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Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP180106A
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00:01 The following program presents principles
00:02 designed to promote good health 00:04 and is not intended to take 00:05 the place of personalized professional care. 00:07 The opinions and ideas expressed 00:09 are those of the speaker. 00:10 Viewers are encouraged to draw their own conclusion 00:13 about the information presented. 00:15 With the advancements of technology and communication 00:17 over the past couple of decades, 00:19 we have a plethora of information available to us 00:22 at the click of a button. 00:23 The only problem is, 00:25 how do we know what information we can trust. 00:28 On today's program, Dr. Marcum shares 00:30 how he finds sources he trusts and also practical steps 00:34 that we can take to employ better health 00:36 in our lives today, no matter where we're starting from. 00:59 Thanks for joining us today for The Ultimate Prescription, 01:02 a program dedicated to helping us better understand 01:04 God's design for our lives. 01:07 I'm your host Nick Evenson here with Dr. James Marcum 01:09 who will be sharing with us 01:10 on finding trustworthy sources of information 01:13 when it comes to our health. 01:15 Dr. Marcum, welcome to the program. 01:17 Welcome, it's nice to be here, Nick, 01:18 and I love your tie today, that's very sporty of you. 01:22 Thank you. Thank you. 01:23 I try and look sharp, so I look credible. 01:24 You know, someone once told me that less is more 01:27 so I got rid of my tie to see if that would be more. 01:30 It looks nice, you look young. 01:32 Well, thank you. Thank you. 01:33 Also I can breathe a little bit better. 01:35 You know my son Jake, where he goes to school, 01:37 he has to wear a tie every day. 01:39 Every day he has to wear a tie... 01:41 He's ready for business. 01:42 Yeah, and he looked, I said Jake, 01:44 you could borrow some of my ties, 01:46 you know, I got lots of ties, 01:47 I've collected them for years and years, 01:49 so he looks at my tie collection, 01:50 doesn't choose any of them. 01:52 Not quite his style? 01:53 No, and he goes to the store that makes these fancy ties 01:56 with things and he wants those ties. 01:58 So it's very interesting so anyway, 02:01 I'm digressing Nick... 02:02 That's all right. That's all right. 02:04 We're talking about truth and before we start, 02:06 I wanna talk a little bit about opinions, okay? 02:09 Everyone out there has an opinion, 02:12 you know, I've had opinions 02:14 and opinions evolve overtime based on knowledge. 02:18 And one of the things we talk about truth is, 02:21 you know, we learn new truth as God exposes it to us 02:24 as we have new technology, as we have new discoveries, 02:28 so that's something that evolves too, 02:30 and so truth changes overtime 02:33 in opinions on any given issue changes. 02:35 And a lot of people asks questions to us 02:38 and you know my nutritional advice now 02:40 might not have been what it was 27 years ago 02:43 when I started 'cause we've learnt new things. 02:45 I advice on supplements, 02:47 on specific treatments might have changed overtime. 02:50 But one thing that has stayed true overtime 02:53 and that's the truth that comes from the Word of God. 02:56 You know that's something that we can depend on, 02:58 and that's when I want to keep coming back to, 03:02 and the text that I want to really refer to is, 03:04 remember that text in John 8, that says, John 8:32, 03:08 "And you shall know the truth, the truth, 03:12 and that truth sets you free." 03:14 And that truth is Jesus, and if we keep coming back to Jesus 03:18 no matter where we're at in healthcare, 03:20 no matter what modern day medicine, 03:22 no matter what lifestyle changes, 03:24 we keep turning to Jesus, 03:26 that's the truth that's gonna set us free 03:28 from all of these burdensome that we carry. 03:30 So it's hard to know what's true in modern medicine 03:34 and lifestyle medicine, it's hard, 03:36 and I struggle with it every day as well 03:38 'cause I'm inundate with people sending me emails 03:41 and asking questions, and I do try to evaluate it, 03:44 so it's a constant challenge. 