Can A Person Be A Smoker & Still Be Saved

[Nahum]

Are we now saying it is perfectly acceptable for Christians to smoke marijuana?

And, before you laugh, most people smoke it for *ahem* medicinal purposes.

[DividedThigh]

you guys better not mess with my steak now, them worth fightin for, lol

[COOPER]

Originally Posted by Rico

Leave Jesus out of this. Can't you see we are busy establishing laws for anyone who wants to please God?

Rico you da man!

[DividedThigh]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Are we now saying it is perfectly acceptable for Christians to smoke marijuana?

And, before you laugh, most people smoke it for *ahem* medicinal purposes.

yeah right............................................. ...................

[Brad Murphy]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Are we now saying it is perfectly acceptable for Christians to smoke marijuana?

And, before you laugh, most people smoke it for *ahem* medicinal purposes.

Yes, if it will make people post more funny comments and entertain me for another couple of hours...

[COOPER]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Are we now saying it is perfectly acceptable for Christians to smoke marijuana?

And, before you laugh, most people smoke it for *ahem* medicinal purposes.

*cough* I am feeling sick!

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by Rico

I know you ain't talkin to me. I don't think eating pork or smoking is a sin.

NO I was just using your phrase as a point but not to you personaly! Sorry if you thought that!

[Rico]

Originally Posted by COOPER

ah..but Sugar is in Ketchup right?

Ketchup. There's another abomination. It has sugar in it, so it can't be good for the human body. Ban its use entirely!!! I think we should start a list.

[Nahum]

News and Views


Nature Medicine 7, 155 (2001)
doi:10.1038/84588
Spider venom helps hearts keep their rhythm
Kristine Novak






Although the sight of a large hairy spider is enough to give some people a heart attack, spider venom may eventually be used to treat some heart conditions. In the 4 January issue of Nature, Bodeet al. (Nature, 409, 35−36) report that a peptide isolated from the venom of the spider Grammostola spatulata (picture) inhibits atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation, characterized by disorganized atrial activity, occurs in patients suffering from valve disease, hypertension, and chronic lung disease. It is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia, and can lead to further complications such as hypotension, pulmonary congestion, strokes and angina pectoris.

The anti-arrhythmic effects of this peptide were discovered serendipitously in a research project that initially had nothing to do with hearts or spiders. Frederick Sachs, senior author on the study, began investigating mechanosensitive ion channels over 15 years ago. In a search for agents that block or activate mechanical sensitivity, his group began screening insect venoms, which are known to contain a variety of neuroactive compounds. "We tried a variety of spider and scorpion venoms in patch clamp experiments, and finally found two that inhibited mechanosensitive ion channel activity," said Sachs. Fractionation of the venom led to the isolation of a peptide from tarantula venom, GxMtx-4, that the authors observed to block the activity of cationic stretch-activated ion channels (SACs) in adult astrocytes and cardiocytes.

SACs convert gradients of stress into gradients of electrical activity, and sustained mechanical gradients can develop when systolic pressure and wall tension are high, conditions that are present in the diseased heart. "It was well-known that cardiac wall stretch increases heart rate, and we knew that these receptors were expressed in heart cells," said Sachs. He teamed up with Frank Bode and Mike Franz at Georgetown University to show that the peptide suppressed both the incidence and duration of atrial fibrillation in rabbit hearts. They also showed that GxMtx-4 acts only during stretch activation, as it has no effect on the action potential of resting atrial cells. "It also seems to have no acute effects on normal hearts in the absence of distension," added Sachs, although further toxicity analysis is required.

This finding of Bode et al. constitutes the first demonstration that SAC activation can generate atrial fibrillation. The authors therefore suggest that GsMtx-4 initiates a new class of anti-arrhythmic agents that could act on the cause, rather than the effects of cardiac arrhythmias.

[COOPER]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

News and Views


Nature Medicine 7, 155 (2001)
doi:10.1038/84588
Spider venom helps hearts keep their rhythm
Kristine Novak


.

Who da thunk it