Cleanliness...

sara[h]ng · 12-13-2006, 07:42 PM

... is next to godliness.

I just went to do some laundry, and a ray of sunlight was shining through the window onto the washing machine like something you'd see on a religious painting except that instead of Jesus...

Well, I am very grateful for washing machines. But what popped into my mind was, 'Cleanliness is next to godliness.' What a weird saying. Where did that come from? And is there any truth to it?

wil · 12-13-2006, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sara[h]ng

Where did that come from? And is there any truth to it?

I'm hopin not....I have a hard time keepin up...

moseslmpg · 12-13-2006, 11:59 PM

Well, I'm pretty sure God is a hygienic person. The saying itself sounds like it came from the middle ages to me. It was probably just something parents told their children to make them wash up.

wil · 12-14-2006, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moseslmpg

Well, I'm pretty sure God is a hygienic person. The saying itself sounds like it came from the middle ages to me. It was probably just something parents told their children to make them wash up.

Just a little before the middle ages...from wiki

Quote:

In Greek mythology, Hygieia (Roman equivalent: Salus) was a daughter of Asclepius. She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation (and later: the moon), and played an important part in her father's cult (see also: asklepieion). While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health.
Though Hygieia had been the subject of a local cult since at least the 7th century BC, she did not begin to spread out until the Oracle at Delphi recognized her, and after the devastating Athens plague in 429 and 427 BC and in Rome in 293 BC. Her primary temples were in Epidaurus, Corinth, Cos and Pergamon.

flowperson · 12-14-2006, 03:08 AM

Hi wil:

This is another symbolic set of "things" at the core of many ancient cultures. For that matter ritual bathing and cleanlinesss was a featured topic of the early teachings of the Abrahamic Religions, not to mention those nasty Pagan Greeks, as you pointed out, and Romans.

flow....

Prober · 12-14-2006, 01:38 PM

I read somewhere that Louis XVI bathed only twice in his life...

flowperson · 12-14-2006, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prober

I read somewhere that Louis XVI bathed only twice in his life...

If you've ever been on a crowded elevator in France then you'll understand why they invented perfumes in the middle ages. But then I believe that the Egyptians and Sumerians had scented liquids long before then, but they weren't as potent as the French scents.

flow....

Prober · 12-14-2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowperson

If you've ever been on a crowded elevator in France then you'll understand why they invented perfumes in the middle ages. But then I believe that the Egyptians and Sumerians had scented liquids long before then, but they weren't as potent as the French scents.

flow....

Ciel · 12-14-2006, 08:29 PM

Well, does God make you feel clean or unclean?

- c -

Prober · 12-14-2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ciel

Well, does God make you feel clean or unclean?

- c -

God is a mirror.

Sometimes the mirror shows God's face.

Sometimes the mirror says "your face is dirty, come wash..."

Ciel · 12-14-2006, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prober

God is a mirror.

Sometimes the mirror shows God's face.

Sometimes the mirror says "your face is dirty, come wash..."

Lower self, higher self. Does God wash?

- c -

wil · 12-14-2006, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ciel

Lower self, higher self. Does God wash?

- c -

I don't believe there is need. Dirt doesn't stick to spirit.

Prober · 12-14-2006, 08:56 PM

Alright...it was supposed to be a pretty metaphor...

wil · 12-14-2006, 09:05 PM

And a good metaphor it is.

sara[h]ng · 12-14-2006, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wil

I don't believe there is need. Dirt doesn't stick to spirit.

I like this.