  One willing surgeon was Dr. Denton Cooley, who performed the world’s first heart transplant in 1968.  He also pioneered bloodless open heart surgery and later wrote:

We became so impressed with the results on the Jehovah’s Witnesses that we started using the procedure on all our heart patients. We’ve had surprisingly good success and used it in our [heart] transplants as well.[viii]

How the new gold standard is carried out

Ired blood cells2n his presentation at the 2009 New England Regional Society for the Advancement of Blood Management Conference, Dr. Sweeney outlined a simple procedure for the new gold standard, bloodless elective surgery.  Since anemia revealed by a low blood count reduces the likelihood of a successful procedure, it’s important to check and, if necessary, build up patients’ blood 4-5 weeks before surgery.

Blood counts can be raised by administering iron supplements, either in pill form or intravenously.  In some cases, patients receive erythropoietin (EPO), a medication that speeds up their natural red blood cell production.  Surgery will be scheduled when blood counts reach the acceptable range.

Cell Saver

During the procedure, doctors will employ equipment that minimizes blood loss.  This includes cell salvage equipment that suctions up blood leaking from the wound, cleans it, and returns it to the patient’s circulation.  Instead of throwing away the patient’s blood, as done for years, the medical staff cleanses and reinfuses it.  There is nothing better for a patient than their own fresh red blood cells, far safer than donated blood (or even the patient’s own stored blood).

If the patient’s blood count is still low, EPO administration will begin to raise it within a few days.

Conclusion

leaving hospitalBloodless medicine and surgery provides many advantages to both patients and the healthcare system.  It significantly improves outcomes, reducing the risk of complications.  It shortens hospital stays and promotes quicker recoveries.  Further, it saves healthcare dollars, an important consideration as baby boomers retire and Medicare membership grows.

Major medical centers, regional teaching hospitals and the U.S. military have all embraced the new gold standard.  If you’re considering elective surgery it might well pay dividends to ask your doctor if it’s appropriate to use bloodless medicine and surgery in your case.

By MICHELLE CASTILLO CBS NEWS July 3, 2012, 3:03 PM

Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions after cardiac surgery at no greater health risk:

CBS News) New research shows that Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions after cardiac surgery are at no greater health risks than people who undergo the procedure.
The study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on July 2, intended to look at patients who do not undergo blood transfusions after cardiac surgery. Because Jehovah's Witnesses believe on religious grounds that they are not supposed to ingest the blood of another, they made ideal test subjects.

The study looked at 48,986 non-Witnesses who had blood transfusions and 322 Witnesses who refused to have blood transfusions who all underwent cardiac surgery between 1983 to 2011. After matching the patients up by similar cases, researchers found both groups had similar risks for dying at the hospital. However, Witnesses had lower chances of having additional operations for bleeding, renal failure and sepsis compared with non-Witnesses who received transfusions.

"It behooves us to examine more closely some Jehovah Witness processes of care and implement them in our routine surgeries," study author Dr. Colleen Koch, a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said to HealthDay.

Witnesses spent less time in the intensive care unit and less time in the hospital than the other group. They also had higher survival rates compared to the people who were non-witnesses at 95 percent and 89 percent respectively. Both groups had close 20-year survival rates (34 percent versus 32 percent).

According to the Mayo Clinic, blood transfusions can cause a number of health complications, including allergic reactions, fevers, lung injury, spread of bloodborne infections and acute immune hemolytic reaction - a rare transfusion reaction in which a person's body attacks the new blood because it's not the proper type. But, HealthDay points out that screening techniques introduced in the 1990s have made it safer than it previously was.

Transfusion is typically ordered because of the risk of anemia - which the National Institutes of Health defines as a condition where the body does not have enough red blood cells. Anemia can cause the person to feel tired or weak, have headaches and shortness of breath, as well as problems concentrating or thinking.

Dr. Victor A. Ferraris, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Kentucky, wrote in an accompanying commentary that the study shows that it might do doctors well to look at their own practices.

"The findings of this analysis by Pattakos and colleagues add to the increasing data that suggest that more conservative use of blood transfusions would be in our patients' interest, in both Witnesses and non-Witnesses," he stated.

But, Dr. Gregory Fontana, chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, warns HealthDay that the results don't indicate that we should expand the findings to everyone.

"just because this paper is published, we cannot willy nilly start treating everyone like Jehovah's Witnesses," he told HealthDay. "It does provide further evidence that transfusion with real indication carries a risk that heretofore has been underestimated."

The gold standard(not my say so) II

Bloodless surgeries show cost and care advantages over traditional surgeries

By Diane Anderson, RN 
Clinical Consulting Specialist
HCC Life Insurance Company

During my 20-year career as a nurse and clinical consultant, I have witnessed numerous cutting-edge medical techniques that help plans receive improved patient results while saving money.  Bloodless surgery and medicine, however, has been around for almost five decades, yet it is just now receiving the recognition it warrants. New studies and research have shown that bloodless surgery and medicine is not only cost-effective, but quickly becoming a standard of care because it typically results in fewer complications and post-surgery procedures.

