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Be Ye Clean

The Bible should direct every aspect of a true believer's life.  If we ignore basic Bible instructions and principles, we cannot claim to be followers of the Bible.

"Be ye clean," Isaiah 52:11, is a basic Bible law.  Let us examine a few applications of this broad principle.

We teach our children to regularly brush their teeth, to wash their hands after using the toilet, and to wash their hands before meals.  As adults, it is easy to become lax on these elementary rules.  Our society is geared to rushing here, rushing there.  Stress often leads to eliminating the normal routines, to cutting corners.  Longstanding habits of cleanliness can be lost overnight.  Don't let this happen!  Don't lose basic health habits no matter what happens.

At a roadside rest stop, I recently observed that most adult males did not wash their hands after using the toilet.  My wife says it is the same with many women.

When away from home, I make it a practice to never sit on any toilet without first placing tissue paper on the seat.  This is based on a Bible principle, Leviticus 15:2-6, 20-27.  There is no way to determine if the person who sat on the toilet seat before me had venereal disease or some other uncleanliness.

Lest the reader think that I am delving into petty issues of minor importance, consider I Corinthians 6:15-20, which shows that by keeping our bodily "temple" clean, we are honoring the Almighty by housing His Spirit in a clean body.

As babies, our children did not yet understand what things should not be touched or put into the mouth.  We had to teach them what is clean and what is unclean.

Many adults today have not been taught the difference between the clean and the unclean.  Unclean foods and unclean actions have no stigma attached to them.  Those who claim to be teaching the Bible should proclaim the difference between the clean and the unclean.  Read Leviticus 10:8-11 and Malachi 2:7. It is a regrettable fact that most so-called "ministers" either lack the knowledge or the courage to proclaim the truth.

Let us briefly examine a private area.  How can we in honesty teach our children to always wash their hands after using the toilet, and ourselves turn around and say that it is alright for married couples to engage in anal intercourse?   We can't, because this type of sexual practice is not clean. "It's none of your business what goes on in our bedroom," you may say.  Yes, but it is the Creator's business.

One does not honor Him by engaging in unclean practices.  In a related area, it is another basic habit of cleanliness for both husband and wife to thoroughly wash themselves before and after sexual intercourse.  Being clean makes the intimate relationship the Creator intended for pleasure that much more enjoyable.  If you can't have pleasure unless you engage in unclean acts, then Satan has you captive.

May the great Heavenly Father help us all to be clean, physically and spiritually, honoring Him in our mind and body, which are His.

"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," II Corinthians 7:1.

"Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children:  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.  But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;  Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.  For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God," Ephesians 5:1-5.

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness . . . ," James 1:21, and let us go on and honor the Almighty with a clean heart and a right spirit, being clean inside and out.ê

Thoughts to Consider:

GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS

Average Minds Discuss Events

small minds discuss people

Confessions of a Medical Heretic

Review:  Confessions of a Medical Heretic by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D. 

Stay away from drugs,  doctors,  operations, hospitals and vaccinations.  Study about your body and seek natural tools of health maintenance.  Build a close knit family relationship that includes friends and relatives.  This is the advice not of a quack or health fanatic, but a noted medical doctor for 25 years, the Chairman of the Medical Licensing Committee for the State of Illinois, and University of Illinois School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health.

Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn is a medical heretic. He urges you to become one too. Armed with facts, he proves that annual physical examinations are a health risk, hospitals are dangerous places for the sick, most operations do little good and many do harm, many drugs cause more problems than they cure, and the x-ray machine is the most pervasive and dangerous tool in the doctor's office.  If 90% of "modern medicine" were eliminated, our nation's health would dramatically improve.

Reading this book should make you "sick" of the evil practices of modern medicine.  It should motivate you to stay away from it, and pursue natural health and reliance upon the Almighty to heal you when you are sick.

Specifically, Dr. Mendelsohn points out facts that most doctors never tell you:

Antibiotics are powerless against colds and flu and leave you more likely to come down with worse problems.

The electrocardiogram (EKG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) are examples of impressive medical electronic tools with little or no value.

X-rays are dangerous and should be used seldom if at all.

There has been no drug invented that does not have dangerous side effects, including aspirin.

Two to three million unnecessary operations are performed every  year  in the United States,  the most common  are tonsillectomy, hysterectomy, episiotomy and Caesarean delivery, heart by-pass, and cancer surgery.

Even the "best" hospitals are filthy germ-breeding places where you are likely to catch an infection or have the wrong procedure or drug administered to you.

The object of the medical profession is to make doctors, hospitals and drug companies rich.

Medicine lies to its victims, e.g., when it says artificial formula is as good for babies as mother's milk.

Modern medicine is a religion, allied with the state to enforce its doctrine.

The many comparisons Dr. Mendelsohn makes between modern medicine and idolatrous religions is alarming.  The hospital is the Temple of the Church of Modern Medicine.  Doctors are its devilish priests, deceived by their own system. Vaccinations, fluoridated water and intravenous fluids are its "Holy Water." Mechanical instruments are its idols.  Its god is Death.  Those who resort to non-M.D.'s are labeled "heretics."

Quoting Dr. Mendelsohn, "Doctors are so powerful precisely because they have, as priests of the Church of Modern Medicine, removed all the old guilts . . . which . . . held people to their old religions.  Nothing is a sin' any more, because if there is a physical consequence, the doctor has the power to fix you up.  If you get pregnant, the doctor can perform an abortion.  If you get venereal disease, the doctor can give you penicillin.  If you are gluttonous and damage your heart, the doctor can give you a coronary by-pass.  If you suffer from emotional problems, the doctor has Valium, Librium, and other narcotics to help you get by without caring, or feeling.  If those don't work, there are plenty of psychiatrists.  There is one sin' that Modern Medicine will make you feel guilty about: not going to the doctor!"

Medicine is one of the most powerful forces in the Western World. Could it be that the endtime Beast system will utilize the immense medical religion's power to enforce its mark?

After reading this book, any honest Bible believer would have to shun modern medicine as much as possible.  If his or her job is remotely related to drugs, hospitals, medical insurance, etc., he or she should immediately change jobs.

There are extreme emergencies when you will need to avail yourself of the services of a medical practitioner.  Dr. Mendelsohn shows you how to survive against the medical monsters out there trying to "get" you.  We disagree with him that you should lie to your doctor, but his point is well taken that you should be extremely careful what you say to a doctor.

Finally, this book shows briefly what the New Medicine and New Doctors should be:  lifeguards trying to put themselves out of business.  Natural health is making strong gains. We should look forward to the Kingdom of the Almighty, with the healing of all nations, Revelation 22:2.  Let us shun the evil religion of modern medicine, and unite our families with the Creator, the ONLY Healer.

Back to Eden and Herbal Remedies

Review:  Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss.  Second Edition Revised and Expanded.  Back to Eden Books, Loma Linda, California, 1988.

Your Health is Important

Following Biblical laws of health is much more than just abstaining from unclean meats.  In all of our eating and drinking, we should strive for the Eternal's way.  Few understand the role of herbs.  Just as the Creator "causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and [He has also given the] herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth,"  Psalms 104:14. The best herb book we know of is Back to Eden.