03:46 Every day, you know, people come into my website, 03:48 they recommend different therapies, 03:50 they want me to look at them, 03:52 they want me to post them on the website, 03:53 they want me to read an article or new textbook 03:56 and not to mention all the scientific studies 03:58 that are coming out. 04:00 And some of them you have to look at very carefully, 04:01 especially who is funding the studies, you know, 04:04 who has secondary interest, 04:05 it is pharmaceutical funding it, 04:07 you know who is paying for the study 04:09 that's evaluating this thing scientifically, 04:11 so it is a challenge. 04:12 You know, one thing that stands out on my mind, 04:14 I've visited you at your office number of times now 04:17 and I remember, you showed me a book 04:19 that was probably this thick one time, 04:21 you told me what it was. 04:23 It was a book that had all the different medications 04:26 and what they were treated for. 04:27 That would be considered a doctor's source of truth 04:29 if you will, on medications, right? 04:32 But now they don't do a big book anymore 04:35 because their understanding of medications 04:37 has grown, and grown, and grown, 04:38 you probably couldn't fit everything 04:39 that you need to know in a book nor could you find 04:41 what you're looking for, so now it's all electronic, right? 04:43 It's amazing that we go to the internet, 04:45 and not only do doctors go to the internet, 04:47 but everyone else goes to the internet, 04:49 and there are some internet stuff 04:51 that's true out there 04:53 and there're some that's not so true. 04:55 And you can get fooled by the internet 04:57 or tricked by the internet. 04:58 I got tricked by the internet yesterday, 05:01 you know, I was trying to get a place to stay 05:03 and I thought it was a legitimate site 05:06 'cause it look like a place that I wanted to say at, 05:08 and I went on that site, 05:10 that wasn't what I thought at all, 05:11 so there wasn't any truth to that at all. 05:13 So it's easy to fall into this different people 05:15 that are wanting to throw out what they're doing. 05:18 But usually, the people that are throwing out 05:20 other truths or what they say is truth, 05:22 usually there is some selfishness 05:24 and money behind it. 05:25 So looking at the source is a very important thing 05:28 at least for me in developing opinions. 05:31 Now opinions constantly evolve. 05:33 Now, there is other things 05:35 that are called convictions, okay. 05:37 Conviction is something that you're willing to die for, 05:41 you know, what are you willing to die for, no matter what, 05:44 you know, and one of the things that I'm willing to die for, 05:47 is I'm willing to die for my belief in the Bible. 05:49 I'm willing to die for that. 05:50 And you look for other truths in your life, 05:52 so there's a difference between a conviction which is constant. 05:56 Truth in the Bible is constant and opinions 06:00 which are constantly evolving overtime. 06:02 Yeah, yeah. 06:04 Well, you know, we've got a question 06:05 that's come in on this very topic 06:07 and, if you have a question that you'd like to submit, 06:10 heartwiseministries.org is a great place 06:12 that you can go find sources of truth 06:15 as well as some opinions that will change overtime. 06:18 But Heartwise Ministries and our team of physicians, 06:20 they will answer your health questions 06:22 and point you in a general direction 06:23 of where you should go to find the answer. 06:25 But we've had someone write in with a question that says, 06:29 they had health questions 06:31 so they scoured the internet for solutions, 06:32 and what they found contradicted 06:35 what their doctor told them. 06:38 How do you know who to trust in that situation? 06:40 Yeah, that's a big question, but some general principles 06:44 is talk to your doctor about it, okay? 06:46 See if it corresponds with some of the things 06:49 that are in the Bible, see if it makes sense 06:50 with the Bible which is a source of truth. 06:53 Read all you can from reliable sources 06:55 and we're gonna give reliable sources 06:58 and keep looking for yourself and pray, 07:00 God help lead me to the right intervention, 07:02 whether it be modern medicine, 07:04 whether it be a lifestyle change, 07:06 whether it be walking with You. 07:07 Lead me in the way that You would have me go 07:10 and guide me to those sources, and keep an open eye 07:13 and listen to what people have to say 07:14 and see if it makes sense, test it with sources you trust. 07:18 I'm constantly going different places, 07:20 reading different things, evaluating different things, 07:23 looking for sources of truth. 07:26 So sometimes, it's not a bad idea 07:27 to get a second opinion maybe and kind of balance it. 07:31 And get out, get outside and look at different things. 07:33 Yeah. 07:35 Excellent. Excellent. 