John N Clayton Archives

July 7, 2023July 8, 2023

Teenage Mental Health Challenges

A government report for March of 2023 gave data showing that teenage mental health challenges have increased dramatically from 2011 to 2021. The data shows a massive increase for boys, but the numbers are not as severe as for girls. In 2021, 57% of teenage girls surveyed persistently felt sad or hopeless, up from 36% in 2011. Teenage boys with the same feelings increased from 17% to 29%. One-third of the girls in the CDC study seriously considered attempting suicide, a 60% increase from 2011.

The government solution for teenage mental health challenges is school prevention programs. Debra Houry, the chief medical officer for the CDC, says, “These data show our kids need far more support to cope, hope, and thrive.” However, all the programs and school efforts cannot substitute for stable home situations. This is one more evidence for the wisdom of God’s plan for the family.

As a public high school teacher, I saw what modern teens have to deal with. Many of my students got up and fixed their own breakfast, went to school alone, spent the day at school with other kids from dysfunctional families, and came home to an empty house. Mother was there but absorbed in her own world, and father was nonexistent. There was no spiritual leadership in the home.

I used to have after-school tutoring sessions in my classroom for students who needed help with their homework. Many times the kids just wanted to talk. I still receive calls from former students who remember our talks. Now teachers are not allowed to have that kind of interaction with their students, and school programs are run by people who don’t understand kids’ emotional needs.

It is no mystery why teenage mental health challenges are increasing. This situation will worsen as our society moves deeper into secularism and psychological principles based on animal behavior. The Church needs to offer what the world cannot. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). The word translated “love” is the Greek word “agape,” which means to consider of incredible wealth and value. Kids need to hear that message, and for many of them, the Church is the only place they can hear it.

Reference: NEA Today magazine for June 2023, page 15.

July 6, 2023July 5, 2023

Sexual Identity and God’s Creation

Sexual identity has become a major issue in American society. Increasing numbers of young people are pushing to have their gender changed while guidance counselors attempt to use gender change to solve emotional problems. Meanwhile, doctors are encouraged to prescribe hormones and irreversible surgeries to facilitate changing a young person’s gender.

Like many issues today, many people attack Christians and use the gender issue to denigrate God. Genesis 1:27 indicates that God created male and female as separate entities. Genesis 3:16-20 spells out the roles of males and females, suggesting that their biology defines their roles in life. It is essential to understand that the scientific evidence supports this point.

Sexual identity goes beyond gametes and sexual organs. Numerous biological differences between males and females are not just arbitrary or psychological. Males have more hair on their faces than females. Females have larger breasts than males. Males generally have more upper body strength than females. Men are, on average, about six inches taller than women. The mean height for American women is 5 feet three inches, and for men, it is 5 feet nine inches.

Studies show that men tend to have greater ability in physical areas involving speed and spatial relations tasks, while women have greater ability in verbal matters and social cognition. Men score higher on tests involving assertiveness, which is seen in boy babies, not just adults. Women tend to be more extroverted, trusting, and nurturing. Biological factors give women greater flexibility in gymnastics and ability in small-bore rifle competitions, while men do better in most competitive sports.

There is solid factual scientific evidence that being male or female is not just a choice but a biological fact. We empathize with those who, for reasons still not understood, feel trapped in the wrong body, but forcing change on that body by chemicals and surgery is destructive in the long run. We must provide help and solutions for individuals dealing with sexual identity problems or other mental and emotional struggles. However, making major changes in God’s design will eventually produce more problems for the individuals and for society.

References: Skeptic Magazine Volume 28 # 1 2023, pages 69-73.

July 5, 2023July 4, 2023

Asteroid Strike from Space

As our view of space and our solar system improves, astronomers have realized that space is a dangerous place. Space travel requires considering the many ways astronauts can be harmed when they leave Earth’s protection. It isn’t just cold and radiation and the damaging effects of weightlessness, but our solar system is full of rock material left over from the creation process. NASA must keep in mind the possibility of an asteroid strike from space.

