I don’t wait anymore {Re-blogged}

 

When I was 16, I got a purity ring.
And when I was 25, I took it off.
I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it — it wasn’t a statement or an emotional thing. I just slipped it off my finger that day and, before tucking it away in a box, ran my finger around the words on the familiar gold band.
“True Love Waits.” Waits.
What’s it “waiting” for, anyway?

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Thus begins a thought provoking article by a thoughtful young woman, who has, as I have, experienced the whole “waiting for prince charming to come” mindset, and rejected the notion that single young women, should wait.

What about using our single years to cultivate a deeper relationship with Jesus?   What about serving others in our communities, in Christ’s name?  What about gaining a better understanding of God’s word?  What about pursuing the gifts God has given us?

Our lives, as single women, should not be wrapped up in waiting for the perfect man.  Because, honestly, he may never come.  Our time should instead, be used to revel in the fact that if we are in Christ, we already have the perfect One in our lives.  We need to learn to rest in His presence.  Learn to treasure His love, His favor, His esteem.

I am done waiting.  Because I have found the One whom my soul loves… Jesus!

“My beloved is mine, and I am his.”  Song of Songs 2:16

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I hope that you’ll take a few minutes to read her article, and see her heart.

Currently Reading

Because the church has embraced this age-segregated philosophy, we have created groups for everyone, but community for no one; meetings for all, but discipleship for few.  Age segregation has replaced the older mentoring the younger.  Church programs have displaced family discipleship.  (p. 43)

Author and Pastor Scott Brown asks the pointed question: Are modern youth groups the result of a problem? or are they the cause?

We see a three-step cycle happening in our churches, which Brown believes is a contributing factor to the large numbers of young people leaving the church upon graduation from high school.

1. Apostasy in the church
2. Age-segregated youth groups leading to the
3. Destruction of young peoples souls, and a lack of a solid foundation

Building a new foundation based exclusively on God’s Word will require diligent labor.  Our mission is to show how it can be built on the right foundation.  This is the heart and soul of all reformations in Scripture.  (pgs. 45-46)

A return to the “old paths” can occur.

Thus says the Lord:

“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Jeremiah 6:16

 

Jurisdictional crisis has led to many problems in our society.  Whether it is the government grasping for power that is not biblical theirs, or the church usurping the authority of parents, or families in a state of chaos, because the male-headship has been abdicated.  We see that there is now not much difference between “Christians” and the “world” when it comes to fundamental issues such as marriage, character of children, honesty and fidelity.

As Scott Brown points out:

An otherwise legitimate action can be sinful when someone who has not been given the authority by God to perform it.  It is God who properly orders society: “There is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans 13:1)

I will be sharing more as I continue to read this fascinating book.

A related resource, is the film Divided, which came out last year and sparked controversy over its content.

President Obama is not the Problem!

Reasons to Marry

Sunday afternoon, I had an interesting conversation about marriage with a couple of my guy friends, one of that guys girl-friend, and my sister.  It was enlightening, especially to hear the guys perspectives, and reminded me of a conversation I had last year, with one of my closest friends.

Soo… that brings me to a series of questions I’d like to ask you readers:

For what reasons would you not marry someone, and for what reasons would you marry someone?

What are the negotiables, and the non-negotiables?

For instance, would you be willing to marry someone who had a child from a previous relationship “in a past life” as it were, before that person was a Christian?

Would you marry a black person (or someone of another ethnicity)?

Would you (as a guy) marry a girl who’d been raped?

What about former prostitutes and porn stars who have turned to Jesus.  If they desire marriage, would you (as a strong Christian guy) be willing to marry them?

What about former homosexuals?

A widower/widow with children of his/her own?

Of course, marriage is a serious covenant between two people and God.  It is not something that needs to be treated lightly, or carelessly.  Certainly, if a person marries another person, they now have the responsibility to love, cherish, respect, nourish, take care of their spouse.

Christian marriages should be the loudest witnesses to this crazy-messed up, love hungry world, that true self-sacrificing love is real.  That honoring and respecting one’s partner can be done.  That godly male-headship can be carried out in a Christ-honoring manner, without being abusive. That wives can respectfully submit to their husbands. And, certainly, when the time is right, that children can be brought into the equation, and loved, nurtured, discipled and taught in a home that loves their presence and doesn’t think them a nuisance or burden.