In my current position as a clinical consultant with HCC Life Solutions, HCC Life's Healthcare Risk Management (HCRM) medical management program, I often receive inquiries from our clients about bloodless surgery and how it can lead to both clinical and financial outcomes. To help our clients better understand this proven medical practice, I have developed a set of frequently asked questions and their answers.

Bloodless Surgery and Medicine � What is it? 
The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut defines bloodless surgery as, �� surgical and/or medical treatment without the administration of blood or blood related products.�

Bloodless surgery has been called the "Gold Standard" because of its known advantages over traditional surgery.

When is it done? 
The practice has been incorporated into many areas of care including surgeries for general, cancer, neuro, oral/maxillofacial, orthopedic, pediatric, trauma, organ transplants and vascular. It is also being utilized for services in the areas of HIV/AIDs, cardiology, hematology and neonatology, to name a few.

For example, an Allegheny General Hospital gynecologic surgeon developed a bloodless surgical technique for removing large uterine fibroids, which spares the uterus. This surgical approach even allows for the possibility of future child bearing. Typically the removal of the tumors (myomectomy) results in large amounts of blood loss requiring multiple transfusions, often leading to removal of the uterus (hysterectomy). The bloodless surgical technique involves isolating and clamping off all blood vessels to the reproductive organs to temporarily shut off blood flow to that area. The fibroids are removed and the uterus is then reconstructed using tissue from the abdominal wall to reduce the formation of adhesions that could later cause infection and/or bleeding. Lastly the clamps are removed and the incision is closed.

Why is it done? 
Bloodless medicine and surgery is an approach to health care that began in the 1960�s as a simple avoidance of the use of transfused blood or blood-related products. A variety of infectious agents have been found in the nation�s blood supply including; hepatitis A, B and C, malaria, syphilis, cytomegalovirus, Epstien-Barr virus, Creutzfeldt-Jacob virus (which causes the human form of �mad cow� disease), West Nile Virus, HIV/AIDS and other viral infections. The practice reduces the risk of blood product diseases. Of equal importance, bloodless medical and surgery reduce the potential risk for negative outcomes due to administration errors and adverse reactions.

New research is constantly proving the complexity of blood. Because it is a liquid organ, it does not transplant well. A 2007 news release from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine stated that one expert in the area, �likens the weeks-old blood often used for transfusions to �water like a dirty fish tank�. Depleted of most of its oxygen carrying capacity, the stored blood is not maximally beneficial to any patient.�

Donated blood for transfusions is stored and administered on a first-in, first-out basis so the oldest blood is always administered. Current blood bank policies allow blood stored up to 42 days to be used for transfusions. As donor blood ages, it looses critical amounts of the nitric oxide that helps deliver oxygen to the body, therefore potentially causing major harm to the patient. Beginning in the second week of storage, serious hemorrhagic disorders develop, including the decrease of blood cell deformability secondary to shape abnormalities, acidosis and the decrease in blood clotting. Most blood substitutes are experimental and are rarely used, although they can be approved under the compassionate use protocol.

Cost savings can be significant
According to noblood.org, the average cost of a bloodless heart surgery is only $16,345 while the average cost of a heart surgery using blood transfusions is $23,415.  Dr. Patricia A. Ford, medical director of The Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia said in a Feb. 22, 2007 Bottom Line's Daily Health News article, �many hospitals have a $2 million or $3 million budget for blood�even a 10% reduction in blood use can really have a significant impact.�

Where is it done? 
About one year ago, HCC Life Solutions, a department of the HCRM division of HCC Life, received a request for bloodless transplant accommodation. At that time, we could only locate two bloodless transplant facilities. That number has grown by leaps and bounds to more than 200 bloodless surgery centers worldwide, including 100 facilities in the US alone.  Even Australia began supporting bloodless surgeries, as �the Department of Health of the Government of Western Australia recently acknowledged patient blood management as an evidenced-based patient-focused medical and surgical concept, being in full compliance with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, and decided to implement it as a standard of care statewide between 2008 and 2012.� (Anesthesiology, 2008).

Who performs it? 
Bloodless surgery techniques involve meticulous study and skill. While  a cooperative surgeon, a surgeon who is agreeable to avoid the use of blood products, will practice blood-conserving techniques, that does not mean he/she is qualified to do a bloodless surgery. Even though more than 100,000 surgeons worldwide, including military surgeons, have been trained in this particular area, more bloodless surgery health practitioners are needed to meet the high demand. Training for surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists and nurses are provided by bloodless surgery and medicine centers and some medical device companies.

How is the practice applied?

Preparation
To ensure optimal success of a bloodless surgery, care begins prior to the surgery. Recommendations given to patients before surgery could include:

Female hormone therapy, especially estrogen which protects cells from damage by allowing them to hold their healthy shape.

A diet high in iron or supplements with ferrous sulphate or ferrous gluconate, vitamin C or folic acid, which help boost oxygenation.

Medications

Medications that raise red or white blood cell counts and hemoglobin levels, such as Erythropoietin, which stimulates production of red blood cells, or oxygen carriers such as perflurocarbons or hemoglobin substitutes.

Aprotinin, amiocaproic acid, desmopressin, vasopressin or vitamin K.

