Understanding Diseases of the Human Body and Spirit: Perspectives of a Christian Pathologist

By Dr. Hak Fai Chiu

Understanding Diseases of the Human Body and Spirit explores the congruence between the physical and spiritual dimensions of diseases. Illnesses are caused by genetic aberrations, environmental agents, pathogenic microbes, circulatory disturbances, unregulated tumor growths or abnormal immune reactions. The author, an experienced pathologist and life-long student of the Bible, explains how correlating factors are operative in producing humankinds spiritual infirmities.

Narratives of pathological events in the body aptly illustrate and enhance understanding of scriptural teachings regarding the broken relationship of sinful humanity with God, the restoration of this relationship through salvation in Jesus Christ, the believers continual growth in spiritual health through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the real hope of glorious transformation of their bodies in the hereafter.

Dr. Chiu also contributes unique insights into subject matters which have engaged and troubled the minds of the sick, their loved ones, as well as theologians, pastors, bioethicists, lay-Christian workers and healthcare providers. These include the relationship between sin and disease, the perception of injustice when disease strikes (why me?), the significance of a persons life-history and value-systems to the experience of disease, the meaning of the biblical promise of healing, as well as homosexuality and the Bible, and the place of miracle cures.

Take better care of your health by understanding the nature of diseases. Be inspired to pursue spiritual health in Christ which transcends illnesses and death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490895826

Dr. Hak Fai Chiu

Dr. Hak Fai Chiu is an eminent pathologist, having taught in medical schools, published research papers, headed hospitals’ pathology department and directed private clinical diagnostic laboratories in Hong Kong and Canada. He also served as Special Consultant to Dr. Margaret Chan (the current Director General of the World Health Organization), and as CEO of the Hong Kong Baptist Hospital. He now resides in Toronto, fulfilling his dream of authoring books on subjects close to his heart.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Dr. Hak Fai Chiu.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Imagery of the Chinese Brush painting titled Torrents on the Front Cover is used with permission by the artist Mrs. Karen Y. T. Chiu (Yung-Tuen Ip).

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9584-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9583-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9582-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911239

Additional Key Words:

Diseases – Healing – Health;

Pathology – Theology – Biblical Studies.

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/24/2015

Contents

Foreword Rev. Benedict H. B. Kwok, Doctor of Theology

Words of Endorsement by Rev. Charles Price D.D. and Rev. Sam Chan D.Min.

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview

What Is Pathology?

Finding Spiritual Meaning in Being a Pathologist

Overview of Pathological and Biblical Correlations of Diseases

Perspectives on Theology of Disease and Healing

Chapter 2: Pathological Diagnosis

Diagnosis of Human Diseases

Diagnosis of Human Spiritual Diseases

Chapter 3: Genetic Diseases

The Broadening Scope of Genetic Diseases

DNA, Genes, Chromosomes, and the Genome

Overview of Genetic Diseases

Biblical Correlates of Genetic Diseases

Chapter 4: Environmental Diseases

Part 1: Involuntary Exposure to

Environmental Pollutants

Biblical Correlates of Involuntary

Environmental Diseases

Part 2: Exposure to Self-Administered Toxic Substances

Biblical Correlates of Voluntary Exposure to Toxic Substances

Chapter 5: Infectious Diseases

Germs and Infections

Biblical Correlates of Infectious Diseases

Chapter 6: Circulatory Diseases

Heart Attacks, Strokes, and Circulatory Failure

Biblical Correlates of Circulatory Diseases

Chapter 7: Neoplastic Diseases

Basic Nature of Cancers

Benign and Malignant Neoplasms

What Causes Cancer?

How Do Cancer Cells Acquire Their Unusual Powers?

Cancer as a Silent Disease

Biblical Correlates of Neoplastic Disease

Chapter 8: Immunologic Diseases

Part 1: The Immune System and Immunodeficiency

Biblical Correlations of the Immune System and Immunodeficiency

Part 2: Hypersensitivity and Autoimmune Diseases

Biblical Correlates of Immune-Mediated Diseases

Chapter 9: Healing

Cell Injury and Cell Death

The Roles of Medical Interventions and Natural Healing in Disease

Healing of Cells and Tissues

Biblical Correlates in Healing

Chapter 10: Integrative Discussion on Key Issues

Relationship between Diseases and Sin

The Why Me? Question

Life History and Personhood Factors in the Experience of Disease

Physical and Spiritual Health

References and Bibliography

About the Author

To

Karen Yung-Tuen Chiu—

Besides her amazing physical, intellectual,

artistic, and spiritual attributes,

she is the embodiment of

the wife of noble character

depicted poetically in the epilogue of Proverbs.