Jethro Kloss (1863-1946) first published his classic natural health book, Back to Eden, in 1939, the result of forty years of practical experience as an herbalist, food scientist, lecturer, writer and teacher of natural healing.  Back to Eden is an encyclopedic home treasury of natural health information.  When faced with severe illness in our family, we turn to Kloss' book to find out how to get our bodies back in tune with nature.  Yes, the Eternal is our Healer.  However, He expects us to do our part and live clean, wholesome lives so as not to desecrate our bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Kloss gives his philosophy of health:  "This book contains tried, safe, and inexpensive remedies for the prevention of disease and sickness . . . .  Many who violate the laws of health are ignorant of the relation of the laws of living (eating, drinking, and or illness, they do not realize that their condition is caused by violating the laws of nature and health.  If then they would resort to simple means and follow the basic laws of health that they have  been neglecting -- nature's remedies, herbs, etc. -- nature would restore the body to its original health . . . .  God has provided a remedy for every disease that might afflict us.  Satan cannot afflict anyone with any disease for which God has not provided a remedy . . . .  We must return to God's original plan for maintaining health, by restoring the sick, and rediscovering the miraculous truths that were covered up by commercial graft, ignorance, or neglect.  Miraculous things are found in the Bible and Nature.  The Creator of this universe . . . [has provided] fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables . . . [when] eaten in their natural state, instead of being perverted and robbed of their life-giving properties during preparation, human health, beauty, and happiness will be the sure reward."

Kloss' daughter, Promise Kloss Moffett, has revised, updated, expanded and reorganized the original book, adding over 300 additional pages of natural health information.  The complete comprehensive index makes every subject accessible in seconds.  While  keeping  the  original  Kloss  material  intact, the new versionmakes this outstanding health encyclopedia more usable.  It includes tips on growing your own vegetables, the basics of healthful massage, food preparation and modern recipes, skills in caring for the sick, treating diseases with nature's herbs, and much more.  After 3,000,000 copies, Back to Eden gets better.

Back to Eden belongs in the home of every family concerned about following God's laws of health.  Further research in natural health science may lead to revisions of some of Kloss' points, but the book is a virtual gold mine and starting point for any serious student of natural health.   Follow Jethro Kloss' advice, and you will likely save on doctor bills, learning how to build a healthy disease-resistant body.  Life is more fun when you are healthy, and you can serve God more effectively.

None of These Diseases

Review:  None of These Diseases, by Dr. S.I. McMillen, revised and expanded by David E. Stern.  Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey: 1984.  Hardback 224 pages.

In twenty years, None of These Diseases has sold over a million copies.  With his personal observations as a medical doctor, along with scientific studies, Dr. McMillen has demonstrated that the secret of health is found in the Bible. McMillen shows how "God guaranteed a freedom from disease that modern medicine cannot duplicate."  If you obey God's statutes, He promises to put none of the diseases of Egypt on you.

Baby boys should be circumcised on the eighth day.  Harmful substances such as fat and tobacco should be avoided.   Excess alcoholic consumption is detrimental to the body.   Sexual sins result in untold misery and suffering.   Much disease is caused by a wrong mental attitude from not following the Almighty.

McMillen shows the scientific evidence proving the inspiration of the Bible, four thousand years late!

The revised expanded edition by Dr. McMillen's grandson is much improved and more powerfully convincing than the original edition.  Its section on venereal disease and AIDS is superb.  Strangely enough, the only major Biblical health law McMillen ignores is the Law of Clean and Unclean meats.   He  could  have presented statistics to show that disobeying the Eternal in this vital health law results in much suffering and death.  The Eternal meant what He said when He commanded us not to eat pork and shellfish!

All in all, None of These Diseases belongs on your bookshelf.  Be healthy and be a more profitable servant of the Almighty!

The Attack Against Healing and Health

Several organizations have published material contrary to a proper understanding of the Bible teachings on healing and health.  Let us review some of the literature which attacks the faith of God's people.

Review:  "Healing, Medicine, Physicians," by Ernest L. Martin. 1974: Foundation for Biblical Research.  38 pages.

Like a broken record, the Biblical skepticism of Dr. Ernest L. Martin, former Worldwide Church of God leader, hammers against basic church teachings.  It is ironic that many of Martin's ideas have been carbon copied by the Worldwide Church of God, after he left it.

Columnist Ann Landers wrote: "The [Catholic] Church does not teach that any illness is a punishment from God."  The February 1987 The Good News magazine said "Sickness is the result of sin."

The truth is, sickness is usually, but NOT always, the result of sin.  Martin correctly states that Christ showed in the case of the man born blind, that his particular illness was NOT the result of his sins or the sins of his parents, but that the works of God would be made known, John 9:1-7.  The case of Job is another example showing that sickness can come upon an individual without his sinning (Job 2:3).  Martin's implication is that sickness is often not the result of sin.  He refuses to accept the fact that in most cases, sickness DOES result from sin.

Trophimus, Epaphroditus and even Paul himself, were sick, II Timothy 4:20, Philippians 2:25-30, II Corinthians 12:7-10.  Then, in a slight of hand, Martin "proves" that sickness happens to ALL, even Christ.  Based upon a false interpretation of Hebrews 4:15, Martin concludes that the only way our Savior could have been tested in all points as we are, yet without sin, was that He suffered diseases like we do.  He even uses Isaiah 53:1-2 to infer that it was prophesied that Christ would experience sickness, that He had a weak physical condition.  "Acquainted with grief," he says, means "acquainted with sickness," i.e., "being sick."  And in typical Martin fashion, he claims that the taunt of Messiah's enemies, "Physician, heal thyself" (Luke 4:23) was literally true. (In other Martin literature, he says the Pharisees were correct that Christ broke the Sabbath, John 5:18, when in fact He only broke their man-made Sabbath restrictions.)

Briefly, this is why Martin is wrong.  Jesus was tested in all points as we are, yet did not sin.  He did not personally experience the consequences of sins that we humans experience, but did empathize and feel for our sufferings.  Jesus was never personally abused by His earthly parents, nor experienced guilt from murder, adultery or other sins.  There are no scriptures showing that the Messiah was ever sick.   Martin implies that Christ could not have died for our "physical" sins unless He had been sick.  Yet, our Savior died for our "spiritual" sins and did not commit a single sin.  He did not have to be sick.  Martin's reasoning is perverse.

Our Savior was robust and never sick a day in His life.  He overturned the tables of the moneychangers, walked the length and breadth of Palestine, and underwent cruel scourging from the Romans (which often killed weaker men).  Our Savior was a real man, not a sick weakling.  Jesus was divine.  Before His human birth, He was the Creator, the God of the Old Testament.  He is God, and as such is omnipresent, with us all the time.  This is how He knows what diseases are.  He sees the sick and starving masses of the world all the time, while we try to forget they exist.  He feels their pain and suffering daily, in exactly the same way I felt the pain and suffering of my wife Shirley during the very difficult birth of our daughter Amanda.  Isaiah 52:14-15, and 53:1-12 describe the suffering and death of Christ our Passover in 31 A.D.  For Martin, these verses describe the entire 33 1/2  year lifetime of Jesus.  The truth is, that the "Real Jesus" was not always a man of sorrows.  He laughed and brought happiness and joy to countless thousands during His lifetime on this earth.  He came that we might have abundant, joyful living.

