New Testament Finish Line

Unless I've overlooked something, this wraps it up for mentions of food and eating in the New Testament. My original intent was to jump from Revelation back into Genesis and start through the OT, but now I think not. For one thing, I've signed up as a Vineyard Bible Institute student, so I will be doing more specific studies with that which require their own focus. For another, figuring out what to eat doesn't seem as important now as when I started, especially given some of the scriptures I've pondered here about priorities. See entries for March 13, June 27, and maybe some other days I can't find now.

Actually, what to eat has recently been well stated, in my opinion, by Michael Pollen's three bottom-line Food Rules which in no way conflict with the Bible.

Eat real food. (You know what that means.)
Mostly plants. (Which is not to say all plants.)
Less of it.

Now I have to decide what to do next, if anything, with this blog spot.

Food Rules, not

~Hebrews 13.9-10

Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them. We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.

In my search for principles of good eating from the Bible, the book which the creator of my body has out, here's another verse that says not to worry about rules for eating. sigh. But there is a difference: I'm looking for good health policies, not strict rules based on whether or not the food was first sacrificed to an idol. :-]

The Cost of Indulgence

Hebrews 12.16

Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.

Powerful example of what a food fixation can do. Makes me think of looking at, say, a DQ Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard Cake and thinking, "I don't care what this costs me in terms of sugar or fat or acidity or health. I've gotta have some!" There's a price. Of course the difference is that for the loss of health we have to make this decision continually; whereas Esau lost his birthright on one incident.

Esau's story, by the way, is found at the end of Genesis 25.

Receive with thanks.

~I Timothy 4.3-5

[Some] say it is wrong to . . . eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

~I Timothy 6.8

So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

Self explanatory.

Taste What You Want

~Colossians 2.16-18a

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial . . . .

~Colossians 2.20-23

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

With affection I say that Paul is such a liberal! Look at that. So, while I should maybe be more attentive to what my own heart (and body) tells me about what to eat and what not to eat, I needn't worry about restrictions from others in this area.

No Water Until He's Dead

~Acts 23.12-14, 16, 20, 22

The next morning a group . . . bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy. They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. ” But Paul’s nephew—his sister’s son—heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul [who sends him to the commander]. Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council . . . . They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him.” . . . . “Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man.

In II Corinthians 8 and 9 and in Romans 15 we learn that Paul is collecting an offering from the new outlying churches for the central church in Jerusalem. In Acts 20 and 21 we see him determined to take this gift to Jerusalem himself, despite great personal risk. Some Jewish radicals in Jerusalem are so hostile to Paul's message they vow not to eat or drink until they have killed him. As the human body can only go a few days without water, that's a serious intent. Do you suppose any of these guys actually died after Paul was safely whisked away under guard of Roman soldiers?

Does ice cream hesitation make it sin?

~Romans 14.22b-23

Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

For me, this verse is different. Since it's linked to the verses about causing others to stumble, I assume Paul is carrying through on the same thought here. BUT to me this is about looking at a a carton of Bryers Rocky Road and thinking, "hmmm. I already had some chocolate today. Probably I'd be better off to pass this up." I'm not thinking of others at all. Indeed, I don't know of anyone who would tell me that I shouldn't eat several servings of chocolate a day if I want to, given that I'm in good health. No. For me the issue is that I know that an abundance of desserts is not a great nutritional choice; my grandpa died of diabetes; my bones need more alkaline and less acidic food. So I know that the ice cream is not the best choice and I hesitate. Paul is saying here that given these doubts, if I indulge that's sin.