Coconut water, the sterile liquid from young green coconuts/endosperm, can substitute for plasma because it has the same electrolyte balance of blood. Historically it was used during World War ll when the nation�s blood supply was low.

Anesthesia

Anesthesia techniques may include volume expanders such as crystalloids/colloids, hypotensive anesthesia, hypothermia or normovolemic hemodilution and hyperoxic ventilation.

Surgical Methods

A surgical method often used in bloodless surgeries is intraoperative autotransfusion, where the patient's own blood is suctioned directly from the operative site, then washed and replaced directly back into the patient.

A variety of surgical devices, such as ultrasonic scalpels, microwave coagulating scalpels, argon beam coagulators, laser surgery, selective embolization and the new harmonic scalpel, a vibrating laser that cauterizes as it cuts, are common with bloodless surgeries.

Techniques such as platelet gel, fibrin glue, and use of pediatric tubes for limited micro blood sampling are also popular blood conservation techniques.

In Conclusion
The cries about blood shortages are real. The nation's donated blood supply is 100% dependant upon a steady core of altruistic donors, whose numbers are fast declining. Studies show that patients have fewer infections and shorter hospital stays, therefore making bloodless surgery and medicine an excellent approach to address blood shortages. Additionally, there are no barriers to the bloodless medicine, as all of its techniques are FDA-approved and non-experimental. 

Bloodless surgery and medicine is not a fad. It’s healthcare of the future that's been around for decades.

If you have any additional questions about bloodless medicine, or would like to learn about how HCC Life Solutions can help plans maximize effective management of claim dollars and clinical opportunities, contact Diane Anderson at (877) 843-5743.

References:

About the Center for Bloodless Medicine & Surgery. Hartford Hospital. Web
default.aspx?cHT=bloodless surgery>.

Ford, Patricia A. "Bloodless Surgery: Safer, Smarter Surgery Goes Mainstream." Bottom Line's Daily Health News 22 Feb. 2007.

Landis, Lee-Ann. "New Choices for Patients: Transfusion-Free Medicine for Jehovah's Witnesses and Transfusion-Wary." December 5, 2007. Web .

NoBlood, Inc., www.noblood.org.

Society for the Advancement of Blood Management, www.sabm.org.

Spahn, Donat R., Holger Moch, Axel Hofmann, James P. Isbister. "Patient Blood Management: The Pragmatic Solution for the Problems with Blood Transfusions." Anesthesiology 109 (2008): 951-953.

On the Commander in chief:The Watchtower Society's commentary.

JEHOVAH OF ARMIES

This expression, found 285 times, with variations, in the Scriptures, translates the Hebrew Yeho·wahʹ tseva·ʼohthʹ. The prophetic books, particularly Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, contain by far the majority of its occurrences. Paul and James, quoting from or alluding to the prophecies, used its equivalent (transliterated into Greek) in their writings.—Ro 9:29; Jas 5:4; compare Isa 1:9.

The Hebrew word tsa·vaʼʹ (singular; plural, tseva·ʼohthʹ) basically means a literal army of soldiers, or combat forces, as at Genesis 21:22; Deuteronomy 20:9, and many other texts. However, the term is also used in a figurative sense as in “the heavens and the earth and all their army,” or “the sun and the moon and the stars, all the army of the heavens.” (Ge 2:1; De 4:19) The plural form (tseva·ʼohthʹ) is employed a number of times as applying to the Israelite forces, as at Exodus 6:26; 7:4; Numbers 33:1; Psalms 44:9; 60:10. Some scholars believe that the “armies” in the expression “Jehovah of armies” include not only the angelic forces but also the Israelite army and the inanimate heavenly bodies. However, it appears that the “armies” signified are primarily, if not exclusively, the angelic forces.

When Joshua saw an angelic visitor near Jericho and asked him if he was for Israel or for the enemy side, the reply was, “No, but I—as prince of the army of Jehovah I have now come.” (Jos 5:13-15) The prophet Micaiah told Kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat, “I certainly see Jehovah sitting upon his throne and all the army of the heavens standing by him, to his right and to his left,” clearly referring to Jehovah’s spirit sons. (1Ki 22:19-21) The use of the plural form in “Jehovah of armies” is appropriate, inasmuch as the angelic forces are described not only in divisions of cherubs, seraphs, and angels (Isa 6:2, 3; Ge 3:24; Re 5:11) but also as forming organized groups, so that Jesus Christ could speak of having “more than twelve legions of angels” available at his call. (Mt 26:53) In Hezekiah’s plea to Jehovah for help he called him “Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, sitting upon the cherubs,” evidently alluding to the ark of the covenant and the cherub figures on its cover, symbolizing Jehovah’s heavenly throne. (Isa 37:16; compare 1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2.) Elisha’s fearful servant was reassured by a miraculous vision in which he saw the mountains around the besieged city of Elisha’s residence “full of horses and war chariots of fire,” part of Jehovah’s angelic hosts.—2Ki 6:15-17.

