Sanctified Thinness: The Intersection of the Adventist Health Message, Norwegian Cultural Ideals, and the Emergence of Eating Disorders

Abstract

This essay explores the convergence of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) “health message”, Norwegian societal emphasis on health and thinness, and the prevalence of eating disorders within Norwegian Adventist communities. It examines the historical evolution of the SDA health doctrine, its theological implications, and how cultural and religious perfectionism contribute to disordered eating behaviours.

The analysis incorporates psychological and sociological perspectives, highlighting the challenges in identifying eating disorders when they are disguised as spiritual discipline and healthy living. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for reform, grounded in grace-centred theology, to help victims of this unholy trinity of disorder-cultivating factors.

Introduction

For many decades now, there has been a pervasive rise of disordered eating within the Norwegian Adventist community. Unlike more visible crises, eating disorders in this context are notoriously difficult to identify or address. The reason being, that they are often masked by religious devotion, a seemingly biblically-backed theology, and social acceptance of "health." This paper investigates how the Adventist health message, originally intended to promote holistic well-being and compassion, has in many ways become a vehicle for perfectionism and body-related anxieties, particularly when reinforced by the already-existing Norwegian cultural ideals of thinness and fitness – ideas deeply rooted in white supremacist ideology.

Drawing on biblical theology, the writings of Ellen G. White and other Adventist pioneers, psychological research, and sociological analysis, this essay explores how these forces converge to foster an environment conducive to eating disorders.

1. The Adventist Health Message: Origins and Intent

The health message in Seventh-day Adventism was a religious doctrine and outlook born in the 19th century. Originating with the early Adventist pioneers, particularly influenced by Ellen G. White, one of the church’s founders, who promoted health reforms as part of Christian living following a series of divine revelations she and others received. This teaching became a foundational part of the church’s precepts, emphasising holistic health which integrates physical, mental, and spiritual health. Today it is often called a “health reform” movement and is considered one of the distinctive features of Adventism.

Ellen G. White, one of the church's founders, received a vision in 1863 which led to her promotion of a vegetarian diet, abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, and an emphasis on natural remedies, exercise, and clean living.

White wrote: "Gratification of taste should not be consulted regardless of physical, mental, or moral health" (Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 22). She saw health reform as a matter of stewardship: "The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character" (Ministry of Healing, p. 130).

Interestingly, in some ways, the Adventist health message was a radical departure from much of the prevailing Christian neglect of the body. While the early church rejected Gnosticism as heretical, some Gnostic-like ideas still seeped into Christian thought over centuries, especially in mystical and ascetic traditions.

Key influences include:

• Dualism: A sharp division between body and spirit, often devaluing the body.

• Asceticism: Extreme practices of bodily denial and mortification to purify the spirit.

• Platonism: Philosophical ideas emphasising the immaterial, perfect “forms” over the physical world, influencing Christian theology.

The affects which these ideas had on Western Christianity included:

• The neglect or suspicion of the body: Some Christian teachings inherited a tendency to view the body as a source of sin or temptation, sometimes leading to unhealthy denial or repression of bodily needs.

  
  

• The focus on the “spiritual” over the physical: Salvation and Christian maturity were often framed primarily in terms of spiritual experience or the soul’s destiny, while minimising the importance of physical health, needs, and well-being.

  
  

• Moral dualism: Body vs. spirit, flesh vs. soul—sometimes leading to shame around physicality, sexuality, and bodily care.

There had long been strong trends of “denial of the body” in Western Christian practice. But the Adventist health message stood in stark opposition to these; unlike the Gnostic influences present in much of Christian tradition, which often devalued the body, the Adventist message affirmed the goodness of embodiment. The health message, in its purest, original form, was aimed at bringing the human being together again; seeing our lives as a whole, not divided soul and body, but a honouring of the flesh and the material as being holy, God-loved, and God-created. This revelation was not only much-needed among Christian believers, but truly reflected the anti-gnostic, anti-dualistic biblical narrative.