07:36 Now, you speak quite a bit 07:37 to your wealth on convictions of the scriptures 07:41 and I want to talk a bit about more of that. 07:44 You're a Bible believing creationist. 07:47 And you recently had an interesting trip 07:48 that you took to the Galapagos Islands, right? 07:50 Yeah, I went to the Galapagos not too long ago 07:53 and that's also to look for truth you know, 07:55 I've heard so much about the animals, 07:58 I'm on Galapagos 07:59 and I think we have some pictures to show of that. 08:02 Yeah, let's go and take a look at that now 08:05 and just tell us a bit about what we're seeing here 08:07 and how it changed your view of events. 08:10 Well, I went to the Galapagos specifically 08:13 'cause I've been heard so much about Darwinism, 08:15 and creation, and evolution, 08:17 and what's true and what's not true, 08:19 and I went and looked at all the animals, 08:21 there's seals, there's animals that are found in the Galapagos 08:24 that are found nowhere else in the world. 08:26 There are certain birds and how they nest. 08:28 Now, this is a bird there 08:30 that they won't let you within ten foot of that bird. 08:32 But this is an island 08:34 that's made of different volcanic activities, 08:36 there's many different species of different animals 08:41 and plants that are found nowhere else in the world, 08:44 the different currents that come in. 08:46 There we see an iguana, 08:48 and these are not only a land iguanas 08:50 but there are sea iguanas, 08:52 they're actually swimming in the water with you. 08:54 And so I went to the Galapagos 08:56 to better understand creation but also to ask God. 08:59 God continue to show me truth in life 09:02 and help me be able to share that truth, 09:04 so as I looked at nature and iguana 09:06 and see how the species adapted to the islands, 09:09 it just assured me that, 09:11 yes, we had a God that was a creator. 09:13 We have a Bible that we can depend on, 09:16 not only for our healthcare answers, 09:18 but for other answers in life, 09:20 where we're going, where we came from. 09:22 And there is a lot of people 09:23 trying to minimize God as a creator, 09:26 but as you look at these animals 09:28 in the Galapagos Islands, 09:31 it was just a remarkable experience, especially, 09:34 everyone's there looking at the beautiful scenery 09:36 that the volcanic rocks are going on and how this area, 09:40 you know, there is a bird that's just walking along 09:42 and all these had to be created. 09:45 The intricacies and very little that we are there 09:49 and there we're looking at another sea iguana. 09:51 These iguanas actually are swimming next to you 09:54 in the water and there is a seal, Nick. 09:56 The seals just hung out where they want to. 09:59 Now, they're so specific, 10:01 they don't let you get too close. 10:03 There is one of the largest tortoises in the world, 10:06 lived hundreds of years and how they've evolved 10:09 to stay alive in the areas that they live in. 10:13 They call that speciation. 10:15 This isn't a creature 10:16 that evolved from something else, 10:18 this is a creation that has adaptive to survive. 10:21 Or adaptation. 10:22 Yeah, and when you go 10:24 and actually see these animals for themselves 10:25 and what they had to do. 10:27 And there is a big tortoise eating some good food. 10:29 Now, they don't move very fast and it's very interesting, 10:32 they're not in a hurry to do anything at all. 10:35 But there's very... 10:37 You see the lifestyle there in all the animals 10:40 and all the beauty that you are just convinced, 10:42 you know for sure that there is a God creator 10:45 and He created for specific reasons 10:48 and the source lies in that. 10:49 In the Galapagos, there is tons of places to go dive in 10:53 and look at the animals under the seas. 10:55 Now, I'm a zoologist by trade, and in zoology, 10:59 we like to study biology. 11:01 And I was trained in big biology, you know, 11:03 looking at animals, and here's the fish, 11:05 and there's so much exciting under seas, 11:08 you know, a starfish there. 11:09 A lot of people don't realize all that. 11:11 There're great animals on living 11:13 that we can learn from, watching animals, 11:15 how they behave, how they react to things 11:18 and then, I also realize there 11:19 that the animals are so different than humans, 11:23 you know, they have a different neurological system, 11:26 they have different needs, but God's given us 11:28 all these to understand His greater book. 11:31 So it sounds like, you went to this place 11:32 that's made famous by Darwin, 11:34 but seeing all of the different adaptations of the animals, 11:38 one of the unique species, 11:40 it didn't convinced you at all of his perspective on things, 11:44 but rather strengthened your own convictions 11:45 that the scriptures are true and the creation is true. 11:48 That's absolutely right. 