Hand Sanitizers & American Christianity
August 21, 2009In a micro-biology article, Regina Bailey tells us that: “Antibacterial hand sanitizers are marketed to the public as an effective way to wash one’s hands when traditional soap and water are not available. These waterless products are particularly popular with parents of small children. The manufacturers claim that the sanitizers kill 99% of germs. Since you naturally use hand sanitizers to cleanse your hands, the assumption is that 99% of the [harmful] germs [on your hands] are killed by the sanitizers. Recent research, however, suggests that this is not the case.
“Hand sanitizers work by stripping away the outer layer of oil on the skin and prevent bacteria in the body from coming to the surface of the hand. However, the bacteria normally present in the body are not the kinds of bacteria that will make us sick. In a review of the research, a professor at Purdue University, who teaches safe sanitation practices, came to an interesting conclusion, noting that hand sanitizers do not significantly reduce the bacteria on the hands, and may [actually] increase the bacteria.[1]
When I read this article I chuckled to myself for two reasons. The first is because I’m nearly addicted to this stuff and apparently it isn’t doing me any good at all. The second reason is because the parallels between hand sanitizers and traditional American Christianity are endless.
It’s like we’ve got this substance that can destroy all the bad stuff in our lives and in our world, but we have no idea how to actually make it work. And so we smear it on the surface of our lives, and it might make us look clean and it might even kill some of the surface problems, but it doesn’t really sink in and make a difference. So we interact with Christianity, and we get this pure-clean feeling, but we’re just fooling ourselves. Too often we are like the religious leaders that Jesus called “white-washed tombs.” We are shiny and clean on the outside, but not on the spiritual inside.
It makes me think of the people addressed in 2Timothy 3:5 who “have a form of godliness” but “deny it’s power.”
[1] Accessed at, http://biology.about.com/od/microbiology/a/handsanitizers.htm, on August 20, 2009.
Thank you! We need strong men with strong words to stand up and address the problem. What passes as American Christianity today is so far removed from what the Bible teaches that it is to be. Jesus taught us about self-denial, cross-bearing, obedience to God’s commands, and loving servanthood. We teach of being relevant, having our felt-needs met and making the Gospel more fun. The worse part is, we think that we are right. How sad is our delusion?
On a somewhat related thought. I found it interesting how so much stuff is ‘anti-bacterial’ in the store. Hard to find any ‘non-anti-bacterial’ soap anywhere. Ironically we worry about virus’ that will kill us. Yet it will most likely be a highley developed and evolved bacteria that becomes immune to almost everything that will eventually kill us all and send us all to hell! Well, maybe thats a bit dramatic and hopefully the last part of the sentence isn’t true! …but you get the idea.
I love it…I’ve always hated hand santizer and thought it was for people way too worried about being clean. (no offense, Matt)
good blog
anna c.
Can’t wait to tell Dix…she makes the boys bathe in H.S. everytime they leave Wal-Mart!!! It’s a silent killer.
Excellent post. Should be published in a magazine or a news paper.