Wings of Liberty • February 17, 2023
Surviving Pandemics: The Little Things Make Big Differences: The Immune System
Viruses are everywhere but are dormant until they find a host with needed cells for activation.i Viruses are spread and caught through bites, coughing, sneezing, inhalation, saliva, sexual fluids, and inhalation, amongst other methods. Once a virus has entered its host cell, replication begins and takes over. But the mystifying element in this, is some who have been exposed to deadly diseases, such as Ebola, remain well.ii This is because those with higher immune markers are less likely to get sick or have severe infections. In other words, being a generally healthy person pays off during pandemics.
The immune system is distributed throughout the body and is largely comprised of the thymus, spleen, lymph system, lymph nodes, tonsils and adenoids, appendix, bone marrow, mucus membranes, and skin. The thymus coordinates immune system activities, the spleen is a filter for bacteria amongst other tasks, the lymph system cycles out waste, dead bacteria, and white blood cells, using the lymph fluid to transport the debris. Lymph nodes produce particular white blood cells. The tonsils and adenoids help to trap pathogens. The appendix is responsible for early defense against serious infections and specialized white blood cell immune response. It is also thought to be responsible for producing and storing good gut bacteria.iii The bone marrow is an active center for many types of immune cells. The function of mucous membranes is to trap pathogens and clear them out. And finally, the skin is the largest barrier to protect the body. There are other incidental aspects of the immune system, that are equally as important.
The immune system functions in complementarity with other systems. The digestive system provides one such example. In the mouth, digestion is started by the saliva mixing and coating food. It also contains a pathogen-fighting enzyme which prevents infections. The stomach’s gastric juice doubles as pathogen neutralizer as well as breaks down food. And the gut’s primary task in absorbing food, is home to the microbiome, also houses 70% of the immune system. What is eaten breaks down into food that beneficial bacteria convert and use for fuel. Then, the immune cells are properly educated by the microbiome. Conversely, poor nutrition causes the overgrowth of bad bacteria and results in a poorly functioning immune system. Ultimately, quality nutrition is directly responsible for those who can withstand illness, or a reduced severity in illness during pandemics. Poor nutrition, meaning foods rich in animal-rich proteins, sugar, processed foods and saturated fats, detrimentally impact the immune system. This results in susceptibility to lifestyle diseases and an easy target for pandemics.
As time goes on, science is demonstrating that the single most important determinant of the health of the immune system is proper nutrition. iv The answer to the dilemma, of why some can co-exist having been exposed to deadly diseases is simply this; health requires healthy food.v
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i https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966842X05001083
ii https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ebola-fever-virus-infection
iii https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44975217/Trent_paper-libre.pdf?1461301154=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DBiofilms_in_the_large_bowel_suggest_an_a.pdf&Expires=1676501303&Signature=VmitJN687AVjCNFw~ed2Sj0WKbmokhLK-0Z9-xS~t-MvkhSl4b7jV6BO46My-tnFNjNKNSyUnRQSSKBBVC4Jmc6RubMcrATbEUx4Dxz~9VIY~RMgq3B-OPJy3KeZ058dccTySufzO9gq648Hg8ClGuBBSQoR0Gzyukfz0w-bmRRwADBhJ3sqpgDaiVw0kg6OB9hEx4RBcjfUgEJm99RmquP~JVMJ52Yz8ZBnvGz2J8RfYvQKTE5yPSxEt1V
iv https://www.uclahealth.org/news/want-to-boost-immunity-look-to-the-gut
v https://veeroesquotes.com/healthy-eating-quotes/
THE CURSE OF CHURCH AND STATE, PART 3: LIBERTY THREATENED Nearly a hundred and forty years ago there was a major national initiative to unite church and state in America and impose what was claimed to be Christianity on society. The push united representatives from at least eleven denominations, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. After a severe struggle the movement failed. i Today, America is facing another similar crisis. … THE HISTORICAL PUSH FOR CHURCH AND STATE UNION IN AMERICA In the late 1800s, the National Reform Association (NRA) ii achieved country-wide political momentum for its initiative for a religious amendment to the Constitution to make the United States a Christian state. Its proposed amendment was worded as follows: "We the people" would acknowledge "Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler among nations, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government..." iii i The authors believe that Alonzo T. Jones submissions to the U.S. Congress in 1888 were pivotal in the defeat of the national bill for Sunday sacredness advanced by Senator Blair, and supported by the NRA. These submissions may be read here: https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Tracts/RLT/RLT1892-102.pdf ii The National Reform Movement had and has no relation or connection to the National Rifle Association. iii Miller, Randall M.; Stout, Harry S.; Wilson, Charles Reagan (1998). Religion and the American Civil War. Oxford University Press. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Reform_Association_(chartered_1864) The stated purpose of the NRA was to unite church and state. It’s organizational constitution contained the following purpose: To secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will declare the nation's allegiance to Jesus Christ, and its acceptance of the moral laws of the Christian religion, and so indicate that this is a Christian nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions and usages of our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land. i The practical result of the proposed constitutional amendment was stated in the Christian Statesman, the flagship publication of the NRA, on February 21, 1884. Writer Rev. J. C. K. Milligan asked the question, “How is the Amendment to be carried out practically?” In answer he stated: “In brief, its adoption will at once make the morality of the ten commandments to be the supreme law of the land, and anything in the State constitutions and laws that is contrary to them will become unconstitutional.” ii Another proponent of the NRA, Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D., stated the following in a speech at the New York National Reform Convention: We want State and religion—and we are going to have it. It shall be that so far as the affairs of State require religion, it shall be revealed religion, the religion of Jesus Christ. The Christian oath and Christian morality shall have in this land ‘an undeniable legal basis.’ We use the word religion in its proper sense, as meaning a man’s personal relation of faith and obedience to God.” i Those who opposed the religious amendment to the Constitution were declared to be “infidels” and “lunatics”, and Jews, deists, Seventh-day Baptists, and all others, including Seventh-day Adventists, were classed with the atheists, and pronounced as ‘atheists’ themselves by Mr. Edwards: These all are, for the occasion, and so far as our Amendment is concerned, one class… They must be counted together.... they must be treated as [atheists], for this question, one party. Now look at it—look at the controversy. The question is not between opinions that differ, but opinions that are opposite, that are contradictory, that mutually exclude each other. It is between Christianity and infidelity. It is between theism and atheism, between the acknowledgment of a God and the denial that there is any God… They “are conjoined with the other members of this class by the accident of differing with the mass of Christians upon the question of what precise day of the week shall be observed… i After stating that those who opposed the NRA religious amendment were only a “minority”, Mr. Edwards proceeded to describe the unfitness of such people for “advanced” societal participation: “I would tolerate him [the atheist, including Jews, deists, Seventh-day Baptists, etc] as I would a conspirator. The atheist is a dangerous man.... But he shall be tolerated. He may live, and go free, hold his lands, and enjoy his home; he may even vote; but for any higher, more advanced citizenship, he is, as I hold, utterly disqualified. ii The NRA ultimately failed in its initiative to have a national Sunday law passed and the push to unite church and state sullenly subsided for a time. Today, however, a resurgent coalition of parties, Protestant and Catholic, has largely already succeeded where the NRA failed. Christian Dominionism, including the Heritage Foundation/Project 2025, and adherents to the New Apostolic Reformation, have seized political power and are altering government to implement religious policy and goals, as Revelation 13 foretells. We believe this union of church and state represents the image to the beast recorded by John in Revelation: Revelation 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. i EXAMPLES OF CHURCH/STATE UNION TODAY There is no shortage of examples to evidence that religious power is influencing, or outright controlling in some instances, the state. For example, Christian dispensationalism controls foreign policy in the Middle East, as Senator Ted Cruz recently admitted in an interview with Tucker Carlson. Ecumenical Christianity is convinced that whoever blesses the nation of Israel will be blessed, and whoever curses it will be cursed.