The expression “Jehovah of armies” thus conveys the sense of power, the power held by the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, who has at his command vast forces of spirit creatures. (Ps 103:20, 21; 148:1, 2; Isa 1:24; Jer 32:17, 18) It thus commands deep respect and awe, while at the same time being a source of comfort and encouragement to Jehovah’s servants. David, alone and unaided by any earthly military force, challenged the formidable Philistine Goliath in “the name of Jehovah of armies, the God of the battle lines of Israel.” (1Sa 17:45) Not only in times of literal battle but also in all other trialsome situations or occasions of importance God’s people as a whole and as individuals could take courage and hope from recognizing the majesty of Jehovah’s sovereign position, reflected in his control over the mighty forces serving from his heavenly courts. (1Sa 1:9-11; 2Sa 6:18; 7:25-29) The use of the expression “Jehovah of armies” by the prophets supplied yet one more reason for those hearing the prophecies to be certain of their fulfillment.

Valuing science v. Idolising scientists.

Science Is Not Simply “What Scientists Do”
Wesley J. Smith

Science is a method for determining facts about the natural world. As the dictionary definition has it, it is “the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.”

But too often science is hijacked by “the scientists,” who actually do something else — e.g., make ideological or ethical assertions — and call it “science.” And when they are criticized or their findings are challenged, they wield the “anti-science” canard like a cudgel to shut their critics up — a phenomenon I wrote about in more detail here. 

This conflation harms science because it communicates a deconstructing message that science is just politics or ideology by another name. Keep this up, and science will become as discredited in the eyes of the public as other once venerable institutions.

Which is why I was alarmed to see physicist Sabine Hossenfelder  accept as a definition of ”science,” not a method, but merely “what scientists do.”

There have been many previous attempts to define what science is, but the only definition that ever made sense to me is that science is what scientists do, and scientists are people who search for useful descriptions of nature. “Science,” then, is an emergent concept that arises in communities of people with a shared work practices. “Communities of practice,” as the sociologists say.

This is rank deconstruction. Science is what IT is, and those who actually pursue IT are “scientists” — not the other way around.

Moreover, it isn’t about “searching for useful descriptions of nature,” but accurate one, true ones, factual ones.

Sure, scientists propose, hypothesize, muse, imagine. But then the hard part comes when scientists test their ideas without fear or favor as to where the actual truth is to be found. If a promising hypothesis fails, that’s good, because failure is part of the process.

But what if we move away from defining science as an objective method? Hossenfelder foresees a division of science into “conservative” and “progressive” branches:

This brings me to my problem. If science is what scientists do, then how can anything that scientists do not be science? For a long time it seemed to me that in the end we won’t get around settling on a definition for science and holding on to it, regardless of how much I’d prefer a self-organized solution.

But as I was looking for a fossil photo to illustrate my recent post about what we mean by “explaining” something, I realized that we witness the self-organized solution right now: It’s a lineage split.

If some scientists insist on changing the old-fashioned methodology, the communities will fall apart. Let us call the two sectors “conservatives” and “progressives.” Each of them will insist they are the ones pursuing the more promising approach.

This is very subversive. We already have a definition of science. Those who want to turn it into something else — whether ideology, social justice, politics, social engineering, etc. — are the real “anti-science” ideologues.

Or to put it another way, just because someone says, “I’m a scientist doing science,” it isn’t necessarily so.

How Russia's orthodox church has made latter day Pontius Pilates of the political establishment.

Russia Labels Jehovah's Witnesses An Extremist Group
Heard on Morning Edition

Russia has banned Jehovah's Witnesses as an extremist group, in a sign of the Russian Orthodox Church's political influence. Steve Inskeep speaks with Washington Post reporter Andrew Roth in Moscow.

TRANSCRIPT
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Russia's Supreme Court has accepted a request from the government to declare Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist group. This puts the Christian denomination in the same category as the Islamic State. We're going to talk about this with Andrew Roth, a Moscow correspondent for The Washington Post who's on the phone. Welcome to the program.

ANDREW ROTH: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: What could possibly make Jehovah's Witnesses the same as ISIS?

ROTH: Well, yes, you know, there's a joke that they're the most pacifist extremists in Russia now...

INSKEEP: (Laughter).

ROTH: ...Because it seems like the Russian government's decided to declare them an extremist group because of pamphlets that they distributed. And the formal argument by the Justice Ministry was that those pamphlets incited hatred against other religious groups. Basically they said that, you know, Orthodoxy is not the true way, our way is the true way. And so that's the main sort of part of the government's argument.

INSKEEP: Now, you mentioned pacifists. That's one of the beliefs the Jehovah's Witnesses are known for - pacifism. They try to be apolitical. People in the United States know them because they knock on doors. They pass out those pamphlets you mentioned. They do seek converts. You may disagree with them. You may dislike them but they don't seem that threatening. How common are Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia?

ROTH: Right. So today there's about 175,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. This is part of the history of the fall of the Soviet Union. You know, they were persecuted under Stalin but after the fall of the Soviet Union, there was a huge wave of conversions in the country and proselytizing. And they grew quite quickly.

And it seems like what's happening now is that the Russian government is really trying to clamp down and to sort of recreate an idea of what official religion is in Russia. You know, there's official Christianity Orthodoxy. There's official Islam. And these are figures who are both religious and also have a sort of government position. And clearly, Jehovah's Witnesses don't fit into that conception of official Christianity in the country.