Martin goes on to say that Christ did not die for us to be healed now.  He says that the Atonement did not exempt us from the first death, so healing is not part of the work of Christ today.  He says I Peter 2:24 is talking only of spiritual sins, not the healing of physical sins.  Martin asks, "If healing was within the Atonement, why did these Christian men [Paul, Epaphroditus, etc.] get sick and stay sick?"  The answer is the same answer to a related question:  "Why did these men of God continue to sin from time to time after conversion and receiving the atoning blood of the Lamb for their sins?"  Because building character  with the Holy Spirit's help is a process, and does not happen instantly.  We are to grow in grace and knowledge, overcome daily unto the perfect man.  Mr. Martin reveals a gross ignorance of the Messianic sacrifice.

The Great Commission of Matthew 28 and Mark 16, Martin says, was to the Twelve Apostles, not for us today.  His supposed proof text is II Timothy 2:15, which is twisted to mean that "rightly dividing the word of truth" is deciding which Scriptures apply to us today, which do not.  Revelation 22:18-19 shows what God thinks of those who chip away at His precious words.

Finally, Martin points to his belief that Psalms 103:3, "Who [God] forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases," is a promise that will not be fulfilled until the resurrection.  And we should not even look to be healed in this age except through a special act of mercy in isolated cases.  Go ahead, Martin advises, take drugs, vaccinations, blood transfusions, have any kind of surgery, for after all, surgery is no different than circumcision.  Gospel preaching doesn't have to be done with miracles.  We don't need miracles today, say Martin.

Don't worry, with Mr. Martin's attitude, there is no danger of many miracles.  He divides God's word into two piles, and the portion he thinks applicable is very small and not very demanding.  The beating administered to our Savior doesn't mean much, for it had nothing to do with healing here and now.   These ideas, like a cancerous growth, have spread far and wide in many Sabbath-keeping churches.  In fact, Martin's position, and not ours, is held by the vast majority.

I don't follow the Truth perfectly.  Sometimes I get sick, as do members of my family.  Sometimes we do take medicines, and we try to obtain the most natural ones available.  But God is our healer.  My acceptance of God as healer, and faith in Him, right now, is as important as my faith that the Atonement of the Messiah blotted out my sins.  Psalms 103:3 says so.  Martin and others may have damaged the faith of thousands and have sent them willy-nilly into the jaws of the medical vultures of today.  However, God's Word points us to HIM.

As Herbert Armstrong stated, "God has PROMISED salvation and eternal life on the SAME conditions HE PROMISED healing -- obedience and faith.  Jesus paid our penalty making possible eternal life by His shed blood on the cross.  He paid the penalty for physical broken law making possible our HEALING by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5, I Peter 2:24).  `Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases (Psalm 103:3).'  If you can't believe the one, how can you believe the other?" (The Good News September 25, 1978).

Review:  "A Study and Summary of the Doctrine of Healing," by David L. Antion, Worldwide Church of God doctrinal committee paper of 1975, 8 pages.

Mr. David Antion, former Worldwide Church of God minister and head of the ministerial department, wrote a 1975 paper when he was a leader in the Worldwide Church, attempting to refute former church teaching on healing.  In it, he says that seeking medical attention is like calling the police when we hear a prowler in our yard.  God is our protector, yet He expects us to do our part also.  We believe this analogy is fallacious.  Medical doctors today are often like robbers and thugs.  Generally they are in it for the money.  They are definitely not in business to improve health and morality.  They will abort a baby, treat venereal disease so that sinners who resort to them can continue their evil ways. The medical profession is the biggest industry in the United States today.  If you can find an honest naturopath or even a medical doctor who leans toward common sense and natural herbs, you have found a rare thing.  There are few modern "Luke's" who are truly "beloved physicians."

For Antion, healing is not the prerogative of God.  Medicines, surgical operations and inoculations are not against God's word. Since many medicines and inoculations are derived from unclean substances, Antion might as well have told us to go ahead and eat Biblically unclean meats. Since leaving the Worldwide Church, David Antion has been employed as a hospital administrator.  He is a direct part of one of the most wicked institutions of human society.

Antion and Worldwide Church of God leader Joseph Tkach both say that Isaiah 53:5 and I Peter 2:24, "by whose stripes ye were healed" refer to spiritual healing, healing of the "sin-sick soul."  Tkach says that the physical beating of the Savior prior to his impalement has nothing to do with healing of our diseases.  This totally ignores the gospel message of healing, repentance and forgiveness of sins.  There is great significance to the Passover bread and the wine symbols.  Sure these verses relate to spiritual healing.  They also relate to physical healing.  As we have shown, there is not a dividing wall between the physical and spiritual.

It is impossible for medical "science" to do much good when they brazenly reject Biblical Laws of Health.  Look at the AIDS epidemic.  The Bible says homosexuals are to be executed.  At the very least, the Bible demands quarantine for those who have communicable diseases.  Instead, medical science seeks a cure for AIDS so homosexuals can continue their perverted lifestyle, spreading AIDS at will.  Doctors are covering up growing evidence that AIDS is highly contagious and can be spread by different body fluids, aside from sexual contact.  (See the book, The Aids Cover-Up by Gene Antonio.)

We should seek the Eternal.  Do what you need to naturally repair and refresh your body.  But do not RELY on any medicine or doctor, natural or otherwise.  As Garner Ted Armstrong has said,  "To rely on any foods, supplements, medicines, drugs, knives, or even on fasting, for healing (and none of these can, ever have, or ever will heal!) is to break the commandment against idolatry!" (The Good News, June 1964, pages 4, 22).

Seven Tenets of Healing Doctrine

Antion's 1975 paper, "A Study and Summary of the Doctrine of Healing," succinctly states seven major tenets of the "old" doctrine of healing:

            (1)       It is God's will to heal each and every disease or sickness and He makes this promise in the Bible, Psalms 103:3, Hebrews 13:8, James 5:14.

            (2)       Healing is the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, since only God can forgive sin, only God can heal.  Healing cannot come by other means.

            (3)       One of God's names is "God, our Healer" (Exodus 15:26).  Since it is part of God's name that He heals, it is idolatry to trust any other means to cure sickness.  See II Kings 1 and II Chronicles 16.

            (4)       Healing is the forgiveness of sins through the stripes of Christ.  Therefore not to trust God for healing is to reject the sacrifice of Christ and to make oneself unworthy to take the Passover!

            (5)       Faith -- it is  according  to your faith  that you will be healed, Matthew 9:29.

            (6)       We must repent of physical sins just as we repent of spiritual sins in order to receive forgiveness.  See John 5:14.   [See  discussion  of physical and spiritual sins on preceding pages.]

