Disease

Swine Flu

Typically swine flu does not infect humans but occasionally it mutates and then is capable of infecting humans. Contact with pigs is usually necessary to “catch” swine flu but sometimes it mutates further and is transmissible from human to human.

Cancer

Cancer reminds us of the brokenness, the suffering, and the mortality of creation in this present age, all traceable back to Adam’s sin. Genesis makes it clear that everything in the original creation, was “very good.” We can infer that cancer was not a part of that, since the Bible describes death as an “enemy.”

Bird Flu

It is plain to see that the genetic code of bird flu viruses does not stay the same but is constantly mutating and rearranging. Because virus proteins interact with proteins in the cells they infect, changes in the viral protein can have effects on what type of cells can be infected. So what should one say if asked, “Is the ‘bird flu’ evolving?”

What About Malaria and Other Diseases Before the Fall?

Mosquitoes in the original creation were likely pollinators able to derive the nutrients needed to reproduce from plants without consuming blood. But what about the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium before “the Fall”?