Category: Natural Health
Should Christians Use Herbs? (part 3)
If you are just starting this series, you may want to read part 1 and part 2 first.
When choosing a method of health care, whether it is allopathic or naturopathic, Christians must weigh each decision in light of the Scriptures. I believe there are four important questions we can ask ourselves as we determine whether or not to use herbal medicine as a means of health care for our families.
Does it contradict the Word of God, His commandments or statutes?
When I am trying to discern whether or not something is permissible before God, I first look for direct commandments dealing with the subject. In the case of using herbs as medicines, I first found instances in the Bible where the Lord lets us know what is not permissible.
Practices Not Permissible
- practices involving ingesting blood
As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. Acts 21:25
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
Deuteronomy 12:23
There is a practice that is being promoted in the “natural community” of having women ingest the placenta after giving birth. Several benefits are cited as a reason for doing so. I won’t cover this topic in depth here, but I do want to state my position on this practice.
Jeremiah tells us that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”. As humans with a sin nature, we will always be able to come up with reasons why we should disobey the Word of God. There may be benefits to ingesting the placenta, but we are commanded to abstain from ingesting blood. We must be obedient to the Word of God.
- occult practices
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
Because the use of herbs has been incorporated into many occult practice, we must distinguish between the evil practices accompanying the herbs and the use of the herbs themselves. Remember, the herbs themselves possess no power in themselves to heal, they are merely substances that encourage the body to do what it was designed to do more efficiently. Just as food gives nutrients to promote growth, herbs can both provide nutrients needed or solicit actions within the body.
- practices dishonoring the sanctity of life
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jeremiah 1:5
Even before conception, the Lord knows us and loves us. Every life is precious to the Lord. Every. Single. One. We must strive against the culture of death in this world, to make sure that we are doing everything possible in our being to protect life, even potential life.
As a woman of childbearing age, I must take every precaution to ensure I am not harming a baby in my womb. This means not taking certain herbs, which may have abortifacient properties, even when I am not pregnant. Even natural substances can be harmful to babies in the womb, so we must be very, very careful in this regard.
Does it work with our bodies in a way that compliments how our bodies are created? Is it restorative?
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
There is a difference between helping to restore our bodies and forcing our bodies to work in ways that they were not designed for. For example, let’s say I am a married lady who has not been able to conceive after several years of marriage. I have discovered that my hormones are imbalanced and have decided to take herbal supplements to help balance my hormones in the hopes of getting pregnant. I am working to help restore my body and it’s functions.
On the other hand, there are several herbs that can be used to avoid pregnancy. These herbs cause the body to not do what it was created to do — procreate.
Are we practicing herbalism in a way that is abusive or detrimental to our bodies?
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
1 Corinthians 10:23
As I read this verse, I looked up the word expedient in the Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary. Expedient is to be suitable for the purpose, proper under the circumstance. And the word edify can mean to literally “build up”. When applied to the question of herbalism, we can ask ourselves, “do the herbs I am using build up my body and are they proper under the circumstances?”
Several years ago I was attending the birth of a friend. After the birth, the midwife gave my friend a tincture made from cannibas sativa (common name marijuana) to ease her afterbirth pains and slow her bleeding. I had just started to learn about herbal medicine and I was shocked that the midwife would use this (it is legal to do so in CA).
I think this is a good application of this verse. It may be lawful to use certain herbs, but may not be proper. As a Christian, I must make sure that I am not being a stumbling block to others. Although cannibas sativa has many medicinal properties, it is often abused and it’s use is illegal in most states. I don’t feel comfortable using it as a medicine for myself or my family.
Does herbalism bring glory to the Creator?
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
In all things, and in all types of medicine, we should aim to bring glory to God. Whether we are choosing a type of healthcare, a type of herb to use, or a condition to treat — we must ask ourselves “Does this bring glory to God?”
Should Christians Use Herbs? (part 2)
In my first post on this topic, I discussed what is considered an herb and where all true healing comes. Remember, the herbs themselves possess no power in themselves to heal. They are merely substances that encourage the body to do what it was designed to do more efficiently.
In this article, I will cover herbs in the Bible.
