I am responding to some of the subjects that a lot of you have brought up,concerning disease spreading by shaking hands etc.. I would like to start by thanking you all for the insite. Next, please be informed that leukemia is not passed by hand to hand contact. The dilemna that I was elaborating about had much more to do with having a weakened immune system. I notice that many of you discerned this. I also noticed that a few people feel that God will protect them from any illness, if you are operating w/i his means. I'm sure that you have experienced much in this sort. But, I must add that in a typical situation a person will be totally unaware of what disease they are picking up from a handshake! Many times a crisis will evolve from a situation like this. God will provide the solutions if we are diligent and faithfull. But let me give you a scenario apart from mine: Let's suppose that a young lady with a mild lung infection is at a Wednesday service,everyone shakes hands etc. There is an elderly man at this service who has encountered heart disease issues for sometime. If there are no precautions taken,this man could suffer a severe heart attack, resulting in his death. Let me elaborate; if this woman had Chlamydia pneumoniae, which is a fairly significant cause of some lung conditions in young people. And, she contacted this man with a handshake, also generating some interest in sharing a tic tac. Unless this man would wash his hands immediately before ingesting the tic tac, he is at a risk of contracting this pathogen. The problem comes when this elderly man's immune system tries to fight off the invader. This particular pathogen has been implicated as the direct cause of many myocardial infarctions. Even if we don't know how this exactly occurs, it should cause us to at least examine a cultural symbolism. Hand shaking is a gesture of friendship, but it is not something that the Bible instucts us to do. Therefore,it is an entirely social event. Why not at least consider discussing with others about this. I promise you that a cold is not the only thing caught, by a handshake. The man that I spoke about in this fictional depiction,could have very simply died from this infarction. Yes, he would be with the Lord, and I would be so thankful. But, I was only siting one particular example,trying not to be overly paranoid. I could have very easily entered a different character that was beginning to contemplate having Jesus as their personal savior; but things would look icky. I don't ever want to suggest being paranoid about the significantly unlikely. I will however, stand firmly by the point that I have made; referring to some very infectious agents spread by handshake. Say what you want about airborn pathogens,they are not as prevalent. If you look into this situation a little more, you will also see that there is a lot of junk that we can catch from a (not so benign) handshake. It deserves scrutiny! May God Bless you, and keep you in his loving hands. I am only discussing this topic, because God has made it a testimony in my personal life. I Praise God for his healings and answers to our prayers. I also thank him for giving me the bravery to bring up such a controversial subject, at such a critical time. My word is always counterchecked with scripture. I apologize to anyone that has taken offense, or fear from this depiction. Please remember, I have been greatly affected by handshake pathogens in my life. God was able to prevail; he prevailed against a sepsis situation that is normally 80% fatal. This causative agent was a nosocomial infection, otherwise, it came from the hands of another person at the hospital. In the end, God is so Awesome!!
