OF MOLD AND MEN (Part 2)

Guest Writer: Gary P. Eubanks

he subject of leprosy in houses must be regarded from the same point of view as that of leprosy in clothes. The regulations respecting it are not sanitary laws, as Lange represents them, but rest, as Keil argues, upon an ideal or symbolical basis. The same thought is attached to all species of uncleanness. Something—it matters not what—produces a foul and repulsive appearance in the walls of a house. That is, in itself, sufficient to make that house unclean; for whatever is foul and repulsive is representative of moral and spiritual defilement, and therefore is itself symbolically defiling and defiled” (Pulpit Commentary on Leviticus, p. 227).

hile the message of some Mosaic rituals apparently extended no farther than the spiritual principle they exemplified (cf. Deut. 25:4; 1 Cor. 9:9,10), it is an exaggeration to say, even in cases where the underlying sanitary benefit is not evident, that all of them were strictly ritualistic. As the old saying, ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness,’ would suggest, the line between sanitation, health, and morality is not always easily drawn. The popular mind has long associated them, and not without good reason, it appears. That which has long been avoided as bad or sinful (because it is physically dirty or offensive to the senses, or vice versa) modern science has also sometimes shown to be unhealthy.

he similarities between the modern domestic mold problem and the regulations pertaining to clothing and house ‘leprosy’ vindicate the Levitical prescriptions.

(1) Interior infection: It should not be surprising that mold is a problem primarily, if not altogether, inside houses, which may not have the interior ventilation to diffuse concentrations of mold spores, which threaten human health. Also, interiors tend to trap the moisture needed for the growth of mold. The Levitical regulations contemplate a mark on the interior walls of a house (14:33ff). If such marks developed on the exterior walls, they could apparently be ignored—a provision more understandable in terms of health than mere ritual.

(2) Construction materials: Molds like most modem building materials--dry wall, wood, ceiling tile, sheetrock—either for the cellulose and other carbon-based food sources they offer or because of their rough or porous surfaces which tend to retain moisture. Yet, it is noteworthy that   Leviticus speaks of scraping the ‘plaster’ off contaminated interior walls (14:41-43). Ancient plaster or mortar may have consisted of clay mixed with straw or crushed limestone and gypsum, all of which had, or could have had, mineral components similar to those in modern drywall and grout.

(3) Coloration: Although the more dangerous Stachybotrys mold is black, other allergenic molds have a green or dark brown appearance (Reader’s Digest, op. cit.). The Levitical regulations require the Levitical priest to note whether the mark on the wall of a house has a green or red coloration, among other characteristics, apparently to differentiate mold from mere mineral or scuff marks.

(4) Removal of furniture: Even before a priest entered a house to inspect a suspicious mark, it was to be emptied of all its contents, so that they would be not considered unclean or infected (Lev. 14:36). Some homes have become so thoroughly contaminated with dangerous mold that everything in them had to be thrown away. The Levitical regulations on this point seem aimed at preventing the loss of valuable property by detecting and correcting a mold problem at a very early stage.

(5) Treatment; To save some articles of clothing which developed strange marks, Israelite owners were allowed to wash them, if the marks had not grown. If washing did not remove the marks, the articles were to be burned (Lev. 13:45-59). These rules comport with what is known to be the proper treatment of washable items infected with mold. ‘If your upholstered furniture or wall-to-wall carpet has mold, you may have to discard it. Standard cleaning techniques won't remove the mold entirely.  Throw rugs, however, can be dry-cleaned or disinfected in the washing machine’ (Ibid, pg. 133).

reatment of the walls themselves depends on the severity of the infection. Slight infections might be treated with chemical and water solutions, perhaps not available to the ancients. In more severe cases, parts of the drywall, or other wall components, may have to be torn out and replaced. This is reminiscent of the Levitical regulation, which called for the removal of affected stones and complete replastering of the house's interior (14:39-41). In worst-case scenarios, a house may be so pervasively infected that nothing can be done to salvage it. The house and all its contents must be destroyed and hauled off to the dump. This agrees with the extreme solution provided in Leviticus: ‘He shall therefore tear down the house, its stones, and its timbers, and all the plaster of the house, and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place’ (14:45).

n the 3,500 years since these Levitical regulations were promulgated, less reverent men may have scoffed at ‘scuff marks’ and a little mildew and the idea and practice of destroying clothing and houses over them. Yet, once again, modem science has managed to catch up with the wisdom of God's scientifically prescient word.

I BELIEVE, AND I KNOW WHY I BELIEVE

Guest Writer: Bill Walton

 believe there is a personal God who is the creator of the universe, the giver of life, and the judge before whom we must ultimately appear and give an account for how we’ve lived our lives. And I believe this God is the God re­vealed in the Bible. I believe Jesus is God’s son. And I believe Jesus was proven to be God’s son by his resur­rection from the dead. I believe the Bible was inspired by God and is the revelation of God’s will.

hen I say I believe in God, and Christ, and the Bible, I mean: I believe and I know why I believe. I believe because the evidence com­pels me to believe. Christian faith is not ignorant gullibility. It is conviction based upon convincing evidence. It’s not a matter of what I want to believe, or what my parent’s believe. Arid it’s not a matter of what I have always been taught to believe. It’s a matter of evidence. I have seen the evi­dence and I believe because of the evidence. Other people may believe (or, say they believe) for other reasons, but real Christians believe because of the evidence.

he Bible writers warn against being gullible and too easily convinced. For example, when the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus, he said they “should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). In ‘his epistle to the Christians at Thessalonica he cautioned them to examine everything carefully and accept only what was proven to be true (l Thess. 5:21). The apostle John, in his first epistle, warned Christians everywhere about the many false prophets at work in the world. He said that every “prophet” should be put to the test (l John 4:1). And he commended the Christians at Ephesus for having exposed some who were false apostles (Rev. 2:2).

he Bible writers always pointed to the evidence in calling upon people to believe. Con­sider the example of Paul at Thessalonica: “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ”‘ (Acts 17:2-3).

here are many reasons for why people believe the things they do, but the only valid reason for believing is the evidence.