Christian Spiritual Formation Is Good for Your Health!

An Interview with Steve Porter and Tyler J. VanderWeele

Each year, Westmont’s Martin Institute and Dallas Willard Research Center honor a book published in the previous year that contributes to one or more of Dallas Willard’s central aims and serves as a resource promoting and furthering his commitment to establishing Christian spiritual and moral formation as knowledge accessible to the public. Tyler J. VanderWeele has won the 2025 Dallas Willard Book Award for “A Theology of Health: Wholeness and Human Flourishing.”

The John L. Loeb and Frances L. Loeb professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, VanderWeele directs the Harvard Human Flourishing Program. Pitched to an academic and public health audience, his book integrates new life in Christ and a growing relationship with God with overall human health and flourishing. In reviewing this book, Tremper Longman, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Westmont, described it as “deeply and intelligently theological. VanderWeele works with a sophisticated and integrative understanding of the human person as he considers health not just a matter of the body and the mind, but also of the spirit.”

In another review, Charles Camosy called it a “watershed book” and a “groundbreaking classic,” adding, “If this book is given its due, it could mark the beginning of a new and even stunning moment — one that makes space for explicitly theological ideas and reflection within the highest-level academic discussions of health.”

Steve Porter, senior research fellow and executive director of the Martin Institute interviewed VanderWeele about issues in his book for the Westmont magazine.

Steve: Congratulations, Tyler, on winning the 2025 Dallas Willard Book Award!

Tyler: Thank you. It’s an honor and delight to receive it. I didn’t know Dallas personally, but I’ve read “The Divine Conspiracy” and “The Spirit of the Disciplines” and benefited from them. Dallas’s powerful legacy has profoundly shaped many people, and it’s wonderful to participate in that in some small way.

Steve: I’m quite sure you and Dallas would have had incredible conversations! Can you tell us a bit about your spiritual and intellectual journey and your work at Harvard?

Tyler: My spiritual journey has been central to my life and work. I grew up in a Christian home, and faith was always important to me. I attended a Presbyterian church and a Lutheran school and then various non-denominational evangelical churches during high school when my family lived abroad. I went to an Anglican church during my undergraduate studies, and I was received in the Roman Catholic Church in 2012, so I’ve experienced quite a bit of the landscape of the Christian faith!

At Oxford, I studied first mathematics and then completed a second bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology. I went on to study finance and applied economics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania but eventually decided on public health and completed a doctorate in biostatistics. I’m now in the Harvard Department of Epidemiology, another roundabout journey. Many of these pursuits came together with the founding of the Human Flourishing Program (hfh.fas.harvard.edu) at Harvard in 2016. Any adequate study of flourishing needs to draw upon a whole host of disciplines, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

Steve: It’s amazing how your academic journey in math, the humanities and the sciences suits your work founding and directing the Harvard Human Flourishing Program, which promotes holistic, global human flourishing. What motivated you to discuss flourishing from an explicitly Christian point of view in your book?

Tyler: The idea for the book came while I was teaching Religion, Well-being and Public Health at Harvard. The course focused on empirical research, but as I reviewed the material, I saw a need to reflect on how churches and religious communities understood health from a theological perspective. I began incorporating my reflections and reading into the course. Eventually, I decided to write a book-length exposition of what I took to be a Christian theology of health.

Any adequate study of flourishing needs to draw upon a whole host of disciplines, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

Steve: Many think of “health” as referring to the physical body alone — biological flourishing — but in your book, you immediately define health as “wholeness as intended by God.” You identify new life in Christ as foundational for human wholeness. While theological discussions often make claims like this, is it unusual in your field to integrate theology in this manner?

Tyler: The book draws a distinction between the health of the body and the health of the person. Our narrower concept of the “health of the body” concerns the body’s parts and systems functioning normally, allowing for the full range of characteristically human activities.