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

—Proverbs 31:29

Foreword

I am honored to write a foreword for this book by Dr. Hak Fai Chiu and to have worked with him for teaching an interdisciplinary course on An Integrative Bio-Medical and Theological Approach to Diseases and Death at the Alliance Bible Seminary. Dr. Chiu is a committed Christian who takes his profession as a pathologist seriously as a calling from God; this book is a mature fruit in his life. I am thankful to our Lord for giving me the opportunity to participate in Dr. Chiu’s spiritual journey, which culminates in this excellent book.

As theologian and pastor, it is my duty to facilitate Christians to seek integration of their respective professions with the Bible and Christian theology, but it has always been difficult to build up the necessary knowledge platform of the different disciplines from which such integrations can be accomplished. Dr. Chiu has done impressive pioneering work in providing a knowledge platform for integrating biomedical sciences and the theology of human disease, healing, and death. His piety, devotion, and creativity in working toward this challenging goal are most deserving of my wholehearted appreciation and support.

This book is very inspiring. I would highly recommend it to medical doctors, other health-care professionals, hospital chaplains, counselors, pastors, and theologians. I especially enjoy chapters 9 and 10, in which Dr. Chiu deals with extremely important theological issues related to diseases and death. In chapter 9, Dr. Chiu reminds us that while medical doctors diagnose and treat the causes of diseases, the body’s capacity for recovery and regeneration are gifts from God. The healing process is itself a miracle, and God is a living God who provides healing according to His will. In chapter 10, Dr. Chiu discusses four major issues—the relationship between diseases and sin, the patient’s perception of injustice when illness strikes (why me?), the interaction between physical and spiritual health in the experience and outcome of disease, and the meaning of the biblical promise of healing. These are not merely academic questions but questions of life and death. In our present society with highly differentiated lines of work, we need to have a holistic understanding, especially with respect to health. Dr. Chiu emphasizes throughout this book the unity of the spirit, mind, and body of the human person. For clinical pastoral education, which requires both medical and theological perspectives, Dr. Chiu’s book is surely an indispensable reference source.

As a nonmedical person, I learned a great deal about the nature of diseases from this book. As a Christian, I learned from Dr. Chiu’s experience that God has designed an orderly life for us to live out and to serve Him according to His will. The biblical verses mentioned by Dr. Chiu in each chapter are good for our meditation. When we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will be blessed with robust spiritual health irrespective of circumstances. I really enjoy reading Dr. Chiu’s book, and I would say it a book of wisdom.

—Rev. Prof. Benedict Hung-Biu Kwok, ThD (University of Hamburg, Germany)

Professor of theology, head of division of theological studies, and director of graduate research programs at Alliance Bible Seminary, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong

Written February 18, 2015 in Bochum, Germany.

Words of Endorsement

A general idea abounds that modern medical science and the Bible address two separated parts of life. Dr. Chiu shows there is a direct connection between the physical and the spiritual, between personal/societal evils and diseases, between spiritual redemption and physical resurrection. He is straight-talking as a physician about controversial issues like the transmission of HIV/AIDS and the place of miraculous healing. Healing requires more than a good physician. It also requires a good savior! For a non-medical person such as me, this book is informative, fascinating, and challenging.

—Rev. Charles Price DD,

senior pastor of the Peoples Church, Toronto

Dr. Chiu combines his understanding of the Word of God with his extensive experience as a pathologist to explain the true and congruent correlations of physical and spiritual diseases. Today, people in the church and society at large tend to dichotomize the two dimensions of sickness. This timely book helps us not only understand the pathological nature of the common categories of disease, it also points the way to our discovery of the biblical hope – true holistic health and healing that God has intended for us all through the gospel of His Son.

