Should Christians Use Preventative Medicine?
- Taneallea Feddis
- Jul 11
- 16 min read
This form of medicine has been in use since humans roamed the Earth. In the past, this was used by shamans and witch doctors to repel evil spirits and offer protection. Practitioners were directed to burn certain herbs or wear certain artifacts, such as charms and crystals to ward off evil spirits, bring good luck, positive energy, or for protection from death or illness.
Today, preventative medicine comes in the form of prescriptions or over the counter drugs, or medical advice encouraging smokers to quit, cancer patients to eat more fruits and vegetables, alcoholics to give up liquor, vaccines and most forms of contraceptives. Is anything wrong with preventative medicine, though? Isn’t it good to take these precautions to ward off diseases, such as lung cancer and unwanted pregnancies? Let’s have a look at what the Bible teaches about the use of some of these preventative measures.
Should we use drugs?
The word “pharmakeia” means witchcraft or sorcery. Traditionally, medicine was prescribed by witch doctors for prevention or protection from harm, to treat illness or to cause harm to others. Today medical doctors prescribe medicine, pharmaceuticals which comes from the same Greek root, “pharmakeia”, meaning sorcery.
The Bible forbids the use of pharmakeia, especially for sorcery. There are over 25 references in the Bible regarding the practice of sorcery, condemning it. Leviticus 19:31, Exodus 22:18, Isaiah 8:19, Leviticus 20:6, are just a few references condemning the practice of sorcery, or pharmakeia.
When we use preventive medicine we are essentially slapping God in His face saying that we do not believe His instructions, as it regards our health and wellbeing and the sophistication of our immune system, that it is sufficient to prevent ill-health. We should not put our trust in mankind for preventive health care, to do so shows a lack of faith and trust in God to take care of our needs and His promises to us that He will do so.
This is the reason we see in the book of Job, his friends believing that Job was sinful and his illness was a result of his sin. While not all illnesses are related to living a sinful life, most illnesses are, such as illnesses related to dietary, sexual or mental intemperance, or drug abuse, such as Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, bulimia, and cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol abuse.
Also, we should not use drugs for preventing illnesses. For example, taking low dose aspirin to prevent a heart attack. We should look to correcting the root cause of such an illness, such as diet and lifestyle, rather than putting Band-Aid on the problem, ignoring the causes and causing more health problems because we are continuously putting poisons into our bodies. If we live in the way that God ordains, we would experience better health and better quality of life in every aspect of our lives.
Should we use vaccines?
A vaccine is a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or more diseases. It is prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.
A virus is an infectious microbe consisting of a segment of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat. When a virus replicates in a body, there is sometimes an exchange of DNA information[1]. There is evidence that many of these vaccines cause the host to be infectious or even show symptoms of the disease itself. This is known as “vaccine shedding”, where vaccinated people are able to infect other people with the virus for days, weeks or even months after vaccination. This usually occurs with vaccines containing live versions of a virus and have the potential to "shed"[2]. Also, as with all medical treatment, vaccines have risks, and may even cause death, although this is very rare.
Sometimes vaccines are produced from the live or weakened form of the virus or bacteria it is designed to protect against. However, many do contain other ingredients that are considered poisons, such as:
· Aluminum[3], a neurological and immune toxin which accumulates in the body's tissues, and is linked to Alzheimer's Disease, seizures, depression, autoimmune issues, autism, neurological disorders, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and cancer;
· Squalene, an oil usually derived from shark livers (which is unclean and should not enter the body at all). This substance is known to invoke strong immune reactions and is linked to Gulf War Syndrome from the Anthrax Vaccine;
· Mercury[4], the second most toxic element known to man, is linked to cognitive difficulties, memory and vision loss, fatigue, depression, coordination issues, tremors, skin rashes, mood instability, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's, Autism, Lupus, Leukemia, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis;
· Formaldehyde[5], the substance used to persevere biological specimens in your high school’s biology lab is known to cause cancer in humans. It damages the respiratory, gastrointestinal, immune, liver, nerve and reproductive systems;
· Preservatives, many of which are toxic;
· And many more toxins[6].
The polio and many other vaccines also contain components taken from the kidneys of monkeys, an unclean animal that should not be taken into our bodies in the first place. This practice has been linked to outbreaks and other concerns[7].
There are studies that present evidence that in developed countries where there is proper sanitation, polio, small pox and other childhood diseases are significantly reduced perhaps because of better sanitation and the natural death of the lifecycle of the disease itself, and not because of vaccination programmes[8]. In fact, there is evidence that vaccines contribute more to disease than they do at preventing them. Additionally, if you had been vaccinated, you are at an increased risk of cancer and poliomyelitis7.
