The Free Exercise of Religious Faith, Dietary Supplements and the Biblical Imperative

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) routinely censor truthful health claims related to dietary supplements.

The purpose of this short article is to show that Americans are being denied our most basic 1st Amendment Freedom in regards to the free exercise of our religious faith in the area of helping our neighbor. If your neighbor was dying from one of the traditionally nutrition deficiency diseases such as scurvy, would you tell them about a nutrient like vitamin c or remain silent because of threats from unelected tyrannical bureaucrats? The free exercise of religion is not something confined to inside the walls of a church, but extends to all of life, particularly to being a Good Samaritan!

"Unless we put Medical Freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship....to restrict the art of healing to one class of men, and deny equal privilege to others, will be to constitute the Bastille of Medical Science. All such laws are un-American and despotic, and have no place in a Republic...The Constitution of this Republic should make special privilege for Medical Freedom as well as Religious Freedom." Dr. Benjamin Rush

Unfortunately, the right to medical freedom was not added to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution and today we have outright tyranny in the land!

As a Christian I have a right to evaluate and comment on things in the light of scriptural, moral and constitutional principles. I have a right to practice my faith. The current unconstitutional medical monopoly enforced by the FDA and FTC are in direct conflict with the free exercise of a person's faith in which we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The Law that Congress will not enforce:

The U.S. Congress stated in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 commonly called DSHEA, and it (nutrition) is in the best interest of public health. In fact, Congress found that:

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994

Congress finds that:

• (1) improving the health status of United States citizens ranks at the top of the national priorities of the Federal Government;
• (2) the importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention have been documented increasingly in scientific studies;
• (3) (A) there is a link between the ingestion of certain nutrients or dietary supplements and the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis; and
• (B) clinical research has shown that several chronic diseases can be prevented simply with a healthful diet, such as a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, with a high proportion of plant-based foods;
• (4) healthful diets may mitigate the need for expensive medical procedures, such as coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty;
• (5) preventive health measures, including education, good nutrition, and appropriate use of safe nutritional supplements will limit the incidence of chronic diseases, and reduce long-term health care expenditures;
• (6) (A) promotion of good health and healthy lifestyles improves and extends lives while reducing health care expenditures; and
• (B) reduction in health care expenditures is of paramount importance to the future of the country and the economic well-being of the country;
• (7) there is a growing need for emphasis on the dissemination of information linking nutrition and long-term good health;
• (8) consumers should be empowered to make choices about preventive health care programs based on data from scientific studies of health benefits related to particular dietary supplements; .... Preamble to DSHEA

Today we no longer have 1st Amendment religious freedom when it comes to discussing knowledge of dietary supplements elaborated and guaranteed in the above law.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Biblical Imperative:

The moral law is two sided, always leading to a positive act and resisting a negative one.

Merely omitting or refraining from doing a forbidden thing is not a moral act. Otherwise, sheer inactivity could count as fulfilling a command, but in the moral realm this is just another name for death. Biblical ethics call for positive participation in life.

When an evil is forbidden in a moral command, its opposite good must be practiced before one can be considered obedient. We must not just refuse to murder, but we must do all in our power to aid the life of our neighbor. This is the essence of what we learn in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Luke 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion [on him],
Luke 10:34 And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luke 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave [them] to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luke 10:37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. How can we do likewise?

"...and 'love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 19

If I know of something that may help my neighbor and then keep silent it is sinful. Biblical ethics call for positive participation in life. We must do all in our power to aid the life of our neighbor. "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42).

The "cup of water" we give to these little ones can be in the form of educating our neighbor in the area of nutrition which may save their life.

Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matthew 25:36 Matt 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Matt 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 KJV) Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. James 2:8 If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.

In Conclusion:

We are commanded to be good Samaritans!

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17

Therefore when Jesus saw that a person needed the help He chose to do good by healing the person weather it was the Sabbath day or not (Mark 3: 1-5). This act of making His righteous stand offended the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus had exposed their sin of refraining from their command to do the good work of healing (Matthew 10: 8). He explained to these men that if it had been them or one of their animals that had been hurt on the Sabbath day that they would have responded to take care of themselves or their animals

(Matthew 12: 9-11). People are much more valuable to God than the Pharisees' animals are to them. Therefore, it was and still is right to heal on the Sabbath as well as any other day of the week.

Americans are now forbidden to share with someone how the body can heal itself when supplied with nutrition that God has provided in nature on the Sabbath day or any other day.

The heavy handed tactics of the FDA and FTC which restricts the free flow of information in regards to the benefits of dietary supplements related to disease conditions is first and foremost a violation of free speech guaranteed in the 1St Amendment and secondly, it is immoral because it is binding a man's conscious against doing what is good in the practice or outworking of a person's religious faith! This tyranny cannot stand!

Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior!

Jack Kettler