INSKEEP: Andrew Roth, is there something bigger going on here? Vladimir Putin has posed broadly as a defender of traditional Christianity and this is part of that?

ROTH: Yeah, I think that that's a fair way to look at the question right now. You know, these are a group of Christians who aren't formally really connected with the state. They're actually not just pacifists but apolitical completely. And that's believed to have made the Kremlin somewhat uncomfortable. There's also a growing strength of the Russian Orthodox Church.

INSKEEP: Wait, you're saying that he supports Christianity that can be supportive to him in a political way, that is what he wants?

ROTH: Yes. You know, the Russian Orthodox Church which is official Christianity in Russia is this sort of - there's an important symbiosis between religion and the political power in the country. And so the Orthodox Church and the Kremlin have walked in lockstep. And I think it's fair to see that this crackdown is in some ways sort of influenced - growing influence of Orthodox Christianity and a view of Christianity that can support the Kremlin's aim.

INSKEEP: Helpful to know. That's Washington Post correspondent Andrew Roth. He is in Moscow, where the Russian Supreme Court has now agreed with the government and declared the Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist group. Mr. Roth, thanks very much.

ROTH: Thank you.


A 1st century religious leader has this appropriate advice for the leaders of The Russian orthodox church:Acts5:33-39NIV "When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”"

Jeremiah 1-5 New World Translation (2013 Edition)

1) These are the words of Jeremiah* the son of Hil·kiʹah, one of the priests in Anʹa·thoth+ in the land of Benjamin. 2 The word of Jehovah came to him in the days of Jo·siʹah+ the son of Aʹmon,+ the king of Judah, in the 13th year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Je·hoiʹa·kim+ the son of Jo·siʹah, the king of Judah, until the completion of the 11th year of Zed·e·kiʹah+ the son of Jo·siʹah, the king of Judah, until Jerusalem went into exile in the fifth month.+

4 The word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew* you,+

And before you were born* I sanctified you.*+

I made you a prophet to the nations.”

 6 But I said: “Alas, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah!

I do not know how to speak,+ for I am just a boy.”*+

 7 Jehovah then said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am just a boy.’

For you must go to all those to whom I send you,

And you should say everything that I command you.+

 8 Do not be afraid because of their appearance,+

For ‘I am with you to save you,’+ declares Jehovah.”

9 Then Jehovah stretched out his hand and touched my mouth.+ And Jehovah said to me: “I have put my words in your mouth.+ 10 See, I have commissioned you this day to be over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant.”+

11 The word of Jehovah again came to me, saying: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” So I said: “I see the branch of an almond tree.”*

12 Jehovah said to me: “You have seen correctly, for I am wide awake concerning my word to carry it out.”

13 The word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying: “What do you see?” So I said: “I see a boiling* pot,* and its mouth is tilted away from the north.” 14 Then Jehovah said to me:

“Out of the north the calamity will break loose

Against all the inhabitants of the land.+

15 For ‘I am summoning all the families of the kingdoms of the north,’ declares Jehovah,+

‘And they will come; each one will set up his throne

At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,+

Against her walls all around

And against all the cities of Judah.+

16 And I will declare my judgments against them over all their wickedness,

Because they have abandoned me,+

And they are making sacrificial smoke to other gods+

And bowing down to the works of their own hands.’+

17 But you should prepare for action,*

And you must stand up and tell them everything that I command you.

Do not be terrified of them,+

So that I do not terrify you before them.

18 For today I have made you a fortified city,

An iron pillar, and copper walls against all the land,+

Toward the kings of Judah and her princes,

Toward her priests and the people of the land.+

19 And they will certainly fight against you,

But they will not prevail against you,*

For ‘I am with you,’+ declares Jehovah, ‘to save you.’”

2) The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, ‘This is what Jehovah says:

“I well remember the devotion* of your youth,+

The love you showed when you were engaged to marry,+

How you followed me in the wilderness,

In a land not sown with seed.+

 3 Israel was holy to Jehovah,+ the firstfruits of his harvest.”’

‘Anyone devouring him would become guilty.

Disaster would come upon them,’ declares Jehovah.”+

 4 Hear the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob,

And all you families of the house of Israel.

 5 This is what Jehovah says:

“What fault did your forefathers find in me,+

So that they strayed so far from me,

And they walked after worthless idols+ and became worthless themselves?+

 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is Jehovah,

The One who brought us out of the land of Egypt,+

Who led us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts+ and pits,

Through a land of drought+ and of deep shadow,

Through a land where no man travels

And where no humans dwell?’

 7 I then brought you to a land of orchards,

To eat its fruitage and its good things.+

But you came in and defiled my land;

You made my inheritance something detestable.+

 8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is Jehovah?’+

Those handling the Law did not know me,

The shepherds rebelled against me,+

The prophets prophesied by Baʹal,+

And they followed those who could bring no benefit.

 9 ‘So I will contend further with you,’+ declares Jehovah,

‘And I will contend with the sons of your sons.’

10 ‘But cross over to the coastlands* of the Kitʹtim+ and see.

Yes, send to Keʹdar+ and consider carefully;

See whether anything like this has happened.

