Memo to churches: Gluttony is still deadly
This Sunday’s readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ offer Mark’s vivid portrayal of scenes from the Last Supper. In the present age of obesity, say health observers and religious ethicists alike, people are more likely to stop by the drive-through window . . .
This Sunday’s readings the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ offer Mark’s vivid portrayal of scenes from the Last Supper. In the present age of obesity, say health observers and religious ethicists alike, standards have fallen to the point where people are more likely to stop by the drive-through window to pick up a jumbo-sized value meal than eat in the style of Jesus—who, as an observer once put it, “walked everywhere” and “loved grilled fish dinners with friends.”
While it seems the sin of gluttony has fallen off the radar at most churches, obesity rates have shot up nationwide. Kaiser Health News reports that 78 million American adults and 13 million young people are obese, with grave health and economic consequences for them and the nation.
Health advocates want to change that and are calling on churches to help, particularly in Bible Belt states where obesity is especially high. Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas are all top-10 states when it comes to the highest obesity rates, according to U.S. News & World Report.
It’s vital that obesity be addressed from the pulpit, said Scott Morris, a medical doctor and minister who founded the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee. But church practices have to change, too. “The least healthy meal you can eat every week is at your church,” Morris said, referring to the heavily fried and starched foods that often show up at church potlucks, cookouts, and fundraisers. “The church has blessed the sin of gluttony. They have the hope of being able to draw people into the church in a way that is not necessarily great for the community. We have to change that.”
Stephen H. Webb, a religion and philosophy professor at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana who wrote the essay "Whatever Happened to the Sin of Gluttony?", contends the sin got lost on its way from the ancient world to the 21st century. In times of scarcity, gluttony was a sin because one person eating too much food would mean another didn’t get enough, Webb said. That argument doesn’t hold in a world where the economy runs on food conglomerates, grocery supercenters, and dining out for fun.
Well-known pastor Rick Warren, who leads the 30,000-member Saddleback Church in Southern California, recently lost 60 pounds and has promoted a diet called the Daniel Plan, named for the Old Testament prophet’s commitment to light fare. “I stood up before 20,000 people and told them I had gained 3 pounds a year, but I’ve been your pastor for 30 years, so I needed to lose about 90 pounds,” he told USA TODAY earlier this year.
A number of churches are offering exercise and cooking classes to help overweight members. At Congregation Sherith Israel in Nashville, members take turns working in a garden that board member Miriam Leibowitz helped start. Congregational dinners always include fresh fruit and vegetables. “Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and many other religions talk about moderation as part of whole health,” Leibowitz said. “Keeping a healthy body is just as important as keeping a healthy spirit in order to have spiritual health.”
While it seems the sin of gluttony has fallen off the radar at most churches, obesity rates have shot up nationwide. Kaiser Health News reports that 78 million American adults and 13 million young people are obese, with grave health and economic consequences for them and the nation.
Health advocates want to change that and are calling on churches to help, particularly in Bible Belt states where obesity is especially high. Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas are all top-10 states when it comes to the highest obesity rates, according to U.S. News & World Report.
It’s vital that obesity be addressed from the pulpit, said Scott Morris, a medical doctor and minister who founded the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee. But church practices have to change, too. “The least healthy meal you can eat every week is at your church,” Morris said, referring to the heavily fried and starched foods that often show up at church potlucks, cookouts, and fundraisers. “The church has blessed the sin of gluttony. They have the hope of being able to draw people into the church in a way that is not necessarily great for the community. We have to change that.”
Stephen H. Webb, a religion and philosophy professor at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana who wrote the essay "Whatever Happened to the Sin of Gluttony?", contends the sin got lost on its way from the ancient world to the 21st century. In times of scarcity, gluttony was a sin because one person eating too much food would mean another didn’t get enough, Webb said. That argument doesn’t hold in a world where the economy runs on food conglomerates, grocery supercenters, and dining out for fun.
Well-known pastor Rick Warren, who leads the 30,000-member Saddleback Church in Southern California, recently lost 60 pounds and has promoted a diet called the Daniel Plan, named for the Old Testament prophet’s commitment to light fare. “I stood up before 20,000 people and told them I had gained 3 pounds a year, but I’ve been your pastor for 30 years, so I needed to lose about 90 pounds,” he told USA TODAY earlier this year.
A number of churches are offering exercise and cooking classes to help overweight members. At Congregation Sherith Israel in Nashville, members take turns working in a garden that board member Miriam Leibowitz helped start. Congregational dinners always include fresh fruit and vegetables. “Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and many other religions talk about moderation as part of whole health,” Leibowitz said. “Keeping a healthy body is just as important as keeping a healthy spirit in order to have spiritual health.”
Sources: Articles by Robert Parham for EthicsDaily.com and Heidi Hall for The Tennessean