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Holy Water


          I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. (Leviticus 11:44-45)
          But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (I Peter 1:15-16)
          If you read or watch TV, you’ll learn that “holy water” when applied to something unholy or undead is supposed to destroy the evil thing. Holy water may be said to exist, but all it means is that the water has been set apart to be used for something associated with the Church. It can come out of the tap just like any other water, and there doesn’t really seem to me to be any reason to bother with the notion. 
          But I can’t help but wonder what holy water would do if holy water actually had some power. I suppose that the idea that holy water destroys the undead comes from the notion that the water would drive out or destroy the evil being that animates the undead being, and its body decomposes to the point it would if it had been in the ground. Ultimately, I suspect that it’s just a convenience on the part of writers and directors. What a bother, having to have a slayer having to explain corpses lying around on a regular basis. I suspect that even that is a misunderstanding of the whole idea of holy water, or holiness, which is the real subject here. 
          If holy water were really holy water, it might, indeed, cast out demons. I’ll grant that, but when the Holy One cast out demons, the demoniac didn’t die or decompose. He/she was healed. When the Holy One touched dead bodies they rose to life. When He touched one corrupted with leprosy he became clean and whole. 
          Yes, I know, this blog post is a little on the silly side but there’s a serious message here. Holiness is not about destruction. It’s about life!

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