Christian Metabolism

We all have certain ubiquitous genes whose expression is necessary for our Christian survival.  Glycolysis is the multistep chemical breakdown of a molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate: the first stage of cellular respiration in all organisms: occurs in the cytoplasmic fluid. Christian disciplines reading the bible and prayer are like the glucose of Christian living. Christian fellowship, Bible study and study groups (like Sunday school) are the glucolysis of the Christian life.

The Best Analogy Ever (Part 2)

The best analogy ever has to be “activation energy.”  Of course, as described earlier, activation energy is a real thing too but as an analogy it is as ubiquitous as a concentration gradient in a cell.  The expression can take many forms but in the end it all comes down to indicating the little extra push that results in a chain reaction and a big impact. Activation energy can be dished out as a swift kick in the pants or accumulated as a boulder is pushed toward the precipice of a hill.  It can be the spark that lights a fire in you or the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

#ancient analogies

Would you rather be like:

a)      A shelter in a vineyard

b)      A hut in a melon field

c)       A city under siege

d)      All of the above

e)      None of the above

According to Isaiah 1:8 the answer is a resounding e.

I was reading the first chapter of Isaiah tonight with a 10 year old buddy of mine and we read it very slowly. After reading the first verse and the funny names of the king he told me he was going to say “huh?” a lot and he was true to his word.

Late in the second verse I read, “they have rebelled” and he said, “huh?”.  I said, “they fought against God” and he nodded in understanding and I continued.

Early 3^rd verse I read, “manger” he said, “huh?”  I said “the barn where the donkeys sleep” and he nodded, I continued.

Mid 4^th I read “given to corruption!” he said, “huh?” I said, “lying, cheating, stealing” he nodded, I continued.

This went on for about 20 minutes and in total we read 16 verses. The biggest hang up was in verse 8 when we were presented with the shelter hut and city scenarios described above.  Both a and b seemed like good options, especially in light of c.  We were confused because the sentence listed them together as if they were all negative.

We sought the wise council of some other adults in the area.  We presented each scenario individually and without context and they all agreed that a and b sounded rather nice and c unanimously awful.  After we showed that the adjective statements were grouped together the wise council had a similar reaction to ours; the three circumstances were meant to reflect a negative situation but we weren’t sure how. After some speculation the conclusion was that further research was in order.

Thank you Google

After a quick search I learned that a shelter in a vineyard and a hut in a melon field were temporary structures built in their respective locations (as you might expect) to provide protection from the sun for those who stood guard in the field protecting the crops from thieves.  These structures were usually isolated and therefore prone to attack. Thus the melon hut and vineyard shelter do fit in nicely with a city under siege.

Ahh… I’m glad that’s settled,

If you were hoping for part two of TheBest Analogy Ever you will have to wait, maybe tomorrow will be the day for that exciting sequel.  Today’s events however, may have moved the hut and shelter into my top 100 all time analogies and I think it could crack the top 10 if we all try to bring them back into our collective lexicon.  So next time you are feeling vulnerable or if you are being literally or figuratively attacked, rather than saying “Eek – I am under attack” perhaps try, “Oh my – I feel like such a melon hut right now.”

Who knows, if it hits Twitter and Facebook we could take this thing viral!

The Essentials: Homology (Not Techmology – That’s a Different Subject)

An analogy explains one thing by showing how it is like another.  For example DNA is like an instruction book for building living things. DNA isn’t really a book, it is a molecule, but equating it with an instruction book makes it easier to understand the concept.  Learning and communicating science is full of analogies because comparing complex concepts to every day experiences makes them more accessible. Analogies don’t necessarily show a real connection between the things in comparison but they show how they are similar.  

There is another type of comparison in biology called homology. Homology doesn’t illustrate similarities in functionality by comparing the unfamiliar to the familiar it actually shows how things are the same when their function is different. Where analogies are illustrative of function homologies demonstrate actual similarities between organisms that appear diffierent.

Analogy shows how different things are similar.

Homology shows how things that appear completely different are actually the same.