Health is generally understood as a state of harmony and balance between various human qualities and disease is seen as disharmony and imbalance[1]
In Exodus (4:11) and Deuteronomy (32:39), disease is considered as a punishment from God. In Job, it is caused by the jealousy of others (5:2) or the work of the adversary (2:7). In the Gospel of Mark, spirits of silence (9:17) or uncleanness (9:25) cause various diseases. Healing is understood as a sign of divine forgiveness. Therefore, health may be viewed as the result of following the divine commandments that guarantee wellness.
The idea of one’s responsibility for keeping, or breaking, the Law is the link to sin’s role in disease (and to some degree death.) Sin in the Old Testament is understood as the state of “estrangement or alienation from God who is the only source of well-being.” It also points to “missing the mark,” or straying, as the result of spiritual ignorance. And yet the most profound theological understanding emphasizes our revolt and willful disobedience of God.[2]
The first healing stories of the Gospels show us God’s will for healing. In this story, a leper tells Jesus that he can heal his disease if he wills it, to which Jesus replies: “I will; be made clean” (Mt 8:3; Mk 1:41; Lk 5:13). All of the following healings underscore God’s will to heal through Jesus. Further issues that emerge involve the role of sin, the Sabbath healings, the role of faith, and the incompleteness or impermanence of healing. These ideas need more dialogue and consideration.
For the Church, a holistic understanding also means we need spiritual care providers (and for other health care professionals as well) who are called by God to the ministry of medical and mental care. Just as Jesus himself treated the whole human being — body, soul, and spirit — spiritual care providers (including your pastor) must take lifestyle issues into account; physicians should do the same with patients’ psychology and spirituality. Drawing a clear distinction between the mind and the body and treating each separately is the attitude of the conventional medical treatment, but it is not the approach of the holistic approach. A holistic understanding presents challenges to patients but challenges health care providers as well. We need to see each other as whole persons and try to see how the body affects the mind and the spirit and vice versa. It’s all connected!
Today definitions of “health” and “wellness” are holistic, in that each implies health and well-being are both physical, mental, AND SPIRITUAL terms. “Wellness” is the more dynamic of the concepts and more openly embraces our quality of life questions (as well as hinting at the faith or spiritual dimension). As we try to begin an outline of a “theology of wellness,” we would say that health involves a powerful balance between several dimensions working together in harmony—and the Christian’s spirit and faith are important parts of health and wellness.
[1]See, for example, the Nurse’s Handbook of Alternative Therapies, p. 64; James Strohecker, ed., Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, Future Medicine Publishing, Puyallup, WA, 1994, p. 5; and Andrew Weil, Health and Healing, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1998, p. 51.
[2] George A Buttrick. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Vol 4. “Sin, Sinners.” (Abingdon Press: Nashville, TN) 361-362.