The broader concept of the “health of the person” equates to “flourishing” or “complete human well-being.” From a Christian perspective, this involves an orientation toward our spiritual well-being and our final end in God, enabled by Christ and carried out through the work of the Spirit and the church. Despite the literature on the theology of healthcare and what it means to be a good physician from a Christian perspective, much less theological reflection exists on the nature of health itself. Few academics in public health would take a theological perspective. Michael Rozier has contributed some beautiful writing on the topic from a public health perspective, but most in the discipline would tend to ignore theology.

Steve: Willard called for Christians in the academy to present Christian truths as credible knowledge of how things actually are. It seems like you’re writing from a similar standpoint. For instance, you present empirical evidence and biblical evidence as equally legitimate and reliable sources of knowledge.

Tyler: The book takes Christian theology as a given and seeks to provide an exposition of its relevance for understanding the concept of health and promoting health, wholeness and flourishing. While I consider the Christian faith as intellectually defensible with compelling arguments for its truth, the present book doesn’t make that defense. The goal instead is taking Christian ideas and discussing their relevance for thinking about the concept of health and public health. I believe that doing so adequately requires engaging with the empirical literature on health, which I do regularly in the book (especially in the footnotes), but it takes Christian theology as a given.

Steve: While respecting distinct points of view within our pluralistic context, you note the importance of coming to the broadest possible common understanding of human health and well-being. You write, “The more we can reach agreement about what is good and what we can and should pursue together, the easier it will be to promote that good.” Can you comment on the importance of reaching agreement and how we might best do so?

Tyler: As I argue in the book and elsewhere (pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1702996114), I think we agree on a lot regarding the nature of flourishing and wholeness even in our pluralistic context. We can consider what different understandings of flourishing share and that any reasonable conception of flourishing likely includes the following domains of human life: happiness, health, meaning, character, relationships and sufficient financial and material security to sustain them. Rather than reducing flourishing to these domains (a Christian standpoint sees spiritual well-being as playing a central role), we recognize that each one contributes to flourishing. Pretty much everyone understands and desires these common elements of flourishing.

As I state in the book, if we were to find common ground throughout society on these matters and shape our policy and medical and public health decision-making around all these domains (rather than just health and income), we could better enable societal flourishing. Loving one’s neighbor requires not only seeking to share a vision of full flourishing with God but also providing for the needs and temporal well-being in this life as well.

The broader concept of the “health of the person” equates to “flourishing” or “complete human well-being.”

Steve: In a sentence that would make Willard smile, you write, “The right approach here is not to abandon the notions of truth or objective good, but rather, through dialogue, to consider the reasons and evidence for one vision and set of truth claims over another.” You present a vision for building consensus through careful thinking about different understandings of living a good life and being a good person with rational persuasion and not coercion by political or some other social force. I love it! What gives you hope that this vision is realistic? Any examples come to mind?

Tyler: I think universities should do this: pursuing truth and entering into dialogue with those who may see things differently to refine our own position and arguments, understand those of others, find common ground when possible, change the views of others when they seem to err, and change our own views when the evidence clearly points in a different direction to collectively come to truth. Because universities have the potential to do all this, I think it’s worth working hard to preserve them. A number of threats at present challenge this vision of academic life, but if we can preserve it, we’ll work better together, both to find consensus and to come to truth.

Steve: At one point, you introduce the idea of “tradition-specific practices” of medicine, psychiatry and counseling since various persons and groups will understand flourishing differently. Can you provide an example and explain why it’s important to allow for these tradition-specific practices in culture?

Tyler: I think we can agree on a lot even in our pluralistic society concerning an understanding of the health of the body and the person or flourishing. However, we might not agree on other aspects, such as notions of spiritual well-being or ethical principles. While I believe we can share many practices and much of the scientific evidence, I think values come into play in medical decision-making, and it might be reasonable to allow for tradition-specific practices of medicine so certain clinics, for example, might provide medical care more explicitly grounded in Christian values and principles that allow for prayer and consider a patient’s spiritual life. Within the context of a pluralistic society, other tradition-specific practices (e.g. Buddhist or Muslim, etc.) may be appropriate as well as others more generic or secular. My colleagues Michael and Tracy Balboni have written more extensively on this idea (global.oup.com/academic/product/hostility-to-hospitality-9780199325764?cc=us&lang=en&), but I think it’s worth exploring further and could ultimately result in better and more person-centered healthcare.

