Scott Rae

What do we mean by the term alternative medicine? What, if anything, does the Bible have to say about that? And what is the connection between a person's faith and their and his or her health? These are some of the questions we'll talk about today with our guest, Dr. Donald Omethuna, who is the author of what I think is a fairly exhaustive, although he he tells me it's not, uh, but it looks to me like an exhaustive compendium on alternative medicine entitled entitled by that Alternative Medicine Options, Claims, The Evidence, and How to Choose Wisely. Donald, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate you uh coming on with us, uh, and I look forward to having you having this conversation with you. I'm your host, Scott Ray. I'm Michael, Sean McAll. This is Think Biblically from Tablet School of Theology, Biola University. Donald, welcome. Great to have you with us.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks very much, Scott, and Sherry.

Scott Rae

Tell us a little bit about your background. Now, Donald and I have a relationship that goes back many years in the bioethics community uh through a number of projects that we were on. Uh but Donald, tell us how you got interested in alternative medicine enough to write a book of this length on the subject.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I grew up in Ireland, and my dad was a pharmacist in a small town in County Monaghan. And um he was always mixing up uh different things, and it was always really curious to me. And then I went to college and uh decided to kind of go into pharmacy. And in I I loved the science, it was uh it wasn't the retail dimension of it I loved, but it was the science. And in my senior year, I got to do a research project looking at herbal remedies, trying to see are there where there are active ingredients in them. And I just really loved that uh kind of puzzle dimension to that research, and ended up uh going pursuing my PhD in that area, uh, came to the US to do that work. Um, and so just um just really loved uh the investigation, trying to figure things out. Um, kind of get got a bit disillusioned with lab work, and so decided when I was finishing up that I just really much more wanted to go into the teaching side of things. And um then um uh actually during my grind my PhD work is when I became a believer, um, accepted Christ as my savior, and started to wonder um how might God want to use all this training I have. And it didn't seem very obvious at first, and then during the 90s, um, all this interest in alternative medicine started to develop, and um I started to give some talks about it in terms mostly of looking at the science of it. As you mentioned, Scott, we got to know one another through looking at um ethical issues in various types of health care and scientific research. And I was approached by the Christian Medical and Dental Association because they told me their members were getting all sorts of questions about all these alternative therapies and herbal remedies. Would I be willing to put together uh some sort of a book for them? And they linked me up with um um uh uh with Walt Larimore uh to kind of add the clinical uh medical side of things to our book. Um, and so the book came about through that.

Sean McDowell

Two-part question. What what defines alternative medicine? And can you give us some examples of the kinds of therapies and medicine that would fall into that category?

SPEAKER_01

Well, that's actually a kind of a hard question because the the definition is uh it's a kind of a moving um enterprise. Um in the 90s, it very much was to do with something other than what you would get from your doctor or at your hospital. Um, but as the years have gone by, there has been more of a of an integration of some of these alternatives into mainstream medicine, and so you got the term integrative medicine that has developed. Uh, there was a dimension that these um alternatives were looking at something more than the physical body, and so they were looking at integrating emotion, spirituality, and you got the term of uh complementary medicine or uh holistic medicine. So it's hard to pin it down, but I would say, in terms of the remedies and the supplements that people take, um, it's much more about uh things that you wouldn't get a prescription for, or uh medications that are not regulated, like even your over-the-counter aspirin and ibuprofen, that they're they're regarded as supplements, um, and the the different regulation is a very important issue. Um they often are of uh of a herbal source, and so you often get the plant material mixed into uh a tablet or capsule as compared to the pure material of a medication. Um and then they often do have a spiritual uh root in terms of the therapies, uh, in contrast to what might be called more secular approaches. So distinguishing, say, massage is just a physical activity, whereas something like therapeutic touch or reiki would be an alternative therapy that has a very strong uh spiritual uh dimension or spiritual roots to it. So it covers lots of different things: herbal remedies, dietary supplements, things like yoga, meditation, um, and um, and then uh a lot of manual therapies like craniosacral therapy, um, various um very specific types of massage. Um it's a huge mixed bag with all sorts of overlapping areas. And and I think as Christians, if you just take the idea of meditation, that's something that is biblically described and called for, and yet as a therapy, it can mean some very different things. Um, it can uh you know be a mindfulness that's kind of sort of secular, or it can be something that's deeply embedded, you know, the religious views like a part of uh of Buddhism. So it's it's really hard to pin it down to just one set of things.