NASA has plotted 1000 known “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids” (PHAs). These are documented boulders of rock and ice over 140 meters across that will pass within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth (about 20 times the distance to the Moon). Were a giant asteroid to strike Earth, the result would be catastrophic. There is evidence that this has happened in the past, probably causing mass extinctions on our planet.

NASA used the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission in 2022 to explore the possibility of redirecting an asteroid away from the Earth. We are talking about a large object, not the small pieces of rock and dust that strike the Earth every day, producing meteor displays and fireballs. NASA designed DART to find a way to prevent a catastrophic asteroid strike from space.

NASA has concluded that none of the asteroids known to astronomers will strike the Earth for at least the next 100 years. God created our planet in such a way that we are protected from destructive agents from outer space. The more we learn about space, the more we see the design and planning involved in creation.

The threat to humanity is what we do to ourselves, not any failure in the design of our planet. God has also given us a way to protect ourselves from each other, and we see that in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Read Matthew chapters 5-7, and you will see what Jesus told us. The selfishness and greed of humans threaten our existence individually and collectively. Human self-destruction is far more likely than a catastrophic asteroid strike from space.

Reference: NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for June 30, 2023

July 4, 2023July 3, 2023

The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Those words are from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

In 1938, the Fourth of July was declared a national holiday, even though only John Hancock and Charles Thompson signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. Most of the others signed it on August 2nd of that year. However, independence from King George III and Britain required eight years of war. One has to wonder what the signers would think if they saw America today.

The two quotes at the head of this article do not contradict each other. They both state an ideal that has yet to be achieved. Denying the Creator and viewing humans as only animals existing by the survival of the fittest has generated conflict threatening the standard stated in the Preamble. Racism and misogyny violate both the Declaration and the Bible. The question is, what should be the role of Christians in a country that has veered away from the beliefs of the founding fathers?

The ancient Roman government was corrupt, immoral, violent, racist, and misogynistic. Both Rome and the Jewish establishment fought the teachings of Jesus that defied all of those violations of God’s will. The government allowed babies to be killed by just throwing them into the street and the government sanctioned prostitution. In Romans 13, the apostle Paul advises Christians living under that corrupt government to “submit to the governing authorities” (Verse 1). Paul also told Christians to pay taxes, give revenue, and give honor to governing authorities (Verses 6-7).

Now in 2023, we are facing similar problems, and Christians must not respond with violence or rebellion. We can vote and let others know of our convictions about equality for all. We can still endorse the statements of the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. This July 4th, Independence Day, is an excellent time to reflect on past lessons from God and from our national history.

Reference: The Old Farmer’s Almanac, almanac.com

July 3, 2023July 1, 2023

Human Actions Lead to Wildfires

In our part of the country, people will remember the summer of 2023 as the “summer of smoke.” Canadian wildfires combined with wind directions have brought heavy smoke into our area. The smoke has been so dense that a friend living in Chicago told me he could not see across the street – a distance of about 20 yards. In the past, we personally experienced California wildfires and saw their massive damage. The message we need to understand is that human actions lead to wildfires.

God designed the natural world to prevent massive fires from developing. When we allow brush to accumulate, lightning, human carelessness, or arson starts a fire, it will explode into a conflagration of massive proportions. The role of grazing animals is one way the natural world has been designed to prevent these huge fires.

Ireland is a rainy country, but in 2021, wildfires burned near Dublin for six weeks. The fuel for those explosive fires is a flowering plant called gorse. It grows in dense thickets and is highly flammable when it dries in late summer. The removal of an indigenous goat breed known as old Irish goats allowed the heathland to become overgrown. The result was annual fire outbreaks.

By introducing the old Irish goats back to the area where the gorse grows, the plant biomass is no longer a fuel source for the fires. An organization called the “Old Irish Goat Society” (OIGS) has been involved in a three-year project to reintroduce the endangered goat breed into areas suffering the threat of wildfires. One obvious risk in today’s world is that the goats will also eat desirable plants. In the past, carnivores prevented that from happening by limiting goat populations. The OIGS prevents that problem by equipping the goats with GPS colors that set off an alarm when the goats wander too far.

