Episode 50 - Handwashing and Divine Practical Advice

Doubts Aloud Podcast

Episode 50– Show Notes
We celebrate our 50th episode by getting down and muddy in the issue of divine practical advice. Christians celebrate it when ancient advice or OT Law tallies well with modern health advice, but they don’t see the massive misses that there are in the Bible. We spend most of the time diving deep into the example of hand washing with soap, which is simple, within the technology of Bible times and has a massive impact on child mortality rates. Can we expect a loving God to help by giving this advice, especially when He visits earth in the incarnation?
Some of the references and links we mentioned:
Leviticus 13 & 14 for boils and mould. Chapter 15 for “an unusual bodily discharge” where there is lots of references to washing things and the only reference (v11) to anything remotely like hand washing in the community connected to health or food or sanitation or anything useful.
The Christian podcaster excited about God’s blessing in the Leviticus mould advice (we played this from 8min40s on):
https://www.wholewordpodcast.com/790475/8617765-leviticus-14-mold-abatement-3500-years-before-science
The key New Testament passage on Jesus’ response to the Jews developing handwashing traditions around food is Mark 7:1-23. Ed made a meal from verses 8-9 and also 18-19.
The link for these Jewish handwashing traditions around food:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handwashing_in_Judaism
Links for handwashing in general, when there is no clean water available and on soap
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washing
https://globalhandwashing.org/about-handwashing/faqs/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap
Finally the where Ed got objections using the Unbelievable Facebook discussion group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/unbelievablejb/posts/3926152774151876/
Doubts Aloud Links:
Please leave us a review on iTunes and we will respond to any question asked there with the review.
Or give feedback and ask questions using : [e-mail]
Join the Facebook Group discussions:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1023280847835278/
Meet us all in person (after Covid19) at the monthly “Unbelievable Christian and Skeptic Discussion Group” in central London, see:
https://www.meetup.com/Unbelievable-Christian-and-Skeptic-Discussion-Group-London