Early on in the growth of the Seventh-day Adventist church, God directed the believers to the importance of health and health principles in their cooperation with Christ in the perfecting of holiness.
At that time (mid-1800’s) there were many unhealthy practices which were not recognized as such by society, and many of the believers were suffering from diseases which proper diet and hygiene would have alleviated. They were zealous about the law of God, and obedience to it in the spiritual realm; but they needed to see that obedience to the laws of nature was just as much obedience to God as in the spiritual realm.
Many years later, in 1890, the writings of James and Ellen White on these topics were published in a volume titled, Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene. The first part of the volume consisted of articles by Ellen White, and the second part contained articles by James White. As Ellen White’s works are widely available, I have only reproduced James White’s portion here.
It also contains some testimonies from the experiences of Joseph Bates and J. N. Andrews on the influence that health reform had on their lives.
I have also attached, in the Appendix, a small practical work that James White released in 1870, titled Small Fruits. It has farming information on the cultivation and preservation of small fruit crops. 137p
Contents
- The Love of God in Creation
- Food, Air, and Exercise
- Diet and Cleanliness of the Hebrews
- The Appetite in Human History
- The Power of Appetite
- Appetite Controllable
- The Gospel of Health
- Redemption
- Hygienic Reform: It’s Rise and Progress Among Seventh-Day Adventists
- Appendix: Small Fruits
