Active Christians enjoy better health! That’s the conclusion of a French medical doctor in his new book, The Faith Link.
He is Max Fleury, a medical doctor with a private practice in Orleans, France. He has been a charismatic believer for about 30 years who previously served in a pastoral role. Dr. Fleury, whom I wrote about last week, also has been a medical journalist, appearing frequently on television.
When I was in France 18 months ago, Dr. Fleury told me about the book, and I took a little video, which you can see here. He lays out the case that there is scientific evidence that things happen in the brain when people pray, or are prayed for. As I wrote in my last The Strang Report, he shows how science often backs up the Bible, most times citing the specific studies conducted by secular institutions and often by people who are not believers.
But much of the book is about how Christians enjoy—or should enjoy—better health in the first place!
Dr. Fleury points out that Christians tend to have better habits, such as not smoking or drinking to excess and not having risky sexual encounters outside marriage.
Their faith also causes Christians to have what he calls “faith virtues,” such as being hopeful, being thankful, being spiritually active and having intimacy with God. All these things tend to reduce stress, which prevents many medical maladies.
In addition, being part of a faith community helps promote a stress-free life and a more healthful life, Dr. Fleury says. This is especially true if someone is sick. If they are in a faith community—a church, Bible study or prayer group—it helps them recover more quickly.
Not all “faith” is equal, he says. If someone has what he calls “intrinsic faith” (being born again and Spirit filled), then there are built-in protections. He elaborated on this in a podcast I recorded recently. Click here to listen to it.
The global fitness and health industry generates more than $75 billion in revenue annually. The Bible teaches that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you secure your trust in God for health and healing. This sums up Dr. Fleury’s book. He says there is a direct connection between your health and your faith.
One of the reasons he told me he wrote The Faith Link is to show that we don’t just believe “for nothing” that God heals or that I believe God wants us to be well and be in good health even as our souls are well (3 John 1:2, MEV). “There is a rational basis for what we believe,” Dr. Fleury says.
He ends the book writing about fasting and the health benefits. Fasting is not only for spiritual reasons, but he writes our bodies “are made for fasting”—adding that our bodies actually “need it.” He believes that the body periodically needs a five-day semi-fast with only 700 calories per day. This helps the body to detox and actually builds the immune system, which helps with good health. He elaborates on this on my podcast.
There are many good parts of the book, but to me, this part was so eye-opening that it’s worth the cost of the book and time to read it!
I sincerely believe you will benefit from this book. I encouraged you in my last newsletter to share this message on social media and to forward to others who you know are interested in health. I was encouraged that hundreds of you did just that, and many purchased the book.
The book is available where Christian books are sold. But to make it easy to respond to what you’re reading here, we have prepared a special landing page with extra information and the opportunity to buy the book online from several retailers. Click here to buy the book.
Rarely have I believed in one of the books we’ve published as much as this one. Soon we’ll begin putting some of Dr. Fleury’s information on healing and healthy living on our health website at charismamag.com.
Of course, we all know Christians who don’t enjoy good health. While many may not drink, they love to overeat or don’t exercise. People will be people. But Dr. Fleury should encourage all of us that, as a group, he believes Christians are healthier—or can be healthier—because of their faith. I know you’ll want to check out his amazing book to learn more. {eoa}