The largest earthquake to hit the planet in 14 years struck off the coast of Russia on July 29, 2025. The monster 8.8 magnitude quake triggered global tsunami warnings, including officials urging the evacuation of the Hawaii islands coastline. Sirens blare. Anxious millions watch the internet for news updates, concerned for themselves and the safety of their loved ones. People watch and wonder. Floods and storms and earthquakes. War and disease and famine. What do these things mean? It is all a fulfilment of Bible prophecy. Nearly two thousand years ago, Jesus warned humanity of the signs of the end of the world, culminating in His return to this planet to raise the dead and rescue His faithful believers - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, and the destruction of the wicked – Matthew 13:30. We should expect to hear of “wars and rumors of wars” – Mathew 24:6, and to see “pestilences and famine” – Matthew 24:7. The Lord specifically referred to earthquakes and the roaring of the waves. Christ warned: And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Luke 21:25-28 The signs of the times are everywhere, friend. While officials can tell you to evacuate the coastline, and news agencies can inform you of the devastation which took place from this or that natural disaster, the explanation and deeper meaning of the increasing agitation and unrest in our world is found only in the Bible. These are the signs of the approaching Creator and Redeemer. Are you ready? Today is the day of salvation - 2 Corinthians 6:2, the door of mercy is still open. Christ is ministering in the courts in heaven on ehalf of humanity. But when he returns to this earth it will already be too late for repentance. The work of intercession will be finished and the door of mercy closed. Today is the day to seek the Lord while He may be found!. It is not safe to trifle with the call of mercy.
Control is the aim of all religionists who desire civil power. They want the power of government for one single reason: they are not content to allow their religious ideas to stand or fall in competition with other religions and philosophies in the marketplace of ideas, judged by each person for themselves as true or false. Instead, they intend to dominate human thought and behavior by having government compel their religious views on society using the force of law. Since they have lost the argument in the public square, they will win it by force. Some of these religionists may have vague intentions of altruism, hoping to reform a corrupt society through religious compulsion. But, regardless of motive, as soon as the objective is obtained it is inevitable that the union of church and state will result in persecution. This is because the power of government is to make laws for society. When religionists have this power they will make laws for their religious purposes, and laws to punish breaches of their religious laws. The result is religious persecution, and the corruption of church and state. There are many examples to demonstrate that the above proposition is true. In theocratic Muslim countries where the church controls the state, censorship of media of all sorts is enforced, from books to movies, and the internet. There are religious restrictions on every aspect of society, and these restrictions are for the good of society in the minds of those who pass them and enforce them. Compliance is mandatory, and a person is considered an enemy of the common good if he dissents. In Islam, as in all religions, the ultimate dissent is considered to be conversion away from one’s former religion. But when the mosque controls the state, one converts from the religion which controls the government. In much of Islam, conversion is to be punished by death. Islamic teaching stipulates that a delay of three days for “reconsideration”, is appropriate prior to carrying out the death penalty. i The Roman Papacy also wants control of government, even global government, i and it long ago proved that it persecutes dissenters. For centuries it banned books and persecuted their authors, ii justifying it actions with the claim that reading John Locke, Galileo, and John Milton, was “heresy” and “contrary to morality”, and suppression of writings is necessary for the common good. Many martyrs were tortured and killed for possession or creation of prescribed religious materials. This censorship and persecution is supposedly justified by the papal teaching extra ecclesiam nulla salus - "outside of the Church, there is no salvation”, and, “it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” iii Thomas Aquinas, often lauded by Catholic scholars, agreed that "to be subject to the Roman Pontiff is absolutely necessary for salvation." iv Thus, the Papacy justifies censorship by the following perverse argument: since only Catholic doctrine can save society, dissenting or heretical views must not be tolerated if society is to be saved. This position is not only ancient, but also modern. In advocating for a new reinterpretation of the Constitution through a lens of Catholic social doctrine deceptively called “common good constitutionalism”, v Harvard legal scholar and Catholic Integralist, Adrien Vermuele, stated: The libertarian assumptions central to free-speech law and free-speech ideology – that government is forbidden to judge the quality and moral worth of public speech … [should] fall under the ax. Libertarian conceptions of property rights and economic rights will also have to go, insofar as they bar the state from enforcing duties of community and solidarity in the use and distribution of resources. vi