11:49 You know, we have a God that created and we have a God, 11:52 and we know very, very little about things. 11:55 You know, when you think about things like time, 11:57 Nick, you know, our God is always been, what is time. 12:01 You know, we think about all these animals 12:03 that have different nervous systems, 12:05 different cells and yet there is some similarity 12:08 in the living creatures. 12:10 I mean, they use the sunlight and they live certain ways, 12:13 but it really helped reassure me 12:15 that trip to the Galapagos, 12:17 it didn't take me away from the Bible 12:19 as a source of truth, 12:20 it brought me back to the Bible. 12:22 As I went to the Darwin Research Center, 12:25 as I saw all those animals that made me say, wow, 12:28 we have a great creator that's created me 12:30 to be in His image 12:32 and all the different things I can do to understand truth. 12:35 So this really helped me not only understand, 12:38 re-convict me of some of my truths, 12:40 but help my opinions evolve overtime, 12:42 but also helped me evaluate truths 12:45 that might be out there in the medical field 12:47 and use the Bible and God's Word as a way 12:50 to sort of evaluate them and develop opinions 12:53 that I can share with other people. 12:55 No, I'm not saying, I'm always right. 12:57 No one is always right, 12:58 'cause opinions are different than convictions. 13:01 Opinions change overtime, 13:03 so as our viewers look for sources of truth, 13:06 there's not always a black and white for everyone, 13:08 sometimes it's in the middle based on your genes, 13:11 your belief systems, 13:12 the way your family is or sometimes 13:14 it might look a little bit different for Nick Evenson 13:17 than it would be for Jim Marcum, 13:19 but one thing we can depend on is the truth of the Bible, 13:22 we can put on in this text, 13:23 you shall know the truth, the truth that sets you free 13:27 from all of these confusion of this world we live in. 13:30 There is something we can depend on 13:32 and we can come to that truth every single day. 13:35 And in that truth, 13:36 it helps us to understand life a little bit better, 13:39 not that we can understand everything. 13:41 And the more I know about things, 13:45 I realize, I don't know very much at all. 13:47 And I'm not very smart, you know, 13:49 the world is much bigger, our God is so big, 13:51 can't understand, I just have to accept things 13:54 and just depend on Him to reveal truth, 13:57 whatever truth He wants to reveal in my life. 13:59 Yeah. 14:00 Well, thank you for sharing us your journey to the Galapagos, 14:02 it's very intriguing, 14:04 it's on my booklets of places to go someday, 14:06 but it's exciting to hear 14:07 about how that really affirm your beliefs. 14:09 Yeah, and I'll tell you, in the Galapagos, 14:11 if you go over there, you know, take your time, 14:13 you know, don't rush, 14:14 we had to fly all the way to town called Kito 14:17 that was high up and, you know, just take your time, 14:20 don't get in a rush to go there, 14:21 but it was such a great experience 14:22 visiting there and seeing. 14:24 You know, I grew up as a zoologist, 14:26 but I studied big biology, animals, 14:28 animal behaviors but nowadays, 14:30 there's a lot more on little biology, 14:32 it seems, you know, the genome, the cells, 14:34 the molecular, it's just very, very interesting 14:37 but again, all that pointed me back. 14:39 Every time I was there, it says, 14:40 you know, the real truth, 14:42 the one thing that I can depend on in my life right now, 14:45 not only for medicine but every aspect, 14:47 it starts in my relationship with Jesus, 14:49 and that's what I want to encourage everyone here, 14:51 if you have a health question, 14:53 there is great sources out there, 14:55 but start with the Bible, ask God, 14:57 God, show me the truth, is what I'm hearing here, 15:00 does this go with Your Word? 15:01 Does this go with other things I've heard? 15:03 'Cause there's so much out there on the internet, 15:05 it blows you away. 15:06 All right. Thank you, Dr. Marcum. 15:08 Yeah. 15:09 We're gonna take a quick break, 15:10 but stay tuned as we're gonna discuss more 15:12 about sources of truth when we return. |
Revised 2019-02-28