You have heard it said before, "I only believe what I can see." For a while, after coming out of The Dark Ages," that was a rule of thumb, especially if it came to microscopic germs. Back in the day leading up to the 1800s, the prevailing scientific theory was that diseases or plagues came from spoiled air. Fresh air and sunshine were the antidotes for just about everything. It is ironic that today, we are learning that sunshine or ultraviolet rays actually do play a role in healing and health and may help to rid our present coronavirus.

By 1849 a Hungarian doctor discovered that if he washed and cleaned before and after surgeries, his patient's mortality rate went down from over fifty percent to one percent! But the science of the day looked at his studies and analysis as controversial. A few years later, through the aid of new inventions, the microscope, a man named Pasteur discovered what could not be seen with the naked eyes. GERMS!

Then along came Joseph Lister. His last name might sound familiar, because the oral mouth wash, "Listerine" was named after him. He is best known as the father of anti-septic surgery and today, more than any other man in history, we owe him the grandest and greatest debt of gratitude for saving countless present and future lives to come.

Lister was a humble man who was reared in the Quaker faith in England. Because of his faith, the London Society rejected him from a doctorial education. In fact, he changed his religious status in name only, so he could get the education he needed and the credence for his work on germ warfare.

Fortunately for us, Joseph Lister saw ancient scriptures as foreknowledge to understanding how to prevent diseases and infections. Unlike many in his day, he believed the answers he needed were in God's natural world, waiting to be researched and discovered.

Although the Bible was not written as a medical textbook, it gives some astounding answers to what puzzle science today. 3,000 years before Pasteur and Lister, Israel, as a nation had been given a code of laws to protect their communities from contagious diseases! (1) Washing with running water and repeatedly washing hands and clothes were commonly practiced. Fast forward to the mid-1800s and it seemed the world thought of these healthy practices as something novel.

Although the Israelites could not see the germs that caused dysentery or leprosy, for example, they were given supernatural guidance! No other nation or world around them practiced quarantine, washings, or proper diet restrictions on safe animals to eat.

The very plagues in Egypt were in part birthed through natural and unsanitary measures. Ancient Egypt can take credit for ground-breaking embalming methods, but when it comes to medical science, they were killing people like falling dominoes. Historians will not tell much about how the Egyptians used lizard blood and pelican dung as part of their insane medical arsenal! In fact, the Nile River was a parasite playground. It seems the world wants to see their civilization as the most advanced of its time, while the Bible history was considered sketchy at best.

Joseph Lister and others revolutionized modern medicine. Most, if not all, believed that they were gifted and guided by a greater light. Today, most colleges and universities want you to believe that Christianity is equal to anti-intellectualism. Some notable professors would have us believe that Christianity is responsible for delaying and inhibiting modern science from saving lives! But nothing could be further from the truth! Try telling this to Doctor Lister whose revolutionary work continues to save lives during this present pandemic.

When giving a speech at his former university, Doctor Lister said this. "It is our proud office to tend to the fleshly tabernacle of the immortal Spirit and our path if rightly followed, will be guided by unfettered truth and love unfeigned. In pursuit of this noble and holy calling, I wish you God-speed." (1)

Joseph Lister is a credible example of why faith and science should not be one or the other.

When it comes to Jesus and his short walk on earth, it appears he had no fear of contagions. In the age of social distancing and isolation, like the leper touched by Jesus, we can find comfort that he can touch our lives and take away our fears. (Matt. 8:3) Get to know the one who has power over unseen germs.

Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him.

(1) Deuteronomy 7:15 Contrast between Egypt and Israel with reference to diseases
A nation of law codes on how to be free of infectious diseases found in Lev. 15:4-27 How to prevent diseases like waste management. Deut. 23:12-14. *In the middle century waste would litter the streets and filter into the water.

(2)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lister,_1st_Baron_Lister