The world needs to see enduring, Christ-centered marriages. Other Christians need to see enduring, Christ-centered marriages.  The kind that can weather storms, the kind that know mutual forgiveness, patience, honor,and cherishing love.  That no matter what comes against them, they will stand strong together, in Christ.  Marriages that are divorce proof, because divorce isn’t an option.  That whole mindset doesn’t enter into the vocabulary of the couple, because they are committed until death parts them on this earth, to honoring each other, preferring the other above themself, to loving self-sacrificially, to submitting humbly, to nourishing and cherishing and building up their spouse, and always remembering how much God loved them – enough to send His ONLY son to die, in their place.

That’s how we’re supposed to love.  Like Christ.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Ephesians 5: 22-33

An interview with Peter Bringe {Author}

In this the third and final installment of this interview, Peter and I discuss chapters 4 and 5, and the economic and multi-generational aspects of food and health.  Enjoy!

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1. I love your discussion about multi-generational family economics, and how our view of God will set the tone for how we view work. You quote Rushdoony on page 44. 

“[N]ot only work but life apart from God is meaningless. Work then becomes a question of survival economics, gaining enough food and shelter to live. For all too many people in history, work has had this connotation. Its goal has been survival, and hence it has had a sad and burdensome aura. Escape from work is then a much desired goal.”

Could you discuss what a multi-generational business might look like?

A multi-generational business needs several things to work well. For example, it is hard to step into a multi-generational business if the generations have been separated in thinking and culture by years of dis-integration in life. But more importantly, to have a multi-generational business, people must like to work. If one only does work as a means for survival, then when he is old enough to get out of working and live off his children’s work (or in today’s society, other’s children’s work), he will do so. Children should still support their parents in their older age, but they can integrate their parents in their businesses and make use of the parents’ wisdom. As people get older, their valuable contribution is less a contribution of activity and energy, but of wisdom, training, and example. There are many ways for the generations to work together in business, the classic example being something like on the TV show The Waltons where grandfather, father, and son all work together on the same business, doing the work together, and living in the same household. But there many other ways (especially when you have many children in different households that want to work with their parents), where the parents still work with and instruct their children to the very end of their life. The basic point is that the children should not cast off their parents as useless when it comes to work and the parents should not act useless when it comes to using their skills and wisdom in later life.

2. Work has been around since the time of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15), why do you think it is that so many Christians view work as being something to avoid or get around?

I think it is because we are still learning how to live in the constant awareness of God. It is so easy for us to think humanistically when it comes to our day-to-day work and only think of the immediate human causes and effects. When we forget that our work should be done unto God and is only done by His grace, our work it loses purpose and becomes vain. It is then relegated to survival and necessary evil. It is only when we recognize the meaning that God gives work that it becomes a joy and a fulfilling task.

 ”There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 ESV, see also verses 1-11)

3. You talk about the importance of work and our work as being a form of worship. Elaborate a bit on this please (e.g. Gen. 2:15, 2 Thess. 3:10-12; 1 Tim. 5:8, Eph. 6:5-7).

I would encourage people to look up those verses you mention. Dominion work is given to us by God as a fundamental duty of humanity (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15). First and foremost we ought to work unto God (Eph. 6:5-7), and it is a way to love those around us by supplying their needs (1 Tim 5:8). Work, like the rest of life, is always done as service for some ultimate purpose and “god,” sometimes more conscientiously and consistently than other times. As Christians our whole life ought to be given in service and worship to God, as our whole life has been redeemed by Him (see Rom. 12:1-2, 1 Peter 2:5, and 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

4. I really enjoyed the section “Food as Part of the Family Economy”; could you talk a bit about Government guidelines, food safety, and family economics?