God built into the creation a variety of means of preventing wildfires. Once again, human actions lead to wildfires by altering the original system, which included grazing animals. Yellowstone National Park has similar results with elk herds. We must learn to allow the controlling agents that God built into the original system.

Reference: “Meet the Firefighting Goats of Dublin” in Discover magazine for July/August 2023, pages 10-11.

June 30, 2023June 30, 2023

A Lesson About Judging

The following poem was in the Niles, Michigan, bulletin. The author was not identified, but it has a lesson about judging for us all to think about. Read, enjoy, laugh, and think.

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights of its décor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp –
The thieves, the liars, the sinners
The druggies and other trash.
There stood the kid from 7th grade,
Who swiped my lunch money! Twice!
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?”
Would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.”
And why’s everyone so quiet,
So somber – give me a clue.”
“Hush, child,” He said, “they’re all in shock.
No one thought they’d be seeing you.”

Where we will end up does not depend on our good works, but on Christ’s saving grace. This poem may not be theologically correct, but it has a lesson about judging for us to think about.

— John N. Clayton

June 28, 2023June 27, 2023

The Titan Vessel and Piezophysiology

The recent tragedy with the Titan vessel imploding brings to mind the science of piezophysiology, the study of living organisms under high pressure. The connection between the Titan vessel and piezophysiology is that deep sea fish must survive under massive hydrostatic pressures such as the Titan was subjected to. How do they survive?

Building deep-sea vehicles has been an enormous challenge for engineers. The standard has been to build vessels of titanium in a spherical shape to equalize the water pressure all around. The Titan hull was made of carbon fiber five inches thick, and it was 22 feet long. The elongated shape increased the pressure load on the midsection. The vessel had been subjected to stress during about two-dozen previous dives. Each of those dives might have created small unnoticed cracks in the carbon fibers, like splitting wood along the grain. Those tiny cracks could lead to rapid and catastrophic failure.

Let’s do a little math to get some idea of the amount of water pressure. Water has a density of 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. One mile of water would be 5,280 feet. Each foot of water would put 62.4 pounds on any object one mile down. That would be 329,472 pounds on each square foot of a submarine or a fish. That is 164.7 tons in fresh water and even more in salt water, and the Titanic is about 2.4 miles down.

Water doesn’t freeze at that depth because pressure lowers the freezing point. Those who study piezophysiology tell us that fish living at those depths have flexible bones and cartilage, do not have swim bladders, have special blood adapted to deep-sea conditions, and have bioluminescence to compensate for the darkness of deep ocean environments.

We learn from the Titan vessel and piezophysiology that surviving deep under the ocean requires wise engineering. Humans have much to learn about the creatures of the deep, but the difficulty of visiting deep sea environments limits our knowledge. However, every discovery of piezophysiology and related fields speaks to God’s wisdom and design of life that allows those creatures to exist in a world that is forbidding for humans.

References: Oxford Academic, quora.com, and “How the unconventional design of the Titan sub may have destined it for disaster” in apnews.com

June 27, 2023June 26, 2023

Kangaroo Care for Premature Babies

The British Medical Journal and the World Health Organization (WHO) are promoting a method of caring for small and preterm babies. It calls for holding the baby close to a parent’s naked chest. The WHO advises “immediate skin-to-skin care for the survival of small and preterm babies.” This method is called “kangaroo care” because it copies what kangaroo mothers do with the baby in their pouch.

In 1978, Dr. Edgar Ray Sanabria and Hector Martinez-Gomez started the technique in the maternity ward of San Juan de Dios Hospital in Bogota, Columbia. The country’s death rate for premature infants was 70% before this technique. In some locations, kangaroo care has reduced the death rate to 10%.

