Health and Wholeness Across Cultures E-Book

Katia Garcia Reinert

• Herausgeber: Editorial Safeliz
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 552

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Every human was created to experience health and wholeness, but due to sin, brokenness is all around us. God invites us to collaborate with Him in His mission to restore humanity. As Seventh-day Adventists, sharing health, healing and wholeness is an integral part of our mission. This comprehensive book by Dr. Katia Reinert is a must for anyone who is interested in embracing God's mission of health and healing across cultures. It provides solid spiritual, historical, cultural, scientific, practical, and programmatic foundations to explain WHY we should be involved, WHAT we must share, and HOW to be effective.

Leseprobe

Title: Health and Wholeness Across Cultures

Subtitle:Adventist Healing Mission in Action

Author: Katia Garcia Reinert

Copyright© by General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists

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August, 2025

ISBN: 979-13-87703-71-4

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations have been taken from the New King James Version (NKJV).

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

DEDICATION

To my family, friends and mentors who inspired me to know God deeply, love Him supremely, and share Him passionately. Above all, to my God, Creator, Redeemer, and Friend, who invites us to collaborate in His mission of restoration.

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FOREWORD

Optimal health is a state we dearly desire and strive towards. Deplorably, accessibility to health and wellness globally is hampered by socioeconomic, political, cultural, and ethnic factors and flagrant disparities. Since its founding, the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church has been intentional about health and wellness for its members and the communities they serve. This is articulated in our Mission Statement: “Guided by the Bible and the Holy Spirit, Seventh-day Adventists pursue the mission of making disciples through Christ-like serving, healing, serving, proclaiming, teaching, and training.”1Je-sus recognized the importance of health and wholeness across cultures and for all people as expressed in His own words: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). Salva-tion, and fullness and wholeness of life are intended for all despite our inevitable brokenness on this earth (John 3:16). Christ’s invitations and healings were not confined to a select few but were made freely available to all. And as Seventh-day Adventists, sharing the Good News of Jesus, we too have the privilege and responsibility of sharing wholeness and serving all. We can be much more effective and winsome as we mingle while respectfully considering and understanding cultures and world-views other than our own.

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We are multidimensional beings, physical, mental, spiritual, emo-tional, and relational, and have been “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Nevertheless, we are often defined by where we were born or raised, our facility with language, education, and even our cus-toms, traditions, and habits. A sense of cultural superiority is often in-culcated in schools, communities, the media, and even family settings. Disagreements often arise through the misunderstanding of another’s culture and creed. We defend our roots and the traditions that are dear to us. We tend to impose our viewpoints on others without first at-tempting to understand our audience. History has shown that this ten-dency has been the basis of many feuds, devastating wars, and enduring enmity. “Adventist Healing Mission in Action” clearly calls us to the better and more embracing way.

The Adventist health message is wholistic and based on the Bible. It draws heavily on the counsel shared by Ellen G. White. It enjoys the added affirmation of robust scientific findings which confirm her coun-sels. It is modeled on Christ’s ministry, which included healing of the whole person. The scriptures confirm that He spent more time healing than teaching and included a strong spiritual emphasis, including the forgiveness of sin, with the peace and emotional well-being that ensued. This book draws our attention to the careful consideration and imple-mentation of Christ’s method, inviting us to follow His example for all. It advocates for all our health endeavors to be grace-filled, balanced, accurate, consonant with the Bible, and supported by credible science.

Health and Wholeness Across Culturesprovides a spiritual, historical, cultural, scientific, practical, and programmatic informational context, offering insights into various religions and worldviews on health. It has been authored by an experienced, seasoned, dedicated health profes-sional and missionary. Dr. Katia Reinert is passionate about sharing wholistic health and wholeness and serving all. She has rich experience directing the health work of the North American Division and, for the past decade, has served as an associate director of the General Confer-ence Adventist Health Ministries team. Her extensive work in many

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1 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Mission Statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” https://gc.adventist.org/official-statements/mission-statement-of-the-seventh-day-adventist-church/.

parts of the world has fueled the production of this very useful resource. She has been instrumental in the development and updating of many of the key resources of the health department. She has been intentional in acculturating and contextualizing the resources produced, not merely by juggling the illustrations into a visual impression of cultural diversity but by delving into the details and dogma of many worldviews. Con-sequently, this volume can serve as a cultural and operational guide for all who seriously and winsomely wish to engage in following Christ’s method.

