Handwashing

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At 04:56 PM 5/2/99 -0400, Kornform@aol.com wrote:

>

><<HELEN:

>I suppose the question would be was it a Greek or Roman practice. If the 

>carefully

>performed hand washing of Jews was viewed as a silly Jewish religious ritual 

>by

>the pagans, then this verse could have been a later addition to help the

>Christians in their major effort not to have to act in anyway Jewish.  This 

>could

>have been a way to avoid ritual  hand washing just as they managed to avoid

>circumcision, giving up pork and other kosher laws, Saturday sabbaths, wearing

>beards, and the restrictions against eating blood. There is an obvious 

>pattern in,

>I think, all early Christian writings of finding reasons why the early 

>Christians

>didn't have to obey any of the Jewish codes. I think most scholars acknowledge

>this pattern. We're back to the problem of not being able to figure out which 

>is

>the cart and which is the horse.

>Helen

>hhiwater@bright.net>>

>

>KORNFORM

>Let us not lose sight of the fact that the omniscient Jesus "forgot" that 

>handwashing was a good thing and helped prevent the spread of disease. His 

>flouting the rule, whatever its origin, belies his ignorance and primitive 

>nature (or, more likely, the ignorance of the scriptwriters).

>

Ed

Even after the American Civil War, surgeons saw no need to wash their hands
before operating because no one knew that infections are caused by
bacteria.  It's obvious form this passage that the Bible contains no
scientific knowledge beyond that common to the 1st Century ancient near
east.  Those who claim that the Bible explains the physics of the universe
are merely flaunting their ignorance.

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