“O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health” (Psalm 30:2).
When Jesus sent His disciples out into the world to preach the Good News of Christ, He also gave them the power to heal the sick and cast out demons. As Seventh-day Adventists, we take the health message seriously. We encourage members to practice healthful living to prevent illness and we provide hospitals and clinics to treat people (both members of the Church and the public) who have fallen ill.
However, while we encourage the use of natural remedies where possible, we also stress the importance of evidence-based treatment. The General Conference Working Policy instructs denominational health institutions “to promote only those practices based upon the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy, or evidence-based methods of disease prevention, treatment, and health maintenance. ‘Evidence-based’ means there is an accepted body of peer reviewed, statistically significant evidence that raises probability of effectiveness to a scientifically convincing level” (General Conference Working Policy 2023–2024, p. 387).
Unfortunately, there are many who claim to “cure” illness in a manner not supported by either biblical principles or scientific evidence. Ellen White wrote that “the apostles of nearly all forms of spiritism claim to have the power to cure the diseased. They attribute their power to electricity, magnetism, the so-called ‘sympathetic remedies,’ or to latent forces within the mind of man. And there are not a few, even in this Christian age, who go to these healers, instead of trusting in the power of the living God and the skill of well-qualified Christian physicians” (Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 606).
The Global Church Member Survey asked members whether it was acceptable for Christians to go to witch doctors or spiritual healers for healing or protection from illness. In 2023, 70% of members strongly disagreed, 9.7% disagreed, 4.3% were unsure, 7.1% agreed, and 8.8% strongly agreed with the statement.
In 2018, 70.1% strongly disagreed, 11.6% disagreed, 5% were unsure; 6.1% agreed, and 7.2% strongly agreed. The numbers between 2018 and 2023 are similar, but there has been a slight shift away from agreeing with the statement.
When broken down by Division, we find that in 2023, the areas that most believe that Christians may go to witch doctors and spiritual healers are the Southern Asia Division, where 32.6% of members agreed or strongly agreed; the South Pacific Division, where 30.8% of members agreed or strongly agreed; and the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, where 29.8% of members agreed or strongly agreed.
In 2018, in the Southern Asia Division, 31% of members agreed or strongly agreed that Christians may go to witch doctors and spiritual healers; in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, 24.8% of members agreed or strongly agreed; and 15.6% of members agreed or strongly agreed in both the West-Central Africa Division and the East-Central Africa Division.
The Global Church Member Survey also asked members whether prayer in the name of Jesus is the only way to defeat evil powers and demonic spirits. Again, figures remain consistent between the two surveys, with a slight shift away from disagreeing with the statement.
In 2023, 66.4% strongly agreed, 25.2% agreed, 4.3% were not sure, 1.9% disagreed, and 2.2% strongly disagreed. In 2018, 66.8% strongly agreed, 23.1% agreed, 5.6% were not sure, 2.0 disagreed, and 2.5% strongly disagreed.
When broken down by Division, we found that in 2023, the areas where most members disagreed that the only way to defeat evil powers and demonic spirits was through prayer in the name of Jesus were the Trans-European Division, where 10.7% of members disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement; the Chinese Union Mission, where 7.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed; and the Southern-Asia Pacific Division, where 6.2% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
In 2018, two of the three divisions with most disagreement were different: in the Southern-Asia Pacific Division, 5.9% of members disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement; in the West-Central Africa Division, 5.3% disagreed or strongly disagreed; and in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, 4.7% of members disagreed or strongly disagreed.
The majority of church members around the world agree with the Church’s teachings against relying on witch doctors and spiritual healers. They believe in the power of Christ’s name to defeat the powers of evil. However, there is still a small percentage of members, in different cultures spread across the globe, who have not fully accepted the good news that true freedom from evil spirits can be found only through the love and power of Jesus Christ, and there is a significantly larger percentage who are unclear on how following biblical principles can help protect from illness, and, when followed by scientifically trained medical personnel, can help us to recover from illness.
“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1–2). This should always be our guiding biblical principle.
You can access the full report here.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry
Published by ASTR on 11/05/2024.