Vaccines are considered as preventive treatment, and is not without risks. It involves putting a man-made substance that God did not ordain into the body. The FDA admits that “90% of vaccine damage cases go unreported7” and even the small number that is reported is quite large because of the scale of these programmes. The developer of the Polio vaccine admitted that “official data shows that large scale vaccination has failed to obtain any significant improvement of the diseases against which they were supposed to provide protection.”
The purpose of these vaccines and other preventative treatments is more as a remedy for fear of contracting a horrible disease than as a means for holistic living through the preventive measures of diet and a temperate lifestyle as the Bible counsels.
Should we use gene therapies?
Gene therapy is a technique that modifies a person's genes to treat or cure disease. This technology is currently only being used in clinical trials for diseases, such as cancer, hemophilia, and blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa. Future applications include treatment for diabetes, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, and AIDS.
This form of therapy involves tapering with the DNA, a component of our blood. Despite the fact that there has been successful treatment of diseases and there are positive implications for its use in disease prevention, this is still a moral issue being debated in the scientific community.
God told us not to use the blood for any purpose, to not even consume it, for it is sacred and is for use by God only. “But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water” (Deuteronomy 16:1, NIV). The word, “consume” can be used to refer to any use by extension (for example, as it relates to the purchasing of goods and services) and is not just a reference to food and eating (English Oxford Dictionary).
If something is set a part for use by God, it is not to be used by us for any reason, this include blood related therapies, such as blood transfusion, and/or gene therapies. By extension, this also includes therapies that involves DNA manipulation, such as mRNA vaccines for influenza, and those being developed for cancer and HIV.
Gene therapy, for whatever reason, should not be used because it involves tapering with our DNA and God directed us to not use blood or any part of it for any purpose outside of the temple services.
Should we use contraceptives?
A contraceptive is a device or drug serving to prevent pregnancy. Methods of contraception includes, barrier methods such as caps or diaphragms, and condoms; spermicides; hormone treatment, such as IUD (intrauterine device or coil), the pill, implants, patch, and injections. Note that the withdrawal and rhythm methods are not considered good forms of contraception.
Contraceptives are useful and still has a place in the Christian’s or Jew’s life, but not all methods are created equal. Some methods may cause more harm than good. Hormone methods are associated with increased risk of blood clots, migraine headaches, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and even certain cancers[9].
Safer methods involve the use of barrier methods, like condoms. Contraceptive barrier methods do not interfere with the chemical composition of your blood, and are therefore a better option for someone wishing to maintain optimal health as they age. This is not a coincidence.
The Bible’s only counsel for prevention of disease is a good diet and a temperate and holy lifestyle. Even doctors agree that the best forms of prevention of lifestyle diseases is a change in lifestyle.
There are plenty of peer-reviewed articles discussing the safety and effectiveness of all of these preventative medications. For many of these treatments there is no conclusive evidence for their safety and even efficacy.
It is also important to note that the best way that health care professionals market drug based preventive treatments is to instill a fear of contracting or developing the related illness. There are fewer professionals who encourage optimizing diet and lifestyle as a means of prevention. When they do though, they usually use persuasive methods that involves focusing on the immediate benefits, such as more energy, stamina, mental clarity, etc. There is less emphasis on the development of the related disease. One strategy uses fear, the other positive benefits to overall health and quality of life. This again is no coincidence.
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16, NSV, emphasis mine).
As with many other areas of these Hebrew texts, while this piece of scripture is speaking about the church that is to be nourished with correct doctrine and unity, Paul uses things from nature that his audience is already familiar with. He is likening the body of the church to the human body, how it should be nourished and cared for and how it is benefited with proper doctrine (beliefs and practices) to work properly, that is, free of disease.
While the Bible does not contain the words “preventative medicine” or even “medicine”, it does teach about how to maintain our health - mentally, spiritually and physically. The Bible warns us to keep the body holy and unblemished, and warns that we should not defile the body in act or thought.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21, NKJV).
Leviticus 11 speaks in detail about how to determine if an animal is clean and fit to eat or unclean and unfit to eat. Leviticus 7:26 warns us about consuming (eating and using) blood, “No matter where you live, you must never consume the blood of any bird or animal” (NLT).
And, Leviticus 19:26 warns us about excessive drinking and other habits that defile us, “And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard’” (Deuteronomy 21:20, ESV).
The Bible has a wealth of information on how to support healthful and holistic living. Pay attention to the following verses that speaks to optimal health and well-being:
About unholy sexual practices, such as promiscuity and prostitution
“None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness” (Leviticus 18:6, NKJV).
“Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness as long as she is in her customary impurity (her period)” (Leviticus 18:19, NKJV).
