Intro
The Pentateuch & Modern Medicine Series Excerpts are from my previous research and publications. In 2019, I published “The Relationship of Modern Medicine to the Book of Laws (The Pentateuch)” in Applied Science and Innovative Research Vol. 3, No.3, 2019, Online Version First, ISSN 2474-4972 (Print) ISSN 2474-4980 (Online) Vol. 3, No. 3, 2019, doi:10.22158/asir. V3n3p176 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/asir.v3n3p176 or www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/asir
In 2020, I republished it as Part One of Anthology of Biblical Doctrines to Modernity, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing: OmniScriptum Publishing Group, ISBN: 978-620-2-67184-2. Any interested reader can check the online publication or Morebooks to buy the book.
Theologians, for centuries, thought that many laws in the Pentateuch served a ceremonial function or aimed to distinguish Israel from the neighboring pagan cultures. There are many infectious and epidemic transmissions of a variant of diseases that are killing human beings in today’s world. I examined the escalation of the germ theory in the modern and postmodern world to prove that obedience to God’s rules confers essential health benefits. In making the comparison, I used phenomenology’s ethical and evidential tools of philosophy. And a theological approach in understanding how modern medicine relates to Scriptural laws. My findings ascertain that the Scriptural Commandments, as used by the priests, confer medical benefits to the modern people. Culture is inclined to obey them.
Some of the diseases in conceptualization are cancer, blood clotting, germs, parasites induced diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and addiction, among others. I agree that total obedience to Mosaic laws and complete trust in Biblical injunctions provide spiritual and physical fitness. The Pentateuch, or Books of the Law, consists of the first five books of the Old Testament (O.T.): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Christians refer to these books as the Pentateuch, meaning “five books” or “five scrolls,” while Jews refer to them as the Torah (Note 1).
These five books of the Law are also known as the Hexateuch. Some people criticize the Bible with an antiquated claim that are not relevant to the modern or postmodern world. Some claim the Bible is a piece of ancient Semitic mythology and unscientific. The perspective of these claims cannot hold when one examines the Mosaic Law and its relevance to the field of medicine. The priests’ duty was to preserve the holiness and prevent contamination by any encroachment on its sanctity (Note 2). Out of 613 Biblical commandments, 213 are related to health or matters of hygiene, which indicates the uniqueness of the Hebrews among ancient peoples in their regulations to ensure social hygiene essential for the health of the community. Many diseases caused by the presence and actions of specific microorganisms (Note 3) within the body are grouped in Germ theory.
Germ theory came into being in the nineteenth century (from the middle of the 1800s), superseded the current miasma (Note 4) and contagion (Note 5) theories of disease, and changed the practice of medicine. The focus here is not the awareness of the physical existence of germs but the origin of medicine and cautionary antidotes in the beginning as handed down by God to The nation, Israel. The identification of disease-causing germs and potentially life-saving treatments arose from the observations of Ignaz Semmelweis, Joseph Lister, and John Snow to the laboratory researches of Louis Pasteur in the 1860s and later Robert Koch in the following decades (Note 6). Philosophy uses the scientific method in one of its methodological approaches. The medical benefits of the Scriptural laws have been proved scientifically, especially in the growth of Germ theory.
Continuing Tomorrow is the Religion and the Pentateuch Laws.
