Christians With a Patina

The experts who restore art are now using a form of bacteria to help in the process.

Bacteria -- let's say germs -- can be the greatest friend of art lovers. And these germs can help restore a painting's patina.

Its what?

Patina -- its natural sheen and luster -- which is often lost through age and use.

But for germs to restore a painting's patina, they must be trained. This leads us to a couple of questions: How in the world do you train bacteria? And what does this have to do with my Christian faith? These questions occurred to us when we first read about the unique method used to restore 17th-century frescos in the Church of Santos Juanes in Valencia, Spain. Actually, the question is more fun than the answer, because the former invites images of rewarding microorganisms with a treat for doing what one wants, and saying, "Good germ, gooood germ!"

The answer is more prosaic: One "trains" bacteria by growing them in a culture containing a substrate one desires to eliminate. That will become clearer when you hear the rest of the story, but first, a little more about the...