Sadly, the health message was soon distorted, both by influences within Adventism, and by factors without. Firstly, Adventism grew up in the Victorian era, impacted heavily by Victorian values and thinking. Both Gnosticism and Victorian values emphasised moral purity, control over bodily desires, and a hierarchy where spirit or mind were seen as superior to the body.

While Gnosticism and Victorian values came from different contexts, they shared a deep discomfort with physicality—especially with bodily pleasure, sensuality, and appetite. And this Victorian outlook in many ways shaped the discourse and language around the Adventist health message.

The health message was also affected by parallel movements, such as the temperance movement and emerging understandings of physiology. Again, the temperance movement, being deeply rooted in Victorian values, had its history in white Protestant moralism and Western Enlightenment rationalism, leading to an idealisation of self-restraint, modesty, and high control—especially in women. This played out in various ways, including:

• Sexuality and bodily appetites often being viewed as dangerous and in need of strict regulation.
  

• Physical pleasure, indulgence, and bodily focus (even on health or menstruation) were taboo topics in polite society.
  

• "Moral" people were those considered to be clean, composed, and controlled

The Adventist health message became increasingly hijacked by moral perfectionism and ideas of white, Victorian purity. This integration of physical and spiritual well-being in the health message carried the risk of conflating health with moral standing and righteousness; merging God's call for care for the human body, with soteriological implications.

Over time, the message intended to liberate people from harmful habits or from the shame and hateful attitudes about matter and body, was repurposed in some circles as a test of faithfulness, fostering a culture where outward health behaviours could be equated with inner sanctity. This historical evolution is crucial to understanding how well-intentioned health practices developed, in many Adventist spheres, into spiritually justified control of other's bodies, a deep-seated culture of shame, misogyny, racism, and self-justification through works.

The Adventist health message, over the coming century, would cement itself in Adventist doctrine and practice. The rise of sanitariums, health lectures, and literature distribution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries embedded the health message into the core of Adventist mission and identity. While many lives were improved through the church’s advocacy of lifestyle reform, the close link between health and righteousness left ample room for unhealthy associations to develop. In particular, when health practices became a badge of spiritual loyalty, those who deviated—even for valid medical, physiological, psychological, racial, or economic reasons—were sometimes viewed as less committed.

2. The Shift Toward Perfectionism

As mentioned, while the original health message, as revealed by God, centred on care, healing, freedom from addiction, and honouring the human, by the early 20th century, segments of the church began using it as a litmus test for sanctification. In his analysis of Adventist history, historian George R. Knight observes that health reform was increasingly seen as a measure of righteousness: "What had begun as a message of freedom had, for many, become a burden of perfection" (A Search for Identity, p. 131).

Ellen White herself was aware of the dangerous developments within the church, and warned against extremism: "Health reform is not to stand in the place of the message. We are not to make it the burden of our work... it is not to take the place of the gospel" (Evangelism, p. 261). Despite her direct warnings, the shift had already begun. In various Adventist enclaves, spiritual maturity was gauged not by love, joy, and faithfulness—but by abstinence, dietary restriction, and outward fitness. This ingrained understanding has not departed from Adventist teaching or culture until today; perfectionism and the heretical doctrine of works infected Adventism, using the health message as its trojan horse.

The pressure to conform to specific lifestyle norms can lead to spiritualised guilt and shame being aimed at those who struggle with their bodies or eating habits. For children and adolescents in particular, this conflation of spiritual and physical perfection can be deeply damaging, leaving them with a lifetime of struggle and disordered thinking. As studies in adolescent development show, identity formation is particularly vulnerable to external validation—especially when that validation is moralised. Which, when it comes to church teachings, biblical interpretation, and divine revelation, it naturally will be. Many Adventist youth have been left feeling that they are unworthy of community or even divine love if they do not meet certain bodily expectations, producing long-term spiritual trauma. This trauma can affect how one views oneself, how one understand belonging and relationships, and how one views and relates to God.