Herbs in the Bible
A couple of years ago, my children and I read a book entitled Galen and the Gateway to Medicine by Jeanne Bendick. Galen was a Greek physician employed by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, continuing in service through the Emperor Septimius Severus. Galen was born into a wealthy family, thus allowing him to study at the Temple of Aesculapius and later travel to Corinth, then to Alexandria to further his studies. What is fascinating about Galen is that his ideas and medical practices were largely unchallenged for more than a thousand years. In fact, his ideas concerning the balance of the four humors (from his study of Hippocrates) led to the popular practice of blood letting, which unfortunately led to the death of George Washington just 200 years ago.
Another interesting fact about Galen is that he lived only a few short years after the time Christ lived on the earth. There was another physician living during this time period, perhaps better known to Christians. This was the beloved physician, Luke (Colossians 4:14), author of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. We don’t have record of Luke’s medical practices. However, we know that as a physician in the first century, the only “medicine” available to Luke would have been herbal medicines. Part of the duties of a physician at this time were compounding herbal medicines for their patients.
As I began my herbal studies, I wanted to know what the Bible had to say about this topic. One thing that was impressed upon my heart as I read the Word, was that Christians as a whole, have distance themselves so far from God’s original designs that they often don’t recognize them as part of His blessings to us. This can be seen in many areas of our lives. For instance, until the last 100 years or so, no one questioned whether or not they would breastfeed their child. If you wanted your child to live, you nursed them. The only other option was finding another nursing mother who would nurse the baby for you if you couldn’t. So you see, there was never a question in these women’s minds debating which was best — breast milk or formula. They knew that the Lord has marvelously created their bodies to provide for their young.
The same can be said for their healing practices. The Bible speaks in several places of medicines.
Pro 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Jer 30:13 There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.
But what were these medicines? What was it that was used as medicine?
In Luke 10:34, we see the good Samaritan binding up wounds with oil and wine. The wine would have provided antiseptic properties, while the oil would have served as a healing salve. In several places we see that the people used balms, ointments, and plasters as medicines (Jerimiah 8:22, 46:11, 51:8; Isaiah 1:6, 38:21). Perhaps the most telling verses are in Ezekiel and Revelations where we see the Lord providing leaves for medicine.
Eze 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
I have tried to compile a list of specific herbs listed or named in the Bible. This is a work-in-progress, as I am sure there are many I have missed.
aloes Num 24:6, Psa 45:8, Pro 7:17, Son 4:14, Joh 19:39
anise Mat 23:23
balm Gen 37:25, 43:11, Jer 8:22, 46:11, 51:8, Eze 27:17
bay tree Psa 37:35
calamus Exo 30:23
cassia Exo 30:24
cinnamon Exo 30:23, Pro 7:17, Son 4:14, Rev 18:13
coriander seed Exo 16:31, Num 11:7
cummin Isa 28:25, 28:27, Mat 23:23
fitches (fennel) Isa 28:25, 28:27
frankincense Mat 2:11
garlic Num 11:5
hyssop Psa 51:7
juniper 1Ki 19:4-5, Job 30:4, Psa 120:4
mint Mat 23:23, Luk 11:42
mustard 13:31
myrrh Pro 7:17
rose Luk 11:42
rue Luk 11:42
saffron
spikenard Jn 12:3
wormwood (hemlock) Jer 23:15
Next in the series…What is permissible before God?
Should Christians Use Herbs? (part 1)
When I was a little girl, we spent our summer days playing outside. I don’t remember ever putting on sunscreen, so sunburns were inevitable. We’d come in beet red and parched, and my mom would always have us break off a piece of aloe vera to rub over the burn. We didn’t like being all gooped up with the slimy aloe vera, but it was all we knew to do to ease the sunburn. I never thought of my mom as an “herbalist” using “alternative medicine”. She was just a mom doctoring up her kids.
Fast forward 30 plus years, and here I am trying to do the same thing to my kiddos. Over the years, I never once questioned whether my mom’s use of aloe vera on us kids was the Christian thing to do or not. Subsequently, I never once questioned whether my own home remedies were “Christian” or not. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the Lord and I want to live righteous before Him. I had just never thought about the possibility that treating my children with herbs could be seen as unbiblical by some folks. In fact, herbalism has often been wrongly labeled not only unbiblical, but occultic and paganistic.
