Talking to myself (On soap and purity)

"I washed the bar of soap."

"The soap?"

"Yes."

"With what?"

"An antiseptic handwash."

"But soap is used for cleaning, so why would it need cleaning?"

"If god is infallible and pure, then why do we clean images of deities and places of worship?"

"It is because they are open to devotees."

"Devotees make god or at least buffer the idea of godly purity."

"Where does your soap washing fit in?"

"A soap bar too is exposed to the elements."

"But it isn't god..."

"I am no worshipper!"

"And how is it unclean?"

"Once I spotted a black mark on its sea green visage. I looked at it closely and found a squashed insect. I prodded it out and threw the bar but the thought remained that there could be insects sitting on it anytime..."

"How do you know your handwash is clean?"

"It is in a closed bottle with a dispenser. Even my hands touch only the few drops I use."

"What if your hands are unclean?"

"I use a sanitiser."

"Therefore, to clean your hands you first sanitise them, then wash the soap bar with antiseptic handwash and finally wash your hands with the bar that will get unclean soon"

"Sounds like it."

"Is there a moral to the story?"

"I'd say a few lessons. If I had not seen the squashed insect it would not have mattered, so purity is about what we see and how. Also, we assume the purity of what is not visible. We also imagine that purity is the result of sanitised ideas."

"So the process is cumbersome?"

"More than that, something else worries me..."

"What?"

"Did the insect want to clean itself after touching me?"