Carefully consider Vermuele’s assertions in this vein and it will slowly dawn on you that he is quietly but vehemently opposed to American independence, the Bill of Rights, and probably apple pie. Vermeule believes the United States government should be subordinate to the Roman Catholic Papacy. When he advocates for government censorship of public speech that is low in “quality and moral worth”, what he means is that the Catholic Church should direct the government to suppress public speech it opposes. Vermeule’s contentions prove the proposition that a union of church and state results in wickedness and oppression, as President John Adams wrote. vii But there may be another word to describe his intentional attack on US independence. What do you call a proposition that your country’s government and Constitution be subordinated to the Pope of Rome, who is not only a religious leader but a foreign monarch, and that your fellow citizens be stripped of their freedom of speech and property rights? While these menacing thoughts are published under the sometimes-subversive cloak of academia, Vermuele betrays enough of an inner latent Torquemada that there should be serious alarm bells for liberty lovers. Take David French, for example. French, a lawyer, former editor of the National Review, and Protestant twice has debated Sohrab Amari, a well-known Catholic Integralist and editor of the New York Post, on the subjects of American liberty and Originalism versus a Catholic social doctrine reinterpretation of the Constitution. viii French is a staunch supporter of individual rights, and the defense of civil liberties as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Amari believes the government should be subordinated to the Catholic Church, and that the Constitution needs to be “reinterpreted” so that it conforms with Catholic doctrine. French handily won both debates. But if the Catholic church controlled the government, the French/Amahri debates probably do not end with a handshake. They end with French’s writings proscribed, his house expropriated and converted into a camp for Catholic migrants, ix and French himself chained to a rack and tortured for heresy. That is the difference when the church controls the state. Many Protestants today want civil power, and claim to be setting up a kingdom for Jesus Christ. They claim there will be more liberty in this kingdom, not less. But Protestants who believe in a union of church and state are not much different than Papists. They have behaved like Papists when they have had civil power and there is every reason to believe they will again if they obtain it again. There are many examples of the foregoing, but one or two will suffice. In Scotland, “The National Covenant or Confession of Faith” was first created in 1580 and certified by an act of Parliament in 1640. The law was approved by Charles II in 1651 as a condition precedent of his restoration to power. As noted by author and liberty advocate A. T. Jones, the Covenant “declares, in approval of various acts of the Scottish Parliament, as follows: … do condemn all erroneous books and write concerning erroneous doctrine against the religion presently professed, or containing superstitious rites and ceremonies papistical, … and ordains the home-bringers of them to be punished … and ordains the users of them to be punished for the second fault as idolaters. i In order to protect the Covenant religion, the Covenant declares that “all within the realm are bound to profess it”, and states all must: … recant all doctrine and errors repugnant to any of the said articles, and all magistrates, sheriffs, etc., are ordained to search, apprehend, and punish all contraveners; … that none shall be reputed loyal and faithful subjects to our sovereign Lord or his authority, but be punishable as rebellers and gainstanders of the same, who shall not give their confession and make their profession of the said true religion. ii Magistrates were required by the Covenant to: Maintain the true religion of Jesus Christ… and be careful to root out of their empire all heretics and enemies of the true worship of God who shall be convicted by the true Kirk of God [Church of God] of the aforesaid crimes. iii Scottish Reformer Jon Knox himself stated that “none provoking the people to idolatry ought to be exempted from the punishment of death”, and “it is not only lawful to punish to the death such as labor to subvert the true religion, but the magistrates and people are bound to do so unless they will provoke the wrath of God against themselves.” iv As noted, this is far from the only example of Protestant misdeeds when they obtain civil power. John Calvin had Michael Servetus arrested and murdered over a religious disagreement. Zwingli endorsed violence to encourage conversion, and Melanchthon drowned an Anabaptist for the “heresy” of being rebaptized. Thus we see a union of church and state in Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism all yields the same evil result. The supposedly “true” religion (as declared by thin-skinned religionists who cannot stand to have their ideas debated and adopted or discarded as the individual decides) is established by civil law, dissenting views are censored, and the expositors punished, persecuted and murdered. That is the lesson of history in all ages, and it is the prophecy of Revelation 13 that so will it be at the end of time. Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. The next installment in this series will examine the links between Catholic social doctrine, the labor movement, and the push for church and state union.