There are two related problems with the civil government being as involved as it is in food. First, there is the problem of centralization. This applies to society in general, as well as the civil sphere. Basically put, authority and power goes (or should go) alongside relationships. God is the Creator of the world and has a comprehensive relationship with everything, and an even deeper saving relation with His people. Thus He has ultimate authority and power over everything, with His covenant people being even more accountable to His reign. This follows for human relationships as well. This is how we get the idea of representative and graduated government, where more specific things are covered at a local scale where there is more local accountability. Thus the government, especially the centralized federal and state governments, are unfit for regulating diets. Second, there is the problem of the civil government getting involved in our diets in the first place. While I might allow for some restricted civil involvement in  special cases (i.e. in negligence cases, Exod. 21:28-36), the civil government is given the duty to punished the law-breaker (Rom. 13:1-7), not to run our diets. That is not to say that we can eat whatever we want, but the civil government is not the only government ordained by God. The regulation of our diets is left primarily in the jurisdictions of the family and self government. These are the spheres that have the close enough relationship that is able to manage the task of food choices. A similar thing can be said concerning agriculture and business in general where the civil government has overstepped its bounds and the family government is often lacking.

5. There are several examples from the Bible of industrious agrarian individuals, or families.  I am especially drawn to what the Proverbs 31 woman was able to accomplish.  Agriculture is another fundamental in the Bible, why do you think it is that a lot of Christians have shied away from wanting to take dominion over the earth and own land, cultivate it, grow their own food, etc?

Probably because it is hard. Make no mistake, while gardening and farming is good work, it is also hard work. Add to that, that our society as a whole has moved inside to the technological realm. We are simply not outside very much. It is not that big of a priority for most people, so we are often satisfied with a large house with a tiny bit of land. When we do want to occasionally use the outdoors, we often go to the civil government-owned parks and lands. (Again, when families and individuals stop taking responsibility, the civil government will take it.) We have lost a sense of responsibility and stewardship that should motivate to improve whatever land we are given. It doesn’t have to be a farm. If you have a quarter-acre, then use it! Ideally, our land ought to be beautiful and productive. (This is something I am preaching to myself on. A lot of my work is indoor and computer related, like writing these words, and it is easy for me to fall short in this matter.)

6. I was really glad you covered food and popular worldviews and how they view food.  Very insightful.  Could you tell us what you said in that section? (p. 64-66)

Read the book!

Ok, I guess I’ll try to summarize. Our broader philosophies and beliefs about our surroundings have great influence on science and food. We were created to exercise dominion over the creation of our loving God, but sin entered the world and we were alienated from God and a proper relation to His creation. Thus autonomous man has often had a negative reaction to nature and a great reliance on his own reason and science. But then they find out after a while that this doesn’t work, and will then react against science and exalt nature, instinct, irrationality, mystery, and emotion. This is true when talking of the Rationalists/Empiricists and the Romantics of the 1800s, the humanistic scientists and the hippies in the 1900s, or their equivalent groups today. As Christians we recognize the important place science has, we as God’s image bearers taking dominion over His orderly creation. We also recognize the limited nature science has under God, the wisdom already in creation that we can develop, and the sinfulness of man that should cause us to be humble in our work.

7. I was fascinated by what you said about the design of food – on four levels (visible, microscopic, molecular, and atomic), isn’t it amazing how each food was created to bring healthfulness and nutrition to our bodies?  Why is is that so many Christians, as you pointed out, much to our shame, have adopted the world’s way of eating. The Biblical example of Daniel and his friends vs. the other young men, comes to mind.  Could you talk a bit about that?

We have often adopted the world’s way of eating because we have rarely taught a distinctly Christian view on the subject. If we don’t teach the world, the world will teach us. There has been quite a few “Christian” books on the topic of food, but they rarely have transcended the current fads of the day. This a trap that I hope my book has avoided to some extent. Our faithfulness to Scripture is of the upmost importance when it come to life. Without the Word of God we will live by the words of the world.

8. In conclusion, is there anything else you’d like to share with us about food?

As I say in my conclusion to my book (p. 74-75),

“And in John 6:35, ‘Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’’ In Jesus we are fulfilled, and in him we lack nothing. Just as a good meal will fill you up for a time and give you enjoyment and thankfulness, so Jesus fills us for eternity, and in Him we find full enjoyment and thankfulness. God is often referred to as life-giving, cleansing, and refreshing water (Isa. 44:2–5; Jer. 17:13; John 4:10; etc.). When our food is beautiful and nutritious, it helps us remember better that we have a great and almighty God.

