Salt and Light: Theological Determinants of Health
By Brent Davis, Campus Ministry Coordinator
You may be familiar with social determinants of health, but what (in turn) determines social (and individual) determinants of health? Our worldview, and for Christians, our theology influences our lifestyle, our attitude towards society, and God’s blessings on our lives, including health. Let’s explore more. Ultimately, health is the state of creation intended by God from the beginning, a life of flourishing in the Kingdom of God. A kingdom is a social organization which ideally is organized to promote human flourishing. The Kingdom of God is, in fact, the ideal organization to promote human flourishing to the glory of God.
What is health? The World Health Organization defines it as: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”i In the Old Testament the ideal state of a person was described as ‘shalom,’ which is defined by Brown Driver Briggs as “completeness, soundness, welfare, peace”ii that sounds like well-being!iii The image the prophets gave was of someone sitting peacefully under a tree:
4Everyone will live in peace and prosperity,
enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees,
for there will be nothing to fear.
The LORD of Heaven’s Armies
has made this promise!
(Micah 4: 4, NLT)
So, what are the determinants of this state of affairs? The primary determinant is a proper relationship with God. All other determinants depend on this one because everything else we might need or desire comes from God and without a proper relationship with God we can never experience true, long-lasting peace. From God, we receive commands that are given for our wellbeing (Deuteronomy 5: 29). We are able to fulfill these commands by grace (Romans 4:16; 12: 6) and the development of maturity which requires the development of virtues giving us the capacity to do well in the face of adversity. These are the theological determinants of health.
[i] https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution
[ii] https://biblehub.com/bdb/7965.htm
[iii] “Lomas and VanderWeele (n.d.) proposed defining “well-being” as “a desirable state of quality.” This might pertain to a person’s physical, mental, social, or spiritual dimensions of existence and it thus becomes appropriate to speak of physical well-being as a “desirable physical state of quality,” of “mental well-being” as a “desirable mental state of quality,” etc. Complete human well-being could then be understood as a desirable state of quality with regard to all physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions of existence.”
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/00QwA8Z “A Theology of Health: Wholeness and Human Flourishing” by Tyler J. VanderWeele
