(no subject)

Pete Pretorius (pete_pretorius@mindlink.bc.ca)
Wed, 27 Mar 1996 17:47:19 -0800

There seems to be much interest at present in the relationship between human
external and internal environmental influences and sociologic, psychologic
and physiologic reactivity. As an example: cardiovascular reactivity (
changes in heart rate,blood pressure, cardiac output, peripheral vascular
resistance etc, as a result of the application of different stressors such
as mental arithmetic, cold pressor test, word colour conflict test, bicycle
ergometer stress ) is influenced,modulated and even drastically changed by
factors such as empathy, hostility social support, security, work
stress,urbanization etc.All these findings point towards the idea of the
sociologic,psychologic,physiologic relationship of the human being.Man is a
unity of material
(physico-chemical)-genetic-hormonal-reflexive-psycho-sensitive-intellectual-
religious aspects or modalities.In the study of physiological reactivity a
model should be developed based upon the foundation of a biblical view of
man.Created in the image of God,broken by sin,redeemed in Christ, originally
a good steward who had the abilities to govern but who forfeited and got
corrupted but by the grace of the LORD was redeemed and adopted as a
renewed child of God with a calling and enabeled to love God and fellow
creatures.These faith facts must be part of a fundamental thought framework
for a model of man that can be used to "understand and explain" phenomena
such as cardiovascular reactivity or any other socio-psycho-physiological
finding. If we look at the present thought-frameworks in eg. physiology we
see very little of a christian liberated foundation,only the coertion of
radical evolutionistic,mechanistic materialism,cyberneticism, and
behaviourism or some holistic New Age ideas.There is a strong need and many
efforts are being made to establish a human framework for man.The problem
with most of what I have found is that it is all stil anthropocentric in
stead of theocentric.
A fruitfull christian liberated thought framework should lead to a new way
of looking at man and enable scientists to derive work-hypotheses that can
be tested experimentally.Eg questions such as what is the role of faith or
belief factors in cardiovascular reactivity could be asked if your model of
man include religious-functions.Aspects which is excluded fom the model can
never be investigated because of a reductionistic approach.

I am not a philosopher, I am aware of my limitations,but I would like to
know if anyone could help me broaden and deepen my view on this matter.

Pieter Pretorius, P O Box 43530, 1625 Robson Street, Vancouver V6G 1C0
In the Vancouver Sun of March 23 ,Douglas Todd reported the findings of a
research project in the San Francisco General Hospital on the "power of
prayer" in people with cardiac disease.400 patients were divided in two
groups and the one group were prayed for by Catholics as well as Protestants
from across the country. The patients did not know who was being prayed
for,neither did the nurses or the doctors. ( Randomised double blind ).The
findings were that the patients who were prayed for daily did beter than the
other group. The prayer group needed less medication, and medical treatment
and fewer died.Todd quote from the work of Larry Dossey's "Healing Words:
The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine" (Harper-Collins).
In 1992 L.Dossey wrote an article in The Interrelationship Between Mind and
Matter,in Modern Medicine pp 149-167,1992.In this article he clearly states
his basic viewpoints as based upon Oriental religion,ie the Zen master Huang Po.
What do you think of the relation between spirit-mind-body?
Pieter Pretorius