—Rev. Sam Chan DMin, senior pastor of the Richmond Hill Christian Community Church, and adjunct professor, Tyndale University College and Seminary, Toronto

Preface

I have been a pathologist for some forty years and a Christian for a decade more. Aside from family relationships, my profession and faith have defined my life. Now that I have lived to ripe old age, I undertook the writing of this book to share the knowledge of diseases—what diseases really are, what factors/agents cause them, the biological events in their development, and how they are diagnosed and managed according to objective data. I am also sharing my perspectives and insights into the sick human spiritual conditions before God and how pathological processes of physical diseases may illustrate and enhance our understanding of the great truths as revealed in God’s Word (the Bible) regarding these conditions and their remedies. I do not claim to be a discoverer of new medical knowledge or a philosopher, theologian, pastor, or ethicist. I am just one who has studied pathology and the Bible for many years and realize I have something to say with respect to understanding diseases of the human body and spirit.

My purposes in writing this book are as follows:

Providing Knowledge of Pathology to the General Public

I make no apology for writing a book on pathology intended for the general public. In fact, I think such a publication is long overdue. In our health-craved and information-saturated society, many from all walks of life spend considerable time trying to acquire up-to-date knowledge on their health by reading books/magazines, surfing the Internet, attending talks by experts, and discussing the bits and pieces of information with friends. It is a pity that their attention is often focused on the outward manifestations of health and disease and on the latest remedies advocated by celebrity spokespersons. Their learning is largely unfruitful, as they do not have a system to categorize diseases or to understand the structural and functional effects diseases have on the body, which is to say they do not have knowledge of pathology. They are trying to win the battle over disease without knowing the enemy and their own internal resources to fight it. If they could devote a portion of their time to learn the fundamentals of pathology—how a disease comes about, how it develops inside the human body, and how various internal and external factors affect its progress or resolution—they would have a much better grasp on matters related to their health and that of their families. They would find that pathology provides them with a system by which they can make more sense out of the bits and pieces of medical information they gather from various sources. In fact, a major difference between an amateur who is trying to learn medicine and a qualified medical doctor is in their knowledge of pathology.

It is my sincere hope that this book will kindle interest in such learning and provide helpful introductory information on the pathological aspects of disease. Since pathology deals mainly with molecules, cells, and tissues, it may be an unfamiliar and difficult territory for most. In the following chapters, only the general principles of pathology are presented without hard scientific data so as to suit the average reader. At the same time, every attempt has been made to ensure the scientific integrity of the information provided. I have much confidence in the intelligence of the general public in absorbing and even enjoying the pathology information in this book. Those in occupations connected with health care will breeze through the book without any problems.

To Enrich Understanding of the Bible with Biomedical Narratives

More than two thousand years ago when Jesus walked the earth in Judea, He was in the company of farmers, fishermen, shepherds, carpenters, homemakers, and the like. He used parables and symbols based on the daily happenings in these people (such as a lost sheep, a good fishing catch, a mustard seed, a landowner with his servant-stewards, etc.) to bring them into a fuller understanding of His profound teachings. Today in economically advanced and developing countries, the vast majority of the population are engaged in occupations different from those in Jesus’ time and place. A very significant and growing percentage of the working population is involved in the health-care field. Besides the frontline providers of patient care, such as doctors, nurses, radiographers, laboratory technologists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, radiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists, and so on, there are many who are involved in the administration and support of the health-care delivery systems, those in the research, production, distribution, and sale of pharmaceutical products, and those in the design and manufacture of diagnostic, operational, and rehabilitative equipment, etc. Medical conditions, such as heart diseases, strokes, cancers, infections, genetic conditions, and chronic non-communicable illnesses, are in their daily conversations. This may also be the case, to a lesser extent, for people not directly engaged in health care, especially those who serve as caregivers to their loved ones who are sick and those in Christian ministry.

This book is my humble attempt to utilize knowledge derived from my profession to illustrate and enrich an understanding of biblical teachings and to render these teachings relevant to colleagues in the health-care field. It is my hope and prayer that Christians in all professions/occupations may join in the challenge and provide new and exciting perspectives of biblical teachings so that we may become more effective witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ to our generation. The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming (Romans 10:8). Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15).

The Congruence between Diseases of the Human Body and Spirit

Pathology studies the mechanisms of disease development in the human body, which encompass genetic, environmental, infectious, circulatory, neoplastic, and immune-mediated factors. God’s words in the Bible reveal to us corresponding disease-causing factors that afflict the human soul—blemished spiritual genes inherited from the first human (genetic), exposure and enslavement to the pervasive evil system of the world (environmental), constant temptations to sin from an invisible, ever-lurking, ever-changing spiritual enemy (infectious), blockage of the workings of God’s Spirit, which indwells in believers, through inundating their minds with the lifestyles and values of the world (circulatory), unregulated growth of self-centeredness and thirst for domination over others to the detriment of community, including the church (neoplastic), excessive and inappropriate reactions to life events, and refusal to die to one’s old self (immune-mediated).

