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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Opus 2015-183: Healthy Insights: Clean and Dry

I just had a piece of flesh taken for a biopsy.  It was all done with local pain killers and three stitches.  Nothing to worry about as far as I know, just being careful.

What surprised me was the follow-up care.  I had visions of antiseptic sprays and sterile bandages.  Infection can be a big problem.  No such drama.  Keep it dry, wash it once a day and cover it to keep the dirt out.  Is that all?  It is hard to generate sympathy with “keep it clean and dry”.  It seems that the natural body defenses are adequate to deal with most of the attacks.  Coagulants in the blood and natural skin oils are enough to keep the bad bugs out.

I am rereading a book called None of These Diseases.  A medical doctor takes a look at many of the scourges of society.  The updated version that I am reading now even deals with HIV.  He does not claim that righteous people will never get sick.  The point he makes is that if people would follow the patterns of behavior laid out in the Bible, much of the illness that claims lives and ruins families could be avoided.

He points out that simple Old Testament ceremonial laws about washing and separation of people who have touched dead things would have saved millions of lives, long before we understood germ theory.  He goes into great detail on the benefits of circumcision.  I had never heard of “fatal penile cancer” before.  He said that of 1,103 cases not one had occurred in a Jewish man.p77  He quotes similar statistics regarding cervical cancer in Jewish women.  The most startling point he makes is that in Africa where HIV is of epidemic proportions,
“Uncircumcised men were up to eight times more likely to become infected with AIDS.”, p. 75
He cites several journals that list the research. 

You can be like the doctors that originally denied that they needed to wash their hands as they made rounds in the hospital.  The doctor who advocated washing and demonstrated that it dramatically reduced deaths was hounded out of the profession.  You can deny facts and live in the world of fantasy or think again about the standards that God has set down.

Until then, keep it clean and keep it dry.

homo unius libri

McMillen, S.I. and Stern, David E.  None of These Diseases.  Grand Rapids:  Fleming H. Revell,
    Third Edition, 2000.

6 comments:

  1. Seems to me that those standards apply to much more than medicine. I believe that if we as a nation were adhering to God's teachings, America wouldn't be so close to going under.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And if we ever have genuine revival then we can get back to being what we should be. It happened twice in our history with the Great Awakenings and in England during the Wesley Revival. I don't see it yet, but I keep hoping.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete
  2. Common sense has never been a bad thing to have, no matter HOW unpopular.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember the story of the ugly duckling. To be different can get pretty nasty, even if you are right.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. During the Black Death of Medieval days the Jews had a much lower rate of death than Gentiles. The Christians would yell, "Witchcraft!" when it only involved washing your hands.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.