Steve: You also discuss the idea that suffering can create conditions beneficial to spiritual healing. In various places, the biblical authors teach that Christians should see suffering as, in some sense, a welcome invitation toward maturity in Christ. How do we balance our obligation to eliminate suffering and bring about human flourishing, especially for those in greatest need, while recognizing that suffering often provides a unique opportunity for spiritual growth?

Tyler: The idea here should be “both-and” and not “either-or.” We should seek to address the causes of ill-health, poor mental health, loneliness and other forms of suffering and to care for people in need whenever we can. We should also seek to promote positive well-being, a sense of meaning and relational connection, of character and virtue, of spiritual well-being, allowing people to meet their full potential whenever we can. We should do both. Different people may have different callings and emphases, but collectively as a community, a society, and the church, we should consistently seek to do both. We’ll never eliminate suffering in this life — in some cases it becomes a source of further growth, both spiritually and with regard to our character and finding new meaning. The book discusses at length these opportunities for such flourishing in the midst of suffering, recognizing the limits of our efforts to fully address suffering in this life. In addition, we can consider the mystery of Christ’s suffering so we can move toward an eternal flourishing with God.

“...we see salvation in Christ, God’s grace, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as the most important dimension of our community’s flourishing.

Steve: You write that in Christianity, “there is a subordination of temporal flourishing to eternal flourishing,” which you describe as seeking our spiritual well-being in this life in light of our ultimate end of communion with God. How does “eternal flourishing” affect our response to suffering in this life?

Tyler: Temporal flourishing and our spiritual well-being will often be consonant. Attending church services, for example, contributes toward our spiritual well-being, but evidence (academic.oup.com/ije/article/49/6/2030/5892419) also indicates that it promotes our health, happiness, social connectedness and meaning in life. Likewise, the Christian faith requires us to love our neighbor as part of our love for God, but such love also tends to be conducive to our well-being and that of others. However, in other instances, temporal well-being and spiritual well-being conflict. We may be called to carry out difficult work to help others which may be important in our spiritual life but threaten our health or happiness. Christians should prioritize spiritual well-being, an ultimate orientation toward our eternal flourishing. We may end up suffering because of our faith and service, but as noted above, that suffering can sometimes provide an opportunity for growth and yet further flourishing.

Steve: A core value at Westmont is promoting the physical, emotional, social and spiritual flourishing of our students, staff and faculty. Like you, we see salvation in Christ, God’s grace, and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as the most important dimension of our community’s flourishing. In fact, it seems that failing to increase in Christian maturity will limit our physical, mental and social flourishing. Christian spiritual formation should positively contribute to overall human flourishing. Does the empirical evidence support that claim?

Tyler: The empirical evidence clearly supports that claim with the strongest evidence coming from participation in a religious community such as in the life of the church. We recently completed a major review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2794049#google_vignette) of all the most rigorous studies indicating that weekly service attendance improves health, increases longevity, reduces depression, reduces suicide, reduces substance abuse and improves general well-being.

Steve: In addition to church attendance, you mention that conformity to Christ supports the flourishing of others when Christ-followers become people who love God and neighbor. You write that “The highest attainable standard of health cannot be brought about without love.” You explain, “Love for one another will entail justice, but love entails more than justice; it also entails a disposition toward willing the other person’s good and toward being with them, resulting in an affirmation of the goodness of their being.” It sounds like Christians ought to be leading the way in the sort of love needed to promote global flourishing. Can you comment on the importance of that point, especially today?