            (7)       It is sin to administer or accept harmful drugs since Revelation 21:8 says that "sorcerers" (Greek pharmakos) will have their part in the lake of fire.

Although Antion and Tkach no longer would support these tenets, it would be wise for us to follow the above seven principles today.

Review:  "The Plain Truth About Healing,"   original text 1979 by Herbert W. Armstrong, 69 pages, revised in 1987.     "Principles of Healthful Living," 59 pages, by Roderick C. Meredith, Herbert W. Armstrong and others. Both published by the Worldwide Church of God, Pasadena, California during 1987.

Satan the Devil is the author of confusion.  He wants mankind to suffer ill health and die, never qualifying to become the sons of God in the Kingdom of God.  The Worldwide Church of God has known and practiced Biblical Laws of Health.  Miraculous healings have occurred.  With the new booklets "The Plain Truth About Healing," and "Principles of Healthful Living," there appears to be a serious degradation of the faith once delivered. Not only has vital truth been lost, it has become perverted. Sorting out the right and the wrong is sometimes a difficult process when there is such a mixture of truth and untruth.

Preaching the Gospel and Healing Go Together

As the 1979 "Healing" booklet correctly states, the ministry of the Messiah was dual:  (1) preaching the good news of the coming Kingdom of the Almighty on this earth, and (2) healing the sick.  The proclaiming of the true gospel ALWAYS includes both.

Herbert W. Armstrong learned during his early years as a minister that the Eternal promises to heal, and that we can trust and rely on His Word in faithfulness.  In his autobiography, Armstrong relates that another minister, who had the gift of healing, taught the truth of healing to Armstrong.  When  Armstrong, in turn, tried to teach him Bible truth, that the crucifixion of Messiah was not on Friday and the resurrection was not on Sunday, this faith healer rejected new truth and lost his gift of healing.  We too will lose our spiritual gifts if we do not remain faithful to revealed truths of the Almighty, including healing.

Armstrong correctly states, "in the ministry of Jesus and His first-century apostles, miraculous HEALING of the sick and diseased [and casting out of demons] went hand in hand with the preaching of the gospel" (page 13).  See Matthew 4:23.  Since we know that Jesus doesn't change, Hebrews 13:8, and there is one gospel and one faith, the faith once delivered, this MUST mean that the true Church today does the same things Jesus did.

Yet,  Armstrong does not agree that healing should accompany the proclamation of the gospel message today!  He says that ". . . healing is for the Church.  But it is NOT, today, an integral part of the proclaiming of Christ's gospel to the world!" (page 14).  Why not?  How can this be?  Jesus, as Armstrong admits, healed people of the general public as He came across them or they came to Him.  Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by shedding His blood and undergoing a terrible scourging prior to His crucifixion.  Faith in God's promises to heal, and in God's promises to accept the death of His Son in our stead, are required for salvation.  The only "proof" given that healing today is only for the church is Matthew 24:14.  The preaching of the gospel is held to be merely for a witness, and does not include healing.  However, this is a gross perversion of scripture!  Jesus, in sending forth His disciples, commanded them to teach all nations and baptize those who believe, teaching them to observe all things He commanded.  In Mark 16:15-20, He tells them to preach the gospel to everyone, and baptize those who believe.  These signs shall follow those that believe:  they shall cast out demons and lay hands on the sick, and the sick shall be made well.  Healing and the gospel message would continue together to the end of the age:  " . . . and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,"  Matthew 28:19-20.

Matthew 24:14, when taken in context with the rest of Scripture, is no  "proof" that healing doesn't accompany the proclamation of the gospel message.  Mr. Armstrong gives three additional poor excuses why the church today does not preach the gospel along with healing as Christ and the Apostles and early Church did:  (1) The ministry today does not have the faith of Peter, Paul and James (Luke 18:8).  Since faith is a requirement for salvation, this is a stern indictment of the ministry today. (2) Perhaps "man's world has developed a medical profession, which Jesus foreknew, so that the people uncalled of God would be far better cared for than those of the first century," (pages 60-61).  (3) "Today Christ does not lead His apostle [sic.] or any in God's Church to heal indiscriminately the sick encountered among the general public -- as Jesus did and the first apostles did until SUPPRESSED by worldly powers," (page 49).

It is true that Jesus did not heal everybody.  In some locations, He healed few because of their lack of faith.  In the Old Testament, Elisha healed only a few in Israel, and Naaman the Syrian, who sought him.  Where are the Naaman type healings today? Perhaps they are as "scarce as hen's teeth" because of the lack of faith and love on the part of the ministry.  Jesus healed because of His compassion for all people, not just those "in the church."

Medical Profession, Good or Bad?

The new "Healing" booklet is self-contradictory and in many cases dead wrong on the subject of the medical profession.

Satan tries to "make God's laws inoperable; abolish the penalty; deal with the EFFECT, ignoring the CAUSE. Medical science' operates primarily on that method -- trying, with medicines, to prevent God's law from exacting its penalty. . . .  The sufferer has in his body one poison, so we add another poison in the form of medicine,"  (page 22).   This is absolutely the TRUTH!  One poison plus another poison does NOT equal no poison!  Yet this fallacy is the foundation of modern medicine!

Physical healing is indeed the forgiveness of sin.'  In I John 3:4 we are told that sin is the "transgression of the law."  The "law" mentioned here is the whole law, including the Ten Commandments with all the respective statutes and judgments defining details of each one of the Ten Commandments (pages 25, 43).  There are two conditions to healing:  (1) Commandment keeping, I John 3:22, and (2) faith, James 5:15.

Again it is  true that some in the church lack the faith to be healed, when Jesus has already paid the penalty for our physical sins so that we can be healed.  This lack of faith does not disfellowship the weak brother from the church. Disfellowshipping is for causing divisions and offenses, Romans 16:17-18 (pages 44-45).  However, God did NOT raise up the medical profession for our day (page 46).  Modern medicine is humanly devised and swayed by Satan (pages 59-60).

Now come the contrary ideas regarding the medical profession.  Armstrong states that artificial insulin is not a drug or medicine (page 47) although insulin may be made from unclean animals.  He says that "Medical practice may be the best thing that carnal MAN, cut off from God and His revealed truth, has in 6,000 years come up with . . . . better let him have what help MAN can give, RATHER THAN NO HELP AT ALL!" (page 53).

Armstrong believes that there has been tremendous medical progress in our day.  Not so.  Worldwide Church of God Pastor Sherwin McMichael, in his thesis on the history of medicine, states that ancient medicine had a better track record of benefits than modern medicine, its cures were more sure and safer than those of today's medical profession.  We do not believe that today's artificial hearts and AIDS vaccines are medical progress at all.  The continual progress of man is typically an American concept.  Many Britons correctly understand that change does not equal progress, and that the past was often more advanced than the present.  This is also the Bible view.