As you read and study this timely and much-needed compendium on Health and Wholeness Across Cultures, you will experience a diverse, inclusive, and gracious approach to the “what,” “why,” and “how” of Adventist healing mission and ministry in action for all. This book is a “must read” for anyone wishing to follow in the footsteps of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, as we anticipate and share His soon return. Maranatha!

Peter N. Landless

MB, BCh, MMed, FCP(SA), FACC, FASNC Dr. Humanitarian Service Hon. Causa. Former Director for Health Ministries, General Conference of SDA President, International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency

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The health message is a gift from the Lord to His children and a legacy en-trusted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The essence of this biblical message is very well presented in the book Health and Wholeness Across Cul-tures: Adventist Healing Mission in Actionby Dr. Katia Reinert. I was very excited about the author’s focus on connecting the biblical health message not only to Adventist Church members but especially to the fulfillment of the Adventist cross-cultural mission. We have much to learn about God’s in-structions in this area, but we also have a powerful tool in our hands to reach the hearts of people around the world, including secular, post-Christian, and other unreached people. The health message is by far one of the best means of building bridges to the hearts of those who are not open to the biblical message. It can offer them the hope they seek for the present and prepare them to accept the hope they need for the future. This book is a precious and comprehensive resource for strengthening our spiritual life and especially our commitment to God’s mission.

Pr. Erton Kohler President, General Conference of SDA

In her book, Health and Wholeness Across Cultures: Adventist Healing Mis-sion in Action, Dr. Katia Reinert provides a rich biblical and historical foun-dation to the missional significance of health and medical ministry. Reinert

ENDORSEMENTS

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provides a foundation with biblical and theological narratives and prin-ciples, sometimes challenging readers with her insights. Reinert also pro-vides historical antecedents from secular and Christian history. After the theological and historical, Reinert provides cross-cultural examples from various cultures and faith groups, finally delivering timely ministry insights for today. Dr. Reinert offers cross-cultural tools to assist any front-line mis-sion worker in effectively and wholistically sharing the gospel, regardless of the culture or context.

Dr. Rick McEdward, D.I.S. Secretary, General Conference of SDA

This timely mission-focused work is insightful, and offers a much-needed contribution to cross-cultural mission. With clarity and grace, it presents a biblically grounded, Spirit-filled vision for health ministry that is practical, balanced, and deeply compassionate. The content is rich, the style is engag-ing, and the guidance is immediately applicable. It equips and encourages readers to minister wisely and respectfully across cultures—meeting real needs, building bridges, and revealing Christ’s love through whole-person healing.

Dr. Zeno Charles-Marcel, MD Director, Health Ministries, General Conference of SDA

While wholeness has been an integral part of our Adventist culture for over a century, it is not always easy to move these concepts across cultural boundaries. Wholeness is both a personal mandate for individual members, but also a practice mandate for Adventist health professionals. This timely book outlines strategies that can be used around the world as we follow Christ’s methods for healing the whole person.

Dr. Richard Hart, MD President, Loma Linda University

Dr. Katia Reinert presents a unique and comprehensive health study in a book unlike any before. She explores the subject of health throughout his-tory in diverse societies from a biblical perspective. She argues that health

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serves as a vital tool for cross-cultural missions. The healing ministry of biblical figures like Elijah, Jesus, and his disciples inspires listeners to follow God. The public health laws of Moses and Daniel’s vegetarian diet under-score a healthy lifestyle. She asserts that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has taken the health message seriously. Dr. Reinert emphasizes that the church promotes a preventive lifestyle, integrating health into its theologi-cal principles. The message of health is essential to the gospel and contrib-utes to fulfilling God’s commission. I recommend Dr. Reinert’s Health and Wholeness Across Cultures: Adventist Healing Mission in Actionbook to all health practitioners and Christians who are called to cross-cultural service in diverse societies and living world faiths and traditions.