This legalistic pressure is not confined to individual congregants. It has affected institutional practices, and is upheld institutionally and systematically. Adventist schools, colleges, camp meetings, church programs, and health expos elevate idealised lifestyles – and with that – also promote the ideologies attached to such views. Namely, racism, classism, misogyny, and ableism. This pressure excludes those with different needs or experiences. By presenting the health message as a moral imperative and God-spoken demand, Adventism has muddled the Gospel, and failed to protect, honour, and love other human beings. The silence surrounding eating disorders in such spaces can make those suffering feel invisible or ashamed.

3. Norwegian Cultural Context: Thinness and Moral Value

So far, we have addressed the influence of Adventism's teaching and practices, but Norwegian Adventists face an additional factor: namely, Norwegian national culture.

Norway presents a unique sociocultural environment. Rooted in a strong ethos of moderation, Janteloven (the Law of Jante) emphasises humility, egalitarianism, and conformity. Like an unspoken rule in Norwegian society, Janteloven demands a uniformity from its citizens in exchange for inclusion, acceptance, and the illusion of peace. While this ethos discourages overt vanity, it simultaneously promotes unobtrusive perfection – a particularly insidious poison. In Norwegian culture, being fit, active, and slim is considered responsible—bordering, if not forthrightly, a moral duty.

A 2021 study published in Body Image journal found that Norwegian adolescents displayed sky-high rates of body dissatisfaction and internalised weight bias. "In a culture that praises outdoor life and physical fitness," the authors wrote, "deviating from thinness ideals can be socially penalised, even if only implicitly" (Stornes & Samdal, 2021).

Ironically, socialised modesty and the cultural taboo around boasting can lead to covert competition. Who can be the healthiest, the most disciplined, the most self-controlled—all without appearing to try too hard? This silent race feeds into religious perfectionism, forming a toxic mix that supports disordered behaviours.

The societal pressure to conform bodily to a near-impossible standard is romanticised or hidden in Norwegian culture behind beautiful, vague veils: the veil of love of nature, nationalism, the enjoyment of the outdoors, the celebration of physicality, sports, and wholesome diet.

Because these disordered ideas hide behind pillars like national identity, it makes pinpointing and condemning these harmful conventions agonising and vulnerable to denial or minimising. Many Norwegians tend to respond defensively to these suggestions, based either on a misplaced sense of national pride, the ignorance which privilege constructs, or the fear of being ostracised according to Janteloven if they do not conform.

The Norwegian cultural backdrop, therefore, intensifies the already considerable effects of Adventist health teachings on Norwegian Adventists. When Norwegian Adventists hear that the body is the temple of God, they do not merely hear a call to wholeness or self-compassion—they internalise a cultural ideal of physical perfection dressed in religious language. It is the marrying of white supremacy with puritanism. This can potentially make even well-meaning health sermons and messaging harmful, reinforcing the belief that spiritual fidelity is visibly manifest in one’s weight, shape, or eating practices. Moreover, this makes it difficult to critique these ideals without appearing to reject core Adventist values or Norwegian virtues. Norwegian Adventists will have these false ideas reinforced on two fronts, as though one were not enough to be contending with; national identity and religious identity. Receiving this unhealthy messaging not only from religious sources, but from secular ones, makes the message seem impenetrable and universal. It also cancels out the likelihood of finding any safe spaces where this messaging doesn't exist.

Norwegian Adventist youth will be pressured to conform to physical and health perfectionism not only in their church, but in their friend groups, school, college, work place, and Norwegian public spaces. Their lives are saturated with an eating disorder-fostering reality. Everywhere they turn, they are inundated by its demands. How is it surprising that eating disorders thrive in this environment?

4. Eating Disorders Disguised as Discipleship

Psychologically, eating disorders are not simply about food or weight—they are disorders of thinking. They are disorders of control, identity, and self-worth. These are not manufactured privately or in isolation, but are created and nurtured by community, relationship, and culture factors.

When speaking of eating disorders, the publics' mind usually leaps to anorexia or bulimia. But there are a host of eating disorders aside from these two, including orthorexia. Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. This can also include an obsession with exercise. A person with orthorexia will likely :

• Have an Obsessive focus on food quality and purity, often avoiding foods seen as “unclean,” “toxic,” or “impure.”

