CONCEPTUALLY ABOUT THE HISTORY AND THEOLOGY OF HEALTH PRINCIPLES OF THE CHURCH OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS

The study examines the history of the development and formation of theology and practice of healthy lifestyles of members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The historical background of the emergence and development of the doctrine of health among Adventists is presented. Conceptually substantiated the theology of a healthy lifestyle for members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The concept of a holistic approach of Adventists in maintaining health is analyzed. It is proved that at the beginning of the emergence of the doctrine of health, Adventists placed greater emphasis on the practical component of the embodiment of the principles of health, namely: not smoking, drinking alcohol, chewing tobacco, unhealthy food, and the like. It is emphasized that in the process of development, Adventists gradually called for giving up the use of coffee, tea, tobacco, etc., justifying this by the fact that maintaining physical health forms good spiritual health, which in turn is the basis for building strong relationships with the Creator. The health reform proposed by Adventists dealt with various aspects of human life: proper nutrition, adequate intake of clean water, a balanced work and rest regimen, the need for physical exercise, exposure to fresh air and sunlight. It has been established that among Adventists there are those who eat meat and vegetarians, but both groups refrain from eating the meat of unclean animals named in the Bible. The understanding of the division into clean and unclean food did not come immediately to Adventists. At first, representatives of this church began to abandon the use of pork for food. This was argued only by the harmfulness to the health of the meat of these animals, but over time – this aspect was argumed by the indications from the book of Leviticus. Therefore, only at the beginning of the twentieth century came the realization of the need to observe the division into clean and unclean animals. The practice of early Adventists' refusal to drink tea, coffee and tobacco is described quite fully. It is indicated that Ellen White publicly, as well as in her writings, advocated complete abstinence from alcohol. The holistic approach of Adventists in the practice of health principles is presented.