With much prayer and study, I hope to dispel these falsehoods. The question presented is this, “Is it permissible for Bible believing Christians to use herbs for health and healing?” My goal in writing this series is to help others see that God has provided herbs as a blessing to man. And not only are they a permissible form of medicine for Christians, they are often a preferred form of medicine.
What is herbalism?
As I get into the details in this series, I want to make sure that I define a few terms so that we are on the same page. When I use the term herbs, I am referring to plants and their constituents including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, and in the case of trees, bark. I would also include honey and bee products as well. Although they are not considered herbs by definition, honey, pollen, propolis, and beeswax are all created with the help of plants derivatives and have many healing properties.
There are many practices that are often lumped in together with herbalism, but I want to make a clear distinction here. Herbalism does not include homeopathy, iridology, acupuncture, reflexology, muscle testing, and many other alternative forms of medicine. I will not be covering these practices in this article. Honestly, I have not done a great deal of research into these practices. I personally don’t feel at peace with using these types of therapies.
To sum it up, herbalism is simply using plants as medicine.
Where does true healing come from?
All true healing comes from God the Father. He has provided healing medicines and knowledgeable people to work as His hands and feet, but our faith should ultimately rest in Him and His sovereignty. This is a concept that was made real to me as I begin to study herbalism and use herbs to treat my family. For years I took my children to every well baby check up, made sure they had every shot on time, and didn’t hesitate to give them antibiotics for every illness that came up. In my mind, I was taking an active role in my child’s health. I would even go so far as to say I took pride in my care of my children.
What I didn’t realize was how much faith I was putting in doctors and immunizations and antibiotics. Sadly, I don’t remember ever praying that the Lord would protect my child from measles or whooping cough. I took it for granted that the immunizations I allowed them to receive would be their protectors. I didn’t have the same fervency in my prayers that I acquired once I started treating my children at home. I realized the error I had made in trusting in man and not the Lord. I still have much to learn in this area. I am so thankful that the Lord is gentle and long-suffering in teaching me His ways!
Next up…
Part 2: Herbs in the Bible
High Five Moms: Bringing in the Plants (Herbal Recipe)
One of my biggest dreams is to grow a huge garden and be able to supply our family with fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. I have wanted a garden for years, but for various reasons it just hasn’t happened. It’s not that I haven’t tried. In fact, most years I have tried. I am afraid I have a “black” thumb!
Several years ago we had a backyard the size of a postage stamp. We were able to use a garden plot on the base, but the location of it made it difficult to get out there every day. The weeds were horrendous and crept up on us faster than we could pull them out. Then we had a bought of extreme heat and we just couldn’t keep up with the watering. We did get some nice produce, but nothing spectacular.
A couple of years ago we moved to Spain. We were able to rent a home with a bit of land. I was so excited, I thought I would finally get to do some real gardening. Because of the weed problems we had experienced before, we decided to try square foot gardening. My husband built some really nice 4×4 planters. We followed the prescribed method, buying the correct soil, mixing and adding everything we needed. I purchased my heirloom seeds and planted them according to each recommended depth.
I thought this might be the year for a really great garden.
I guess all the critters thought my garden was really great. Especially the Cabbage caterpillars. My garden was destroyed before it even got going. I don’t think we were able to eat anything from the garden that year.
So, I am still dreaming of having wonderful garden.
In the mean time, the only plants I deal with are the dried varieties. And since we are coming upon the cold and flu season, I thought I would share a quick herbal recipe with you. This is my go to herbal remedy, the one I always keep on hand and use on all my kids at the first sign of illness. This recipe is an old, old recipe that has probably saved countless lives.
It is a fever reduces, an infection fighter, full of antioxidants, nourishing, soothing, and it taste good too!
One last thing…it’s easy to make!
Triple Threat Cold and Flu Fighter
You will need dried:
25 grams yarrow
25 grams elderberries
25 grams peppermint
25 grams elderflowers
240 millilitres glycerin
160 millilitres distilled water
1. Mix herbs in a large jar. Even though the picture above shows the herbs almost filling the jar, I like to leave at least half of the jar empty to make room for the water/glycerin mixture. Also, it is best to grind the herbs to powder. This can be done in a coffee grinder (dedicated to herbal grinding) or possibly a food processor (although I have never tried it).
