Bible and Science
Important health principles have been in the Bible for hundreds of years before they were discovered by medical science.
There was a plague in Europe in 1346 to 1353 that killed 75 to 200 million people. Historians estimate the epidemic wiped out 45-60% of the population.
Only one city in Croatia imposed a quarantine. They required a 40-day isolation period for anyone entering the city. (This is the origin of the word quarantine – it comes from the Italian words quaranta giorni, which means 40 days.)
Centuries earlier, the children of Israel practiced quarantines to preserve the health of their nation. Those with contagious diseases had to live outside the camp until they recovered.
The Children of Israel were instructed to wash their hands under flowing water. Up until the 1800s, doctors washed their hands in a basin of still water, leaving invisible germs that resulted in the death of multitudes. Running water, as the Bible prescribes, is needed to wash away germs.
Another example involves waste disposal. The Bible instructed the Israelites to bury their human waste outside the camp. Prior to World War I, more soldiers died from disease due to the presence of human waste than died from war-inflicted injuries.
God also gave dietary laws. For instance, Jews were forbidden to eat pork. We now know that viruses, bacteria, and parasites are easily transferred from the pig to us. There were also laws regarding the humane slaughter of animals. The Bible states, “Ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field” (Exodus 22:30). We now know that when an animal is stressed (by being chased or slaughtered in an inhumane way), stress hormones are released and we ingest those stress hormones. 😲
Scientists say it is highly likely that the coronavirus came from eating bats. The Bible forbids the eating of bats. Leviticus 11:13-19: “These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.”