11 Has a nation ever changed its gods for those that are not gods?

But my own people have exchanged my glory for what is useless.+

12 Stare in amazement at this, you heavens;

Shudder in absolute horror,’ declares Jehovah,

13 ‘Because my people have done two bad things:

They have abandoned me, the source of living water,+

And dug* for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.’

14 ‘Is Israel a servant or a slave born in the household?

Then why has he been given over to plunder?

15 Against him young lions* roar;+

They have raised their voice.

They made his land an object of horror.

His cities have been set on fire, so that there is no inhabitant.

16 The people of Noph*+ and Tahʹpan·es+ feed on the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this on yourself

By abandoning Jehovah your God+

While he was leading you in the way?

18 Now why do you wish for the way to Egypt+

To drink the waters of Shiʹhor?*

Why do you wish for the way to As·syrʹi·a+

To drink the waters of the River?*

19 Your wickedness should correct you,

And your own unfaithfulness should reprove you.

Know and realize how bad and bitter it is+

To abandon Jehovah your God;

You have shown no fear of me,’+ declares the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of armies.

20 ‘For long ago I smashed your yoke+

And tore off your shackles.

But you said: “I am not going to serve,”

For on every high hill and under every luxuriant tree+

You were lying sprawled out, prostituting yourself.+

21 I planted you as a choice red vine,+ all of it pure seed;

So how have you turned into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine before me?’+

22 ‘Though you should wash with soda* and use much lye,*

Your guilt would still be a stain before me,’+ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

23 How can you say, ‘I have not defiled myself.

I have not followed the Baʹals’?

Look at your way in the valley.

Consider what you have done.

You are like a swift, young she-camel,

Aimlessly running back and forth in her ways,

24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

Sniffing the wind in her lust.*

Who can restrain her when she is in heat?

None of those looking for her will need to weary themselves.

In her season* they will find her.

25 Keep your feet from going bare

And your throat from thirst.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!+

No! I have fallen in love with strangers,*+

And I will follow them.’+

26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,

So the house of Israel has been put to shame,

They, their kings and their princes,

Their priests and their prophets.+

27 They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’+

And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’

But to me they turn their back and not their face.+

And in the time of their calamity they will say,

‘Rise up and save us!’+

28 Now where are your gods that you made for yourself?+

Let them rise up if they can save you in your time of calamity,

For your gods have become as numerous as your cities, O Judah.+

29 ‘Why do you keep contending against me?

Why have all of you rebelled against me?’+ declares Jehovah.

30 I have struck your sons in vain.+

They would accept no discipline;+

Your own sword devoured your prophets,+

Like a marauding lion.

31 O generation, consider for yourselves the word of Jehovah.

Have I become like a wilderness to Israel

Or a land of oppressive darkness?

Why have these, my people, said, ‘We roam freely.

We will come to you no more’?+

32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

A bride her breastbands?*

And yet my own people have forgotten me for countless days.+

33 How skillfully, O woman, you set your course to seek love!

You have trained yourself in the ways of wickedness.+

34 Even your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor ones,*+

Though I did not find them in the act of breaking in;

It is on all your skirts.+

35 But you say, ‘I am innocent.

Surely his anger has turned back from me.’

Now I am bringing judgment against you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 Why do you treat so lightly your unstable course?

You will become ashamed of Egypt too,+

Just as you became ashamed of As·syrʹi·a.+

37 For this reason also you will go out with your hands on your head,+

For Jehovah has rejected those in whom you put confidence;

They will not bring you success.”

3) People ask: “If a man sends his wife away and she leaves him and becomes another man’s, should he return to her anymore?”

Has that land not been utterly polluted?+

“You have committed prostitution with many companions,+

And should you now return to me?” declares Jehovah.

 2 “Raise your eyes to the bare hills and see.

Where have you not been raped?

You sat along the roadways for them,

Like a nomad* in the wilderness.

You keep polluting the land

With your prostitution and your wickedness.+

 3 So showers of rain are withheld,+

And there is no rain in the spring.

You have the brazen look* of a wife who commits prostitution;

You refuse to feel shame.+

 4 But now you call out to me,

‘My Father, you are the companion of my youth!+

 5 Should one stay resentful forever,

Or always hold a grudge?’

This is what you say,

But you keep doing all the evil you are capable of doing.”+

6 In the days of King Jo·siʹah,+ Jehovah said to me: “‘Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and underneath every luxuriant tree to commit prostitution.+ 7 Even after she did all these things, I kept telling her to return to me,+ but she did not return; and Judah kept watching her treacherous sister.+ 8 When I saw that, I sent unfaithful Israel away with a full certificate of divorce+ because of her adultery.+ But her treacherous sister Judah did not become afraid; she too went out and committed prostitution.+ 9 She took her prostitution lightly, and she kept polluting the land and committing adultery with stones and with trees.+ 10 Despite all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, only in pretense,’ declares Jehovah.”

11 Jehovah then said to me: “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself* to be more righteous than treacherous Judah.+ 12 Go and proclaim these words to the north:+

“‘“Return, O renegade Israel,” declares Jehovah.’+ ‘“I will not look down angrily* on you,+ for I am loyal,” declares Jehovah.’ ‘“I will not stay resentful forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt, for you have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You continued scattering your favors* to strangers* under every luxuriant tree, but you would not obey my voice,” declares Jehovah.’”