2. Prepare menstruum (the liquid substance that will extract the herbal constituents from the herbs) by mixing thoroughly the glycerin and distilled water.
3. Pour menstruum (glycerin/water mixture) over the herbs in the jar. Stir well making sure everything is mixed up.
4. Leave the mixture in the jar for 2 weeks, shaking each day.
5. At the end of 2 weeks, strain the liquid from the herbs. Muslin fabric works best for this.
6. Label and store liquid glycerite.
Congratulations! You have just made a 1:4 herbal glycerite to treat your family with.
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Visit the other High Five Moms!
Brandy @ The Marathon Mom
Keri Mae @ The Happy Home
Andie @ Happy Andersons
Stacy @ A Delightful Home
Learn the Herbs: Garlic
I am creating a series of herbal fact sheets to aid in learning individual herbs. To learn about garlic, click here to download the PDF fact sheet.
Garlic is a powerhouse of an herb, with so many uses it is hard to know where to start in describing it. It is gentle enough for even young children and yet powerful enough to kill resistant strains of bacteria. I have used garlic in place of antibiotics for both strep throat infections and mastitis.
In fact, I had heard for years that nursing babies enjoy the taste of garlic in their mother’s milk. However, as I was doing research on garlic, I found that there was an actual study done to determine the validity of this claim. The result of the study confirmed that infants nursing habits improved when the mother’s breast milk contained garlic volatiles. That is great news for us mommies that don’t want to have to subject our little ones to antibiotics.
Another property of garlic is its normalizing effect. Garlic is used to lower blood glucose, but not below normal levels as some other herbs can do. Garlic inhibits platelet aggregation, but doesn’t thin the blood.
Garlic really is a great all around herb. It has so many practical uses and very few contraindications. Another benefit is that it is very inexpensive and readily available. This makes it perfect for the beginning herbalist to practice using!
Review: Botany in a Day
A Ponder the Path Book Review
Botany in a Day
By Thomas Elpel
I recently purchased Botany in a Day to aid in my herbalism studies. The majority of my studies have been book work. I really want to get out and learn the plants hands on. I live in Southern Spain where there is an abundance of beautiful wild herbs just down my road. I just need to learn how to identify them. And I guess I was a bit lured by the title, I mean who wouldn’t want to learn it all in just ONE day!
I want to review this book sequentially because it is divided into 3 main sections and I want to cover each one separately.
Section 1
The first 15 pages of Botany cover the “evolution” of plants. After realizing how much time was spent on the “evolution” of plants, I was a bit skeptical as to whether any of the information in the book would be useful to me. As an herbalist-in-training, I have found that I spend much time wading through information that is heavily laden with evolution and paganism. This is part of the reason that I have such a great desire to share with others as I learn, especially those young and tender. There are some great Christian herbalists out there, but they are few and far between. We need more knowledgeable herbalist to teach from a Biblical worldview.
Section 2
Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, I skipped over the entire “evolution” section and moved on to the heart of the book…the botany. Elpel teaches the reader to recognize plant families based on patterns in the plants, such as number of petals and stamens, types of stalks and leaves, etc. Once you learn to identify the seven largest families, you will have covered more than 45,000 species of plants! Elpel suggests getting a firm grip on these families before moving on. Once you have learned them, you can then proceed to profile any plant and use the keys provided in the book to narrow down the family and possibly the genus of the plant. It is then recommended that you use a field guide to discover the genus and species.
I liked the fact that Elpel provides many line drawings of the anatomy of each plant to help with identification.
Section3
The last section in the book is entitled “The Medicinal Properties of Plants”. This section briefly covers the basic constituents of plants and offers commentary on how these constituents work with the body. While the general information is accurate, I found the narrative to be full of humanistic thinking. At several points, reference is made to accounts in Bible, but again, in a humanistic way. For instance, Elpel states that man is trying to “get back into the Garden”.
During his discussion of alkaloids, Elpel uses crude and vulgar language to describe ancient pagan rituals. After reading these statements, I really felt that this book should not be recommended to others. I am sure there are other botany books out there that would provide the same type of information without such profanity. I hope I can find one and recommend it in the future.
