Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a sexually transmitted disease caused by long-term infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. HIV is transmitted among humans via sexual acts. Scientists have traced the origin of HIV back to chimpanzees’ simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). SIV is an HIV-like virus that attacks the immune system of monkeys and apes. It is believed that SIV jumped from monkeys to humans when hunters in Africa ate infected chimps.
It can be determined that a person is infected with HIV by drawing a sample of either blood, saliva, or urine and examining it. If the test detects HIV antibodies and antigens in the collected blood sample, then it can be deduced that the person from which the sample was drawn is HIV positive.
The HIV antibody/antigen test is one of three tests that can be used to test for HIVirus. The other two tests are the nucleic acid test (NAT), which detects the DNA or RNA of HIV in the sample, and the HIV antibody test, which looks for HIV antibodies in the sample of either blood, saliva, or urine.
Since it was first detected, HIV has mutated to have a variety of strains, types, subtypes, and groups in order to reproduce and spread effectively. HIV is a virus, which means it is not a living organism and needs to infect a host in order to reproduce and spread.
Coronaviruses are a cluster of RNA-related viruses that affect humans and animals. Most human coronaviruses (such as SARS-CoV (outbreaks between 2002-2004), MERS-CoV (outbreaks in 2012, 2015, and 2018), and Covid-19 (outbreaks 2019-2021)) originate in bats. In humans, the coronaviruses cause respiratory ailments that can range from mild or lethal and spread via air droplets that infect through the nose and mouth when breathing, talking, coughing, or sneezing. The Coronavirus of 2019 (Covid-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus is 96% similar to the coronavirus in bats, hence the general opinion that the virus originated in bats. Exactly how Covid-19 was transmitted from bats to humans remains a mystery. To determine whether a person is infected with Covid-19, a sample of either saliva, mucus, blood, or tissue may be drawn and tested using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The PCR test looks for the presence of Covid-19 genetic material in the collected sample.
Since the first case of Covid-19, the virus has mutated countless times, giving rise to variants such as Omicron and Delta, in order to reproduce and spread effect.
The two examples of well-known viruses are used to illustrate that typical diseases, illnesses, and medical conditions are characterized by:
- An origin – HIV originated from a monkey and Covid-19 from bats
- A cause – It is believed that HIV was first caused by humans interacting with monkeys, and that Covid-19 was first caused by humans interacting with bats
- A method of transmission – HIV is transmitted sexually and Covid-19 via air droplets
- Testability – HIV is tested with NAT and Covid-19 with the PCR
- Mutation – HIV and Covid-19 spread in order to reproduce (or to be fruitful and multiply) . Nothing wants to go extinct, including viruses.
Betterhelp, a mental health platform, defines depression as “a mood disorder”. The World Health Organisation (WHO), a UN agency for international public health, defines depression as “a mental disorder”. According to Gomedii, a healthcare technology platform, a person’s mood depends on their state of mind and mental health defines the state of mind. Therefore, mood disorder and mental disorder can be used interchangeably, as they can mean the same thing.
WHO reports that depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors. Betterhelp and other sources say that depression is not caused by one thing, it has many causes. The consensus is that depression is not contagious and doesn’t spread between people and the triggers vary from person to person. The depressive episode is a period, that can last for 2 weeks or more, in which a person experiences the symptoms of depression. The symptoms are characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, loss of motivation and interest in hobbies, thoughts of suicide, and others. The depressive episodes can vary from mild to severe and the symptoms vary from person to person. According to WHO, people who suffer from depression are often misdiagnosed and or not diagnosed correctly due to a number of factors including lack of trained professional staff and treatment. In some cases, the misdiagnosed patients are prescribed antidepressants when they don’t need them. Antidepressants treat some of the symptoms, not all of them. Depression is multifactorial, it results from a number of factors conspiring together.
by faith, we understand that what is visible was made by what is not visible.
Hebrews 11:3
From the quoted bible verse, it can be inferred that creating means making from nothing, hence human beings don’t create, they make or form or reproduce. No human being that can make something out of nothing, on their own. Humans take the existing raw material (from creation) and transform them into an end product.
God created the earth with the ground surface to allow plants to grow, so they can take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. And for humans and animals to breathe in the oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. When the humans, animals and plants die they are buried underground where they decompose and the decomposition is later converted into fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.
Humans use the plants to build homes, furniture, tools, and other items. They use animals to make clothes, food, and other things. The buried fossil fuels are dug up and used to generate electricity and petroleum goods and services. Everything that a human being makes can be traced back to a “naturally” occurring raw material.
We may never know how the first plant seed was created, but we know how the second seed was formed. We may never know how the first human was created, but we know how they make babies. We may never know how the first rock, mountain, sand, etc. was created but science helps us understand how the second generation is made or formed. The simplest reason is that the first “thing” is made by something spiritual, and the second “thing” is made by something physical. Adam and Eve were created by God. Cain and Abel were made by Adam and Eve having coitus.
HIV and Covid-19 were made by something physical because their origin can be traced. Their cause and method of transmission is clear, and a person can be accurately tested for each illness. When a virus kills a person, it does so as an attempt to reproduce itself. When a virus infects a person, it’s a kill or be killed situation. It’s either the virus kills the host, or the host kills the virus.
The origin of depression is unclear. There is no single origin. The cause is unclear, it seems to be person and situation dependent. There is no apparent transmission method, but many people all across the globe seem to suffer from depression. One of the reasons that bacteria and virus create variants is so they can spread more effectively. The goal of all living and some non-living organism (e.g., virus, some protozoa, etc.) is to be fruitful and multiply. The fact that depression does not have an apparent method of transmission but is one of the most common illnesses in the world is very odd.
Due to the origin, cause, and symptoms being unclear, misdiagnosing patients becomes the rule rather than the exception. Viruses kill the host in an attempt to reproduce. Depression causes the host to have a strong desire to kill themselves, why?
Is it possible that depression is not an illness caused by something that can be identified using physical means? Is it possible that depression is a spiritual illness?