The first verses of Genesis set the tone and theme for the entire Bible. The Spirit of God hovers over the feared unknown of the darkness and deep, ready to stir it to life-giving status. Similarly, in John an angel stirs up the waters of Bethesda, making them life-producing and healing. These images illustrate the origin of international development: setting right what is not right

The minimal progress missions have made against the practice of female genital mutilation— many do not even address the subject for fear of losing converts—is mute testimony to the awesome power of what we could call “Group Self Deception,” a type of culturally reinforced delusion.

The thing that strikes me is the assumption that God, not Satan is the source of disease. Evangelical leaders are not constantly promoting the destruction of Satan’s works in general, much less in the area of disease. The Bible would urge us not to blame God for Satan’s endeavors. Is not God asking us to fight disease in the Name of Christ?

A handful of (mainly secular) people studying the Book of Creation have [essentially] discerned therein that God is not the author of the twisting and distortions of that Creation, but that there is a whole array of intelligent pathogens to be fought and exterminated.