Why Christians Get Sick answers a confounding question, namely why Cristians get sick. Rev. George Malkmus in Why Christians Get Sick was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 42. “How could this be?” he asked the Lord. “How can a Christian get cancer?” Not willing to accept cancer as “God’s will,” he began an intensive study to find out why. Why Christians Get Sick tells not only the story of how he was healed but also answered the vexing question of why Christians get sick. Why Christians Get Sick is a short (140 pages) and easy-to-understand. Do you think this book will appeal to everyone because everyone gets sick?
Summary of Why Christians Get Sick
There is a lot of debate in Christian circles as to why Christians get ill. Some will claim it is due to a lack of faith. Others will say it is God’s will for the person to be ill, that He is “testing” the individual or developing character in them. Still more say that the key is original sin. Finally, others will just throw up their hands and say that it is not possible to know why a particular person got ill. But Malkmus in Why Christians Get Sick says that in most cases the cause has nothing to do with these “spiritual” reasons. The cause is simply physical.
Exercise is important factor that Malkmus discusses in this book. Lack of exercise among Christians also contributes to illnesses. Malkmus also discusses in Why Christians Get Sick, the need for pure air, pure water, sunshine, adequate rest, and a positive mental attitude. And all of these are important as well.
But of all people, Christians should be the most studious about taking care of themselves. In Why Christians Get Sick Malkmus indicates that in some cases lifestyle is not the reason a particular Christian get illnesses. But in many cases, an illness can be blamed on an unhealthy lifestyle the Christian had been leading. So rather than looking up into heaven and asking, “why me?” and blaming God, sick Christians should do some investigation of their one lifestyle.
This may be true, and the physical explanation is a good one. However, it is reasonable to ask about why there is illness in the world and, more generally, why there is evil at all in the world. Why do bad things happen to good people? There is a more sinister reason, one we cannot change. It affects everyone.
Original Sin
Original sin in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness all humans share, inherited from Adam and Eve, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image of God. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in the third chapter of Genesis (the story of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden).
The Catholic Church has always held baptism to be for the remission original sin. This is mentioned in Catechism of the Catholic Church. Infants too have traditionally been baptized in the Catholic Church. They are then forgiven of original sin. However, through the fall in the Garden of Eden evil entered the world. It is for this reason, probably, why bad things happen to good people, including illness and natural disasters.
Conclusion
Why Christians Get Sick is an interesting book that should appeal to everyone because everyone gets ill. The question of why bad things happen to good people has hounded theologians for centuries. This book offers one explanation for the illness angle but leaves the rest of the bad stuff out. Why do all of those things happen if we have a loving God? Because original sin entered the world near the very beginning.