Babies put into incubators may be exposed to bright lights and loud noises, and there are not enough incubators to go around in many countries. Researchers say that when the babies are held against the bare chest of their mother or father, they pick up their parent’s heartbeat and breathing rhythms. They also feel the warmth. The doctors published the results of kangaroo care in the journal Curso de Medicina Fetal in 1983. UNICEF began distributing information about the technique worldwide.

Interestingly, both the mother and the father can provide this benefit to a premature baby. Hospitals provide wards where a parent can stay with the child. A premature newborn may take two to three weeks of kangaroo care to be strong enough to leave the hospital. Even then, parents can continue kangaroo care at home.

People who claim that a preborn baby is not a human at 32 weeks or less have no evidence to support that claim. The bond between a mother and father and a child is necessary for the baby to survive, and no mechanical device can substitute for the care of a loving parent.

Reference: National Public Radio

June 26, 2023June 25, 2023

The Design of Beetles

In every environment on Earth, frogs, fish, and various insects depend on beetles for food. We see beetles in deserts worldwide, and many desert animals rely on them as a food source. A mystery that has vexed scientists is the design of beetles that allows them to survive in arid climates.

Recent research shows that beetles have a unique system to recycle water. They have an organ near the end of their digestive system called the “rectal complex,” lined with blister-like cells that draw moisture out of fecal material. Instead of being excreted, the water passes through the wall of the rectal complex and back into the beetle’s body by osmosis. This process allows beetles to be very abundant in desert ecosystems, providing food for various desert creatures.

Insects annually damage up to 20% of the world’s food supply. Because of the design of the rectal complex, red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) can survive in dry food storage such as wheat and flour. While this design benefits desert creatures, it is a real problem for humans. Researchers studying these beetles have found a gene that appears to be the key to their ability to recycle water.

The design of beetles serves them well in their natural habitat, but it creates problems when they get into stored human food. God has given living creatures the ability to survive and humans the intelligence to understand the design to benefit our survival.

Reference: Science News May 6 & 20, 2023, page 5

June 23, 2023June 20, 2023

Glacial Erratics and Time

People living in the southern United States may not be familiar with glacial erratics such as the one in the picture. Glacial erratics are rocks deposited by glaciers that are different from the native rocks in the area. Where we live in southwestern Michigan has many boulders like this. Many of us have at least one of them in our yard. They weigh hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Many years ago, when workers were digging the foundation for a wing of our local hospital, they hit a glacial erratic that was so large no equipment could lift it. They had to break it into smaller pieces to get it out of the way.

What is especially interesting about glacial erratics is that no two of them look alike, and they each have their own mineralogy. Some are a form of granite, some are metamorphic rocks like gneiss or schist, and some are sedimentary rocks like limestone or sandstone. As a public high school science teacher, I used to take my classes to the local gravel pit and have my students see how many different rocks they could find. Once, a girl found what she called “a pretty red rock.” I looked at it and recognized it immediately. It was a piece of jasper conglomerate, a rock only known to exist in an outcrop near Bruce Mines, Ontario – a place where I spent many summers as a teenager.

The question is, how did a piece of rock get from southern Ontario to northern Indiana? I have had students find pieces of pure copper in the gravel pit. There is a copper outcrop in the upper peninsula of Michigan that has the same color and texture as the ones my students found. In fact, almost every rock my students found came from a place far to the north of us where those rocks can be seen in outcrops. It is quite evident to thinking students that running water or wind did not carry those rocks. However, a moving sheet of ice can do it. Today you can go to an active glacier and watch that process taking place.

How long does it take for a sheet of ice to flow from Ontario to Indiana? There are places near Martinsville in southern Indiana where you can find similar glacial erratics. Glaciers bring not only minerals but water to our area. There are hundreds of lakes and ponds in the area where we live. Glaciers are a great tool of God to mold and shape the planet, and we are blessed by what glaciers have given us.
The glacial till we found contained no human remains or tools. The glaciers were there long before humans lived in Indiana. The process of shaping and molding the land took an enormous amount of time, but God created time, and it means nothing to Him. Only human theories and religions demand specific time elements. Truly “with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).