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“… Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NIV)
Choose health, healing and wholeness - physically, mentally, spiritually. Then reach up, reach out and reach across!
"And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people." (Mat 4:23 ASV).
"The world is in need of workers who will labor as Christ did for the suffering and the sinful. There is a multitude to be reached. The world is full of sickness, suffering, distress and sin. It is full of those who need to be ministered unto - the weak, the helpless, the ignorant, the degraded." (E G White, Counsels on Health, p. 13)
Mission of the SAU Health Ministries:
The Health Ministries Department of the Southern Africa Union Conference (SAU) is dedicated to promoting an integrated wellness lifestyle through both modeling and needs-based, scientifically supported and gospel-oriented materials. We seek to raise wellness awareness and standards in all communities of SAU.
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To promote a healthy lifestyle for the best function of body, mind and soul (1Th 5:23) to God's glory (1 Cor 10:31).
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To restore the moral image of God in man by healing the wounds which sin has made (General Conference Bulletin, April 24, 1901).
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To assist in the proclamation of the gospel as the right arm assists the body (E G White, Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 288)
Adventist Philosophy of Health
In the first chapter of Genesis, God had already outlined an eating pattern for man. In Leviticus, God further details important health principles including food choices coupled with their religious emphasis, during His Chosen People's sojourn in the Sinai Wilderness. His purpose was to teach principles of health and sanitation necessary for the three million people to travel in the desert. God sought to teach important lessons of healthful eating that directly affected the people's body, mind and soul. Later, the Bible illustrated many examples where fasting exhibits man's realization of sin (separation from God) and his need for repentance. At other times, fasting and prayer were used to plead with God for spiritual insights into His purposes.
The New Testament continues the theme that temperance and self-control were important in obtaining God's special blessings for knowing His will and in making proper decisions for life. Self-control was seen as an important part of the Christian's battle in enduring hardships, and in keeping one's human nature under control. Over the centuries such teachings were lost, but by the mid-19th century a renewed interest and understanding of the relationship of health and cleanliness in the practices of the overall population was unraveled. In America and Europe new emphasis was placed on sanitation, cleanliness, food's effect upon health, and how the uses of water, air, and exercise prevented and reduced disease.
New water treatments (hydrotherapy) were introduced. "Health foods", i.e., Graham crackers, ready-to-eat cereals, and importance of fruits and vegetables were highlighted. Sanitariums (hospitals) were introduced which stressed outdoor gardening, occupational activities, conditioning, and healthful eating, to aid in reducing stress and nervous disorders found more frequently in industrialized city living. The 20th century witnessed the explosion of health principles for reducing animal fats and adding high fiber and antioxidants to the diet resulting in a drastic reduction of meat and dairy products. This very teaching is basic to the Adventist teaching of eliminating flesh food, increasing daily use of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains and light to moderate use of dairy products. Today's nutrition world would name this a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.
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