}

The Sinister Left Hand

the sinister lef-hand

Cover of The Left-Handed Book

"Sinister" signifying evil means "left," or left side of the body. There was a time that Christianity thought being left-handed was a sign of being under the control of Satan, or a sinful trait at the very least, one that needed holy remediation. Perhaps because scripture shows preference to the right side. Jesus sits on the right side of God in scripture. And the Hebrew Testament presents the right hand as the hand of strength (Exodus 15:6; Psalm 118:16).

I wonder if this idea being "wrong/sinful" has anything to do with the push to change one born left-handed to right-handed until recent years?

If I were living in the middle ages, as a left-handed person I would cast into the sinful characterization by the church as LGBTQ people are today. And there was scripture to support that characterization.

So, when you say you follow scripture literally, hopefully you are not left-handed (or that no one in your family is). [And is only one of the things the ""

P.S. I find it interesting how many in the Evangelical tradition characterize both the religious and political Left as being evil.

[Image: cover of THE LEFT-HANDED BOOK: An investigation into the sinister history of left-handedness by Micael Barsley (1969 / Pan Macmillan). The book is well-worth reading. It also reminds of the danger of creating our belief system upon literal interpretation.


Frank A. Mills
Sheffield Lake, OH
January 10, 2025