On page 61, Armstrong incorrectly states that today most doctors prescribe medicines designed to help nature do its own healing.  On page 22 he says correctly that medicines are mostly poisons trying to prevent God's laws from exacting their penalty.  These statements are flatly contradictory.  (Using aspirin to quell a fever is an example.  A fever is a natural body mechanism to burn off poisons.  By calming the fever with aspirin, one prevents the body from doing its God-designed function.)  Then again a contradiction on page 62, "this development is not always progress forward.  Too often . . . it has been progress in reverse."  Back and forth it goes.  If you are "liberal" on the subject of healing, you will find much you will like in the "Healing" booklet. If you are "conservative," there are many statements you can comfortably accept.

The booklet says that there is much that doctors can do, such as child delivery and setting broken bones (page 65).  This has elements of truth.  Let's take child delivery.  Even when we worked with doctors who accepted our insistence on natural childbirth, they tried to push us to do things un-natural.  With our first child, the doctor wanted to break my wife's bag of waters so he could shorten his work time and go on to another patient.  At our last child's birth, the doctor pressured my wife to take pitocin to induce labor, and was quick to push for an unwanted caesarian operation when difficulty developed.  Our conclusion:  find and use a reliable midwife or doctor who is sincerely pro-natural, if you can.  Trust doctors even less than used car salesmen!

New Healing Booklet Destroys Faith

"The Plain Truth About Healing" (1979, 1987) booklet is a jumbled mass of confusion.  "There is much doctors can do for us today," (page 69) is the main theme.  If this is our foundational premise, then we don't need the Eternal, we don't need to exercise faith and obedience.  The truth is that our faith is weak.  We desperately need the Almighty's protection and healing.  Plagues are coming (possibly AIDS is a forerunner) that will devastate humanity worse than the Black Death of the Dark Ages in Europe.  There will be no healing medicines from this world's medical doctors then.  There aren't any now.  Either we rely on the Eternal to heal us, and seek to obey His laws and grow in faith and obedience, or we have had it.  Healing is an integral part of the Good News of the Kingdom message.  Without healing there is no Good News.

Too many of today's Sabbath-keeping ministers do not believe that the Eternal is the Healer.  They have more confidence in doctors than faith in God.  They do not have faith in Bible promises for divine healing nor do they encourage others to have faith in YHVH our Healer.  No wonder there is so little faith today!

Principles of Healthful Living

The companion booklet to "The Plain Truth About Healing," is "Principles of Healthful Living."  It contains many good health principles, along with some contradictions and errors. Based upon an article by Roderick C. Meredith, "Healthful Living" gives the seven basic laws of radiant health:

            (1)       Food and Fasting.  Eat natural foods (avoiding chemical additives) and fast occasionally to cleanse your body.  Good drinking water is essential to keeping your body clean inside, and overcoming constipation which is the cause of many ills.

            (2)       Cleanliness and Dress.  Keep the body clean and do not wear tight or unsuitable clothing.  Properly fitted shoes especially are important to the entire body's health.

            (3)       Sunshine and Fresh Air.  Moderate exposure to sunshine can be beneficial, but avoid sunburn.  Develop deep breathing to get oxygen into your body.

            (4)       Exercise.  Bodily exercise does profit for a little while, during our physical lives.  Don't neglect your body.

            (5)       Sleep and Rest.  You cannot "catch up" on sleep later.  Get proper sleep at normal hours if at all possible.  Keeping the Sabbath is a key to good health.

            (6)       Avoid Bodily Injury.  Reckless and careless people defile and destroy their bodies with wrong foods and drugs, and also injure themselves.  Safety is an important health principle.

            (7)       Build a Positive Mental Attitude.  Worry, stress and tension causes so much sickness and disease.  Many of our health problems stem from our mental outlook.  The only way to have a sound mind is to obey God.  Obedience to all of God's laws produces a sound mind, and is a major key  to good health.

Clean and Unclean Foods

The "Healthful Living" booklet shows it is wrong to eat Biblically unclean foods.  An excellent chart of clean fish and unclean seafood is given on pages 28-29.  When you eat foods the Creator did not design for the human stomach, "you commit suicide on the installment plan by actually shortening your life!" (page 17).

However, the "Healthful Living" booklet is very confusing and contradictory in discussing the subject of clean and unclean foods.  It is stated (page 18) that the law of clean and unclean given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 " . . . is not part of God's spiritual law, summed up in the Ten Commandments."  This is a grossly wrong statement.  The Ten Commandments sum up all of God's laws, statutes and judgements, Matthew 22:36-40.  See our article, "Which Old Testament Laws Are in Force Today?" in our book, Biblical Law.  The truth is, that the health laws ARE part of the Ten Commandments, which are part of the two great laws of love to God and love to neighbor, which in turn constitute love, the basic attribute of the Almighty.  Sin is the transgression of any of God's laws, I John 3:4, 

The "Healthful Living" booklet contradicts the "Healing" booklet: "Now the eating of wrong food is not a transgression of this spiritual law [of I John 3:4], and is not a sin." (page 19).  An attempt is made to distinguish between "physical sin" and "spiritual sin."  The Bible does not make such a distinction.  If we believe that eating unclean foods is committing suicide on the installment plan, and suicide is murder (the sixth commandment), then how is eating unclean foods only a "physical" sin when it breaks one of the (supposedly) "spiritual" sins of the Ten Commandments?  This is utter confusion and contradiction!  Committing sexual immorality is a sin against one's own body, I Corinthians 6:18.  You can contract AIDS or other venereal diseases by so doing.  Sexual license is clearly a "physical" sin, yet it breaks the seventh commandment.

If eating unclean foods is not a sin, then why will God punish those for eating unclean foods?  "The Lord will judge by fire, with fire He will test all living men, and many will be slain by the Lord; those who hallow and purify themselves in garden-rites, one after another in a magic ring, those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and all vile vermin, shall meet their end one and all, says the Lord, for I know their deeds and their thoughts," Isaiah 66:16-18, NEB.

Is Sin Either "Physical" or "Spiritual"?

The Bible does not distinguish between "spiritual" and "physical" sins.  It does not clearly delineate between categories of sin.  Continued sin results in death, physical death for sure, and spiritual death for all eternity unless one repents of his sins.  It is true that what goes into the stomach does not make one polluted with evil thoughts.  The Messiah's statements in Mark 7:14-23 do not say nor imply that eating unclean meats is not a sin.  He is emphasizing that evil thoughts and deeds come from within the man.  Be concerned about what goes into your body, but be much more concerned about what comes out from your body, your actions, thoughts and deeds.

The Sermon on the Mount destroys the false concept of a dividing line between spiritual and physical sin as the Pharisees believed.  The Messiah said that even lust is the same as adultery.  The Apostle John wrote that to hate your brother is the same as murder, I John 3:15.

The Ten Commandments have everything to do with the "physical" laws of health.  Ignoring God's health laws is having another god before the true God.  Worshipping the medical profession is idolatry.  Damaging your body by wrong foods and health practices is murder.  Lusting after supposedly "gourmet" unclean seafood is coveting.  Can you begin to see how all of the Eternal's laws inter-relate, and how absurd it is to differentiate between "physical" and "spiritual" laws?

We Need God's Help, NOW!

