In the 1960s, the world came to realize the serious effects of radiation poisoning. A number of nuclear devices had been detonated above ground. Unsuspecting subjects were subjected to radiation exposure in an attempt to learn what a nuclear bomb blast would do to humans, animals, and plants. In short, the answer: “Nuclear radiation is far worse than we thought!”
Recently, however, the scientific world was shocked to learn that a type of black fungus that eats and flourishes on radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. In 1991, the strange fungus was found growing up the walls of the reactor, which surprised scientists due to the extreme toxicity of the radiation-heavy environment. Researchers eventually realized that not only was the fungi impervious to the deadly radiation, but it seemed to be attracted to it.
A decade later, researchers tested some of the fungi and found that it had a large amount of the pigment melanin—which is also found, among other places, in the skin of humans. People with darker skin tones tend to have much more melanin, which is known to absorb light and dissipate ultraviolent radiation in the skin. However, in fungi, it reportedly absorbed radiation and converted it into some type of chemical energy for growth.
A paper was presented in 2008 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York that noted that large quantities of highly melanized fungal spores have been found in early Cretaceous period deposits, when many species of animals and plants died out. Some have suggested that there could be places in outer space were organisms could live in radiation-filled environments.
I think that this proves that we do not know as much as we think we know. This is true for the world of science, and it is also true for the spiritual world of angels and demons. While there is a lot of reporting about divine healing and angelic encounters that has a questionable flavor to it, some of it is from reliable sources by reliable witnesses. Lee Strobel’s book, The Case For Miracles is an example of the former. Two new books on angels, one by SkyWatch TV writers Allie Anderson and Donna Howell, and another by David Reagan’s associate, Nathan Jones, cannot be easily dismissed.
I think we have to be very careful about limiting God. That’s exactly what the Pharisees and teachers of the Law did in the days of Jesus. Their minds were closed to Jesus’ messianic identity. We need to prove all things, but when the proof is forthcoming we must follow the evidence where it leads. There is nothing in the Bible to lead us to believe that God is no longer working supernaturally and miraculously today.
