D:\Delores\Walked\One.wpd by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: fra
Format: epub
Published: 1601-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The Village of the Lepers

Leprosy is a very ancient disease dating from Biblical times and probably before. In its worst form it is truly horrible, and even today victims are isolated in hospitals, colonies and islands. Much of this stems from the fear associated with the disease, since it is contagious, and the symptoms can create unfortunate physical conditions that persist for several years before eventually killing the patient.

It is now called Hansen’s disease, and it is still not understood exactly how the germ enters the body, or how it is transmitted. It is infectious, but the incubation period is estimated to be from two to twenty years. It is very slow-acting.

Even though leprosy is viewed as contagious, often members of the same family do not contract the disease. So even though leprosy has been around since the beginning of known history, it is still a mystery disease.

It is difficult for people of our day to understand the terror and fear that the disease created among the people in Jesus’

time. It was so horrible that the only solution was to isolate the victims, separating them in a place apart from the rest of the population. There they could live but would not have to be observed by others. If people could not see them, they could forget about them. In Jesus’ time suffering was thought to be a sign of God’s displeasure. Thus the people did not care what happened to these poor specimens of human beings, as long as they did not have to associate with them. The Bible calls them

"unclean", and people lived in fear of contracting the disease.

The unhappy victims could not be cured by ordinary means, and

were shut out from society, civilly dead. Their villages were shunned as much as the individuals.

The Bible describes the symptoms of this disease and the precautions to be taken, but the descriptions are vague. Today most Biblical scholars agree that leprosy designated any blemish which marked the victim as "unclean" under Hebraic Law. Medical experts claim some of the symptoms not only describe leprosy but a host of other more common skin diseases, which are neither contagious nor life-threatening.

Some of these diseases were a variety of psoriasis, an ancient and very common skin disease. It is the most universal of all skin diseases, being found in every climate and among all races.

In some cases among the poor and those living in unclean conditions psoriasis was associated with other infectious disorders, especially scabies or itch. It can rapidly assume a pustular form and give rise to ulceration, thus imitating a symptom of leprosy.

There are also several kinds of skin diseases, which are produced by vegetable parasites or epiphytes. The common ringworm is a well-known example of such disease. None of these impair general health. There are also various fungi, such as those which cause common moldiness and dry rot, which are self-propagating, and affect houses and garments. This is probably what the Bible defines as leprosy in the house or raiment.

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