Tuesday, June 05, 2007

My plastic surgeries

Plastic surgery-definition

Surgery to remodel, repair, or restore body parts, especially by the transfer of tissue.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plastic+surgery

Thanks be to God, I am not deformed, and my heart goes out to anyone in this world that does suffer from deformity. I respect those in the medical profession worldwide that assist people that truly need plastic surgery. I also realize that there are some, especially in our Western society, that at times receive questionable procedures. I am not stating that all plastic surgery that is not for deformity is necessarily wrong. I have had some procedures done within the last few years. In July 2006, I received nasal reconstruction called Septal and tip reconstruction, right turbinate debridement. This was to assist me with my formerly very serious sleep apnea problem. A few years ago, I had eyelid surgery called Blepharoplasty for my right upper lid that was slightly droopy and did not close entirely at night, causing me to have dry eye. This consisted of burning part of the lid and stitching in the corner of my eye.

Today I am recovering from my second right lower lid temporal elevation sclera and resection and pyogenic granuloma. These surgeries were needed in order to correct the position of my right eyelid in relation with the left, as the right was moved down somewhat after my second Strabismus surgery for my weak eye, which is not very cosmetically noticeable. The Strabismus surgery was also done to correct some of my double vision that began increasing a few years ago, and is quite a bit better now. The two lower eyelid surgeries have consisted of me receiving sclera that is commonly known as the white of the eye. The sclera have both come from deceased persons. I have mixed thoughts on this issue. On one hand, it is very sad that two people have died and I benefit by using tissue from their eyes. On the other hand, in this fallen creation, which features a problem of evil, death occurs and tissue and parts from the deceased can be a benefit for the living. A few months after I received the first sclera, it developed a blood clot that eventually pushed itself out. My surgeon stated that this occurs in about ten percent of the cases. I realize that plastic surgery is a very important issue in regard to deformity and in the context of our Western society also has its satirical potential.



Thursday, May 31, 2007

A man's got to know his limitations



A man's got to know his limitations - Magnum Force (1973)

Magnum Force is one of my favourite all time movies.

One of the things I like about the Dirty Harry movie series is that although they purposely for the sake of dramatic effect, place Harry in violent situations, they also show the darkness of evil in the world. Harry not only beats up and kills criminals, but also at times becomes injured himself and the ugliness of crime is portrayed in an artistic and entertaining fashion. The following statement is one to live by. A man's got to know his limitations. Every person should be aware of limitations and realize that if these are ignored, terrible consequences could result.

I do not want to primarily trust in what God gives me, but need to trust in God. I am both limited and sinful, and God is neither of these. God wants neither a follower that has no significant free will and is a robot, nor one that is completely autonomous. But, in Scripture it is clear that from the Exodus 20 commandments and the great commandments of Matthew 22:34-46 and Mark 12:28-37 that God desires followers to follow him with at least some level of freedom. I theorize that human nature and consciousness does not choose to be as it is, but was created by God, and has been corrupt since the fall of humanity, which is a Biblical concept in Genesis 3. From consciousness and self-awareness, human beings would develop motives and desires, and eventually make limited free will choices. The primary cause of human acts is determined by God who creates the human nature, and influences human choices. The secondary cause of human acts is the individuals that act according to nature, consciousness, motives, desires, and a limited free will influenced by God. These human acts are not coerced or forced by God, and yet are willed by him.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Regression



http://mormonismreviewed.blogspot.com/2007/05/will-you-become-god.html

Rick at Mormonism Reviewed from my links has written an article entitled, will you become a god? It is worth reading. This is my comment I posted with the article.

As we have discussed previously, Rick, besides the Biblical explanation that there is only one true God, in places such as Isaiah 43:10, 44:6. and 45:5, there is the philosophical problem of an infinite regression of gods. A vicious regress occurs when a problem tries to solve itself and yet remains with the same problem it had previously. If each god comes into existence from a previous god, and this has gone on in an infinite past, then there is never an original creator god and this defies reason. As well, there cannot be an infinite regression of gods because this would require an infinite amount of time that would not allow us to arrive at the present. If there is an original creator God that has always existed, this would be the one true God, and any others claiming to be gods, would be false gods.

Cheers:)