Page 24 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 13
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Janet Warren (Canada) E. Janet War-
(BSc,
Comment to ren MTS,
MD,
“The Invisible Body” PhD) works
as a Fami-
ly Physician,
Even before reading this article, Dr. in c l udin g
Wojcieszek’s title captured my attention. The
concept of the “invisible body” relates to al- p ra c t i c in g
psychothera-
most all of my scholarly interests: general sci- py, and as an
ence, medicine, psychology, psychotherapy, independent
and theology. Wojcieszek offers a fascinating scholar. She received her PhD in theology
commentary on the unique, transient, and
temporal nature of what we call our bodies. from the University of Birmingham, U.K.
and published her thesis as Cleansing the
Something so commonplace, indeed una- Cosmos: A Biblical Model for Conceptua-
voidable, that we seldom ponder this marvel lizing and Counteracting Evil (Pickwick,
of God’s creation. Even though we “know” 2012). Her latest book is Holy Housekee-
ourselves, there is so much that is unknown.
Contemporary science, especially quantum ping (Essence, 2017). Janet’s research inte-
rests include the integration of psychology
physics, suggests that existence is difficult to and theology, and she is current president
define. Subatomic particles have a quasi-real of the Canadian Scientific and Christian
ontological status. Force fields, black holes, Affiliation. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario,
and dark matter remain invisible but can be
inferred from their impact on the visible. Canada.
Scientists are also increasingly noting the in- Former articles:
terconnectedness of all things (quantum ent- https://emcapp.ignis.de/7/#/28
anglement being a prime example), and reco- https://emcapp.ignis.de/7/#/42
gnize the limits of their study. Of course, one
must be careful about concluding or applying https://emcapp.ignis.de/11/#p=10
too much from science.
The same caution applies to biological sci- physical manifestations. Medical practitioners
ence; e.g., not all atoms in our bodies are re- teach people to care for their bodies, but at
placed, the life span of cells is variable. No- times people have no control over their bodies,
netheless, as Wojcieszek notes, much of hu- such as with a seizure disorder. Our bodies can
man physiology is in flux. The microbiome, also be controlled (abused actually) – by others
estimated to constitute fifty percent of our or the environment. Sometimes intentionally,
bodies, is a leading area of current medical often accidentally. Indeed, given the fragility of
research. I still remember the first electron- life, it is surprising and marvelous that so many
microscope image I saw of human eyelashes people survive and flourish.
– crawling with creepy things! Other “invisib-
le” and unknown aspects of the human body Exceptional cases raise further physiological
include our awareness and control of it. Most and philosophical questions about the nature of
of the time our bodies function well without the “invisible” body. Organ transplants – whose
us even being conscious of them. Pain indica- “body” do they belong to? Conjoined twins –
tes a problem, but there is much variation in whose body is it? One person or two? People in
people’s perception of pain; sometimes pain comas – is the self in the brain or the body? Ne-
occurs when there is no obvious physical ail- ar-death and out-of-body experiences – what is
ment. Mental and physical are intertwined real? Indeed the literature on the relationship
– injuries and illnesses can cause psychologi- between body and soul, or mind and brain, or
cal problems, and mental illnesses often have material and non-material realities continues
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