An Appraisal of Health Counsels in the book of Proverbs (2025)

Biblical Perspectives on Health for the Contemporary World

Perspectives on health from the Bible such as biblical anthropology and the laws of God, as a basis for health and disease dynamics, are receiving support from science. Biblical anthropology teaches that a human being is a whole person, with physical, mental, social, ecological and spiritual dimensions. The body is not the opposite of the soul, it is its visible expression. One dimension affects the other dimensions, because a human being is a unit. Scientific studies show many connections between mind and body, such as aerobic exercise and memory, the effect of one body system on another, and even spirituality and disease. Health and disease are the result of obedience or disobedience to God's laws. Research in the area of behavioral epidemiology shows links between lifestyle and diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Biblical perspectives provide a useful theoretical framework for public health practice and research. Science and faith have traditionally been in disagreement, and they often appear not reconcilable with each other. Although both are ways to acquire knowledge and find truth, they are different in their assumptions and their methodology. However, they are beginning to come together in the field of health. The impact of religion on health has begun to be explored. How is it possible that a religious book such the Bible, the foundation for the Christian religion, written between 1500 BC and 100 AD, can have relevance for the twenty-first century, in a science-based, contemporary world? The objective of this paper is to show how biblical perspectives on health and disease dynamics are receiving support from the scientific field. Biblical perspectives about health corroborated by science would not only confirm Christian faith, but also could be a valuable and current source for health promotion, and could provide a theoretical framework for research, and for integrating health and faith.

Biblical Guidelines and Divine Sustainable Approach to Health Promotion, Diseases Prevention and Dietary Measures to Prevent and Control Non-Communicable Diseases

Acta Scientifci Nutritional Health

Proverbs and Medicine: The Problem of Applied Folklore. Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore, 46 (Estonia).

The difference between medical proverbs and proverbs in medicine has been largely ignored. The former are proverbs used for medical purposes even though they may have no medical content. The perception of a proverb as medical in content is flexible and can vary from collection to collection. In thematic proverb collections the items are usually taken out of the context but their very inclusion is in itself a context-specifying factor. A new definition of applied folklore is proposed, stressing the role of non-folklorists. The wish to use proverbs for concrete purposes inheres in the material itself as much as the wish to reveal its universal formulas.

"Biblical Philosophy of Health and Its Nursing Implications"

To Have Life, and Have It Abundantly! Health and Well-Being in Biblical Perspective

Journal of Religion and Health, 2014

THEOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

The author of this paper is fortunate enough not to undertake the task of integrating the theology of Proverbs into the biblical theology of the rest of the canonical books. Instead, the purpose of this paper is to propose a biblical theology of the Book of Proverbs drawn primarily from the biblical test itself. This means that the material will be analyzed as the biblical author presented it, the theological categories will be derived from biblical terminology, and a theology of Proverbs will be distinguished from the argument of the book.

The Use of the Book of Proverbs in Systematic Theology (BTB 46, 2016)

Considering works from the 19th century to the present, this article, for the first time, outlines and evaluates the use of the Book of Proverbs in systematic theology. Descriptively, it presents the most frequently cited texts of Proverbs and their significance for theologians. Prescriptively, it compares the consensus and debate among theologians with the conclusions of biblical exegetes. I conclude that exegetes and systematic theologians at times agree in their interpretation of passages (e.g., "the fear of the Lord"; Prov 6:23; 15:3; 20:9). However, more significantly, some systematic theologians present evidence from Proverbs based on interpretations largely unsupported by biblical exegetes, offering or assuming interpretations that contradict the conclusions of commentators (e.g., Prov 1:20-33; 8:22-31; 16:4; 30:4). I explore these disparate interpretations in detail and identify the core interpretive issues, offering suggestions for theologians and the relation of systematic theology and biblical scholarship.

A Survey of Present Research of Proverbs 1-9

Religion as a protective factor for health

Einstein (São Paulo)

Religion, Medicine, and Health

A chapter in the Blackwell's Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity, edited by Josef Lossl and Nicolas J. Baker-Brian, 2018.