Theology of Health

Marie Ardill

Karissa Thomas

Olive Mintah

Joanna Johnson

Monica Delong

Summary of Article-

-Ad in New York City

-Obesity?

-Taxes vs Ads

-Is charging your wallet or churning your stomach the right solution to solve obesity?

-So what is the proper Christian response to health?

What the Bible has to say?

-1 Corinthians 6:12-20

-“Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial”

-Although this passage pertains to sexual immorality, we can take this useful lesson and apply it to other aspects of our lives.

…more Scripture1 Corinthians 3:16-17

“Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…?”

-We are to take care of our bodies and respect them, for the Holy Spirit dwells in them.

Tradition-

-In the past, the church has not been willing to take care of the members of its community

-Pacifist approach

-Turning a blind eye to the issue

-Through our extensive research, we have not found much information on how the church has dealt with this issue in the past.

Experience-

-Facts about soda:

- 25% of all drinks in America are soda.

- Typical can of soda- 150 calories

- People who drink soda, diet or regular, are more prone to gain weight

-Cigarettes- Taxes on tobacco only reduced use by 3-5 %

New York City-

July 9 2003, NYC School District announced that all beverages that are not juice or water were banned from school.

18 other states followed this purist.

… Experience

-The Church- “Overweight Americans Fight Obesity at Church”

-How does the Church deal with obesity?

- We believe that the church should deal with health and be involved in such matters so that individuals can have healthier life styles.

Theology of Health-

-Health is taking care of your own body and striving to do your best, whether it is in school, job, or eating habits.

Church-

-Should the Church have the right to tell me if my body mass index is the right number?

BMI= weight in lbs x 703

(height)²

Since there are many different factors involved, there are many different solution to combat this problem.

- The secular community has dealt with this issue far more than the Christian community

-Other perspectives-

-Dr. Proano

-Dr. Gretchen Delong

Jason Blackner from World Health Organization-

- “Many opt for the quick fix offered by fad diet ads, if these diets seems too good to be true, they probably are… good weight management is not about deprivation but adjusting your lifestyle for the long term.”

What do we mean by the Church’s involvement in promoting health?

-The church can encourage people to join focus groups which will help people to monitor their own health.

- The church's community should be active in spreading awareness about health

issues

-Not just eating habits, but on a larger scale- physical, mental and emotion health.

- NOT saying “No Cheetos”

- YES to providing exercise groups .

Is this HEALTHY?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqQVll-MP3I

Discussion Questions

-How do you think the church deals or does not deal with health?

-How would you raise awareness about health?

-Could you apply this to your own life? How?

-What do you think about the food on THIS CAMPUS?

-Should we still serve soda on APU knowing the health issues?

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Works Cited

www.voanews.com

www.healingdaily.com

www.tobaccofreecenter.org

www.wsj.com