Reading Log

As an introduction, I would like to shed a little bit of light on the humble beginnings
of the Adventist Health Reform Movement. In 1854, Ellen White founded the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Battle Creek, Michigan, reputedly as a result of visions and divine
communications. This religion stressed the link between spiritual and physical well-
being and demanded of its adherents stringent dietary, hygienic, and chaste rules.
Members of this congregation were expected to follow a vegetarian diet and were
forbidden from using cigarettes, drinking alcohol, or drinking coffee or tea. Furthermore,
excessive eating, wearing corsets, and other so-called "evils" were thought to cause
impure behaviors like masturbation and excessive sexual activity.
Now let’s go over the life of one John Harvey Kellogg, who is considered as one,
or if not the most influential person in the history of the Adventist faith on its health
reform aspect. On February 26, 1852, John Harvey Kellogg was born in the remote Tyrone
Township in Livingstone County, Michigan to parents John Preston Kellogg and his
second wife, Ann Stanley. He was raised in an Adventist household where they upheld
values and ideals that were influenced by the Adventist denomination. His parents
were converted to the Adventist faith six months earlier because of the emphatic
teachings and encouraging influence of one Joseph Bates when he visited their simple
town. John Harvey Kellogg's worldview was undoubtedly influenced by his family's 1856
migration to Battle Creek, where they became involved church members. When White
noticed Kellogg's zeal for the faith, he encouraged him to become a significant member,
gave him an apprenticeship in the print shop of their publishing firm, and paid for his
education through medical school.
Later in his life, John Harvey Kellogg became a physician and medical practitioner
who was a pioneer in his field. When Kellogg returned to Michigan after earning his
medical degree, the White family invited him to oversee the facility that would later
become known as the Battle Creek Sanitarium. He was chosen to be the director of
Battle Creek's Western Health Reform Institute in 1876. He assisted in the establishment
of Battle Creek's municipal medical society in 1877. His work demonstrated his
willingness to work in accordance with his profession. He renamed the Western Health
Reform Institute the Battle Creek Sanitarium after only a few months in command.
According to Kellogg, the word "Sanitarium" would come to mean a “place where people
learn to stay well" which he considered to be immensely fitting to the primary purpose
or function of the said place.
Along with his younger brother Will Keith Kellogg, Kellogg is most known for
creating the cereal Kellogg's "Corn Flakes." He practiced medicine and oversaw a
sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan that put a strong emphasis on exercise and
diet. Being a vegetarian himself, Kellogg held the view that nutrition might be utilized to
heal a variety of illnesses. Following his appointment as the Battle Creek Sanitarium's
director, Kellogg offered his patients a variety of nutritious meals, such as yogurt and
morning cereals. In addition, he promoted exercising and staying away from alcohol and
smoke. Kellogg felt that diet could be used to treat the majority of illnesses.
Aside from being one of the best physicians of his time, John Harvey Kellogg was
also known for his significant contribution to health literature, as well as for being an
effective preacher who would speak in front of a congregation and never fails to instill
the essence of his message to those who witnessed it. Furthermore, he was also a
prolific writer who wrote more than 50 books, most of them large scientific works, and
many articles about the medical journals.
Dr. Kellogg began to espouse unusual beliefs after the turn of the century, and
his book "The Living Temple" was replete with Pantheistic themes. In forming its
conception of God, Pantheism eliminates every characteristic that religion presupposes.
This caused him to clash with the General Conference leadership over his attempt to
control all SDA medical institutions. Ellen White began to be alarmed with this
progressing conflict between the General Conference and his dear friend. She suspected
that Kellogg must be spiritually in danger which pushed her to initiate healing means to
restore Kellogg’s diminishing spirituality. Despite the firm and reassuring counsel of
Ellen White, in 1899 Kellogg hinted that he could quit the Seventh-day Adventist religion,
prompting White to urge for unity among church leaders and those in the medical
profession. The following years were rough for Ellen White as she witnessed how
someone she championed, adored, and believed to be a prime representation of a good
follower of Christ placed science over the God of all. Kellogg's name was struck off the
Battle Creek Tabernacles membership list on November 10, 1907. He ceased to be a
member of the church, and only a select group of close friends followed. Despite his
unfortunate exit from the denomination, his unparalleled contribution to the Adventist
movement and its health reform institutions will never be forgotten and will always be
regarded with utmost value and paramount importance since he was able to significantly
affect the lives of millions from his medical prowess, and millions to come through his
legacy in health reformation.
John Harvey Kellogg’s unfortunate exit is greatly attributed to his diminishing
spiritual faith when he faced stressful and taxing circumstances later on in his
significant life. The contentious theology of John Harvey Kellogg got him into problems
and led to the severing of his fifty-year connections with the denomination and others.
Maybe it was due to his extremely demanding and busy schedule that he wasn’t able to
meditate as he was used to or to the extent which would regularly restore his faith and
maintain his relationship with God. Because he was too busy attending patient visitations
and heal the sick, he wasn’t able to attend church services and overlooked the fact that
he was slowly getting spiritually sick and impaired. Soon after, John Harvey Kellogg’s
character was tarnished and people, especially those who were intimate with him,
slowly began to notice that he was being arrogant and haughty towards certain things
particularly to the SDA church. He began to question and criticize the doings and
endeavors of the SDA church, particularly the General Conference. In effect, Kellogg
somewhat became an antagonist in the eyes of the Church which overshadowed his
well-regarded reputation and history.
Ellen White advised Kellogg to put a stop on his pursuit in separating the
denomination’s medical aspect from the Church’s control and that it would stand as a
separate entity but still be supported by the Church. However, Kellogg wasn’t positive
with the advise of Ellen White and decided to stand firm on his position. From that point
forward, he felt himself to have resigned from every denominational post, although he
still needed to provide his consent for the sanitarium's restructuring.
Kellogg’s teachings and ideals were truly misunderstood as being influenced or
in support to Pantheism which he said to be completely false. He even stated that the
definition of Pantheism wasn’t in his radar. Kellogg emphasized that his teachings were
based solely on the Bible and the teachings of God. He never really got to return to the
SDA Church and spent the rest of his life with his family.
John Harvey Kellogg’s contribution to the medical world and to the Adventist
Health Reform movement is truly unparalleled despite the unfortunate later stages of
his life. One of the most influential, eccentric, and divisive individuals in Seventh-day
Adventist history, John Harvey Kellogg was a significant figure in late 19th and early 20th
century America. His early relationship and financial backing from James and Ellen
White contributed to his impact. It also came from the Adventist Church's ardent support
of health, which gave Kellogg a stage on which to express his own iconoclastic ideas on
the subject. Over time, though, his ideals, temperament, and autocratic attitude collided
with Adventist Church leadership, which caused him to leave the movement. But despite
his formal separation from the Church, Adventists continued to be visitors, thus his
direct influence remained to be felt among them for a very long time. By developing
flaked cereal and a kind of peanut butter, Kellogg permanently altered American eating
patterns. He created delectable, nourishing meat substitutes comprised of nuts and
legumes to provide vegetarians an option to eating meat. The word "sanitarium" also
entered Adventist lexicon and tradition as a result of Kellogg, and it even gained traction
in broader society. Other regions in North America and across the world developed
Kellogg's ideology, and Adventist organizations used those names. All in all, John Harvey
Kellogg is truly one of the most impactful figures in the Adventist community’s history
which is evident to his unrivaled contributions.