The Hallelujah Diet of Rev. George Malkmus. By Dr. Chapman Chen

Rev. George H. Malkmus (1934–2023) was a pioneering Christian health reformer who spent his life calling believers back to the Edenic diet prescribed by God in Genesis 1:29:  “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed... and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.”

1. Ball-sized Tumour Gone!

Diagnosed with colon cancer in 1976 at age 42, Malkmus refused conventional medical treatments. Inspired by the late evangelist Lester Roloff, he adopted a diet of raw fruits and vegetables. Within a year, he claimed, his “baseball-sized tumour was gone.”

2. Hallelujah Acres Founded 

This personal healing experience led him to a life-changing mission. In 1992, he and his wife Rhonda founded Hallelujah Acres in Shelby, North Carolina—a Christian health ministry promoting the Hallelujah Diet, a lifestyle that mirrors what Malkmus saw as God’s original prescription for human nourishment. The ministry eventually reached over two million people worldwide.

3. All Drugs are Toxic! 

Malkmus first articulated his vision in the books God’s Way to Ultimate Health and Why Christians Get Sick (both published in 1995). In these works, he sharply criticised the Western diet and the Christian community's conformity to worldly health norms, warning:“People cannot be drugged (poisoned) into health!... All drugs are toxic.”

4. 85% Raw Veggies + 15% Cooked Plants

According to Malkmus, the Hallelujah Diet—composed of 85% raw fruits and vegetables and 15% cooked plant foods like pasta and bread—could prevent and even reverse chronic diseases. He recommended B-12 supplementation but rejected animal products entirely, asserting in his Hallelujah Health Tip (#357) that meat and dairy were responsible for 90% of modern illnesses, including colon and breast cancers, strokes, and diabetes.

5. Observe the Natural Laws of God!

In God’s Way to Ultimate Health, Malkmus wrote:“One of the greatest tragedies in history is the change in diet man made from the original raw vegetarian/fruitarian diet God gave to mankind in the Garden of Eden... to one of meat and cooked and artificial foods.”He added, “Heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and a host of other diseases can be eliminated if Christians will return to the Bible and observe the natural laws God gave man.”

6. Flesh Consumption Shortens Lives 

Malkmus also argued that in the antediluvian world—before the Flood—humanity followed a 100% uncooked vegan diet and lived extraordinarily long lives. He believed the average human lifespan was 912 years, with no recorded instances of illness for nearly two millennia. Sickness, in his view, did not begin with the Fall but with the post-Flood dietary concession found in Genesis 9, where [Noah thought] God allowed meat consumption. Malkmus contended that this allowance was not a blessing but a divine means to shorten human life spans—from an average of 912 years to about 110 (Malkmus, 1999; Birtell, 2002).

7. The Body is a Temple

To Malkmus, the body is a temple, and defiling it with animal fat, processed foods, and pharmaceuticals is a spiritual as well as physical failure. He insisted that by forsaking the world’s ways and embracing God’s plant-based design, Christians could live longer, healthier, more faithful lives. He claimed that cutting animal fat could reduce one’s risk of heart attacks and strokes by over 96%.

8. Return to Heaven 

Even near the end of his life, Malkmus’s vitality amazed hospital staff. In July 2023, after a fall at home resulted in a concussion and broken shoulder, doctors noted his exceptional health for his age. Though his health unexpectedly deteriorated soon after, he passed peacefully at home on November 16, 2023, surrounded by his wife Rhonda and daughter Lynda.

Rev. Malkmus left behind a global legacy of healing and faithfulness to God’s original dietary covenant. His life’s work—Hallelujah Acres and the Hallelujah Diet—continues to inspire many to reclaim the Edenic path of health, compassion, and obedience. #VeganGod #VeganChrist #VeganChurch #VeganTheology

Full Text: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/the-hallelujah-diet-of-rev-george-malkmus-by-dr-chapman-chen

References

·       Birtell, R. (2002). Hallelujah! Another Diet! Midwestern Christian Outreach Journal, Fall 2002, p. 9.

·        Malkmus, G. H. (1995). God’s Way to Ultimate Health. Hallelujah Acres Publishing.

·       Malkmus, G. H. (1995). Why Christians Get Sick. Hallelujah Acres Publishing. Malkmus, G. H. (1999). Diets, diets, diets. Back to the Garden Newsletter, Spring/Summer 1999, Issue 18, 4–6, 17.

·        Malkmus, G. H. (n.d.). Hallelujah Health Tip #357.

·        “Herman and Sharron - George and Ronda Malkmus.” (2013, Feb. 12). Christian Television Network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSXCSQBlB1Q