Sean McDowell

That's fair. And is it a moving target because what was once considered alternative, like say marijuana, becomes considered mainstream and then is no longer alternative, not because anything has changed, but what is considered the norm changes, like maybe psychedelics are in that process right now. So is that really why you said it's a moving target because the West just considered alternative?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, it is. And you know, like you know, for example, uh it I think it's estimated about 50% of our prescription drugs were originally found in natural sources. And so, in some ways, they originally were herbal remedies. Um, aspirin is the classic example that uh was initially found and used as willow bark, and then uh um pharmacognicists discovered in the late 1800s if they purified it and modified it chemically a little bit, um, it became much more effective, much more easy to regulate the dosage, and so you have aspirin that is now a mainstream part of medicine.

Scott Rae

So, Donald, what are what would you say are maybe the one or two most common misconceptions about these alternative therapies?

SPEAKER_01

I think the most one of the most important ones would have to be that if it's natural, it's safe. Um and there is this percept or this view put out there that you know you've got the big bad pharmaceutical companies putting out these terrible drugs that have side effects. And instead, if you go with something natural and safe and softer, then you're you're at the very least you're not gonna have any side effects. But if you just think about the natural world in any sort of a an uh you know an objective way, it's full of poisons. Many of our strongest poisons are natural substances like strychnine. Um, you know, you uh if you you can overdose on you know almost anything. Um and um I think as well uh that it's important to think about that spiritually as well. Um, that there's a perception, well, if it's just something spiritual that you're pursuing, what could be harmful about that? And yet, if again, if you read the Bible, uh God is regularly warning us that there are evil spiritual beings and they're out to harm us, so that in both the natural and the spiritual world we have to have discernment, we have to keep our eyes open and uh be willing to carefully consider whatever it is we um are uh thinking about doing for our health or our putting into our bodies and our spirits.

Sean McDowell

Now, the idea of alternative medicine as well as medicine is to restore us back to health. But of course, that implies a certain standard of what it means to be healthy. How would you compare and contrast a biblical view of health with maybe what we see sometimes in our wider culture?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I would say that a biblical view of health is founded on the idea of flourishing as uh someone who is an image of God. If we just talk about the human human health aspect as opposed to you know, like an environmental health. Um, but if it it's so it's a flourishing and it's a doing well, and it's doing so in light of the way God has made us. And part of what I think we see with health these days, uh, in a more general sense, is that it has become very much focused on the physical and maybe the mental health dimension of it. Um, it's about our bodies being able to continue to be healthy and whole and function at a high level, um, our minds being at peace and calm and having, I think, a very selective view of what it means to be healthy. And I think what we see throughout scripture is that there can be aspects of our of our health, of our lives that are not going well, and yet we can still flourish. So that as uh you know Job uh suffers and goes through excruciating pain, there is still a way that by his being properly related to God, he is able to flourish in the midst of difficult circumstances. Um, you see Paul talk about how uh he God has given him this, or sorry, Satan has given him this thorn in his flesh. Um, and yet even with the or partly I think because of the weakness that he's suffering, he's actually stronger because of how God is working in him. So I I think there's our world has put out this view of health, is about keeping your your strength, your youth, your beauty, your vigor, um, and the biblical view is is much fuller and much more based on our spiritual well-being, um, even with the physical and um and mental and age-related deterioration that we're going to see as part of living in the fallen world that we do at the moment.