“The end of the matter is this: God is almighty and God is good. God has given us great food to explore and enjoy, and He has given us the way to enjoy it. Oh, peoples of the earth, ‘taste and see that the Lord is good!’ (Ps. 34:8) Give God glory and honor for Who He is and for His wonderful works that he has blessed us with, and never take His blessings for granted. Let us love Him and eat His way, by His power, and for His glory.”

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

−1 Corinthians 10:31

Thank you so much Peter for agreeing to this interview.  Your book is very insightful and easy to read and comprehend.

An interview with Peter Bringe {Author}

It is my privilege to bring the second part of my interview with Peter Bringe about his marvelous book, The Christian Philosophy of Food. I apologize about it taking this long to post.  Blogging hasn’t been one of my top priorities lately.

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1. I really enjoyed your discussion on food and culture, and the various ways we can use food to remember, to mourn, to worship, to rejoice.  What are some historical / biblical examples of these ways of using food?

There are very many examples in the Bible and history, this being the way food is used constantly throughout life. In the Bible we have several examples of rejoicing with food, like the Feast of Booths (Deut. 16:15), the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:22-24), and one of my favorites, the feast of the tithe (Deut. 14:22-27), where every year the Israelites would take a tithe of their produce and feast on it, “…and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.” (Deut. 14:26) You also have food used as memorials (Exod. 12:14), hospitality and community (Gen. 18:1-21), and the lack of food used in fasting (Joel 1:14). In history we have seen similar uses. Whatever is important to a people tends to be commemorated by food and other cultural expressions. When we eat our American Thanksgiving meal we are showing gratefulness for our godly heritage, our blessings in recent years, as well as a lingering valuing of family that remains in our culture. When the Norwegian-Americans eat their lutefisk dinners they are remembering the hard times their ancestors had coming to this land when that had to eat that stuff to survive (Lutefisk is basically cod soaked in lye). A similar thing can be said of the Scots when they eat haggis, remembering and identifying themselves with their sturdy and rustic ancestors that survived on sheep innards. A great deal more could be said about this, about how our holidays and structure of times and meals say a great deal about who we are, but this is an interview, not another book.

2. You quote Calvin on fasting, and I really liked what he said about what fasting does for the church and the people who make up the church: “The second end is common to both, for this preparation for prayer is requisite for the whole church, as well as for each individual member.  The same thing may be said of the third. For it sometimes happens that God smites a nation with war or pestilence, or some kind of calamity.  In this common chastisement it behooves the whole people to plead guilty, and confess their guilt…”  Do you think Christians have forgotten the importance of fasting and how good it is for us spiritually?  Do you think that perhaps one of the reasons behind the lack or seeming lack of Christians fasting, is the association with Roman Catholicism?

Yes, I think fasting has been in some measure become a lost art because of a reaction against the asceticism of Rome. The Bible does recognize that fasting can be abused (i.e. Matt. 6:16-18, Col. 2:18-23), but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used properly. I like how Calvin explained it, “The thing, indeed, is properly a feeling of the mind. But when the mind is affected as it ought, it cannot but give vent to itself in external manifestation…” While it is important that we don’t become too focused on the external, that isn’t the problem of many Christian when it comes to fasting. They just want their food and want it now. I know that it is hard to fast, but it is rewarding when done right, helping to clear the mind, to focus, to rest, etc…

3. You spend a good section on fasting speaking about the self-control factor.  I know in my own life that I struggle with self-control, and I think a lot of people do, thank you for taking time to remind us of this important factor in Christianity.

This part I’m preaching especially to myself, as self-control, especially in snacking, can be very difficult to master. But as Christians we should be the most self-controlled of all people.

4. I love what you had to say about food and community.  I have always been blessed with family meals, at least twice a day, usually three times daily.  Don’t you think it is time for the church to call families to focus on communing together, eating healthy and engaging in Christian hospitality?