Those who follow Biblical health laws should not condemn any other person for failing to live up to the Maker's instruction.  We should condemn the sin and not the sinner!  Followers of the Bible do not use "past-tense" terminology as in the "Healthful Living" booklet:  "Leviticus 11 enumerates the dietary laws which God gave ancient Israel . . . .  Another interesting Old Testament law forbade the eating of animal fat," (page 13, our emphasis).  The Creator's Laws are living, present-tense commands for all peoples of all times, and especially in today's polluted world.  God's Laws are not merely interesting historical tidbits.

The Eternal's laws of health are not easy to keep today.  Even today's "clean" foods are, all too often, laced with poisons, preservatives, antibiotics and all sorts of man-made pollution.  It is impossible to breathe air in many parts of the world without drawing pollutants into your lungs, which damage your health and cause death on the installment plan.

Rather than receiving a watered-down version of God's laws of health and healing, as expressed in the Worldwide Church of God "Healing" and "Healthful Living" booklets, the true believer needs  a church and a ministry who really believe in, and call out to the Almighty for, (1) divine healing, and (2) knowledge of healthful living.  These booklets allow one to take either a "liberal" or "conservative" position.  Let us not be wishy-washy.  Let us trust the Almighty for healing and do the best we can, with His help, to live a healthful and abundant life.

Review: "New Understanding of the Meaning of Christ's Broken Body and the Church's Teaching on HEALING," by Joseph W. Tkach, in the March 23, 1987 The Worldwide News.

Joseph Tkach Liberalizes Healing Doctrine

Joseph Tkach, pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God, successor to Herbert Armstrong, states that a person can refuse to seek medical attention because of vanity, or a desire to appear more spiritual.  He believes that seeking medical attention is not a "test of righteousness."  For Tkach, one procedure, special diet, or surgery, is no more or less sinful than another.  He says going to a physician does not show lack of faith in God's ability to heal.  In essence, Tkach appears to have further liberalized teachings already greatly watered down. We totally disagree that there is nothing wrong with seeking most medical attention, and we maintain that many medical procedures are wrong and are against God.

After twenty-five years as a practicing physician, the late Dr. Robert Mendelssohn (1927-1988) was convinced that annual physical examinations are a health risk, hospitals are dangerous places for the sick, most operations do little good and many do harm, many drugs cause more problems than they cure, and the X-ray machine is the most dangerous tool in the doctor's office. His book, Confessions of a Medical Heretic, is offered by Giving & Sharing.  Even an unconverted medical doctor has more sense regarding good health practices than Joseph Tkach, leader of the Worldwide Church of God.

Tkach states that to violate the laws of health is not sin, unless violated through lust and willful disregard for one's body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, or through vanity.  Again, he wrongly attempts to differentiate between "spiritual" and "physical" sin.

Psalms 103:2-3 says, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases."  Tkach says that this is NOT an unconditional promise!  However, if we do not have positive assurance that the Eternal will forgive our sins, we have no hope of salvation.  What these verses actually say is that just as the Almighty will forgive our sins upon genuine repentance, SO ALSO He will heal all our diseases.  The two go together.  If we have repentance, faith and obedience, the Eternal will positively, ABSOLUTELY fulfill His unconditional PROMISES!

Tkach says that being supernaturally healed is decidedly NOT a display of which person is "more righteous."   While the Great Physician often heals people purely out of mercy, and sometimes delays healing to strengthen our faith and patience, Tkach's statement is not always true.  Some people were not healed by Jesus because of their lack of faith, Matthew 13:58, Mark 6:5, 6.  Many people today are not healed because of lack of faith, lack of obedience, or because they really don't cry out to God in earnest prayer to be healed.  One healed should never boast about his righteousness, he should be deeply grateful to the Eternal for His mercy.  The many sick today within the Sabbath-keeping churches should be exhorted to be more faithful, more obedient to God's laws.  After all, it is a fact that obedience to God is the key to good health.

Jesus says in Matthew 9:12, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."  Tkach says this upholds the medical profession and that the sick should seek any kind of medical help.  Today's medical profession as a whole does not begin to compare with "old" medicine of nature's herbs and home remedies.  Jesus is referring to sensible, proper, natural medical practices.  The Savior was not endorsing today's transplants with baboon hearts, nor drilling holes in the head (trepanation) performed by ancient Egyptian surgeons. For Tkach, bleeding the body with leeches is the same as taking golden seal, the queen of helpful herbs.  He feels that one medical practice is as good as another.  What ridiculous reasoning!

The "church of Joseph Tkach" will not give advice or help in determining which medical procedures are harmful and should be avoided.  That is up to each member to decide for himself.  God's people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Tkach says that healing is not the forgiveness of sin, but a demonstration of the mercy of God.  It is true that not every sickness is the result of sin.  The man born blind whom Jesus healed in John 9 was not blind because of his sins, nor for sins of his parents, but so that the Almighty's power could be shown. Healing is the demonstration that God has the power to forgive sin, as shown in Matthew 9:1-8.  Healing is removal of the consequences of sin.  Those healed should remember that God does not forgive us IN our sins, but FROM our sins.  The healed individual should resolve with God's help to go and sin no more!  Any statements such as Mr. Tkach's that downplay the aspect of sin leading to sickness, and that healing is not the forgiveness of sin, leads people to feel they have the license to break laws of health.

Correcting "Heretical Teaching"?

Gleefully, the April 1987 Ambassador Report (anti-Worldwide Church of God periodical) termed the "new" healing doctrine "the most monumental change in church doctrine" in the 53-year history of the organization.  The AR stated that the church's new leader, Joseph Tkach, reversed former leader Herbert Armstrong's teaching of fifty years.  According to AR editor John Trechak, the Worldwide Church has gained "new truth" that many dissident ministers had known for years previously, and has reversed previous "heretical teachings on healing" which had caused untold suffering and misery when thousands of church members in the past did not chose to receive medical care.  The truth is that the new teaching is heresy.

Tkach's changes were not drastically different than what Armstrong taught in the last ten years or so of his life.  Armstrong (who died in 1986) wrote most of the new "Healing" booklet, and had officially watered down previous teachings many years previously.  Heretical liberal tendencies regarding healing have long been extant in the church.  In 1972, I went to the church's ministry to be anointed for an illness.  Before they would anoint me, they asked me if I had been to a doctor. In the mid-1970's, my sister-in-law had a severe migraine headache and went to a former Worldwide Church of God minister noted for being "conservative." Instead of anointing her according to her request (James 5:14-15), he massaged her neck for the better part of an hour!

The 1976 Worldwide Church of God ministerial conference published a "Statement on Healing."  It said that God can and does heal, but neither healing nor the lack of it are an indication of one's level of faith or spirituality, and that seeking help and advice from trained physicians does not show a lack of faith, nor prevent God from performing a miracle, and anointing for sickness is a solemn ceremony of the church.  One medical procedure is held to be no more "righteous" than another.  The statements in 1987 are not much different than those made in 1976.  The 1978 Systematic Theology Project (STP) of the Worldwide Church of God, later denounced by Herbert W. Armstrong, was copied almost verbatim by Joseph Tkach in 1987.  Most of these heretical STP ideas were copied from Ernest L. Martin's teachings in the early 1970's.

