As I have argued in recent posts, the crux of the problem as to why Christians are so easily misled into thinking medicine is good is because they are not aware that for millennia philosophers have been viewing humans and the way they think from a non-biblical perspective. There is no end to the way they slice and dice up the mind, body, spirit, soul, function, and heart of man. Once these thought experiments are formed, then they are labeled with a name. Once something has a name, it implies legitimacy. Legitimacy leads to the creation of hypotheses, which leads to the development of theories, which leads to models, which leads to algorithms, and diagnoses. So far this is all a mental exercise and while it is wrong thinking, it has not yet caused harm to another. However, the final step is treatment. And that is an action that is applied to a patient or client. That is the final culmination of this mental and physical atheistic experiment.
Pretty soon paradigms spring up, like the practice of medicine and psychology. Schools are built and training programs are made so that students can become knowledgeable in all the nuances of these concepts, which we forgot came from man, not God.
The most important prayer in the bible before Jesus came was the Shema Israel, which is a prayer taken from Torah and recited twice daily, in the morning and at night (and other important times as well). I will write the beginning verses out here:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates. ~Deuteronomy 6:4-9
By contrast, in the New Testament, Jesus said all the law and the prophets hung on two great commandments, the first of which is:
And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. ~Mark 12:29-30
Jesus confirmed for us here in the oldest gospel record, the book of Mark, that the greatest commandment is to love God with your heart, soul, and might. But He also added ‘mind’ because mind was a word not used in Hebrew. Mind was understood in Hebrew as part of the concept of heart.
Since this is the greatest command in the bible–Old and New Testaments–then we should think about ourselves as God does here. Let’s delve into it. Heart in the Greek here is Strong’s entry 2588 kardia and it means the center of all physical and spiritual life, the INNER SELF. It includes thoughts and feelings, but not necessarily deep thoughts. Soul in the Greek here is Strong’s entry 5590 psuche and it means LIFE and gives the idea of what makes us alive. Mind in the Greek here is Strong’s entry 1271 dianoia and it means ‘through the intellect’ or deep thought, THINKING. Finally, strength in the Greek here is Strong’s entry 2479 ischus and it means FORCEFULNESS, as in power and strength manifested.
To interpret these words which are really more like ideas, we find that
We are a unique person with a will, capable of thinking, and able to enforce our will for God.
We are way more than a mere mind and body. In fact, body is not even mentioned here!! The Hebrew and Greek words for body are not included in the most important commandments. The material body is understood as the physical container for all these other things. If you consider we are a living soul with a will (our heart/inner self), thought (mind), and drive (strength), these are all abstract concepts. This implies that God considers what is most important about us are those aspects of ourselves that are immaterial!
No one can call themselves a Christian (or Jew), if they do not believe in the greatest commandment in the bible. And if you believe in the greatest commandment in the bible, it precludes you from separating out the parts of us that God calls to worship Him. What God has joined together, let no man separate (Mark 10:9). To separate our mind from our body is a pointless activity. Our body is just a house for all the things about us that God really cares about. Our bodies become sick through literal and figurative sin and Jesus can heal this, but God is far more concerned about our inner selves and how we function as His creation.
In our world, which is ruled by Satan, we are duped into focusing on our physical bodies over everything else. This separation originally occurred with Babylonian and Egyptian philosophers and shamans who were polytheists and atheists thousands of years ago in ancient times. It was never a biblical concept. These ideas were carried forward by more atheist, agnostic, and deist philosopher-physicians who created the field of science, and it has became one of our biggest idols today: the idea of medicine, health care, mental and physical health.
But the bible discourages us from focusing on our physical bodies, as the Apostle Paul says here:
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. ~1 Timothy 4:8
Jesus healed people from physical ailments to show them the power of God to heal them and their sin–not physically, but spiritually; to heal those parts of us that God really cares about, our inner beings. God gives us everything we need to do His will, and that goes for His greatest will of all.
to love Him. ❤
~Song of Mary~ 