Tyler: We need to promote love in society, especially love of both our neighbor and our enemy. That universal love for all people — seeing the good in them, recognizing that they’re created in the image of God and seeking to contribute to their good — plays a critical role in living out the Christian life. I think our polarized society needs it as well. I see love as the only way to heal some of those divisions — love of neighbor and also love of enemy, seeking the good and caring about even those who seem opposed to us or may view us with ill-will. Both individuals and the church need the Christian message of love — a love from God and enabled by God — to carry out the work of healing people and society.

Steve: In a similar vein, I appreciate how you talk about evangelism in the book as sharing Jesus’s message of what it means to lead a good life and flourish as a good person. You write that when attempts to share “the Christian vision of the good life and of human flourishing — both temporal and eternal — are carried out rightly, they should be viewed as attempts to love, to help others better attain what is good and to flourish as persons, and, from the perspective of Christian theology, to pursue and find their final end in God. The Christian gospel . . . is the teaching that in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has brought salvation and that in the life of the Church, in a life of love, in a life in which God, by his Spirit, acts to bring healing, full human flourishing is eventually possible with the help of God’s grace.” If we really believe the Jesus way is best, then evangelism isn’t imposing anything on anyone. It invites them to wonder about a better way to live than their current life.

Tyler: Yes, I think if we believe the Christian message and find our ultimate end, that final eternal flourishing, in God, then we must share that message and vision with others. Love and respect for others also requires that we acknowledge they may disagree with us and see things differently. It requires that we seek to listen and understand their perspectives. However, even in a pluralistic context, I think we should each try to share our understanding of what is good and what ultimately matters. For Christians, this means sharing our faith but also recognizing the freedom of each person to accept or reject the love that Jesus Christ offers us.

Steve: I see a growing cultural openness to the role of religion, spirituality and transcendence in human flourishing and character development. In the last 20 to 30 years, a resurgence of interest has occurred in forming virtue in philosophical ethics, positive psychology and Christian theology. A variety of institutions have emerged that support this work, such as the Educating Character Initiative at Wake Forest University, Notre Dame’s newly established Jenkins Center for Virtue Ethics and the Harvard Human Flourishing Program you direct. Westmont’s Martin Institute participates in these same conversations. What do you make of these efforts? Is there a movement afoot?

Tyler: I think a flourishing movement is gaining increasing attention and has also helped create greater openness to questions about character — a sense that we need to aim for more in our educational, policy and workplace efforts for a fuller flourishing and orient life toward it. Good character or virtue promotes the flourishing of others and ourselves. The church is involved in this work, and I’m excited to see what the years ahead might hold. I hope the book encourages further thinking within the church about promoting fuller flourishing.

Steve: What role can Christian higher education play in these efforts? What would you recommend to the administration, faculty, students and alums of a place like Westmont?

Tyler:  Christian colleges make a unique contribution in carrying out Christian formation. A shared set of values and vision make it possible to help students flourish, develop as persons, grow spiritually and become better Christians. They can also wrestle with claims about truth and other perspectives, but that may be more difficult in exclusively Christian contexts that lack other perspectives. Some engagement can occur by reading other texts or bringing in guest speakers. Attaining these aspects of academic life may be easier in pluralistic contexts, but these make character and spiritual formation more difficult. Each institution possesses its own opportunities and challenges. However, I consider the Christian vision of our final end in God most important, and the opportunity to form students, faculty and staff to seek this is a tremendous privilege. We should celebrate and embrace this real opportunity for a deep and fuller flourishing within Christian colleges.

Steve: Thank you, Tyler, for your willingness to help us think through these issues and for your work on this remarkable book. We look forward to your presentation at our Lead Where You Stand conference in June, when we’ll present the award to you in person.

Tyler: Thanks so much once again. I look forward to June as well!

That universal love for all people — seeing the good in them, recognizing that they’re created in the image of God and seeking to contribute to their good — plays a critical role in living out the Christian life.

Read the free PDF version at: muse.jhu.edu/pub/200/oa_monograph/book/129052

Purchase the book at: undpress.nd.edu/9780268208356/a-theology-of-health/

See the list of previous MIDWRC book and research award winners at: conversatio.org/what-to-read-next/