Review:  Health, Healing and Medicine -- What History and  the  Bible  Reveal,  Church of God, The Eternal, 1983.  190 pages.

Joseph Hopkins wrote in the April 1977 issue of Christianity Today that the Church of God, The Eternal, or COGTE, is a "conservative" church group of ex-Worldwide Church of God members, "a small group led by former WCG evangelist Raymond C. Cole [and Bryce Clark] of Eugene, Oregon [who have] renounced the WCG on the basis that it has forsaken the faith once delivered' to Armstrong."  In Healing, as in Divorce and Remarriage, it is difficult to distinguish the COGTE's liberal teachings from those of its former affiliation.  If the COGTE healing paper represents the "conservative" viewpoint, will the Savior, when He returns, find ANY faith, Luke 18:8?

"If  I  were  the Devil,  how could I deceive  true  Christians?"  asked  Bryce Clark in his 1976 article,  "Can True Christians  Be Deceived?"  One of the major ways that Satan would do  this,  Mr. Clark stated,  was "lots of literature."  If he were Satan, Clark "would inundate them with church-oriented literature . . . . that they would have little chance to study the Bible itself.  Then as time went  along,  I'd `water down' what was said in order to `soften them up' for compromise."  The last thing he would do "would be to remove  the  opposition.  I would handle each individual privately,  and never tell the membership the real reason for any dismissal."

It is quite unusual that Mr.  Clark seems to have acted out his very own prophecy.  His article, "Health, Healing and Medicine," (he is the  assumed  major author) is lengthy and  tiresome,  wordy  and repetitious.  It is supposedly written for the "thinking person."  As I waded through it, my senses were dulled, my interest lagged.  Very little practical,  useful information was presented. 

The highlight of the article came on page 117, at the end of Part One, where   Mr. Clark wrote,   "It is now time to examine the Bible record concerning this all-important matter of health and healing."  I found myself loudly shouting,  "AMEN!"   Yes, it was about time to do so,  after slogging through Hippocrates,  Galen, Hahnemann and all the other "great" medical authorities down through the ages.

There  was a reverent stop with Franz Anton Mesmer,  who "mesmerized" people like modern hypnotists.   When I read about Mesmer, I began to understand that Mr. Clark is really enthralled about the occult and witchcraft.   How could a true believer in God discuss hypnotism in a positive light,  and not condemn it as  demonism?  This could only happen to a person who has spent so much time studying  "the depths  of Satan," that he became affected by it.

The preface explains why there is a much larger section on history than on the Bible.  "It is not possible to properly understand or gain a right perspective of divine healing without a knowledge of the history of medicine."

If this is true,  then I have not understood divine healing because all I had in the past was the Bible,  and Herbert Armstrong's brief, yet inspired, article, "Does God Heal Today?"  Should I have studied Hippocrates instead of Rodale,  and  Galen instead of Kloss?  If I must understand the history of medicine, which as Mr. Clark states is rooted in demonism, occult and defiance of the Almighty God,  before I can get a right perspective of divine healing,  then there is no God,  and  the Bible is a fake.   Romans 16:19 helped me to see the True perspective,  that  God would have us "wise unto that which is good, and simple [innocent] concerning evil."   Somehow,  Mr. Clark's Bible must have this Scripture reversed.

And then there is the legal disclaimer in the preface:   "The reader should not construe what is written to be specific advice or a course of action to be followed with regard to any health problems."   This is the sort of weak statement made by someone more concerned with avoiding a lawsuit than with helping people get well.   But there is no danger.   The 190 pages of the COGTE article have few if any clear instructions of what to do when sick.   Most true Christians are looking for guidance on  matters of natural health in this world of confusion and contradictory health  information.   Clark's article provided almost no helpful guidelines.  One book on health, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About  Nutrition,  by Dr. David Reuben,  is strongly recommended.   That is about the  only health advice given.  I've got a previous bias against Dr. Reuben because  his earlier book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, is pure trash and hedonism.

On page 141,  Mr.  Clark hits the nail on the head when he states that the  ministry bears some responsibility for the healing of God's people,  that it is the failure on the part of the ministry in general that has led to such an overall increase in disease.  As Mr. Clark said,  the ministry does not teach God's way  of health and does not encourage faith in God for healing when one becomes ill.  Neither do they set the right example.

You've heard the saying,  "What you are speaks so loudly,  I  cannot hear what you are saying."  A few years ago, Mr. Clark stated in a sermon that when he was a Worldwide Church of God minister in Ohio, Roderick C. Meredith, the Director of Ministry, inspected his medicine cabinet and disapproved of the aspirin he  found.   Mr. Clark used this example of the wrongful dictatorial style of the ministry.  But the question still is in my mind, "Why did Mr. Clark  have aspirin in his medicine cabinet?"  When I first came into the church,  I came to understand God's health laws, and since then have never touched aspirin.  Other, far more beneficial and non-harmful herbs and/or vitamins provide better benefits  than aspirin, without its damaging side effects.   Why would a minister have aspirin in his medicine cabinet?

The worst illness I have ever had, was when I got pneumonia after I returned to the Church of God,  The Eternal, in 1977.   I  had Shirley phone for an anointed cloth, but nothing came.  Even though I still felt pretty bad, we drove down from Portland to Eugene for Passover services.   Mr.  Cole's daughter gave me an anointed cloth in an envelope at the door of the services.   I endured the Passover services although I was still very sick and weak.   What was most difficult to endure was the prayer over the bread.  It was something like "Lord,  thank you that we are not like others who have departed from the faith once delivered."  I needed the publican's prayer, and not the prayer of the Pharisee.  Why did I receive an anointed cloth when the minister was  right there?   Where was the love,  help and encouragement to have faith in God for healing?

Why are there so many pages in the COGTE article on the history of demon-inspired medicine?   To what purpose is this multitude of pages?   Why not give  a few pages of good sound advice about natural preventative medicine  and herbs  which aid the body's natural curative processes?   Is  there any concern for the sick,  the suffering, those who are elderly and lonely,  or those who are  discouraged and under mental and emotional distress?  The tone and content of the article answers these questions very distinctly.

The statement is made on page 150 that there is no  "Biblical injunction which requires anyone to trust God for healing."  Thus Clark says that lack of faith is  not sin.   However, God's Word says differently.   Romans 14:23 says, ". . . for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."   Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it  is  impossible to please Him."   The adult generation of Israel did not enter into the Promised Land because of  their unbelief (lack of faith), Hebrews 3:19.   Faith  is necessary for salvation.  Without faith we shall not receive anything from God. To say that we are not required to have faith in God to heal us is to open the door to many other things.   If true, we would not have to trust God to help us keep our job because of the Sabbath, etc.  This position does not help build up faith in the Creator for divine healing.

Mr. Clark says that when one is very sick,  there are two basic questions  that should be asked relative to physical measures to alleviate  the sickness:  "1) What should or should not be done depends on the level of faith of the afflicted person;  2) Is the medical treatment or cure worse than the disease?"  He is correct that only the individual should make these decisions, and that we should not judge others whom we feel have made the wrong choices.

