No Substitute for Blood With our country very bomb-con scious, a great deal of research is being done on the subject of what to do in case of an atomic bomb attack. Cities have undertaken im munization programs, and school children are currently being drilled in the prone position they are to as sume in case the terror strikes. One of the most vexing questions con cerns the matter of adequate supplies of additional blood for transfusions. It is estimated that if an atomic bomb should hit one of our large cities, while there would be a fright ful toll of death, the lives of perhaps a hundred thousand injured might be \saved by prompt transfusion of blood, blood plasma, or acceptable plasma substitutes. With things as they are today there is not nearly enough blood or plasma to go around. So our medical scientists have been frantically searching for something comparable to blood which could be injected into the veins of those who were suddenly stricken in order to prevent the inevitable shock and re store circulation. Of course, it has been made known for a long time that simple saline or glucose solutions are helpful in small quantities. Other substitutes such as gelatin, dextran and polyvinyl pyr- rolidone, a synthetic made from ace tylene, do the job to some extent, but none are plentiful or entirely satisfactory. The new idea of using okra has been advanced and it seems to fit some of the needs. However, the problem is that there is no way to substitute for blood. The blood itself contains many delicate chemicals each of which fills some indispensable need of the body. Liv ing cells of the blood cannot be du plicated and if there has been serious bleeding, the patient needs not only the fluid but a restoration of cells. In short, there is no substitute for real blood, and there is no chance of making whole blood artificially. It cannot be disputed that this is one of the most serious problems fac ing our own country and every other country today. The effects of atomic warfare are no longer in the theo retical stage. Hiroshima and Naga saki have provided ample illustrations to furnish indisputable evidence as to the frightful effects following a bomb explosion. The only answer seems to be that of blood donations. Yet this is not a complete answer because of our inability to preserve whole blood over any length o f time. We do not propose any solution. It is a terrific problem.
stances all down through the years, “What is the answer to the present distress and tribulation?” Here the writer, under marvelous divine in spiration, sets forth the value of faith as God’s appointed weapon. In the magnificent eleventh chapter, faith is shown to be the sword by which all Old Testament worthies achieved their success. Faith is the complete answer to every need. In fact, faith is the absolute indispensable characteristic in the Christian life. In verse six is the categorical statement: “ Without faith it is impossible to please him.” A further exposition of the ques tion of faith is given by precept and by example, by precept in verse one, and by example throughout the elev enth chapter. Faith is that quality which Abel used to make his offering acceptable to God. Faith—that char acteristic in the life of godly Enoch which caused him to be translated that he should not see death. Faith produced Noah’s incentive and cour age as, in the face of a mocking world, he built an ark for the salvation of his house. Faith is the shining star of Abraham’s life who is called in Scripture, “ the friend of God.” So the chapter proceeds and never ends. After listing the great heroes of faith, the writer of the Hebrews de clares that “ That they without us should not be made perfect.” God’s records go on from verse 40 ad in finitum. Do we please God today? Do our lives measure up to His standards? Well then, here is the way they may. It is by the exercise of that same incomparable quality, faith. Faith is believing God, believing what God says is true. Reaching out beyond the pale of human sight, taking hold of God’s hand there, and finding it a definite reality. Faith, Faith, Faith! In this day may God make us war riors of faith! Read Hebrews!
What God Calls Important T HE more one becomes acquainted with the Scriptures, the more he is impressed with the fact that in this treasury of truth there is the full and complete answer to every problem in human life. What is needed, there fore, is a thorough acquaintance with the Bible in order to round out one’s spiritual life. The book of Hebrews perhaps more than any other book in the New Tes tament is a logical thesis designed to answer the great problem of life’s vicissitudes. The author of the book wrote to a group of early Hebrew Christians who, under the stress of persecution and privation, were being tempted to turn back to the religion of their forefathers, which religion God had set aside for a time. Conse quently this form of worship had be come but an empty shell. However, at this time the temple was still stand ing and the rituals, statutes and ordi nances of Judaism were still being observed. The divine and convincing answer, of course, as outlined in Hebrews is that Christ, by His death on Cal vary’s cross, rendered obsolete all the Old Testament ordinances and sacri fices. The real truth of the matter was that the entire fabric of the law in all its particulars merely pointed forward to the coming of Christ for its fulfillment. All these Old Testa ment symbols were merely types and shadows of the reality which was to be found in Christ. The character istics and incidents of the Old Testa ment had value only as they antici pated their fulfillment in the person and work of Christ. All this being true, the question could still be asked of those early suffering Hebrew Christians and all Christians who are in similar circum
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