Jaguarbass, over half of cookware has aluminum in it. It's very common. There's no proof that it's harmful to cook on.
New study calls "Jehovah's protective hygiene laws" into serious question
by under_believer 19 Replies latest jw friends
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outoftheorg
Darn.
I missed your post and posted a much smaller version of the same storry.
Sorry about this.
I think I will go and poop now.
Outoftheorg
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under_believer
'sall good. I'm glad someone else came to the same conclusion.
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Athanasius
Though I don't claim to be a Bible Scholar, it seems that this particular "hygiene law" had reference to setting up camp during a miliary campaign. Deuteronomy 23:10, one of the preceding verses says: "When you are in camp during an expedition against your enemies, you shall keep yourselves from everything offensive." In this context the advice to dig latrines outside the camp during a military operation in enemy territory makes sense, and to cover them up so the enemy doesn't smell the presence of an attacker is also good advice.
Perhaps Essenes had a governing body that took these verses out of context, instructions for mobile military operations, and applied to them a settled community. Kind of like the JW Governing Body that applies Old Testament dietary regulations to forbid modern life-saving medical procedures
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under_believer
Athanasius, I suggest you review the link that Ingenuous provided. It covers the logistics of the situation in more detail.
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JWdaughter
Weren't those hygiene rules used by all observant jews of the time though? What is so especially disgusting about the essenes that isn't true of people who lived in other parts of the world inhabited by Jews? Maybe it was a colony of ill people-like TB or something? Aren't they still debating about the populace of that locale in any case?
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under_believer
JWDaughter, they'd be able to tell if it was something like TB. Right now, the specific circumstances found here make the hygiene explanation very likely (though, like all "facts", certainly not proven beyond any shadow of doubt.)
There is very little remaining debate on whether the Essenes actually existed in that area. Certainly there was a colony there and certainly it was Jewish. Whether this colony were definitely Essene Jews and whether they were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls is still open to debate (but not much.)
No, those hygiene rules weren't used by all observant Jews. You need a sewer system, even if it's pit or trench latrines, to make large cities possible. Jerusalem couldn't have existed without it. It's likely that Qumran was about as big a settlement could get and still use those kind of hygiene practices--otherwise, you'd be in the mother of all bathroom lines, every day, and have to make a daily nine mile round trip to use the john.
The hygiene rules regarding poop were supposedly used when the Israelites were in the wilderness and when they were camping for war. Even there, though, it's highly unlikely they were workable, especially with the size the Israelite camp was supposed to be during those 40 years (millions) or while at war (hundreds of thousands).
The Essenes were likely practicing something that never was practical in the first place. And in them, we see evidence of WHY it wasn't workable. My issue here is whether the Law Covenant was somehow a magic perfect code handed down from God--in fact, it really wasn't. When was the last time you saw a house with leprosy, for example? -
BCZAR2ME
Oh my goodness!
bczar
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bebu
I have a feeling that their unhealthiness wasn't related to burying poop because it is common for people in developing countries to bury excrement (usually in designated areas). Poop always breaks down eventually, it's organic--not plastic!!
Edited: I think the real culprit was their lack of clean running water. No matter where the germs or bacteria might come from, it sounds like they were "sharing everything". They would have certainly been much healthier if just that variable (running water) were changed. They didn't have a place to wash their hands, except at the cistern. If they successfully navigated the landmines", they'd still be sharing the bacteria thru the ceremonial cleansing (which the article says included the eyes and mouth).
bebu
always wash my hands class