Now let’s diverge one step deeper into ophthalmology
After college a person who wishes to become an eye surgeon must go on to medical school. That takes four years. In their senior year of medical school they apply to a thing called residency where they will learn more specific training in order to practice independently and effectively. To be an ophthalmologist these graduated medical students do a 1 year internship in general medicine, surgery, neurology, pediatrics or some other things and then a 3 year program of study in just the care of eyes. This set of 3 years is both clinical and surgical.
I am a professor of ophthalmology having graduated from my residency in 2000 and joined the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia 1. So I direct most of my teaching efforts at first and third year residents.
With that background let us turn back toward the laser thing I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago and then we’ll use that as a platform to return back to Revelation 12.
So there are a couple of ways the opening in the capsule, a.k.a. “candy shell” for the patient, can be made. Some ophthalmologists will use the laser to make a circular opening in the “candy shell.” What I have found is that sometimes it is difficult to get that circular fragment to fall out of the way and one must use many more laser spots to make it fall. It needs to fall down so it will not block the patient’s vision. Because of this I generally will make a cross-shaped opening, like a plus sign. Often we call it a “cruciate” incision. Nice reference to Christianity, that is.
At the beginning of my instruction on this procedure I will discuss these two approaches with my resident. My concluding words to the resident will be, “Both work. Pick one.” When I was an intern in the 1996-1997 era I had a senior resident who would say, “There are about a 1,000 ways this problem can be approached. So long as you pick one, I’m good.” Not all things have a thousand ways, but most have several. I think a teaching physician should be careful with their soapbox, with their dogma leading learners to understand the different approaches and become adept in their skills.
Let’s step back into apocalyptic literature
In conceptualization of the apocalyptic sections of the Bible I must allow for the variation of interpretation without feeling threatened. Also one must realize that differences of opinions on some of these matters are not heretical.
What is success with the laser mentioned above? Good vision.
What is success with apocalyptic interpretation? Godliness.
Dogmatic “accuracy” does not breed holiness, but rather all to often its opposite. God does not sit on his throne with his elbows on the armrests, the fingers of the left hand poised against the right waiting to scoff at missed interpretations and reward prescient ones. God allowed for apocalyptic literature to find a home in the Holy Scriptures he directed for us. We need to be godly in our lives and godly in our approaches to these things.
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