14 “Return, you renegade sons,” declares Jehovah. “For I have become your true master;* and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.+ 15 And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,+ and they will feed you with knowledge and insight. 16 You will become many and will bear fruit in the land in those days,” declares Jehovah.+ “No more will they say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Jehovah!’ It will not come up into the heart, nor will they remember it or miss it, and it will not be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah;+ and all the nations will be brought together to the name of Jehovah at Jerusalem,+ and they will no longer stubbornly follow their own wicked heart.”

18 “In those days they will walk together, the house of Judah alongside the house of Israel,+ and together they will come from the land of the north into the land that I gave to your forefathers as an inheritance.+ 19 And I thought, ‘How I placed you among the sons and gave you the desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance among the nations!’*+ I also thought that you would call me, ‘My Father!’ and that you would not turn away from following me. 20 ‘Truly as a wife treacherously leaves her husband,* so also you, O house of Israel, have dealt treacherously with me,’+ declares Jehovah.”

21 On the bare hills a sound is heard,

The weeping and the pleading of the people of Israel,

For they have distorted their way;

They have forgotten Jehovah their God.+

22 “Return, you renegade sons.

I will heal your renegade condition.”+

“Here we are! We have come to you,

For you, O Jehovah, are our God.+

23 Truly the hills and the turmoil on the mountains are a delusion.+

Truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.+

24 But the shameful thing* has consumed the toil of our forefathers since our youth,+

Their flocks and their herds,

Their sons and their daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame,

And let our disgrace cover us,

For we have sinned against Jehovah our God,+

We and our fathers since our youth until this day,+

And we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.”

4) “If you will return, O Israel,” declares Jehovah,

“If you will return to me

And if you will remove your disgusting idols from before me,

Then you will not be a fugitive.+

 2 And if you swear,

‘As surely as Jehovah is alive!’ in truth, justice, and righteousness,

Then the nations will obtain a blessing for themselves by him,

And in him they will boast.”+

3 For this is what Jehovah says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Plow for yourselves arable land,

And do not keep sowing among thorns.+

 4 Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah,

And remove the foreskins of your hearts,+

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

So that my wrath may not blaze up like a fire

And burn with no one to extinguish it,

Because of your evil deeds.”+

 5 Declare it in Judah, and proclaim it in Jerusalem.

Shout and blow a horn throughout the land.+

Call out loudly and say: “Gather together,

And let us flee into the fortified cities.+

 6 Raise a signal* toward Zion.

Seek shelter, and do not stand still,”

For I am bringing in calamity from the north,+ a great crash.

 7 He has emerged like a lion from his thicket;+

The destroyer of nations has set out.+

He has gone out from his place to make your land an object of horror.

Your cities will be reduced to ruins, without an inhabitant.+

 8 Therefore, put on sackcloth,+

Mourn* and wail,

Because the burning anger of Jehovah has not turned away from us.

 9 “In that day,” declares Jehovah, “the heart* of the king will fail him,+

Also the heart* of the princes;

The priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be amazed.”+

10 Then I said: “Alas, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Truly you have utterly deceived this people+ and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace,’+ when the sword is at our throats.”*

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem:

“A scorching wind from the barren hills of the desert

Will sweep down on the daughter of* my people;

It is not coming to winnow or to cleanse.

12 The full wind comes from these places at my bidding.

Now I will pronounce judgments against them.

13 Look! He will come like rain clouds,

And his chariots are like a storm wind.+

His horses are swifter than eagles.+

Woe to us, for we are ruined!

14 Wash your heart clean of wickedness, O Jerusalem, in order to be saved.+

How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?

15 For a voice tells the news from Dan,+

And it proclaims disaster from the mountains of Eʹphra·im.

16 Report it, yes, to the nations;

Proclaim it against Jerusalem.”

“Sentinels* are coming from a distant land,

And they will raise their voices against the cities of Judah.

17 They come against her on all sides like guards of the open field,+

Because she has rebelled against me,”+ declares Jehovah.

18 “Your own ways and your actions will be brought upon you.+

How bitter is your disaster,

For it reaches clear to your heart!”

19 O my anguish,* my anguish!

I feel great pain in my very heart.*

My heart pounds within me.

I cannot keep silent,

For I have* heard the sound of the horn,

The alarm signal of war.*+

20 Disaster after disaster has been reported,

For the whole land has been destroyed.

Suddenly my own tents are destroyed,

In a moment my tent cloths.+

21 How long will I keep seeing the signal,*

Keep hearing the sound of the horn?+

22 “For my people are foolish;+

They take no note of me.

They are stupid sons, with no understanding.

They are clever* enough when it comes to doing bad,

But they do not know how to do good.”

23 I saw the land, and look! it was empty and desolate.+

I looked at the heavens, and their light was no more.+

24 I saw the mountains, and look! they were quaking,

And the hills were shaking.+

25 I saw, and look! there was no man,

And the birds of the heavens had all fled.+

26 I saw, and look! the orchard had become a wilderness,

And its cities had all been torn down.+

It was because of Jehovah,

Because of his burning anger.

