David A. Wisea
The earliest evidence we have of public health and sanitary practices is found in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch. In these writings, the Israelites were instructed to isolate, and if necessary, quarantine those who were sick (Lv 13:1–14:57; Nm 5:2–4; Dt 23:10). They were to destroy contaminated objects (Lv 11:33, 15:12), to burn used dressings (Lv 13:47, 50–54, 58), and to bury fecal waste outside of the camp (Dt 23:12–13). The Israelites were prohibited from eating animals that had died of natural causes (Dt 14:21; Lv 22:8). They were also admonished to practice personal hygiene by hand washing and general cleanliness, and to take certain precautions when touching the infected or deceased (See also Nm 19:11, 14–16, 19, 22; Lv 11:24–28, 40).
When a man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean…Every bed, whereon he lieth…is unclean…And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water…And if he who hath the issue spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water…And whomsoever he toucheth who hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water…(Lv 15:2, 4, 5, 8, 11).
These same regulations apparently applied to a woman for a specific number of days following childbirth (Lv 12:2–3). Furthermore, it was clearly forbidden for the
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Israelites to engage in any sexual relationships outside of marriage (Lv 18, 20:10–16: Ex 20:14). Sexually transmitted diseases are rendered virtually harmless when the family unit consists of the Biblical plan of two, husband and wife (Gn 1:27, 2:23–24).
The Israelites believed that God, through Moses, had given His people a set of instructions. If they obeyed, they would enjoy great health. If they disobeyed, they would not.
If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God,…I will put none of these diseases upon thee (Ex 15:26).
Unfortunately, during the Middle Ages the importance of the Bible was de-emphasized as the superstitious philosophies of Aristotle, Plato and others became authoritative for the learned. As a result of setting aside the Biblical practices of hygiene and infection control, medieval humanity was plunged into centuries of untold misery, suffering, and death from disease.
At long last, the Protestant Reformation in Europe loosened the grip of superstition and allowed a renewal of scientific investigation. As men returned to the authority of the Scriptures (which was the cornerstone of the Protestant movement), a great new era began: the era of modern science. Sir Francis Bacon, a devout Protestant philosopher, statesman, and the formulator of the scientific method1 of research, summed up the beginning of this new era best when he declared:
Health And Sanitary Practices Listed In The Pentateuch
Wound, Skin and Discharge Precautions
Leviticus 15:2–11, 17:11
Postpartum Precautions
Leviticus 12:2–3
Interment Precautions
Leviticus 11:24–28, 40
Numbers 19:11, 14–16, 19, 22
Isolation and Quarantine
Leviticus 13:1–14:57
Numbers 5:2–4
Deuternomy 23:10
Waste Disposal
Leviticus 11:33, 13:47–58, 15:12
Deuteronomy 23:12–14
Let no man…think or maintain that a man can search too far or be too well studied in the book of God’s Word, or in the boqok of God’s works; divinity or philosophy; but rather let men endeavor an endless progress or proficience in both2 (Graham et al. 1986:336).
It is generally accepted that modern medical science came about in 1876, when Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur demonstrated (almost simultaneously
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and unknown to each other) the idea of contagion passing from one individual to another. The discoveries made by these men, however, were ignored and even scornfully rejected by virtually the entire medical establishment. Medical scientists and practicing physicians fiercely defended the age-old Greek philosophy that microbial life could be generated de novo under certain conditions.
Through careful experimentation, Koch and Pasteur were able to demonstrate irrefutably that not even the simplest of living things can arise spontaneously from non-living matter. More importantly, this discovery clearly proved that particular kinds of microbes were responsible for particular kinds of maladies. While presenting his ingenious “swan-neck flask” experiment, Pasteur spoke triumphantly:
I have taken my drop of water from the immensity of creation, and I have taken it full of the elements appropriate to the development of microscopic organisms. And I wait, I watch, I question it! – begging it to recommence for me the beautiful spectacle of the first creation. But it is dumb, dumb since these experiments were begun several years ago; it is dumb because I have kept it sheltered from the only thing man does not know how to produce; from the germs which float in the air, from Life, for Life is a germ and a germ is Life. Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from the mortal blow of this simple experiment! (Dubos and Hirsch 1952:3)
Louis Pasteur, a deeply religious man (Morris 1982:60), had demonstrated that life arose from life. His experiments destroyed the evolutionary myth that the first life arose from nonliving matter: a belief still held by evolutionists today. The refutation of spontaneous generation, and the establishment of the germ concept of disease was undoubtedly the greatest contribution ever made to the saving of human lives. Without this understanding, physicians would still be devoting their efforts toward combating disease-producing organisms that were thought to have arisen spontaneously from within their patients’ body. Today, physicians know that pathogens do not arise spontaneously, but are the lineal descendants of parent organisms that were originally transmitted from outside the body. Equipped with this evidence, Pasteur and others prevailed on surgeons and medical practitioners to adopt health and sanitary procedures that are strikingly similar to those that were recorded in the Pentateuch 4, 000 years earlier! The results were spectacular; millions of lives have been saved.
Clearly the truths of modern medicine
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agree marvelously with the Bible. For example, the Mosaic regulations pertaining to childbirth, sexual relationships, hand washing, wound and discharge care, quarantining, interment precautions, and waste disposal are examples which seem to indicate that diseases are communicable, and that the best protection against them is to prevent their spread.
Furthermore, the germ concept of disease harmonizes perfectly with Genesis 1:24–25 in that God has commanded all living things (which would include microbes) to reproduce “after their kind.” Preventive medicine becomes possible with this truth alone! It has been said, “Although the Bible is not a science text, whenever it speaks of scientific matters it speaks truly and accurately.” The most logical explanation of this phenomenon is that the Bible is what it claims to be: the inspired Word of God.
What is certain in any case, is that no constructive progress in medicine was possible until the ancient evolutionary doctrine of spontaneous generation was discarded. The fierce battles to destroy this superstitious myth regarding the origins of microscopic life is one of the most exciting sagas in the long development of modern medicine. Unfortunately, health practitioners, holding to similar evolutionary philosophies regarding the origins of human life today appears to be no more enlightened than the stagnation and superstition of the Dark Ages.
Bibliography
Dubos, Rene J. and Hirsch, James G.
1952 Bacterial and Mycotic Infections of Man, 4th ed. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott).
Graham, Keith, et al.
1986 Biology, God’s Living Creation (Pensacola:Beka Books).
Morris, Henry M.
1982 Men of Science. Men of God (El Cajon: Master Books).