At dinner parties there are often dips, either salsa, heavy on coriander, or guacamole, with blue tortilla chips. In an early episode of Seinfeld in 1993 the “odious George is berated for double-dipping at a funeral buffet. A bystander is appalled to witness George dipping the same crisp twice with his saliva into a single bowl.” Because this was and is a comic show the anxiety about germs seemed misplaced, almost a neurosis, but an American food scientist, Professor Paul Dawson of Clemson University, recently demonstrated that double-dipping is no joke.
He, plus nine research assistants, conducted an experiment on double-dipping and concluded that George was wrong, dips really do transfer colossal amounts of bacteria. Volunteers were asked to take a bite from a Wheat Thin and then dip it for three seconds into a controlled dip (cheese, chocolate syrup, a commercial salsa, and three test bowls of water of varying acidity). They had to bite and dip in varying permutations, 3 dips without biting and six dips with biting.
The samples were then analysed and double-dipping either three or six times transferred 10,000 bacteria from mouth to dip. Just a few renegade double-dippers could transform a bowl of humus into a molecular weapon. Therefore the question asked was “Before you share some dips, ask yourself, ‘would I kiss everyone here?’ ”
Most bacteria are harmless but for food scientists all bacteria outside the human mouth count as pathogens (agents of disease). When I first came to London 24 years ago the communion service had a common cup for the servers and ministers, and individual cups for the congregation. One Sunday morning I casually asked the senior minister about ‘Aids’ and next Sunday the servers and ministers had individual cups – Significant!
The answer to all this research is that you first put a spoonful of the dip on your plate and dip into that, and only that. But, how do you communicate that to your guests and still count them as welcome guests. There are some people I certainly would not swap spittle with, and the thought of supping up their saliva is horrifying. However I’m not a dipping man, so hopefully I’m relatively safe. However, I bought mocha and a croissant recently and noticed the waitress was sucking her finger before she served me. Not quite as good as kissing but almost!
It’s the same with showering, I often hear the phrase, I shower when I get up in the morning, this means they fall into bed with the dirt of the day, and only wash on arising. That makes me twitch. Using public conveniences, travelling in crowded subways, sweating (men) and perspiring (women) and then straight into clean sheets, well clean for one day!
Everyone has their own standards of bodily purity, which to them is adequate for their lifestyle. It’s like holiness, something I never think about. In Christ I am holy therefore accepted by the Father. Whenever I dip into life I am happy I am preserved from sinful pathogens, no matter who deposits their bacteria “for greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.” We have divine power acting for us combating untoward contamination. It’s like an internal safety gown, sterilized and perfectly adequate for today’s spiritual contagion.
Peter wanted Christ to wash him, “Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’ Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ ” (John 13:8-10) – Jesus was speaking of Judas. We became clean at Calvary, showered into wholeness. Now, it’s merely daily washing of feet and hands. The daily brush with godless life in Britain can contaminate us, but not affect our original imparted holiness. We are “completely clean” from day to day, “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1).