• Eliminate entire food groups, such as carbs, fats, or all processed foods, even when not medically necessary.

• Have extreme guilt or anxiety when "rules" are broken.

• Spend excessive time planning, researching, or preparing meals.

• Viewing others’ eating habits as morally inferior.

• May experience malnutrition, weight loss, or health problems due to overly restrictive diet

• Social isolate due to fear of eating out or not having control over food.

Dr. Steven Bratman coined the phrase “orthorexia” in 1997, the term coming from the Greek "orthos" (correct) and "orexis" (appetite), meaning "correct appetite."

Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, a specialist in eating disorders, explains: "Orthorexia is especially dangerous because it wears the mask of health. It can be praised by others and seen as spiritual discipline, but it’s just as deadly" (Sick Enough, 2018). This fact is particularly relevant in SDA circles, where dietary restriction is often valorised. Seventh-day Adventism emphasises purity, self-control, and bodily discipline as spiritual virtues, which can easily lead to moralising food. E.g. “clean food” = righteous, “junk” = sinful, natural remedies = morally superior, dietary deviation = spiritual backsliding or weakness.

Believing that physical health reflects spiritual faithfulness, while associating illness or weakness with a lack of discipline or moral failure, has had horrible consequences in Adventist circles, both for the individual and for the community. And tragically, Scripture has been chronically twisted into pressuring others to keep their body “spotless” in a literal, obsessive sense, with verses like: “The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

This obsession with keeping the body pure, also intersects with purity culture, marrying attitudes around food and fitness with attitudes towards sex. Although we will not fully explore the repercussions which a misused health message and body shaming has on those many Adventist women who have experienced sexual violence, abuse, and harassment, it is worth keeping this factor firmly in mind. Many assault victims internalise the shame and guilt of what happened to them, and often seek to “purify” themselves and their body from the “dirtiness” of the violence they endured. Victims are desperate to gain control over their body which was violated. This attempt to reassert control can manifest in the development of the control-driven eating disorders. And if we were to consider the praise and approval which thinness and restraint receives in Adventist environments, it's reasonable to assume that this coping mechanism is common and even encouraged.

Abstaining from sugar, dairy, and processed foods may be commendable to some—but when these choices are driven by fear, shame, or compulsion, they cease to be healthful or self-caring. And more often than not, they are driven by these things. The illusion of health, by the person in question appearing slim, thin, or physically fit/strong can hide deep the pathology. Religious language can mask or even sanctify these dangerous behaviours, lauding the person's willpower and seeming spiritual integrity, making early intervention difficult. When health becomes a measure of holiness, or a right of passage, this can create intense pressure on members who internalise the belief that their spiritual worth is tied to their health behaviours, leading to anxiety, shame, or isolation.

In these cases, Adventist young people can experience suffering from serious malnutrition while being applauded for their "discipline." Many struggle in silence, not even realising they have an eating disorder. They believe that their obsessive thoughts about food and weight are signs of commitment – to God, to health – not red flags. And the absence of theological critique or institutional self-insight on this issue allows it to flourish in darkness, even holding it up as an ideal.

Studies have shown that perfectionism is a major risk factor for eating disorders. And perfectionism has become a cornerstone of the manifestation of the Adventist health message. In a 2019, meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology Review, Limburg et al. found that "both perfectionistic strivings and concerns are significantly associated with eating disorder symptoms."

This dynamic plays out quietly in Norwegian Adventist churches. Deadly and harmful disorders go unnoticed because spiritualised health-perfectionism goes unchallenged. Fitness routines, fasting, and plant-based diets are lauded as godly, while underlying anxiety, malnutrition, and obsession go unnoticed. Many individuals do not realise they are suffering because their behaviours receive spiritual and social approval. Their brain becomes wired to associate their restrictions and struggle with dopamine rewards like: belonging, community, friendships, roles, popularity, power, praise, admiration, acceptance by God, moral superiority, assurance of salvation, and a clear conscience.

