There are almost always two sides.
Mat_24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
I recently read the brief article below to my high school Anatomy and Physiology classes, I think you will find it interesting, perhaps even alarming.
Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide!
The Invisible Killer
Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.
Dihydrogen monoxide:
• is also known as hydroxyl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.
Contamination Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions!
Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the Midwest, and recently California.
Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:
• as an industrial solvent and coolant.
• in nuclear power plants.
• in the production of Styrofoam.
• as a fire retardant.
• in many forms of cruel animal research.
• in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
• as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.
Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!
The Horror Must Be Stopped!
The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its "importance to the economic health of this nation." In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.
It appears to be quite concerning, doesn't it? Absolutely! How can any responsible government endorse, let alone advocate for, such a hazardous compound? All of the objective points made in this article are indeed factual. During my teaching experience, I have witnessed numerous students express disbelief and shock as I have read this article to them at the start of a water chemistry section. Yes, the chemical in the article that being very adamantly attacked and criticized by the article is indeed water, also known as dihydrogen monoxide.
Again, everything that the article states about water is true... except, of course for the very misleading and seemingly insignificant assertions, such as those of dihydrogen monoxide as a "pollutant," and the assertion of a "horror that must be stopped," etc.; these are indeed merely subjective assertions based on emotion, as opposed to fact, which could however, easily sway the thinking of some of those reading/listening. Water can, in some instances, indeed be detrimental – such as those who met their demise on the Titanic would attest to, if they could, as well as those who have lost life or livelihood to tsunamis, hurricanes, etc. However, there is obviously another side to this story, to say the least.
Water is, of course, one of the most marvelous, as well as one of the strangest chemicals that exist (despite its familiarity to us). It is the only substance that I know of that has a solid phase that is less dense than the liquid phase; hence we can ice skate on lakes, fish don't all die out during the winter...and of course our pipes can freeze and break in the winter. It is the only substance that I am aware of that can simultaneously exist as a liquid, a solid, and as a gas at ambient temperatures that are conducive to life; temperatures that we experience here on Earth’s surface. It has a relatively tiny molecular weight, yet it can float aircraft carriers. It also composes about 55% of the mass of women and about 60% of the mass of men, on average; over half of our bodies are water. It is a reactant and a product of many vital reactions in our chemistry of life; our metabolism. It also serves as the medium for other life-sustaining reactions therein. It is the only substance I am aware of that can be transported just about anywhere in the world via natural processes (aka the water/hydrological cycle, with zero human help). It is the only substance that has just the right viscosity (resistance to flow) to flow at the rates it needs to in order to sustain our rivers and groundwater systems, as well as being ideal for causing blood to flow at just the right rate. It dissolves just about everything, yet at differing rates for many substances; some very quickly, some very slowly, and everywhere in between. This is vitally important. For instance, if it didn’t dissolve minerals at all, such as those we find naturally occurring as part of the composition of rocks and sand, there would be none of the vital life-sustaining minerals dissolved in our body fluids and in the lakes, rivers, and groundwater. If it dissolved them too fast, then it would be saturated with them and would destroy the landscape and be inconducive for life. It dissolves other substances like salt and glucose very quickly; this is of obvious importance. Other substances are simply not soluble in it (or extremely minimally), such as the phospholipids in our cell membranes. If this were not the case, the cell; the base unit of life, would not be possible, thus life, at least as we know it, would not be possible. It suspends other substances; very important for our blood chemistry, amongst other things. I could go on, but the bottom line is that if water did not possess the specific properties that it does; even the ones that are potentially so detrimental, the fitness for life that this planet possesses, and life itself would not be possible.
The article that I shared was obviously written to be taken as "tongue in cheek" for an academic laugh. Nonetheless, it also serves to illustrate a very valid concern, that I believe everyone should be consciously and keenly aware of; there are almost always 2 [or more] sides to a story, and that whoever is telling a particular side of the story may not be telling the whole story, having an agenda of their own, focused on their emotions connected to the issue, or perhaps have blatant ill intent, that is likely not there to serve in your best interest. One could read the “Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide” article, with its obviously bias/slant and intentionality, and perhaps be convinced that the substance that it was addressing was so potentially so dangerous and devastating, that it must immediately and completely be done away with at all cost; perhaps even to the point of going so far as to proceed to organize emotionally charged rallies, marches and protests and all of that sort of thing, convincing even more people to joint the terribly misguided and potentially devastating cause, if they were to do no further inquiry into the matter and blindly accept what was presented in the article. If the banning and removal of dihydrogen monoxide were to somehow to actually be successful, all life as we know it would cease immediately, despite the "good" intention of those who were deceived into taking such action. If someone can deceive us into taking our focus off of the the over arching truth; the big picture, in regards to anything, they are already almost guaranteed to deceive us into thinking the way they want us to and doing what they want us to do, which is not going to be in our best interest. The first recorded instance is in Genesis 3, and we know how devastating the consequences of that are.