Dr. Oscar Osindo, PhD Director, Institute of World Mission, General Conference of SDA

Dr. Reinert’s Health and Wholeness Across Cultures: Adventist Healing Mis-sion in Actionstands as a definitive and groundbreaking work in the field of global health and mission. With scholarly depth and a practitioner’s in-sight, Reinert masterfully addresses the complex challenges of health and healing across diverse cultural contexts. This comprehensive study offers a biblically grounded, theologically rich, and remarkably balanced perspec-tive on the intersection of faith, health, and intercultural mission. Her in-novative and engaging approach brings fresh solutions to long-standing issues, making this not only the best study on the subject but an essential resource for anyone engaged in cross-cultural ministry, global health, or theological education.

Dr. Jiri Moskala, PhD

Dean, SDA Theological Seminary, Andrews University

Dr. Reinert’s theologically rich and mission-focused work explores the role of health and healing in the global mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Grounded in biblical principles and the model of Christ’s minis-try, the book addresses common imbalances in health outreach—ranging from legalism to neglect—and emphasizes the need for culturally contex-tualized, whole-person approaches. It calls Adventists to embrace health

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ministry not as an end in itself, but as a means of reflecting God’s love, building bridges across cultures, and advancing the three angels’ messag-es. By combining historical insight, practical tools, and a Christ-centered methodology, this book equips believers to serve as compassionate ambas-sadors of wholeness and restoration in today’s complex world as we await for the blessed hope of Christ’s Second Coming!

Dr. Wagner Kuhn, PhD

Chief Academic Officer & Professor of Mission and Intercultural Studies, Andrews University

Dr. Reinert has done an excellent job of writing a handbook for Adventist Health Ministries that is both academically excellent and eminently usable. Health and Wholeness Across Cultures: Adventist Healing Mission in Actionoffers a new synthesis applying Dr. Reinert’s research to the need for, and ways of, contextualizing health ministries among various religious and cul-tural groups that will benefit mission work around the world. I recommend the book for mission-driven pastors, health professionals, and anyone serv-ing as missionaries in cross-cultural settings.

Dr. Cheryl Doss, PhD Former Director, Institute of World Mission, General Conference of SDA

I highly recommend Health and Wholeness Across Cultures: Adventist Heal-ing Mission in Actionas an essential and comprehensive textbook for Sev-enth-day Adventist health professional education, health professionals, and those in local church health ministries. In this book, Dr. Katia Gar-cia Reinert highlights the importance of healing as a reflection of God’s power and love. The Old Testament describes diseases and treatments of the time, yet with enduring application today (healthful diet, hygiene, Sab-bath rest, quarantine, mold mitigation). Exploring the biblical concept of shalomemphasizes that while health and disease work through the laws of nature which the Creator Himself has authored, true healing and a full life come only from God. While healing may be conditional, God’s love re-mains unconditional. In the New Testament, Jesus is central to God’s mis-sion, transcending cultural barriers and reaching the marginalized through

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wholistic healing (sozo). Jesus commissioned His disciples to continue this compassionate, cross-cultural ministry worldwide. The early church carried this mission forward, blending physical healing with spiritual restoration. Their legacy laid the groundwork for modern medical missionary work, whether through the local church or healthcare and humanitarian organi-zations. The prophetic ministry of Ellen G. White placed health ministry to be an integral part of proclaiming an end-time message of Christ’s soon return even as He continues to heal and empower. Effective health ministry involves understanding cultural and epidemiological differences, forming organized Health Ministries teams, and using coaching methods to guide behavior change and help individuals recognize how God can work in their lives to restore His image in them.

Dr. Lisa M Beardsley-Hardy, PhD, MPH, MBA Director of Education, General Conference of SDA

An excellent resource for students exploring the theological and historical foundations of health and healing, this book represents a solid addition to the Adventist higher education curriculum. Dr. Katia Reinert provides a compre-hensive analysis of God’s health principles from the Old and New Testaments onto more recent times on how this theme has been constantly present in humanity across times. Reading is pleasant enlivened by compelling anec-dotes and curious details yet preserving the language and references of col-lege/university writing style. Of special note is the treatment of early Seventh-day Adventist health reformers, with an appreciative examination of Ellen G. White’s influential role in shaping a holistic vision of health that continues to inspire contemporary practice. Perhaps the book’s most commendable feature is its practical orientation on how health principles can serve as a powerful evangelistic bridge—respectfully engaging diverse religious traditions while offering a pathway toward both physical and spiritual restoration. Rooted in strong principles of contextualization, this approach equips students to apply health ministry effectively in today’s pluralistic world.