Certainly. Hospitality isn’t just a good idea, it’s an imperative from our loving God. “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9). Culture, especially food, is meant to be enjoyed with other people. Culture identifies, and we find our identity within the context of our relationships (with God and man). Culture unifies, and we end up unifying with whom (or what) ever we do stuff with. It is not good that man be alone in his work (Gen. 1:27-30, 2:15-23). While you can still do things in private and we do have individual relationships with God, we are also very often viewed in Scripture as the corporate bodies of family, church, and community. We aren’t isolated souls, and we shouldn’t act that way. Throughout Scripture, rejoicing, fasting, etc… (i.e. culture) are often done as households, communities, and congregations (Deut. 12:7,12,18, 14:26, 16:11,14, 26:11; Ezra 8:21; Ps. 9:14, 14:7, 22:25, 40:9-10; Eccl. 9:9; Joel 1:14; Luke 15:25; etc…).

5. I loved your thoughts about Communion.  Can you explain to our readers what you said in that section?

When we see food generally memorializing and unifying, it’s not a surprise that Jesus uses bread and wine in the sacrament of Communion. While we have unity with our family and community through food that remembers past hardships and victories of our common forefathers, here in a special and spiritual way our covenantal unity with Christ and His people is symbolized and sealed with food that remembers Christ’s death and victory.

6. You talk about gratitude, and how we are to be flexible about partaking of food that is not necessarily something we’d eat on a regular basis, but as Paul says we need to partake of whatever we eat, with thankfulness.  Can you speak to that?

Food is a controversial subject, and not just in our time. The are several passages of Scripture dedicated to keeping the peace between brother who differ on food. For example, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats” (Rom. 14:20); and, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Proverbs 15:17). While we ought to work hard for good food as those working for the Lord, we have to keep our goal (to love God and love others) in sight or this good work can become selfish pride. Food is a loving gift of God for our enjoyment to give Him glory, and we rebel against this purpose when we use this gift for arguments and strife. How often do we take this gift that we ought to be thankful for and become selfish. This could be the most important lesson to take away from the Bible concerning food: to be thankful to God and praise Him for the wonderful food He provides, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Even if He provides a hot dog. Let us use food to build love and community, not to destroy it.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:1–5)

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 Thank you so much Peter! You can order his book here.

Sunday Meditation

Earlier this week in my personal study and meditation time, I read Isaiah 58, and was convicted and encouraged by what I read.  Isn’t it amazing how the Scripture can do that?  Praise God!

Isaiah 58:1-14 Fasting that Pleases God

  “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
² Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
⁴ Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
⁵ Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

⁶ “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
¹² Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

¹³ “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
¹⁴ Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

An interview with Peter Bringe {Author}

It is my privilege to introduce Peter Bringe and his marvelous book, The Christian Philosophy of Food, which I mentioned in a post last month.

Peter Bringe is a writer motivated to share the truth of God’s word as it applies to our lives. In the area of food, this is a natural fit since he inherits an interest in food from his father, who is a food scientist. Around the dinner table, he has heard about the properties of various foods and the importance of food for as long as he’s been eating. In addition, he is currently interning with the Rocky Mountain Shepherd Center, taking classes from Whitefield College, and learning from his personal studies. Peter currently lives in Elizabeth, Colorado, and enjoys various musical endeavors, writing, historical reenactments, and the study of many books.

Now it is time for me to present to you my readers, the first of a multiple part interview I have had the honor of conducting with Peter, long distance.

Enjoy, and we welcome your feedback!

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1. What motivated you to write this book?

There were a couple things that motivated me, mainly two.

First, considering the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) I have been blessed with a heritage concerning food that others don’t have, and I feel a duty to use it. My father has worked with food ever since high school and now has worked as a PhD food scientist for over twenty years. Not only that, but he is a mature Christian that is constantly considering how the Bible influences his work. So throughout my growing up I have been taught (usually around the dinner table) about food–scientifically, aesthetically, theologically, etc.– from a Christian perspective, and the amazing blessing it is from God.