Scott Rae

I'd say since Father Time is still undefeated, LeBron James notwithstanding, yeah, exactly. I I think we're you know we need we need to be careful that we don't take the cultural definition and and turn it into an idol. Um So Donald, one of one of the things I think that's really helpful in in in the book is you you make you do you draw the link between someone's faith and someone's health. I mean the examples you just described seem to suggest that there's no necessary connection between one's Christian faith and one's physical health. Is that the case, or is it more complicated than that?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I would certainly think say it is complicated. Um but I think if you think about somebody like Joni Erickson Tata, and from a physical dimension, she her she she does not appear to be healthy. She's got so many physical limitations, but from a biblical health perspective, she is flourishing, um, she is uh you know active uh in her faith and in God's work. Um and I think that's where we have got to uh really think carefully that as our bodies decline as you know we get older or when illnesses um come our way, um, that uh we not become so focused on needing to get back to a complete physical health stage and pursuing anything, whether medical or surgical or alternative, uh, in order to get back to that uh you know full physical health, but that instead we're looking to see how can God use this limitation, this thorn in my flesh, uh, to actually deepen my relationship with Him. And at the same time, we may be restored physically, uh, either through what medicine has to offer or what uh you know diet or relaxation or other secular approaches may provide, or that through our coming to a deeper understanding of our relationship with the Lord, through being better integrated into fellowship with others that can help us go through relational healing, um, that we can actually flourish even while our bodies uh deteriorate or have to accept disabilities and other things that come with illness.

Sean McDowell

A moment ago, you kind of compared and contrasted what health is often viewed in our world with a biblical view of health. It would include like uh an awareness and recognition of dying and sinfulness and spiritually flourishing. What are some of the underlying worldviews behind some of these alternative therapies? And I imagine there could be dozens of different ones. So maybe just give us one or two examples of a kind of worldview motivating certain alternative medicines that's contrary to scripture.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think one of the clearest examples is uh a therapy called Reiki. And um this has its origins in some Eastern uh practices and belief systems. But um, as you kind of read the sources of those who develop this and uh who actively promote it, at its basis is the uh connecting with uh a spiritual world with what they call spirit guides, in order to both learn from those spirit guides about uh what the problems are in a person's health and how to correct them. And so it's based in what I think is clearly described to us in the Bible as this spiritual world where there are spiritual beings who can be contacted, but who either as Christians or not Christians, um, it's dangerous to attempt to uh go to these uh spirit guides or spiritual beings. Um and uh because of that, then um the uh the the Bible you know prohibits us from from taking from going and and attempting to use those. So I think that is a clear example. And then there are uh some things like yoga and meditation that are based in an Eastern religious uh point of view. And there are uh views of various types of energies that are a part of these uh religious systems, and um there is also a complex mixture of, for example, with yoga, the various postures that are taken uh within uh the uh that practice, which in some ways I think science has validated that by learning to enter these postures or to uh learn to become more subtle, supple, and uh more flexible, that there can be physical benefits without having to believe in the energies that are involved, um, but that there is this mix of ways that these have their origin in Eastern religions, um, have physical dimensions to them that can be, you know, I think uh taken and uh adapted without those spiritual roots, um, and yet you know always are going to have that ultimate connection in a very different worldview, which uh you know I think there there are controversial or there are controversies over uh whether believers should have nothing to do with uh these types of therapies or whether they actually can filter out the spiritual side and the energy side and just use them as a form of calisthenics and physical exercise. Um and I think that that is uh it's a it's a complex and and difficult way to move forward. I I think um part of what's really important is to understand um if somebody has a teacher of of these practices um to to have a very open discussion over what exactly is it that this teacher or trainer um is trying to help you learn about or expose you to if it's a a receiving of some of these therapies, um, because that would hopefully start to expose whether there's a spiritual basis to these uh practices um or practitioners um or whether they're taking it as a purely physical um exercise type of thing.

Scott Rae

That that makes sense. Now, Donald, uh I take uh you know three or four different supplements every day. Um but honestly, I don't actually know if they're the least bit beneficial to me. I'm taking this purely on faith. Sure. Uh so how how do you decide, or how would someone know if a particular alternative therapy is harmful or beneficial? Or it just doesn't work at all?