It is common in tight-knit religious groups, such as the Adventist church, that conformity becomes socially enforced. Deviations are shamed or seen as moral weakness. The pressure to be an example to others, or even use one's lifestyle and diet as a tool for evangelistic witnessing, can be overwhelming, particularly for young people and those in leadership. This social pressure can feed disordered behaviours cloaked as “faithfulness”.

The theological misuse of the body-as-temple metaphor compounds the problem, especially when pastors or educators themselves reinforce unrealistic ideals under the guise of promoting stewardship. This cycle becomes self-perpetuating and deeply embedded in personal spirituality. In the end, trying to pull this disordered perfectionism from what one considers to be one's faith, will be extremely difficult. Any external call to do so will most likely be met by a fierce defensiveness since the individual perceives they are being persecuted, or even having their faith tested by “secular” ideas drawn from science and psychology. This perception of having their “faith” attacked can produce further entrenchment, and a complete abandoning of sound thought or reasoning on the topic.

5. The White Supremacist Body Ideal and Structural Factors

Beyond individual psychology and culture, there are powerful, broader structural forces at play. The global ideal of thinness is a racialised construct. The idealising of thinness is indivisible from the idealising of whiteness.

Sabrina Strings, in her groundbreaking book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (2019), demonstrates how fat-phobia (better termed, fat-hatred) is rooted in colonial ideals of white superiority. Thinness became equated with moral virtue and self-control—traits associated with white, Protestant, upper-class femininity. Since the rise of Western imperialism and white colonialism, white women have been imprisoned by a patriarchally-enforced glorifying of the fragile, genteel lady. The “white maiden in distress” has not only been an identity reinforced in white society, but is a role white women are expected to fill if they are to have any chance of survival or protection in a white, patriarchal system. Ruby Hamad expertly explains this phenomenon in her book, “White Tears, Brown Scars”. The very fact that the deeply racist BMI system is still being used to calculate general health and body fat is just one glaring testimony to how white supremacy rules our health care systems and is flourishing in the West's idea of what "health" is.

Ruby Hamad and many other feminist and critical race scholars have examined how the cultural ideal of thinness among white women intersects with the historical image of the “fragile white woman” — an archetype deeply rooted in colonial and patriarchal ideologies.

The idealisation of thin, delicate white women emerged strongly in the Victorian era and continued into modern Western beauty standards. This ideal plays into the colonial narrative of white women as innocent, pure, and in need of protection. Hamad identifies how white women have, consciously and subconsciously played into this role because it is the key to their social power; something she refers to as “performing vulnerability”. White women gain moral authority by appearing helpless, threatened, or overwhelmed. This performance of vulnerability allows them to weaponise their distress — including through "tears" — to maintain power over others, especially Black and Brown women. Being thin, even to the point of appearing weak or fragile, fits into this aesthetic of helplessness, reinforcing both patriarchal and racial hierarchies.

Sabrina Strings expounds on this: “The thin ideal was originally racialised: fatness was associated with Blackness, moral laxity, and animalistic appetites, while thinness and restraint were linked to whiteness and civility.”

Susan Bordo echoes this idea in Unbearable Weight:

“The slender body, and in particular the ‘tight’ and controlled body, has become a symbol of self-control, moral superiority, and a kind of fragile femininity that white, upper-class women are expected to embody.”

In a white society, thin fragility has cultural rewards. Thin white women are seen as in need of care and protection, which makes them more likely to be believed, defended, and centred in narratives of victimhood. Larger bodies, particularly of women of colour, are often read as aggressive, undisciplined, or less deserving of protection. This dynamic is not just personal—it operates structurally, reinforcing who gets care, whose trauma is validated, and whose bodies are policed or pathologised. Many white women have betrayed women of colour for the sake of securing their place one rung higher on the ladder of white, patriarchal hierarchy.

Within Adventism—which is historically Western, white, and Protestant—the health message can inadvertently replicate this racialised morality. Adventism has never made a collective or serious effort to unlearn the white supremacist, colonial, and racist ideology which integrated with its theology, methodology of biblical interpretation, and institutional culture. Thus, these evils remains at the heart of so much of Adventist theological practice, embedded in its very fibres, to the point of becoming unseen by its practitioners.