If we are naïve enough to think that slanted and intentionally misleading information is not coming at us from all directions and in just about every context imaginable, just about every day, we are setting ourselves up to be deceived. There are many cases where various news and "news" media outlets are "truthfully" describing the same individual, and by comparing one outlet’s report to the other, you may even wonder if they are even talking about the same person. I have heard the same sort of thing regarding the rationale of various events, literary works, policies, etc. I have read things in science textbooks and other supposedly scientific publications that on the surface seem very plausible, until looking at and considering the other side of the argument, as well as noticing the subtle deliberate cues; perhaps including even "minor" falsehoods in the initial argument (such as the article asserting water as a pollutant and a horror, etc.). I have also heard people thoughtfully expound on reasons to believe in and praise God, as well as people thoughtfully [however wrongly] expound on reasons to not believe in His existence, or even to curse Him. However, when deductive reasoning is applied without bias, we see that without God, there is truly nothing at all, including no life, nor any viable standard of right and wrong to make any judgments according to. We are infinitely foolish to think that we could ever even begin to fully comprehend God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), at least on this side of eternity. He is [has to be] the author of all life, He is perfect and just, He is all-knowing, with or without our approval. I will not attempt to address that topic in this post. Even though someone may not like everything that He does, and may make emotionally charged and even "creative" [twisted] arguments against Him and/or His ways, He is still perfect and infinitely necessary for anything to exist and to happen at all.
As Christians, we must consistently pray for wisdom and discernment (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We must listen to what is being said carefully and match it against the truth, particularly the truth of Scripture (Acts 17:11). There are many convincing false teachers around, addressing just about every aspect of life. Many of them are very convincing, particularly to those who are itching to hear and be stirred by what they assert (1 Timothy 4:3). We who believe that we are discerning and are standing firm in the Lord must also be very careful to never let our guard down (1 Corinthians 10:12). If someone is asserting an idea and supposedly "backing" it with Scripture, and it doesn't seem right for whatever reason, first check it against other Scripture. Scripture interprets Scripture.
Here on Earth; this side of eternity, there is something wrong with everything. And until we one day see Jesus face to face, where there is nothing wrong with anything, we will have to weigh and discern in order to avoid being deceived. There are people, as well as powers and principalities, who remain eager to deceive us (Ephesians 6:12). For instance, as we have discussed here, water can indeed be dangerous and even deadly, and has truly been so, as rightly asserted by the article we have been discussing. However, there is no life to destroy without it, as life depends upon it; something needs to be alive before it can be killed. Were all water suddenly removed, life as we know it would instantaneously cease to exist. So obviously, even though there are potential dangers with water, it is still good; very good and necessary; its good obviously outweighs its bad! The same sort of thing could be said in regards to many people, organizations, policies, and circumstances, etc., that are continuously portrayed badly, where at the very least, the good of them outweighs the bad, even though the attempt is made to manipulate us into seeing and narrowly focusing upon a relatively minor flaw, or perhaps upon something that is actually good that is being manipulated to appear as a flaw, with our attention being diverted from the big picture, so to speak; diverted from the truth. Obviously, nothing good comes of such things.
Some things are quite clear and easily discerned when simply taking a moment to step back and apply some common sense. Other things may not be as obvious and must be spiritually discerned. The things of God are foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). I would say that this also applies to our fleshly [sinful] nature, something that the believer still possesses as long as he or she is here on this side of eternity. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14); the flesh cannot discern them, and it doesn’t want to (Galatians 5:19-21). The apostle Paul therefore admonishes us as believers to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Doing this will help the believer from being deceived by counterfeit fleshly arguments; something that can easily happen when walking in the flesh as opposed to the Spirit.
In light of what we have discussed here, in every aspect of our lives, let us, by the grace of God, not allow ourselves to be too quickly convinced of anything. May we continuously seek the Lord in prayer, being careful and discerning regarding everything that we read and hear before we come to any conclusions about it, and especially before we make any assertions about it! I believe that this is more than just a good suggestion. Based on the Scripture directly below, and others, I believe it is a stern admonishment from God.
Isiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
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JJR
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