SPEAKER_01

It it is it's complicated. And there's a couple of things you can uh you can do. Um one is there's um an organization, um, they they have a website, uh, it's called consumerlab.com. And Walt and I, in uh doing the research for our book, uh found that this is probably the most reliable um uh source of information on what do we actually know from a scientific perspective. So say the name of that site again. It's consumerlab.com. So Sumer and LAB.com. They're an independent lab, and they um will uh uh uh look at the literature, search the the scientific and medical literature for information and studies that have been done on various uh remedies and herbs and supplements. Um, and then they will also do uh testing of a variety of brands of those particular remedies. Um so that so there's the challenge of just is there scientific research to support the use of uh of these uh therapies and remedies and supplements? Um then you have the second challenge of let's say there is uh uh evidence to support their use. Uh what brand should you buy? And this is where it gets even more complicated because there are so many different brands of all of these individual supplements out there. One of the things that's really important to remember is that a herbal remedy or a dietary supplement is not regulated in the same way that even over-the-counter products are. So your aspirin goes through a lot more regulatory oversight than the dietary supplements. And they fall into this category of uh products, which, as if you've ever purchased them, you'll see in the fine print it'll say these uh any claims have not been validated by the FDA. Basically, these brands are put out there, they're marketed, they're sold. Um, there will sometimes be claims out there. Uh, sometimes these are just people talking about how great uh these various uh supplements were for them. Um but the marketing materials don't have to get the uh support of the FDA or be uh put through the regulatory oversight that's um you know a regular medication, even an over-the-counter one, would have to go through. Um but what Consumer Lab does is they will go into stores, buy up a collection of different brands, and then test them. And what they can show is that if it says there's five milligrams in the tablet, they will test them and say there is or there isn't five milligrams or within an acceptable range is what's in there. Uh, another of the challenges is uh if there isn't scientific evidence to show whether or not these uh supplements work, it's going to be even more difficult to know how much of them do you need to take. Um and that then is another challenge when you're going to uh uh to use these. Um, you know, do you take one or two a day? Or um, you know, in some of them there are claims out there, well, kind of like the more you take, the better it is going to be for you. Um but if you just think about that with any sort of medication, you you want to take a you know a well-supported amount of aspirin or whatever you might uh say. You don't want to just keep uh eating aspirin, you know, and taking more and more, thinking it if a little is good, more is better. That just isn't uh a common sense approach to any of these things. Um and yet sometimes you get them promoted on the basis that you know just take as much as you feel you need.