In Norwegian Adventist communities, where whiteness is normative, those who do not or cannot conform to thin, athletic ideals are subtly marginalised. This is often done in such subtle ways that the messaging may seem nearly undetectable, and those who do detect it are easily gaslit or shouted down. The church may not teach this explicitly, but the social dynamics reinforce it. Much like Janteloven, it is a firm, but unseen law. Multicultural members in the Norwegian SDA church often feel particularly alienated if their natural body types, cultural cuisines, or lifestyle practices differ from the dominant Adventist norms. They do not only face the disorder-hijacked misapplication of Scripture, but the racism hardwired into Norwegian society, with the micro aggressions and crafty repudiations which follow.

When thinness, white health/beauty standards, and “pure” lifestyle habits are thought of as Gospel Truth or God's will, then anything diverging from said standards will be considered unholy, dirty, shameful, lesser than, or a moral failure.

Thus, Norwegian Adventism has come to centre racism and white supremacy as the North Star of its health message. Many Norwegian Adventists will deny this fervently, revealing further their blind spots, internalised biases, and privilege.

Moreover, gender expectations add yet another layer to this spectacle. Women are disproportionately affected by eating disorders, and in church settings, they are often held to conflicting standards: to be both humble and attractive, disciplined yet effortless, spiritual yet physically ideal. This double bind leads many women to internalise a theology of shame that is more cultural than biblical. The spiritualisation of domesticity, modesty, and health have resulted in an impossible ideal of the "perfect Adventist woman." So even when white women attempt to hide behind the safety of the “white, fragile lady” role, they remain imprisoned in the oppressive structure of white supremacy.

6. Biblical Theology: Body, Grace, and Discipleship

Theologically, equating health with holiness is unbiblical. The Gospel message rejects any suggestion of the contrary. God's message to humanity is one of grace, not merit. Paul writes, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not a result of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Judaisers of Galatia were rebuked for adding requirements to grace. Today, some add organic food and veganism instead. There's nothing new about these practices; believers in Early Church congregations were adding restrictions too: on eating, fasting, circumcision.

Jesus ate fish (Luke 24:42), bread (Mark 8:6), and likely drank wine (Luke 7:34). He fasted, but also feasted. He, who was sinless, focused not on bodily perfection but healing and liberation – often from social injustice, cycles of shame, and marginalisation. He welcomed the sick, the leper, and the woman with a flow of blood. He sat with sinners, and helped gentiles. Jesus was described as not being much to look at. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nor special appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2).

Christ, who was perfect, was never the image of white supremacist perfection which we've so often depicted him as in the global West. His kingdom is not for the well, but for those in need of a physician - those who are sick (Mark 2:17). The doctrine of the Incarnation offers a powerful corrective. God in Christ did not come as an ideal body, but as a Jewish man who likely bore the marks of poverty and wear. He touched unclean bodies and made them whole. The resurrection promises not a return to thinness but the transformation of all that is broken. And white supremacy, a theology of works, and Janteloven are broken.

In the beginning, God created matter and the body, calling them good, “very good” (Genesis 1:31). And he created diversity. Jesus' followers, like Paul, vehemently criticised any theology which sought to punish, shame, or deny the body. So much of the teaching in the epistles is dedicated to addresses harmful practices in local congregations around the world – practices that attempted to interfuse gnosticism, shame-based faith, body punishment, and works-centred theology with the message of God. But each of these trends were condemned in the strongest terms.

Any theology that makes health a condition of spiritual inclusion contradicts God himself. It becomes a renewed form of modern Gnosticism or legalism, and it must be corrected with the full force of Scripture and communal commitment to reject it.

7. The Need for Reform

There is a dire need for restoring the centrality of honouring humanness and human vulnerability in Adventist teaching and practice. This cannot be done without drastically unlearning a host of evils which drive the eating disorder-fuelling environment. Evils such as white supremacy, patriarchy, misogyny, fat-hatred, racial bias and racism, ableism, a romanticising of harmful Norwegian culture, irresponsible biblical interpretation, and a complete distortion of the original Adventist health message.