Dr. Julian Melgosa, PhD

Associate Director of Education, General Conference of SDA and Prolific Author

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HEALTH AND CROSS-CULTURAL MISSION | WHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The Need for Healing and Restoration after Sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Perfect Health Before the Fall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Satan as an Agent of Disease and Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Case of Job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

God’s Plan for Restoration of Health and Wholeness. . . . . . . 26

Shalom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

The Meaning of Shalom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

ShalomIs Centered in and Derived from God Alone. . . . . . . 28

Healing and Wholeness (Shalom) Through God’s Covenant. . . . 29

God’s Healing Covenant with Adam and Eve. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

God’s Healing Covenant with Abraham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Nurse Midwives as Agents of Health and Healing in Egypt. . 31

Divine Liberation from Oppression and Protection from Death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord Who Heals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

God’s Healing Is Often Conditional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

God Shares Principles and Laws to Preserve Health and Prevent Disease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Manna: New Food from Heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Ten Commandments: Restoring the Lost Connections for Wholistic Health. . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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Laws and Principles of Public Health and Disease Prevention. . .37

Sanitation, Hygiene, and Quarantine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Clean and Unclean Foods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Ingestion of Blood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Fasting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Reproductive Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Social Integration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Wine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

The Role of Spiritual Leaders in Wholistic Healing Ministry. . .42

Diseases and Remedies in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Common Illnesses in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Common Treatments in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Jesus’ Healing Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Jesus’ Wholistic Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Sozo: A Blended Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Jesus’ Commission to the Disciples as Healers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

The Promise of the Holy Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Healing Ministry in the Early Christian Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Pentecost: Empowered for a Wholistic Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . 59

The Early Church and Wholistic Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Paul’s Model for Wholistic Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Body as a Temple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

People Are More Important Than Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Virtues for Good Mental Health and Social Relationships. . .62

God as Source of Wholeness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Cross-Cultural Sensitivity and Contextualization . . . . . . . 63

Health and Healing in the Book of Revelation. . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Diseases and Treatments in the New Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Common Illnesses in the New Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Common Treatments in the New Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Cultivating Gratitude and Praise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

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Guarding One’s Thoughts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Rest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Social Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Fasting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

BIBLICAL OVERVIEW OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN CROSS-CULTURAL MISSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Cross-Cultural Mission in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

The Cosmic Dimension of God’s Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

God’s Mission and His Chosen People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Perspectives of Mission Across Cultures in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Health and Healing Cross-Culturally in the Old Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Cross-Cultural Mission in the New Testament.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Jesus’ Cross-Cultural Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

The Cross-Cultural Mission of the Disciples and the Early Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Health and Healing Across Cultures in the New Testament. . 84

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

HEALTH AND HEALING AMONG DIVERSE PEOPLE GROUPS | WHAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

HISTORICAL APPLICATIONS OF HEALTH AND HEALING MISSION AMONG CHRISTIANS. . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Health and Mission in the Christian Era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Diseases and Plagues Affecting People in the Christian Era. . . 92

Healing and Healthcare Among Christians Through the Industrial Revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

The Influence of Reformation on Health and Mission. . . . . . 99

Scientific Health Developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Health and Healing in Cross-Cultural Christian Mission. . . . . 105

First Through Thirteenth Centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

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Fourteenth Through Nineteenth Centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN THE ADVENTIST CHURCH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Seventh-day Adventist Health and Healing Mission in the Nineteenth Century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Millerite Influence in the Nineteenth Century. . . . . . . . . . . 117

Seventh-day Adventist Church Officially Organized. . . . . . . 118

Health Practices of the Nineteenth Century and the Need for the Gospel of Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

The Temperance Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Trailblazer Health Reformers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Ellen G. White’s Role in Temperance and the Message of Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Ellen G. White’s Writings and Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

The Impact of Ellen G. White’s Ministry on Diverse Groups. . . 133

Adventist Health and Healing Mission in the Twentieth Century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Emphasis on Global Cross-Cultural Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Establishment of the Health Ministries Department. . . . . . . 136

Adventist Health Research and Mission Opportunities. . . . . 137

Adventist Health and Healing Mission in the Twenty-First Century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Adventists and the Blue Zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

