@ken: I took your advice and did some research. See …

Comment on The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week by Sean Pitman.

@ken:

I took your advice and did some research. See the above links. Here lies scientific proof, not conjecture, that circaseptan cycles are related to lunar phases. Would you agree?

Of course there are certain kinds of circaseptan (“about 7-days”) that are are very clearly related to lunar tides and other phases (as is only to be expected). However, what is strange is that not all circaseptan rhythms seem to be controlled by lunar phases or any other external factor. Some actually seem to be “built in”, “genetically determined”, or otherwise truly “intrinsic” to the individual without any external points of reference (such as the lunar cycle).

As already reference in my original article, there is an interesting case of man who’s urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroid was measured for 10 years. During this time the secretion was “precisely” circaseptan (i.e., not 7.4 days or in any other way related to lunar cycles). He then “self administered” testosterone for a 3-year period and the circaspetan rhythm in 17-ketosteroid secretion was seen to “free run”, suggesting some form of truly endogenous control.

Consider the following portion of an abstract from the original paper:

“A built-in (genetically determined) about-7-day (circaseptan) period comes to the fore as a desynchronized feature of human time structure in the urinary excretion of 17-ketosteroids by a clinical healthy man: during several years following an endocrine intervention (the self-administration of testosterone suppositories), a circaseptan rhythm (which during the preceding decade had revealed a period of precisely 7 days) deviated slightly, yet with statistical significance, from the environmental week. A second line of evidence for an intrinsic circaseptan component stems from the demonstration of statistically significant differences in timing of a circaseptan rhythm in springtail oviposition. A third line of evidence documents prominent circaseptan rhythmicity after the application of a single stimulus (devoid in itself of any circaseptan information). Such single stimulus induction, amplification and/or synchronization also documents the clinical and biologic importance of built-in circaseptan rhythms that were previously often misinterpreted as being purely reactive.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7111982

Interesting… wouldn’t you agree?

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com

Sean Pitman Also Commented

The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@ken:

No, since the God of the Bible called everything “Good” at the end of creation week – which he would not have done if predation of sentient creatures existed on this planet before the moral fall of mankind. After all, the God of the Bible is pictured as experiencing pain in sympathy with animal as well as human suffering.

Given this background, it is quite clear that the eating of the fruit was only symbolic of allegiance. God made the tree and the fruit on it after all. It had no inherent power of its own, outside of God’s will and creative power, to prolong life…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@Ken:

I do not disagree that there are numerous factors involved, to include genetics and overall lifestyle. However, it is interesting to me that there are other healthy groups of people out there who are also ethnically diverse. Yet, Adventists, in particular, live the longest among such ethnically diverse groups of people (note that the Okinawans are not ethnically diverse).

Again, all I can suggest is to try it out for yourself and see if you don’t notice a difference in your own personal experience…

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@Ken:

Consider that I’m presenting three different arguments at the same time. One argument is that there appears to be this intrinsic genetically-coded rhythm in all living things that is based on a 7-day cycle. That, by itself, is quite surprising and non-predictable form a naturalistic perspective – but not from a Biblical perspective.

After all, it was only the Bible that proposed, long before the circaseptan science came on the scene, to explain the origin of this 7-day rhythm as a creative act of God. The Bible also tells us how to best take advantage of this 7-day pattern by working six days and resting on every seventh day (my second argument) and that this work/rest cycle was given to us for our benefit (“The Sabbath was made for man”). In addition to this, the Bible claims that the original order of the days is important to God as a symbol between him and his people of their allegiance to God and he promises an additional supernatural blessing on those who strive to keep holy the true Sabbath day of his original blessing (my third argument).

In my opinion, these are all testable statements. The weekly cycle, by itself, has been shown to have intrinsic elements or biorhythms within all living things (first argument). If certain things are done in accordance with this pattern, living things function better (to include a lengthening of life for different kinds of creatures). On top of this, adding a “Sabbath” day of rest every 7th day appears to be beneficial to mind and body regardless of the actual 7th day chosen for rest – be that day Sunday or Saturday or Friday or whatever 7th day is chosen (second argument). So far, I don’t think there is very much disagreement with these arguments – even within the scientific community at this point (given the new information on circaseptan biorhythms within humans and all other living things and the general benefits of resting mind and body one day a week).

But, beyond this, it seems to me, from my own personal experience and the experience of certain key individuals that I have known, that if one strives to keep Holy the Biblical 7th day in particular (i.e., the Sabbath of the Jews or Saturday), that God actually gives such an individual an additional supernatural blessing (third argument).

Now, I’m sure that many will scoff at my last proposal. But, don’t be too hasty if you haven’t tried it out for yourself… If you haven’t actually tried to keep the Biblical Sabbath, Saturday, holy as the Bible describes. I think that this element plays a role in explaining why Adventists, among all ethnically diverse peoples of the world (to include other groups of people who try to be religious, healthy, and even vegetarian) live the longest and are generally the most blessed ethnically diverse group of people in the world.

Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com


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