Edited to add: Much of the core botany information from the book can be found here, without any “extras”. Although I would be cautious with the material found on other areas of the website.
Mama’s Pregnancy Tea
The last few days I have really been dragging around, feeling low on energy. Cooper has his surgery this week so I think the added stress has added to my feeling tired. I am still taking my prenatal vitamins, but I am thinking I need something more.
During my last 2 pregnancies, I have made my own blend of Mama’s Pregnancy Tea. This week, I decided I needed to keep right on drinking it post partum. It is so good for a mama’s body and really it taste good as well. I thought I would share what was in it and just why it is so good for you.
How to Make the Herbal Tea Mixture
When I make up a batch of this tea, I usually take a gallon size zip lock bag and mix all the herbs in it. I take out the amount I need each day. When I measure the amounts of herbs to put in, I do it in parts so that I can make whatever size batch I need.
Mama’s Pregnancy Tea
4 parts Red Raspberry Leaf
1 part Nettle leaf
1 part Alfalfa leaf
1 part Dandelion leaf
1 part Peppermint (depending on whether or not I am going to drink it hot or cold)
Generally, I take a 1/2 cup measuring cup and count the scoops as “parts”, for example, 4 scoops Red Raspberry Leaf, 1 scoop Nettle leaf, etc. If I plan on making a large batch of tea and keeping it in the refrigderator, I leave out the peppermint (I don’t care for it cold). If I am making a hot cup of tea, I like the peppermint added in.
Why These Herbs are So Good for Mamas
Red Raspberry Leaf
(Rubus idaeus)
Red Raspberry Leaf is considered the women’s herb. It is really beneficial to women in all stages of their childbearing years. Red Raspberry Leaf helps relieve nausea and morning sickness. It strengthen and tones the uterus, preparing it for an easier and quicker delivery. It also helps curtail afterbirth pains. RRL’s astringent properties help prevent hemoraging. For nursing mothers, RRL increases the milk supply.
Nettle Leaf
(Urtica dioica)
Nettles is one of the most nourishing herbs there is. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, and especially high in chlorophyll. The high content of iron coupled with the high vitamin C content helps reduce anemia during pregnancy. Nettles has an affinity for the liver and kidneys, increasing both bile production and acting as a mild diuretic. Nettles is a great antihistamine for those allergy sufferers who wish to avoid allergy medicine during pregnancy (or anytime really!). Nettles is also a galactagogue, increasing milk production for nursing moms (although I did read that if mom is alreaddy producing too much milk, Nettles will act as a regulator and slow milk production. Don’t you just love how God created all the wonderful herbs to work with our bodies and not against them!).
Alfalfa
(Medicago sativa)
Alfalfa is another super nutritious plant that is great for expecting moms. Alfalfa is very high in chlorophyll and contains 8 essential amino acids. It also contains large amounts of vitamin K, which helps with blood clotting. My midwife had me take alfalfa to help prevent hemorrhaging. Alfalfa has natural fluorides which reduce and prevent tooth decay. And to top it off, alfalfa aids digestion, keeping things moving along and strengthening the digestive tract.
Dandelion
(Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelion is one of those herbs that most people consider a weed. When I first started learning about herbs, I couldn’t believe that this pestilent weed was so good for you. As it turned out, I learned that most “weeds” are nutritious, healing herbs. Dandelion is no exception. Their long root system pulls minerals from deep within the soil. Dandelion is considered a diuretic, keeping the urinary system functioning properly and reducing excess water build up in the body. Unlike most diuretics, dandelion replaces potassium, which most diuretics remove. Dandelion also works to regulate hormone imbalances.
Peppermint
(Mentha piperita)
Like I said before, I only add peppermint if I am going to drink the tea hot. You can decide whether or not you want to add it to your tea. Peppermint is a calming nervine, meaning it helps to relax you. I like to drink peppermint tea when I have a headache. It also helps to eliminate gas, bloating, and indigestion. Peppermint is one of my favorite teas, especially in the winter! I drink peppermint tea in place of coffee. It is a great “wake me up and get me going” kinka herb.