Sean McDowell

That's helpful. So this book with the subject index is over 500 pages, and you deal with dozens of herbal remedies, vitamins, dietary supplements, alternative therapies. You first wrote in 2001 and have since updated it. But one I don't see in here, unless it goes under some, you know, medical name I don't recognize are psychedelics. There seems to be such a push in culture towards it's okay. Even people like the Joe Rogan podcast and others from the top down praising psychedelics in a way that makes me think it's moving towards the norm? So I guess a two-part question. We could do multiple shows in this. Do you think we're moving towards the norm of psychedelics being considered not only not alternative medicine anymore? And what's your take on that? Is there a place for them, or do you are you concerned about psychedelics as a whole ever being used in medicine?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's uh that's a tough question and uh a complicated one. I think what I would say is that at various stages in the history of medicine, things like morphine, cocaine, marijuana have had this similar sort of trajectory. Um it's uh that the substance is viewed as very powerful, it seems to have some potentially beneficial effects, and there are lots of concerns from uh from various angles in terms of uh both uh you know, is it safe? Are there side effects? And then also the mental health and even spiritual sides of uh of some of these types of medicines. So what I would say is that from a starting point, I I'm not surprised that there are natural materials, these psychedelic mushrooms usually that are out there that do have a powerful effect on our brain, on our uh physical bodies, um, and that there uh is the potential for them being uh very helpful. What I have a lot of concerns about is that if these go forward in a way that they're just used by anybody for in any way that they want. In other words, if they're not strictly regulated, if there isn't an evidence base to support uh how do you use these, um, when do they become a problem, how do you recognize side effects, um, that we could have a really serious outbreak of adverse effects. And I think part of what's happening at the moment is that there is legitimate research happening and that they're trying to uncover the details of how these substances may or may not be safe enough to be used. The other side of it is also producing um versions of these products that are uh that have a known amount of the active ingredient. Um the uh the the challenge with all of the natural things like herbs and and supplements is that you know I use the analogy, if you if you want to have if you like apples, there are so many different brands and flavors of apples, and depending on the the weather and the soil and the climate, you're gonna get very different flavors in your apples or your tomatoes and whatever fruits. Well, the same thing happens with the uh the mushrooms or with the with marijuana as it grows naturally, that different years are gonna produce different crops with different ranges of ingredients, both the ones that are being looked to as beneficial and the other ones that maybe hinder its effectiveness or lead to side effects. And that's one of the underlying problems with using a pure or a pure natural uh material, especially with the psychedelics, that has such a powerful impact on a person's physical, mental, and uh spiritual well-being. Um, that if you're kind of running the roulette of what uh you know crop has been produced this year from whatever region, you could uh use something this month that uh is manageable for you, and next month is um you know way too powerful for where you are at the moment. So my bottom line would be that I I I can see that there could be potential with these, but that there's a lot of work needs to be done scientifically, clinically, and in a regulatory way to ensure that these are brought in in a way that's safe and helpful.

Scott Rae

Yeah, no, I appreciate I appreciate the nuance on that, that it's not it's not as simple and straightforward as we might like to think it is. Donald, this has been we I mean, there's so many more of these alternative therapies that we could talk about, but I appreciate you giving us a framework to think about it in and a way to integrate our faith into the assessment of these alternative therapies, particularly the uh being careful about the underlying worldview that is a part of so of so many of these. So we're really grateful for your your work on this, your research on this. I mean, I think the the book, Alternative Medicine, The Options, Claims, The Evidence, How to Choose Wisely, is a very helpful resource. Uh as Sean mentioned, it is over 500 pages, so it's probably it's probably not for bedtime reading. Um but it's a very, very, I think a very useful handbook for people who are exploring some some of these alternative medicines. And I admit there were there were a whole host of these things that I'd never heard of. Uh and I think there are a lot more, a lot more things out there than uh than a lot of us are aware of. So it just goes shows a need for this. Uh and I think the more, the longer time goes along, the more we're going to see uh more and more of these products coming on the market, like psychedelics and other things that have yet to be fully assessed. So very grateful, Donald, for your expertise on this and for coming on with us and trying to explain a very complicated area of medicine in 30 minutes, uh roughly 30 minutes. So we we know we we know that we've given you a tall task today. So thank you for hanging with us, and uh we will look forward to uh thinking about this a little bit further. And uh I suspect we will have some of our listeners may have questions for you on specific alternative therapies, and if they do, we'll have you respond to them as as we can.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, Scott and Sean, thanks very much for inviting me on.

Scott Rae

This has been an episode of the podcast Think Biblically, conversations on faith and culture, brought to you by Tablet School of Theology at Biola University, offering programs in Southern California and online, including master's degrees in in Bible theology, uh marriage and family therapy, philosophy, apologetics, spiritual formation, pastoral ministry, and I'm sure there's some others that I've missed. Uh and if you if you want to find out more about those, we'd love to have have you come study with us. Visit biola.edu slash talbot in order to learn more. If you have comments for us, or particularly if you have questions that you'd like us to consider or suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to consider, please email us at thinkbiblically at biola.edu. If you enjoyed today's conversation, please give us a rating on your podcast app. Every one of those is really helpful, and and share it with a friend. In the meantime, thanks for listening and remember think biblically about everything.