Second, there is a great interest and confusion concerning food in the present day. Prior to now, people have generally trusted the centralized systems that have produced our food. But now there is an increasing distrust of almost everything established and a move towards decentralization. This is a blessing as we have the freedom to do great things, but it is also can be curse as we have the freedom to do bad and detrimental things. Almost wherever we go, once folks realize that my dad is a Christian food scientist they usually have a bunch of questions ready. People are searching for answers, and those answers are to be found in the Bible. While I don’t have all the answers, I hope that this book can be a good start to building a biblical foundation for food in our day.

2.  You discuss four key concepts in the first chapter of your book (food as being part of culture; food as being a complex subject, but worthy of our study; food as something worth our time and efforts; and food as being part of God’s creation). Could you quickly cover those four concepts for our readers?

Basically, food–and other parts of culture such as music, clothing, etc.–is a controversial topic because it is the outcome of our daily choices, which are determined by our beliefs. Our faith and what we do is very connected (James 2:14-26). What we view as important and what we think is shown by what we do. This is even more true when it is something, like food, that we are making decisions about multiple times a day. It is also shows who we are friends with, who we spend time with, and whose opinions we value. And it works the other way as well. Not only do we make food, but food makes us. It physically builds us up,  and influences how we feel and how we plan our day. It is firmly part of our life and personality and ought to be studied. And it is a complex subject. Regrettably, many people tend to emphasize only one aspect, but we should realize the different but complementary aspects of it being healthful, beautiful and tasty, relational, and a product of work. A main purpose of my book is to tie together these related aspects of food. And whenever dealing with food we ought to realize it is a gift of God. If we don’t, we will get prideful and destroy this amazingly complex and enjoyable gift. Will will either loose the wonder of its design and worship man’s ability, or we will worship nature and disobey God’s command to take dominion over creation.

3.  In Chapter two you discuss the importance of treating our bodies as God’s temple.  Why do you think it is that so many Christians seem to carelessly disregard this important piece of the Christian Worldview? 

I think many people don’t value the physical world quite enough. While it is true that we will die, and our treasure is in heaven, we are here for a purpose. The Bible is not gnostic (believing that the spiritual is good and the physical is bad and dispensable), but puts real significance on the things we do here in the physical and historic realms. Since the pietism and revivalism in the 1800s, saving your individual soul has been put as the central concern, and the spiritual and emotional have been emphasized. Less emphasis has been placed on bringing God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). As Christians we should not draw a heavy separation between soul and body, but should recognize the connections between the two, and the importance of the whole person. In a real practical way, if you want to get anything done here on earth you should look out for your health.

I should point out that I have met quite a few Christians that do want to be healthy, and that recognize that the Bible wants them to look out for physical welfare. But often they will stop listening to the Bible at that point in any meaningful way and look to their favorite nutritionist or diet plan for guidance (which is a mistake).

4.  You also discuss in Chapter two, Plant foods, Clean and Unclean foods and how the regulatory laws were put in place for the benefit of the children of Israel in regards to a holy and blameless lifestyle. It was a help not a hindrance in other words.

Yes, while I believe that the purpose of the clean/unclean food laws was ceremonial, I do believe that they were good for the Israelites physically as well. Think of it like the washing of hands. In the Old Testament there is the requirement for the priests to wash their hands and feet before offering sacrifices (Ex. 30:17-21). This was part of the ceremonial cleansing of the sacrificial system of Israel. This is not required today, but it is still beneficial to wash our hands. It still makes the hands clean in a physical sense.

In a similar way there was a ceremonial defilement as well as a physical defilement in eating the unclean foods. Thus, the ancient Israelites were blessed doubly when they kept God’s law, and were not made unclean ceremonially or physically. God’s law in general is never a hindrance in a bad sense, but is a great help and blessing. Now that Christ has come this particular law doesn’t apply as a law of defilement (Mark 7:19, Acts 10-11). But while we are allowed to eat bears, vultures, and pigs, we should prefer the clean animals and, especially, plant foods (Gen. 1:29, Prov. 23:20, Dan. 10:3) above them in priority from a physical standpoint.

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Look for more of this interview to be featured on my blog over the next few weeks.  You can find out more information about Peter and his book, here and here.

Sunday Meditation

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [Seeing God Through Love] No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

 

I John 4: 11-12

Sunday Meditation

^“10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.¹² Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”’

I Corinthians 1:10-31