Norwegian Adventists must reframe the health message as being a message from God that he isn't like our society around us: that instead he genuinely cares for the whole person and in no way demands physical perfectionism from us. He doesn't implore our eating, exercise, or fitness to be performative or qualifying acts. Health is not a prerequisite for God's love. If it isn't a prerequisite for God's love, Adventists must not commit the sin of making a prerequisite of full acceptance of people into Adventist spaces and community. Otherwise, they set themselves up as a higher authority than God Himself.

Adventism also need to expand its definition of what “health” is. They need to move beyond the narrow definitions of veganism, low body fat, fitness, mental wellness. For some, “health” is eating abundantly and without restraint. For some it is unlearning generational abuse and taking the time to heal from Trauma. For some it is having their coping mechanisms met with unwavering grace. For some it is never counting a single calorie, or stepping unto another weighing scale, or entering into a gym ever again. For some it is just focusing on surviving, one day at a time. Amid the diversity of God's humans is also a diversity of needs, abilities, and burdens. “Health” must include all of this.

Any group claiming to follow Jesus must meet those who are vulnerable or who have body struggle with compassion, not correction. Honesty about imperfection should be normalised and seen as part of spiritual maturity. Because it is, as Paul expressed repeatedly.

Any sermons or seminars about the health message should be framed around self-compassion and grace, rather than restriction and obsessive discipline.

At no point should it be even so much as suggested that health is salvific. The body is beloved, not merely a project to constantly manage. And if anyone were to suggest that this attitude lacks spiritual discipline, I would invite those parties to attempt radical self-compassion so they realise just how much strength, persistence, and discipline that choice requires on a daily basis.

To reform its health message, Adventism needs to radically centre diverse voices. Not in a tokenistic fashion, and not as the occasional inclusion, but let the disabled, the neurodivergent, and people of colour lead the way. But for that to happen, the Norwegian Adventist organisation needs to address its diversity and racism problem.

We must amplify the perspectives of those from the global majority, and the non-Western, and differently-abled backgrounds in conversations about health. The Adventist health message must be contextualised rather than universalised. Every effort must be made to prevent further cultural erasure and reduce shame for those who do not match white norms – and shouldn't.

Adventists must also stop assuming that just because their pastors and church leaders have read Ellen White's writings and The Bible, and go on the occasional Sabbath afternoon hike, that they automatically have the necessary theological and psychological tools to navigate issues like health and eating disorders. Most of them do not. Their role is not to spiritualise people's health conditions. Ellen White’s writings must be interpreted within their historical context and all parties must avoid using her counsels as rigid standards. We must be abundantly clear on the difference between descriptive inspiration and prescriptive legalism. Additionally, Ellen White’s writings must be interpreted within their historical context and all parties must avoid using her counsels as rigid standards. We must be abundantly clear on the difference between descriptive inspiration and prescriptive legalism.

Conclusion

Disordered eating within the Norwegian Adventist context is not simply a medical or psychological issue—it is a theological and cultural one too. The Norwegian Adventist church has been a breeding ground for the development of eating disorders and unhealthy relationships to food, health, and exercise.

Norwegian Adventists are bombarded with harmful "health messaging", not merely from inside the church, but also from without. And many pass on this messaging without even realising it; it is so intertwined with their national, cultural, and religious identity that is seems like infallible God-sent Gospel. But it's not.

At the intersection of religious ideals, national values, and personal identity lies a dangerous, multi-reinforced distortion: that thinness is next to godliness. That fitness as salvific. The Adventist health message, while originally rooted in freedom and wholeness when God inspired it, has mutated into a sanctified form of control, a furthering of white supremacist ideals, and has been chronically untethered from grace. It has merely magnified the racist, detrimental voices of Victorian values, puritanism, white supremacy, and Janteloven. If Norwegian Adventism ever hopes to cut itself lose from this horrific legacy, it will require a dramatic and ongoing anti-racist education and collective commitment. If they were to dedicate themselves to this task, they would find liberation from more than just a twisted message about health; it would bring broad-spanning liberation in all areas of their faith life.

