Do Our Bacteria Love Us?

By John F. Pohl

The human microbiome may prove to be an example of God’s amipotence.

I have oft-times been besought, by divers gentlemen, to set down on paper what I have beheld through my newly invented Microscopia: but I have generally declined; first, because I have no style, or pen, wherewith to express my thoughts properly; second, because I have not been brought up to languages or arts, but only to business; and in the third place, because I do not gladly suffer contradiction or censure from others. -Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1673)

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek once pessimistically described how he would present the “animalcules” (microbes) he observed with his simple microscope. Contradiction or censure existed in science at that time and can be present still today, but denunciation of science is much more apparent in theology when one tries to use advances in science to develop subsequent theology that has the potential to understand aspects of God outside of scripture or doctrine. As much as some religious authorities may deny science, verses such as Romans 1:20 and Psalms 8:3-4 demonstrate God wanting us to explore, enjoy, and co-create in nature.

Amipotence, or the idea of God’s immanence simply being love, is an intriguing and attractive alternative to the theory of God’s omnipotence as expressed by Aristotle and others. Amipotence (as developed by Thomas Jay Oord) clears the board of so many problems associated with Greek metaphysical influences in Christianity. Issues surrounding theodicy, determinism / predestination, and salvation take a new and enlightening turn, especially when one considers that God’s love is power in itself. This power is seen in God’s love as well as in God’s lure for co-creativity with nature, including life. Such love does not necessarily require supernatural events.

David Ray Griffin has coined the term naturalismppp to describe general revelation of God through nature. This term is both constructive and inclusive in the setting of natural theology in which the three “p”s stand for prehension (the apprehensive importance of time, not matter, causing events to occur), panentheism (all of nature being in God), and panexperientialism (all entities having experience and perhaps consciousness at varying levels). One can argue that there are philosophical issues with assigning atoms, molecules, and cellular organelles with naturalismppp properties, but it is quite natural to assume that “lower” organisms (bacteria, fungi, protists, archaea, and viruses) can have such characteristics.

For example, bacteria can travel to a light source. Slime molds have some type of spatial memory system despite having no centralized brain. Paramecium will change their body shape to move in different structures. Such research demonstrates behavior and perhaps some type of Ur-consciousness when interacting with the environment. Humans as well as all higher animals are also part of this world environment. What does the interaction of such microorganisms and their human hosts mean philosophically, and specific to this chapter, what does this synergy mean theologically?

Approximately 100 trillion microorganisms exist in and on each human with most of these entities being bacteria and with most of these bacteria existing in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The ratio of bacteria in the GI tract to all human cells is likely 10:1, and it makes sense to consider and to study this bacterial load’s effect on human activity and society. It is known that the human microbiome has significant effects on improving the health of its host in settings such as preventing inflammation, affecting drug metabolism, and affecting lipid (fat) metabolism with its downstream effect on weight, immune system function, and caloric absorption. Most of the microbiome has a beneficial or a commensal effect for humans although a small percentage of the microbiome can cause disease. Recent catastrophic effects can be seen with the COVID-19 pandemic which disturbed the human microbiome negatively leading to a high mortality rate worldwide. Such pathogenic microbiome changes causing human devastation intermittently have been seen throughout human history. Such examples include the Athenian plague during the Peloponnesian War possibly caused by Salmonella typhi or the Antonine Plague in Rome possibly caused by smallpox.

In general, the entirety of microorganisms on Earth have been beneficial through time, whether associated with geologic change, evolutionary patterns, or animal health (including human health). The beneficial aspect has obvious naturalismppp implications as bacteria and other microorganisms exist outside of the body, are mixed throughout the body, can be organ-specific, and will change through time. The question is whether the microbiome is a demonstration of amipotence. The microbiome is indeed a wonderful metaphor and perhaps even a material example of God’s amipotence.

Such a consideration is feasible when considering what Oord has written: “Love is God’s chief attribute. Love is the primary lens through which we best understand God’s relation with creatures and the relations creatures should have with God and others. Love matters most.” This love is creativity itself as previously expressed by Charles Hartshorne, and such creativity is God’s actuality co-participating with creation in time. The enduring and patient love of God is the potential of creativity at all levels of nature—including the microbiome. Amipotence is this potential for creativity. Such creativity contains the metaphysical capacity for change as well as the scientific understanding of the unidirectional, fundamental process of change based on time.

The majesty of God’s amipotence is that all entities at all levels of nature therefore have complete control over their response to the divine lure of creativity, which they can either sustain or ignore. All of nature’s entities have freedom in their interaction with the eternal lure for creativity through time eternally.

Creativity of the microbiome in the setting of amipotence is theologically observed when considering organisms’ persistent survival through billions of years on the Earth. Death is a natural part of the biological process, but the gigatons of complex organisms on our planet are not dying from the effects of bacteria and other microorganisms. Instead, most of the microbiome’s entities are commensal and likely helpful for humans and other animal hosts by transiently inhibiting local entropy via tissue repair, organism growth, organism reproduction, and the potential for the host to continually co-participate in God’s lure for creativity. This effect is magnified in the setting of a healthy microbiome in which more potential for positive effects on life and the surrounding environment are present. The microbiome and host thus have continuing potential to experience God’s love of co-creativity together.

Such resourcefulness in this one part of nature (i.e., the microbiome) is an example of God’s amipotence. Indeed, God loves us, and our bacteria may love us too!

Bio: John F. Pohl MD, DThM is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is a pediatric gastroenterologist with clinical expertise in cystic fibrosis. He has had a long interest in the intersection of science and religion and has received his theological education at Northwind Theological Seminary. He is the author of the book, “A Theology of the Microbiome” (SacraSage Press).

OORD’S DRABBLE* RESPONSE

John Pohl turns to the human microbiome as a striking illustration of divine amipotence. Using a framework of naturalism that includes prehension, panexperientialism, and pantheism, he explores the dynamic activity of bacteria. Much of what he describes is new to me, and I find it fascinating. John suggests that divine amipotence operating across all levels of nature makes better sense of reality. Every entity possesses some degree of freedom as God continually calls it toward creative becoming. This perspective affirms that God loves not only complex creatures like us but even the smallest bacteria in their lively interactions.

For more on Oord’s essay on 11 ways to rethink religion in light of science, see this article.

* A drabble is an essay exactly 100 words in length.