27 For this is what Jehovah says: “The whole land will become desolate,+

But I will not carry out a complete extermination.

28 For this reason the land will mourn,+

And the heavens above will become dark.+

It is because I have spoken, I have decided,

And I will not change my mind,* nor will I turn back from it.+

29 At the sound of the horsemen and the archers,

The entire city flees.+

They enter into the thickets,

And they climb the rocks.+

Every city is abandoned,

And no man dwells in them.”

30 Now that you are devastated, what will you do?

You used to clothe yourself with scarlet,

To deck yourself with gold ornaments,

And to enlarge your eyes with black paint.*

But it is in vain that you beautified yourself,+

For those lusting after you have rejected you;

They are now seeking to take your life.*+

31 For I have heard the sound like that of a sick woman,

The distress like that of a woman giving birth to her first child,

The voice of the daughter of Zion who keeps gasping for breath.

She says as she spreads out her palms:+

“Woe to me, for I am* exhausted because of the killers!”

5) Roam the streets of Jerusalem.

Look around and take note.

Search her public squares to see

Whether you can find a man who acts with justice,+

One who seeks to be faithful,

And I will forgive her.

 2 Even if they say: “As surely as Jehovah is alive!”

They would still swear to what is false.+

 3 O Jehovah, do your eyes not look for faithfulness?+

You struck them, but it made no impact on them.*

You exterminated them, but they refused to accept discipline.+

They made their faces harder than a rock,+

And they refused to turn around.+

 4 But I said to myself: “Surely these must be the lowly.

They act foolishly, for they do not know the way of Jehovah,

The judgment of their God.

 5 I will go to the prominent men and speak with them,

For they must have taken note of the way of Jehovah,

The judgment of their God.+

But they had all broken the yoke

And torn apart the restraints.”*

 6 That is why a lion of the forest attacks them,

A wolf of the desert plains keeps ravaging them,

A leopard lies awake at their cities.

Everyone going out from them is torn to pieces.

For their transgressions are many;

Their acts of unfaithfulness are numerous.+

 7 How can I forgive you for this?

Your sons have abandoned me,

And they swear by what is no God.+

I satisfied their needs,

But they kept committing adultery,

And they flocked to the house of a prostitute.

 8 They are like eager, lustful horses,

Each neighing after another man’s wife.+

 9 “Should I not call them to account for these things?” declares Jehovah.

“Should I* not avenge myself on such a nation?”+

10 “Come up against her vineyard terraces and bring ruin,

But do not make a complete extermination.+

Take away her spreading shoots,

For they do not belong to Jehovah.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah

Have been utterly treacherous with me,” declares Jehovah.+

12 “They have denied Jehovah, and they keep saying,

‘He will do nothing.*+

No calamity will come upon us;

We will not see sword or famine.’+

13 The prophets are full of wind,

And the word* is not in them.

Let this happen to them!”

14 Therefore this is what Jehovah, the God of armies, says:

“Because these men are saying this,

Here I am making my words a fire in your mouth,+

And this people is the wood,

And it will consume them.”+

15 “Here I am bringing in on you a nation from far away, O house of Israel,”+ declares Jehovah.

“It is an enduring nation.

It is an ancient nation,

A nation whose language you do not know,

And whose speech you cannot understand.+

16 Their quiver is like an open grave;

All of them are warriors.

17 They will devour your harvest and your bread.+

They will devour your sons and your daughters.

They will devour your flocks and your herds.

They will devour your vines and your fig trees.

They will destroy with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.”

18 “But even in those days,” declares Jehovah, “I will not carry out a complete extermination of you.+ 19 And when they ask, ‘Why has Jehovah our God done all these things to us?’ you should answer them, ‘Just as you abandoned me to serve a foreign god in your land, so you will serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”+

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob,

And proclaim it in Judah, saying:

21 “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people:*+

They have eyes but cannot see;+

They have ears but cannot hear.+

22 ‘Do you not fear me?’ declares Jehovah,

‘Should you not tremble before me?

It is I who placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,

A permanent regulation that it cannot pass over.

Although its waves toss, they cannot prevail;

Although they roar, they still cannot pass beyond it.+

23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and gone their own way.+

24 And they do not say in their heart:

“Let us now fear Jehovah our God,

The One who gives the rain in its season,

Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,

The One who guards for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”+

25 Your own errors have prevented these things from coming;

Your own sins have deprived you of what is good.+

26 For among my people there are wicked men.

They keep peering, as when birdcatchers crouch down.

They set a deadly trap.

It is men whom they catch.

27 Like a cage full of birds,

So their houses are full of deception.+

That is why they have become powerful and rich.

28 They have grown fat and smooth;

They overflow with evil.

They do not plead the legal case of the fatherless,+

That they may gain success;

And they deny justice to the poor.’”+

29 “Should I not call them to account for these things?” declares Jehovah.

“Should I* not avenge myself on such a nation?

30 Something appalling and horrible has occurred in the land:

31 The prophets prophesy lies,+

And the priests dominate by their own authority.

And my own people love it that way.+

But what will you do when the end comes?”