“Moreover you shall not lie carnally with your neighbor’s wife, to defile yourself with her” (Leviticus 18:20, NKJV)
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, NKJV).
“Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion” (Leviticus 18:23, NKJV).
“Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (1 Corinthians 7:1, NKJV).
Hebrews 13:4 reads "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous" (ESV).
About rest
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates” (Exodus 20:8-10, ESV).
“Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed” (Exodus 23:12, NKJV).
“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21, ESV).
About unclean foods
Consuming these food have been known to cause disease or other health problems. When the word “unclean” is used in the Bible, it usually means something that carries, or may carry, disease.
“The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the skink, and the chameleon” (Leviticus 11:29-30, BSB).
Leviticus 11, goes into details on how to identify that an animal is fit for food. Other unclean animals mentioned include the camel, badger, rabbit, pig, horse, dog, eagle, falcon, shellfish, shark, eel, snake, crocodile, monkey, and more (read the whole chapter).
“Any earthen vessel into which any of them (unclean dead animals) falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean” (Leviticus 11:33-34, NKJV).
“And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening” (Leviticus 11:39, NKJV).
Unclean animals should not be used for food, drink, medicine or salve; we should not even touch their carcass.
About the blood
The blood is sacred. It is not for us to tamper, alter or use for any purpose. The word sacred in Hebrew is “kodesh” it means “holy” or “set apart” usually for a specific purpose. Nothing that belongs to God should be used for any purpose by us.
Leviticus 27:28-29 states, “‘Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord. No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death” (NKJV).
There are over 12 verses in the Bible that speaks to the sacredness of blood.
It is used for the purpose of the purification of sin:
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7, KJV).
It is used to seal a covenant:
“Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words” (Exodus 24:5-8, NKJV).
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21, NKJV).
“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20, NKJV).
It is set apart to be used for God’s purposes only. We should pour it out on the ground and not partake of it:
“But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water” (Deuteronomy 16:1, NIV).
“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (Genesis 9:3-4 NKJV).
“Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast” (Leviticus 7:26, NKJV).
“You shall not eat anything with the blood in it, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying” (Leviticus 19:26, NKJV).
“For it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off” (Leviticus 17:14, NKJV).
We should not harm the innocent:
“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever” (Jeremiah 7:5-7, NKJV).
Leviticus 18:6-24 commands that you should not create offspring from near relatives (the issue of DNA corruption) and practice bestiality:
“None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness (to have sex)…Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion. Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. (NKJV)”
About ritual purity
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV).
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NKJV).
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NKJV).
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21, NKJV).
Conclusion
The best preventive medicine as taught by the Scriptures are diet, proper hygiene, exercise, temperance, practicing forgiveness and meditating on heavenly things. In 1952 Dr. Sandler said, “Intensive research during the past twelve years on the relationship between diet and susceptibility to infection, not only in polio but also in common respiratory infections and tuberculosis, has convinced me that the human organism can protect itself against infection virtually completely by proper nutrition.”
We have been taught that germs cause disease, but the truth is that “disease creates germs, not germs create disease. Flies do not create garbage, they just arrive to clear up the mess, like germs7.” Florence Nightingale said, “There are no specific diseases only specific disease conditions.”
Here are some other notable references to the role of germs and the causation of disease:
“If germs play any role in the causation of disease, it is never a primary one but is always secondary to those causes that lower our resistance or impair health” – A. Baker.
“Diseases are crisis of purification, of toxic elimination” – Hippocrates.
“There is but one cause of disease, poison toxemia, most of which is created in the body by faulty living habits and faulty elimination” – Sir A. Lane.
“To believe that sickness results solely from the visitation of some itinerant germ or virus and to accept treatment by some poisonous drug is to be found guilty of the most naïve superstition” – Dr. D. Phillips.
“I have myself, through Natural Hygiene, over 16 years, treated all forms and hundreds of cases of typhus and typhoid fevers, pneumonia, measles and dysentery, and have not lost a single patient. The same is true of scarlet and other fevers. No medicine whatever was given” – Dr. Trall, 1860.
There is overwhelming evidence in the scientific community that shows a correlation between immunity and diet, hygiene, lifestyle and good mental health. The Scriptures have been telling us this all along. Keeping the commandments, including the health principles, are for our benefit. They are not a burden. In fact, they give us a better chance of living our lives free of disease and suffering. They are not restrictive, they give us the freedom to live our best lives. We should pause from the hustle and bustle of our lives and listen to what God has been telling us all along.
Could the key to good health be written in the very commandments that the Church has for centuries told us is obsolete? Should we be paying attention to them? I implore you not to forsake what is written here without deep investigation into these teachings. These seemly unscientific and old fashioned Biblical principles may very well one day save our lives.
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