Today’s Buzz: Job’s Maladies Diagnosed by Doctors
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Wed, October 31, 2007
- Viewed 43
- (5) comments so far
Job’s Syndrome, or Hyper IgE Recurrent Infection Syndrome (HIES), is a rare disorder of the immune system and connective tissue, characterized by boils, inflamed, irritated skin, bone abnormalities, teeth deformities and cyst-forming pneumonias. It was first described in 1966 and fewer than 250 cases have been reported since that time.
“Although this is a rare disease, the novel strategies we developed can be applied to many other genetic diseases of unknown cause,” Musser said.
The study, conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), identified mutations in a gene that modulates the immune system, the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), as the cause of this debilitating disease, a deficiency of the immune system. The research team sequenced the STAT3 gene and employed molecular and bioinformatics tools to decipher the genetic defect that leads to Job’s Syndrome.
The growing field of bioinformatics capitalizes on the power of math and computers to make sense of the huge volume of data involved in molecular and genetic analysis. Future research on possible treatments for the disease can be targeted to this mutation.
You buyin’ this?!
Actually, I had four or five other items for today’s buzz as well, but I accidentally clicked something wrong on my computer and lost it all. Too lazy this morning, I guess, to re-type. 
Oh well… I guess it could be worse… I could have Hyper IgE Recurrent Infection Syndrome.
Have a great day!
Todd
In today's buzz: researchers have discovered the genetic cause of a medical condition thought to be suffered by Job, a prominent biblical figure who was afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head...
Comments
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Camey on Wed, October 31, 2007
Too lazy? Now is that any way to inspire? to encourage? to get people moving either with their fingers or off their butts?
Uh… i think i need another cup of coffee. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/wink.gif
Anthony D. Coppedge on Wed, October 31, 2007
Am I buyin’ this? Sure. Why not?
God, who invented molecules, DNA and everything else, could have easily used this (or any other) physical ailment to accomplish his purposes.
Then again, God could have come up with something totally unknown to science. He’s God and he can do that. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif
- Anthony
Randy Ehle on Wed, October 31, 2007
Cynical question: Have they diagnosed the ailments that caused the loss of Job’s flocks, herds, and children? The scientific world looks for scientific answers to explain away biblical events, often to discount supernatural involvement.
I agree with Anthony that God can (but need not) use a scientifically-explainable ailment to accomplish his purposes. With Job, though, I don’t think that’s what happened. Rather, it was Satan who used a physical ailment, and I would suggest that he was limited (by God) to using such means—an example of God’s sovereignty over both the body and over Satan.
Daniel on Wed, October 31, 2007
Job is primarily a work in philosophy. As with Jesus’ parables, it disrespects the genre to assume the historicity of the story (and leads to problematic conclusions). Historicity is always possible, but certainly not necessitated by the text.
For this reason, I am dubious of this ‘scientific’ claim—though of course, ancient Jews may well have heard of or seen such a disease, so it’s possible that the writer of Job would have made Job suffer from it.
Genre is everything.
Peace,
-Daniel-
Randy Ehle on Thu, November 01, 2007
Interesting thoughts, Daniel, though I’m not sure I can agree with you about the nature (genre?) of the book of Job. I don’t see anything in the text to suggest that it is allegorical or a parable; to the best of my knowledge, scripture is pretty consistent in identifying allegory and parables as such. To understand Job as an account of real events does not require that ancient Jews recognized Job’s maladies, while taking it as allegory or parable almost certainly would require some familiarity with such a disease. (...which is not, by the way, an argument for or against Job as historical.)
Real or “fictional”, I would classify Job not as philosophy, but as intense theology; Job cried out time and again to face God, to argue his case with Him. Both he and his friends came into his circumstances from the same angle (i.e., good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people). But they turned in vastly different directions - his friends saw the bad things happening to Job and concluded, in line with their preconceptions, that he must have done something bad; Job, on the other hand, searched his soul and found nothing to condemn him, and so wanted to talk things out with the Almighty. While his friends relied on their theology to explain God, Job wanted to talk to God to better understand - or change - his theology.
In the end, Job got a partial answer to his request: he got into a conversation (of sorts) with God. But instead of arguing his case, he was put back in his place as a mere subject of the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all. And he was satisfied with that - “my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (42:5). In short, Job met God in a new way…and was satisfied with that. Regardless of the genre, it is a compelling lesson for us.
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