Discernment on the part of the Christian is needed not just in the areas of theology and morals but in the very practical issues of life as well. Take health for example. How many believers are completely duped by the latest fad diet, bogus claims on nutrition or advertisements for some wonder pill that will absorb all of their body fat? The numbers are legion. It is no wonder then that a book like this one catches on in the Christian community. And why? Because it is written by a physician who claims to be a Christian. That is enough for many.
It doesn’t take an in-depth study of this little volume to recognize gaping holes in its credibility. Start with the foreword, written by none other than Benny Hinn. Hinn claims that God wants you healthy and that healing is part of the atonement of Christ. This alone should be enough for any discerning person to trash the book, but there is more. The author, Don Colbert, is a graduate from Oral Roberts University, which holds the same doctrinal presupposition as Hinn. Strike two! Then the book lays claim to being a “biblical breakthrough for preventing cancer and heart disease.” The “biblical” part is nothing less than a lie, pure and simple. Scripture is sparingly used and when it is it is ripped completely out of context. The author takes the dietary laws of the Old Testament and makes them universal dictates from God for better health. Strike three!
Now that we know that the doctrinal foundation of Walking in Divine Health is quicksand, and that the author knows nothing about Scripture, we are ready to plunge into his advice on health. Here we have immediate problems. Colbert has already shown that he can not be trusted. He has deceived himself and his readers in the matters of doctrine and Scripture. He now dispenses health advice without footnotes, without documentation, often in contrast to numerous studies, and tells us, in essence, to take his word for it. We are now to rearrange our lives based upon the word of a man that has proven himself untrustworthy. The frustrating thing is that some of Colbert’s concepts are on the money but which ones? He speaks with equal authority on the values of exercise (unquestionably proven by science) and the wonders of garlic (of a conjectural nature). Which vitamins to take and how much is clear in his mind, but not clear, in most cases, in the thousands of studies that have been conducted. In other words, we have no means of knowing when the good doctor is a worthy trailblazer and when he is just blowing smoke. As a result this book is unreliable at best and dangerous at least.