Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living

by Brian C. Wilson

Purveyors of spiritualized medicine have been legion in American religious history, but few have achieved the superstar status of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his Battle Creek Sanitarium. In its heyday, the "San" was said to be a combination spa and Mayo Clinic. Founded in 1866 under the auspices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and presided over by the charismatic Dr. Kellogg, it catered to many well-heeled health seekers including Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Presidents Taft and Harding. It also supported a hospital, research facilities, a medical school, a nursing school, several health food companies, and a publishing house dedicated to producing materials on health and wellness. Rather than focusing on Kellogg as the eccentric creator of corn flakes or a megalomaniacal quack, Brian C. Wilson takes his role as a physician and a theological innovator seriously and places his religion of "Biologic Living" in an on-going tradition of sacred health and wellness. With the fascinating and unlikely story of the "San" as a backdrop, Wilson traces the development of this theology of physiology from its roots in antebellum health reform and Seventh-day Adventism to its ultimate accommodation of genetics and eugenics in the Progressive Era.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2014

About the author

Brian C. Wilson is professor of American Religious History in the Department of Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University. He is the author of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living and Yankees in Michigan.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't look for the story of "Corn Flakes" here. (The popular Kellogg cereals were successfully marketed by J.K. Kellogg's younger brother.) Rather, Brian C. Wilson traces Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's life and beliefs. Beginning his life as an avid follower of Seventh Day Adventism, John Harvey Kellogg became an all-out supporter of Eugenics (or what he labeled "Race Betterment") during the last decades of his life. It's a story that needed to be told, and the author does an outstanding job of bringing it to life.

[Ginny Donahue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anyone living in Southwest Michigan who is interested in the history of our area. Dr. Wilson has done an incredible job of researching and writing a very interesting and readable account of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's life and times. Some of the fascinating subjects included in the book are the history of the Seventh Day Adventists, the creation of Dr. Kellogg's Sanitarium (attended by heath-seekers such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Presidents Taft and Harding), his beliefs in holistic medicine and vegetarianism to strengthen and cure the human body, and his beliefs in Eugenics and race betterment. I highly recommend reading it!

[Cate]

There's nothing wrong with this book, it just wasn't for me. I'd give it two stars.