religion & health

[confused453]

Does the bible or any other religious texts talk about human body and how to maintain optimal health? Since God is supposed to be the creator, I'd assume he'd leave us some manuals on biology.

 

[Madhuri]

In Hinduism, check up on Ayurveda

 

[Levite]

Does the bible or any other religious texts talk about human body and how to maintain optimal health? Since God is supposed to be the creator, I'd assume he'd leave us some manuals on biology.

Nope. We assume He created us with the reason and intellect to be able to figure out what we need. No need for prophetic medicine, because we can become doctors.

 

[Caladan]

Actually there are various Jewish texts about how to maintain one's body and a proper diet. Some of it is even in the Bible. But I'm specifically talking about the writings of Maimonides, the famous Jewish philosopher and a physician at the court of Saladin.

 

[Erebus]

Actually there are various Jewish texts about how to maintain one's body and a proper diet. Some of it is even in the Bible. But I'm specifically talking about the writings of Maimonides, the famous Jewish philosopher and a physician at the court of Saladin.

You'll no doubt know more about this than me, but I was arguing not too long ago with a relatively anti-religious friend that kosher laws aren't actually arbitrary considering the geography and culture of the time. They make a lot of sense. Shellfish for example are notorious for giving people gastric illnesses even now with our modern cooking methods and sanitation. Can you imagine how dangerous they could have been for the Israelites?

Anyway, just a little point I thought was worth mentioning

 

[Levite]

Actually there are various Jewish texts about how to maintain one's body and a proper diet. Some of it is even in the Bible. But I'm specifically talking about the writings of Maimonides, the famous Jewish philosopher and a physician at the court of Saladin.

Yeah, but Rambam (Maimonides) gets his physical and medical teachings from the science of his time, for the most part, and other than that, from the Talmud, who mostly drew on the science of their time in regard to those things.

In terms of "maintain one's body and a proper diet" in Tanach, are you thinking of advice to moderate behavior in the Wisdom texts? Or am I missing something?

 

[waitasec]

Does the bible or any other religious texts talk about human body and how to maintain optimal health? Since God is supposed to be the creator, I'd assume he'd leave us some manuals on biology.

you'd think....
but from the christian perspective, it seems that the god of the bible omitted this knowledge to imply
we made our bed and we are to lie in it.

so if we got sick it's because of "sin"

which is why we need the god in the bible...but once one adheres and believes in the god of the bible, they still get sick....go figure

 

[Caladan]

You'll no doubt know more about this than me, but I was arguing not too long ago with a relatively anti-religious friend that kosher laws aren't actually arbitrary considering the geography and culture of the time. They make a lot of sense. Shellfish for example are notorious for giving people gastric illnesses even now with our modern cooking methods and sanitation. Can you imagine how dangerous they could have been for the Israelites?

Anyway, just a little point I thought was worth mentioning

I've read various things about climate and cultural diets, but I'm still far from understanding it. It's a good point though, there are strong arguments that dietary traditions began as environmental and even economic diets.

Yeah, but Rambam (Maimonides) gets his physical and medical teachings from the science of his time, for the most part, and other than that, from the Talmud, who mostly drew on the science of their time in regard to those things.

In terms of "maintain one's body and a proper diet" in Tanach, are you thinking of advice to moderate behavior in the Wisdom texts? Or am I missing something?

I believe it was the prophet Daniel who challenged the Babylonian king to compare two groups of men, while giving each team a different diet for a duration of time. One group avoided alcohol and meat consumption as far as I remember.

 

[ChristineES]

There is a story in the Book of Daniel which talks about one group of boys eating the rich food of royalty and another group eating vegetables (which was Daniel and his friends). It said the group eating the vegetables was healthier than the group eating rich food.

But, other than that, there isn't much. I don't see why there should be. After all, there was no junk food back then, no McDonald's or Wendy's. No Hot Pockets (yuck), or potato chips. Food was grown and raised or hunted by each family.

 

[javajo]

I believe God told the Jews under Moses that if they obeyed God he would keep them from the diseases of the Egyptians and other tribes around them. Some things I recall were that they were to bury their excrement outside the camp, wash their hands in running water if they touched a dead body or anything unclean, and to wash their clothes and take a bath if they came in contact with various 'issues' and things, and cleaning and burning things where sick and dead people were, covering water pots in rooms of the sick, quarantining the sick and whatnot. It says the life is in the blood, which we know now not to practice bloodletting. Even the water of purification they washed with from the red heifer sacrifice had hyssop which is anti-bacterial. I don't remember all of them, but there were many rules like that which we now know more about why they worked, but they did it out of obedience to God.