Yet, as an individual, I cannot use his guidelines.   What is my level of faith?  It is not humanly measurable.  I can and should examine myself to see if I am in the faith.  But I cannot determine how much faith I have.   The question I should ask myself is this:  "What would Jesus Christ do in this situation?  What faith  should I have?"  When sick,  it is too late to "build  up" faith by prayer and fasting.   I should ask myself the basic question, "have I sinned?"  As the article properly states, there are at least six causes of sickness,  and sin is not always the reason  we get sick.   If I come to see that I have sinned and contributed to my sickness,  I should, out of love for God, want to offer restitution.   I should take new or  additional steps to get my body back in line.   Maybe I have let myself  get run down due to neglect.  I must restore, or pay back, the checks I have drawn on my bodily health.   This is not to secure future healing,  or to atone for past sins.   Only Christ can do that,  because He paid the penalty.   But it is a sign of love and respect for God.

Love plays a great part in true healing.   The loving prayer of faith shall save the sick.   The person sick must exercise love before he  can have the faith.   And the minister,  the one who anoints,  must have love for the one that is sick.   Mr.  Clark's method is cold.  It is without love.

The second guideline,  "is the cure worse than the disease?"  is something that most people are unable to answer for themselves, except when it is too late.  Our experience with our daughter Amanda's birth proves this.   My wife Shirley's  erratic labor after her water broke necessitated a divine intervention,  and/or something to induce normal labor.   The pitocin the doctor talked us into taking was said to have no side effects.   We found out after taking it that the doctor had lied!   The "natural" drug caused much greater labor pains!   The cure was worse than the disease,  but we could not have verified it until our experience proved it.  Thankfully, the Eternal was merciful to us, in spite of our lack of wisdom.

I disagree that the Bible does not condemn medicine (pages 151,  165-166, etc.).  Which medicine is Mr.  Clark referring to?  If it is the pharmakia, the drug-based modern orthodox medical practice, the Bible certainly does condemn it (Revelation 21:8, word sorcerers is same word for druggists).

The tendency is to go to one extreme or another -- to reject ALL doctors and all medicines, OR to believe that God uses doctors and works through them.   The truth is,  as Mr. Clark states,  somewhere in between.   However, the truth is grounded in love.   Jesus primarily healed people because of His love and compassion for them.   Though I write a thousand pages based on copious notes as the result of countless hours of scholarly research, and have not love, of what value is it?

The road to healing and good health is NOT  knowledge of the history of medicine.   It is faith,  grounded in love (which is keeping the Commandments),  and having compassion on the sick and suffering, as our Savior did.

Review: "Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jeshua, the Son of Sirach," part of the Apocrypha, translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed,  Vintage Books, New York: 1959.

With the exception of Roman Catholics, few would claim that the Apocrypha is divinely inspired. Ecclesiasticus is one of the books of the Apocrypha (not to be confused with Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon).  It was written about 180 B.C. by an upper-class, worldly Jerusalemite who had assimilated much Greek culture.  Nevertheless, Jeshua the Son of Sirach presents a more balanced view of healing and medicine than many religious people do today. Rather than attacking healing and health, Jeshua supports the Biblical view.

In Ecclesiasticus 37:30, he states, "For sickness comes with excessive eating,  And greediness leads to severe illness."  Very true and good advice.  Then in chapter 38, verses 1-4, Jeshua son of Sirach says, "Show the physician due honor in view of your need of him, For the Lord has created him;  Healing comes from the Most High, And He will receive presents from the king.  The skill of the physician exalts Him, And He is admired among the great.  The Lord has created medicines out of the earth, And a sensible man will not refuse them."

Verses 6-8 add, "And He has given men knowledge So that He might be glorified for His wonderful works.  With them He cures and takes away pain, The druggist makes a mixture of them."  Some men have been given the ability to work with the herbs and healing medicines of nature which the Eternal has created.  They are gifted physicians as was Luke in the Bible.  God is glorified with this type of medical practice, which gives glory to the Eternal who has created herbs for the service of man.

Verses 9-14 of Ecclesiasticus goes to the core issue of health and healing:  "My child, do not be negligent when you are sick, But pray to the Lord, and He will cure you.  Renounce wrongdoing and make your hands do right, And cleanse your heart from every sin, Offer a fragrant offering and a memorial sacrifice of fine flour, And make your offering rich, as though you were no longer to live, And leave room for the physician, for the Lord has created him, And he must not desert you, for you need him.  There is a time when your welfare depends upon them, For they too will pray the Lord To guide them to bringing relief And effecting a cure and restoration to health."

First go to the Almighty, confess your sins and offer the sacrifices of a broken heart and contrite spirit.  Then, go to the godly physician who will pray for skill to assist your body to be cured.  Where are such godly physicians today?

Some liberals would forget Ecclesiasticus 38:15, "As for the man who sins in the sight of his Maker, May he fall into the hands of the physician!"  Even Jeshua son of Sirach knew there were some evil and unscrupulous physicians that we don't want to be victimized by.  It is either incredibly stupid or purposely deceptive for some today to whitewash the entire medical profession and say that they are ALL God's instruments, and one is not any better than another.  Jeshua son of Sirach knew better.  He also knew that illness is primarily the result of sin, As a rabbinic saying puts it, "The door which is not opened for charity will be opened to the physician."

CONCLUSION

Why is the doctrine of healing so important?  Why have we answered several of the point-blank attacks on this doctrine?

The Truth we were taught, proven by the Bible, and which we practiced and thereby experienced blessings, is being insidiously attacked on many fronts today.  The Truths has been watered down, smoothed out and made more palatable to carnal human beings. Satan attacks the Truth, in order to take away our faith.  It doesn't matter if you still keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days.  If you don't have faith you will not enter into the Kingdom.  Healing is one of several foundational doctrines of the Church.  It is crucial to the survival of the Church.  Healing, like baptism, is a physical type of the resurrection.

Holding fast to the true doctrines requires faith.  It takes faith to risk losing your job because of the Sabbath.  Or to pay God's tithes when it is the only money you have in the house.  It takes faith to trust the Almighty to protect you, and especially to trust God to heal you, or your family.

Those who are unable to live up to the standards of faith they once held, which are clearly revealed in the Word of God, and which have been historically proclaimed by the Church of God, are left with only two options:  (1) Repent, and humbly seek the faith once delivered, or (2) Re-define faith, bringing it more in line with their current spiritual condition.  Unfortunately, the second choice is predominant within God's Church today.

Jude 4-5, Amplified, "For certain men have crept in stealthily -- gaining entrance secretly by a side [door].  Their doom was predicted long ago, (impious, profane) ungodly persons who pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality, and disown and deny our sole Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.  Now I want to remind you, though you were fully informed once for all, that though the Lord [at one time] delivered a people out of the land of Egypt, He subsequently destroyed those [of them] who did not believe -- who [refused] to adhere to, trust in and rely upon Him."

Will we also "die in the wilderness" because we lack the faith to enter the promised land?