WHO Partnership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

HISTORICAL PRACTICES THAT INFLUENCED MODERN CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND HEALING ACROSS PEOPLE GROUPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Ancient Egyptian Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Influential Medical Writings of the Egyptians. . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Medical Treatments and Institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

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Ancient Babylonian/Mesopotamian Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

The Hammurabi Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Ancient Greek Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

The Influence of Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Corpus. . 155

Treatments and Health Care Institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Ancient Roman Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

The Influence of Galen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Hygiene and Public Health Measures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Middle Eastern (Medo-Persian/Arab) Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

The Influence of Zoroaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Treatments and Health Care Institutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Asian Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Chinese Traditional Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Japanese Traditional Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Korean Traditional Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Ayurveda and South Asian Traditional Medicine. . . . . . . . . . 164

African Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Traditional Healers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Traditional Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Mesoamerican Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Mayan and Aztec Healers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Traditional Treatments and Health Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Scandinavian Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Health Practices and Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Native, Aboriginal, and Pacific Island Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Healers and the Influence of Shamanism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Modern Western Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Influence of the Scientific Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Public Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

HEALTH AND HEALING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ACROSS FAITH TRADITIONS. . . . . . . . . . . 185

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Jewish Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Health and Healing Beliefs and Practices in Judaism. . . . . . . 185

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Christian Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Health and Healing Beliefs and Practices in Christianity. . . . 188

Muslim Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Health and Healing Beliefs and Practices in Islam. . . . . . . . . 190

Hindu Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Health and Healing Beliefs and Practices in Hinduism. . . . . 195

Buddhist Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Health and Healing Practices and Beliefs in Buddhism. . . . . 197

Health and Healing Practices of Other Diverse Groups. . . . . . 200

Animist Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Secular (Agnostic/Atheist/Non-Religious) Worldview. . . . . . 201

Rationality and Scientific Approach to Health. . . . . . . . . . . 202

Secular Ethics and Personal Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Skepticism Toward Alternative and Complementary Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Community Support and Secular Organizations. . . . . . . . . . 203

Postmodern Worldview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Influence of Postmodernism on Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Subjectivity and Self-Identity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Alternative Healing Modalities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Intersectionality and Social Justice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

BECOMING EFFECTIVE AGENTS OF HEALING ACROSS CULTURES | HOW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

THE FRAMEWORK AND PURPOSE OF ADVENTIST COMPRE-HENSIVE HEALTH MINISTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

The Purpose of Health Ministries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Foster Whole-Person Health and Abundant Living. . . . . . . . 213

Glorify God by Serving and Blessing Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Collaborate with God in His Restorative Mission. . . . . . . . . 218

Following Christ’s Method in Cross-Cultural Health Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS DIVERSE PEOPLE GROUPS THROUGH A MINISTRY OF HEALING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Considerations for Effective Cross-Cultural Health Ministry. . 225

Faithful Contextualization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Health Ministry Among People from Diverse Faith Traditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

General Health Needs Among Jews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

General Health Needs Among Christians. . . . . . . . . . . . 229

General Health Needs Among Muslims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

General Health Needs Among Hindus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

General Health Issues Among Buddhists. . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

General Health Needs Among People of Traditional Indigenous Religions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

General Health Needs Among Secular/Unreligious People Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

CONSIDERATIONS FOR AN EFFECTIVE HEALTH AND HEALING MINISTRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Essential Considerations for Effective Health Ministries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Follow Christ’s Methods of Discipleship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Reach Out and Mingle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Meet Felt Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Invite to Follow Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Perform a Comprehensive Needs Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Assessing Health Needs and Priorities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Build a Health Team and Community Partnerships. . . . . . . 263

Forming a Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Building Partnerships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Use Quality Health Information and Resources. . . . . . . . . . 265

Adventist Health Ministries Policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . 266

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Embrace Evidence-Based Health Information and Practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Reject Spiritualistic Philosophies and Practices. . . . . . . . 269

Reject Fanaticism and Extreme Health Practices. . . . . . . 271

Contextualize Beyond Translation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Implement a Coaching Approach for Behavioral Change. . . 273

Focus on Christ as Healer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Model a Balanced Healthy Lifestyle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Overview of the Book. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

God’s Ambassadors of Healing Across Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

APPENDIX: TABLE OF ADVENTIST HEALTH MINISTRIES RESOURCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

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Seventh-day Adventists are blessed with a wealth of knowledge about health and healing founded on the Bible, the inspired writings of Ellen G. White, and scientific evidence. Studies have found that the healthy lifestyle of many Adventists in North America is a major factor in the longevity of this population. However, the under-stood value of health and healthy living is much broader than the im-mediate health benefits: it also influences how Adventists conceptualize and engage in mission outreach. Health and healing ministry is consid-ered the right arm for preaching the gospel incarnationally, following the methods of Jesus.