To anyone who wishes to bring reform to Adventist spaces, or to seek personal healing from the traumas these harmful trends in Adventism has caused, the way through is to return to the Gospel of Jesus Christ: which is the radical, liberatory, inclusive, grace-filled, and embodied message to humanity. Health must be put in its proper place: a gift, not a god.

Any serious, longterm reform will require courage, honesty, humility, love, loss, and a drastic, ongoing shedding of the systems which prop up the milieu fuelling disordered thinking and behaviours about health and body.

And finally, if you think you might be have been a victim of this harmful messaging, if you have experienced prejudice or pressure in Adventist and Norwegian circles, please know that it's not your fault. For any victims, know that it's more than okay if you need to remove yourselves from groups, environments, cultures, congregations, voices, and company that systematically cause you harm and suffering.

As Jesus would insist, your wellbeing matters more than you filling a pew.

Sources:

Counsel On Diet & Food, Ellen G. White (A Compliation work, 1938), p. 22

The Ministry of Healing, Ellen G. White (A Compliation work, 1905), p. 130

A Search for Identity, George R. Knight, (2000) p. 131

Evangelism, Ellen G. White, (1946) p. 261

Janteloven (The Law of Jante): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante

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"Further evidence of the association between social media use, eating disorder pathology and appearance ideals and pressure: a cross-sectional study in Norwegian adolescents", by Camilla Lindvall Dahlgren, Christine Sundgot-Borgen, Ingela Lundin Kvalem, Anne-Louise Wennersberg , Line Wisting. (2024) Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10905800/?utm_source=chatgpt.com - "The prevalence of orthorexia in exercising populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis", by Stine Marie Hafstad, Jonas Bauer, Anette Harris, Ståle Pallesen Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36747235/ "Sick Enough", Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani (2018)

"The association between eating disorders and perfectionism in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis", Rose Stackpole, Danyelle Greene, Elizabeth Bills, Sarah J. Egan (2023)

"The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: a meta-analysis", K. Limburg, (2019)

"Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia", Sabrina Strings, (2019)

“White Tears, Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color", by Ruby Hamad, (2020)

"How the Use of BMI Fetishizes White Embodiment and Racializes Fat Phobia", Sabrina Strings: Link: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-use-bmi-fetishizes-white-embodiment-and-racializes-fat-phobia/2023-07

"The Association Between Racial and Gender Discrimination and Body Mass Index Among Residents Living in Lower-income Housing" Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2855131/ "Measuring Structural Racism and Its Association With BMI", Geoff B. Dougherty, Sherita H. Golden MD, Alden L. Gross PhD, Elizabeth Colantuoni PhD, Lorraine T. Dean ScD, (American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 59, Issue 4, October 2020)

"Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body", Susan Bordo, (2003) - "Nazi Race Hygiene and The Adventists", Roland Blaich, (1996) Link: https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/Spectrum/1995-1996_Vol_25/22253239.READER_023.pdf "Contemporary racism in Norway: Exposing the invisible in plain sight", Det humanistiske fakultet UiO Link: https://youtu.be/xed6vJaKyqQ?si=9I8b_4IstCQYzNvX "Racist Narratives and (Not) Feeling at Home in Norway" Link: https://youtu.be/7KiL-uGFVWs?si=9KqHoF9yHS7_EuIg Example of the "ideal Adventist woman" "The Best You Can Be" by Adventist Women's Ministries Link: https://women.adventist.org/the-best-you-can-be "The Role of the Adventist Woman", Ministry Magazine Link: https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1972/09/the-role-of-the-adventist-woman "Adventism’s White Supremacy: When the Seventh-day Adventist Church Adopted an Official Policy of Racial Segregation", Tuwan Ussery White, (2022) Link: https://atoday.org/adventisms-white-supremacy-when-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-adopted-an-official-policy-of-racial-segregation/ "Adventism in Crisis: A Sociological Analysis of Seventh-day Adventism with emphasis on the relationship between gender and sectarian change", Laura L. Vance (1991) Link: https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/sfu_migrate/5110/b14886686.pdf - NIV Bible