Contributing toward the Theology of Disease and Healing

To achieve integration of faith and knowledge for Christian professionals in the biomedical sciences, it is essential to build up a knowledge platform on which constructive dialogue between these professionals and theologians/Bible scholars can take place. An understanding of the basic pathology principles with respect to the nature and development of disease in the human body is an appropriate platform for such informed exchanges. In the last two chapters, an integrative pathological and theological approach has been applied to several relevant subject matters, encompassing homosexuality and the Bible, the place of miraculous cures, the general and specific relationships between human sin and disease, the patient’s perception of injustice when disease strikes (why me?), the relationship between one’s life history, faith, and value systems with the experience and outcome of disease, and the true meaning of the biblical promise of healing.

Holding that Jesus Is the Ultimate Answer

The Bible not only provides diagnosis on humankind’s spiritual diseases but also reveals God’s eternal plan and actions to heal those who believe in Him from these infirmities and to grow in robust health to spiritual maturity. The focus of biblical teachings is to present Jesus Christ as the ultimate answer to humankind’s needs. His life, death, and resurrection are the sole basis for our reconciliation with God, enabling us to turn off the sin-blemished genes we inherit from Adam and turn on the perfect genes of new life in Christ. He is merciful to victims of other people’s wrongs, and His salvation is able to deliver us from enslavement by sin. He has extracted the virulence and toxins from our spiritual enemy, Satan, giving believers the power and responsibility to overcome temptations. Through the Holy Spirit that indwells in us, He guides, counsels and supports us in all the days of our lives. He is our ultimate example of love and servanthood in service for God’s kingdom. He is gentle and humble in heart, and we shall find rest for our souls and freedom from our aggressiveness if we come to Him. He is the great healer of our physical, emotional, and spiritual illnesses. You may forget the contents of this book after you read through it, but if you are thereby encouraged to come to Jesus and commit (or recommit) your life to Him, the purpose of this book is fulfilled many times over.

You may forget the contents of this book after you read through it, but if you are thereby encouraged to come to Jesus and commit (or recommit) your life to Him, the purpose of this book is fulfilled many times over.

Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my wife, who also allowed me to use her Chinese brush painting on the book cover. The painting is titled Torrents and is based on Psalm 18:4, in which David expressed his personal experience with mortal danger, saying The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. I am indebted to Rev. Dr. Benedict H. B. Kwok, head of theological studies at Alliance Bible Seminary in Hong Kong, for his fellowship and advice in initiating the writing of this book and for writing a foreword to the book. Thanks are due to Rev. Dr. Charles Price and Rev. Dr. Sam Chan for their words of endorsement for this work. I wish also to express appreciation to the staff of the publisher, Westbow Press, for their helpful advice and encouragement throughout the publication process.

The materials on pathology come from standard textbooks of the discipline, and these are listed in the Bibliography. The eighth edition of Robbins and Cotran’s Pathological Basis of Disease (edited by Vinay Kumar, Abul Abbas, Nelson Fausto, and Jon Aster) is my principal reference. In writing this book, I drew from my accumulated stock knowledge of pathology through decades of pathology practice, expressing my insights in my own ways and selecting topics according to the themes I focused on. Other citations for specific points of the text are listed in the Reference Section.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction and Overview

Having presented the basic premise and the purposes of the book in the preface, this chapter sets the stage for subsequent discussions by introducing what pathology is and my personal journey in exploring the correlations between the physical and spiritual dimensions of human diseases. That is followed by an overview of these correlations, and I will raise a few relevant, perplexing, and controversial issues to consider in the later chapters.

What Is Pathology?

The public and even some professionals in the health-care industry tend to think of pathologists as medical doctors whose primary responsibility is to perform autopsies on dead bodies. Jokes on pathologists abound. In a cartoon the wife says to her pathologist husband who’s leaving home for work, "You’d better hurry! Your patients are dying to see you! The following one is a favorite for many: An internist knows everything but does nothing. A surgeon knows nothing but does everything. A pathologist knows everything and does everything … but is always