Although many Adventist authors and other Christians have studied and written about health and healing ministry as an outreach method-ology, there has yet to be a comprehensive publication describing health and healing concepts from an Adventist mission-driven cross-cultural perspective. This lack of comprehensive description has sometimes lim-ited the effectiveness of those working with people from different cul-tures or beliefs. Evidence suggests that a superficial understanding of health principles and an absence of balance and appropriate contextu-alization in cross-cultural settings can hinder mission efforts. However, when properly understood, whole-person health and healing concepts can foster wholeness and build bridges with individuals, families, and communities from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. This in-formed approach is critical for achieving successful mission outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

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This book draws on research and practical experience at the inter-section of health and mission to explore three broad questions: whydisciple makers and missionaries should consider a wholistic health and healing ministry in cross-cultural mission, whatwhole-person health principles people are called to live by, and howhealth ministry can be most effective across people groups and cultures.

Part I of this book addresses the “why” question by providing over-views of key biblical concepts as a foundation for prioritizing a wholis-tic health ministry approach in cross-cultural missions. Part II answers the “what” question by exploring concepts of health and healing un-derstood and embraced by Christians and diverse people groups glob-ally. Finally, part III answers the “how” question by describing practical applications for effective health ministry in various settings, along with the call to live and share wholistic healthy principles.

The answers to these broad “why,” “what,” and “how” questions will help readers tackle relevant aspects of health and mission: how health and effective cross-cultural mission intersect in the Bible, the writings of Adventist pioneers, and current literature; the importance of un-derstanding the worldviews of unreached people groups in regard to health, healing and their relevant health needs; and the best practices and pitfalls of extending health and healing across diverse faiths and people groups in a mission-driven context.

Those passionate about serving in cross-cultural missions, educating missionaries, and extending Jesus’ healing ministry in more effective, culturally sensitive ways are invited to “dig in” and identify how the concepts shared here relate to personal missional understandings and goals. May readers find balanced, practical information relevant for stu-dents, seminarians, and anyone interested in extending Jesus’ compre-hensive health and healing ministry to cross-cultural settings.

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BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HEALTH AND CROSS-CULTURAL MISSION | WHY

The Why. In this first section of the book, chap-ters 1 and 2 introduce biblical concepts of health and healing according to God’s worldview and mission as described in the Old and New Testa-ments. In chapter 3, health and healing are dis-cussed through a cross-cultural ministry lens. The three chapters explore different aspects of whyhealth and healing are important and the rationale for the role of healing ministry in God’s mission of restoration.

I

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CHAPTER

1

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Introduction

For millennia, the concepts of health and healing have been evolving. The Greek physician Hippocrates (460–377 BC), considered to be the father of medicine by many, defined health as a state of equilibrium among four body liquids, known as humours.1This definition had long-lasting consequences in the medical field be-ing embraced by those caring for the sick for centuries, and even after it was disproven, a limited understanding of health persisted that focused primarily on physical health concepts. It was not until the twentieth century—April 1948, to be exact—that the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) adopted a constitution that redefined health in a more wholistic way, declaring that “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”2This definition is considered a historical milestone.

Nevertheless, Jewish sacred texts point to the fact that a holistic un-derstanding of health and healing was, in fact, embraced long before Hippocrates or the WHO came to be. An overview of the Old Testa-ment (OT) reveals a conceptualization of health and healing that goes much deeper than physical health to include social, mental, emotional, and, more importantly, spiritual concepts of health and well-being. It is outside the scope of this book to provide a detailed exegesis of health

CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND HEALING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

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and healing in the Bible. However, the first two chapters of the book review representative instances related to health and healing in the Old and New Testaments. This chapter undertakes a broad, rather than deep, look at health concepts in the OT to provide a cultural and theo-logical context for understanding God’s wholistic mission