Sin on a Bun:
The Forgotten Vice of Gluttony
Moral Philosophy, Religion — By Joe Carter on May 29, 2008 at 12:01 am The appetite for sex, thought C.S. Lewis, is in “ludicrous and
preposterous excess of its function.” How else, he wondered, can we
explain the fascination men have with watching a girl publicly undress
on a stage? The “strip-tease” shows the absurdity of our propensity for sexual titillation:
Now suppose you come to a country where you could fill a
theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then
slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the
lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon,
would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with
the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a
different world think there was something equally queer about the state
of the sex instinct among us?One critic said that if he found a country in which such striptease
acts with food were popular, he would conclude that the people of that
country were starving. I agree with him that if, in some strange land,
we found that similar acts with mutton chops were popular, one of the
possible explanations which would occur to me would be famine. But the
next step would be to test our hypothesis by finding out whether, in
fact, much or little food was being consumed in that country.
…Nor is the hypothesis of ’starvation’ the only one we can imagine.
Everyone knows that the sexual appetite, like our other appetites,
grows by indulgence. Starving men may think much about food, but so do
gluttons; the gorged, as well as the famished, like titillations.
In a country that spends more money on “adult entertainment” than
pro-football, basketball and baseball combined, we shouldn’t be
surprised that other appetites are also prone to overindulgence. While
we may not have special theaters where food in seductively unveiled (at
least not yet), there is certainly something “queer about the state” of
the food instinct in America. Take, for example, the MONSTER THICKBURGER by the fast-food chain Hardee’s.
Described as a “monument to decadence,”
the burger contains an artery-clogging 1,420 calories and 107 grams of
fat. When combined in a “combo meal” with large fries and a medium
drink, the total tips the scales at 2,285 calories. Such a meal would
comprise 77% of the daily caloric intake for the average male (175 lbs., moderately active) and 99% for the average female (150 lb, moderately active). To work off those calories
a person would need to jog for over 3 hours, walk briskly for 7.5
hours, or simply sit in front of the TV for 31 hours straight.
The MONSTER THICKBURGER is an iconic representation of America’s
embrace of gluttony, a sin that has long been forgotten. While many
churchgoers have heard sermons warning against the dangers of sexual
sins such as adultery or fornication, they’re not likely to have heard
their pastor speak out against gluttony. It’s doubtful that many
Christians would even consider it a sin. An openly homosexual couple
attempting to join the congregation would be looked down upon by the
obese deacon showing them to the door; and no one in the pews would
even recognize the irony. The stink of our hypocrisy is so overwhelming
that it’s amazing we can hold down our order of Super Size fries.
Gluttony was once listed among the seven deadly sins.
But now it’s considered, when it’s thought about at all, as a private
health matter. We may realize that overeating has led to weight gain, a
change in appearance, or diminished health. But we never recognize it
as a spiritual problem.
Oddly enough, with the exception of those related to sex, American
Christians tend to take an antinomian view of “physical sins.” We act
as if corrupting our bodies will have no impact on our souls. Such an
un-Biblical view, however, must be rejected by anyone who acknowledges
that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Lest we start to feel superior to the obese neighbors, we should
remember that not all gluttons are overweight. I’m 5′10′, 180 lbs and
though I no longer have to endure the rigors of Marine Corps martial arts,
I’m still in relatively decent shape (pear-shaped, perhaps, but
still…). But while my waistline may not completely expose my shame,
I’m prone to overindulging in food. I eat several snacks between meals.
I eat when I’m in my car. I eat when I’m bored. I eat when I’m
restless, when I’m frustrated, when I’m watching TV, when I’m on the
computer–I eat constantly for no other reason than that I can.
In stuffing my face, I neglect my spiritual life. I turn to the
refrigerator instead of turning to prayer. I pause at the vending
machine instead of pausing in meditation. I seek out a piece of bread
instead of seeking the Bread of Life. I fill my life with food in order to avoid filling it with God.
“Their end is destruction,” the Apostle Paul warned, for those for whom “their god is the belly.”
We worship a false idol when we succumb to the sin of gluttony. We
replace the focus on the Lord with a focus on our own indulgences. We
make a god of our belly and allow our souls to turn softer than the
creme filling in our Twinkies.
[Note: This is a modified version of a post that originally aired in November 2004. I'm reprinting it as a "sermon to myself."]
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79 Comments
An obsession with what you don’t eat is another form of gluttony. Just read the constant flood of diet advice and you’ll see what I mean.
To Boontoon:
Don’t know if this has already been said but I’ve heard the arguments attesting that the wine Jesus made was non-alcoholic and I find them lacking. It is pretty clear to me that the according to the Scriptures drinking alcohol is not a sin, it’s the over-consumption, lack of self-control, drunkenness, etc. that is wrong.
One of my professors, a teetotaller, admit that he couldn’t use the Bible to justify his stance.
To ex-preacher:
I couldn’t offer up a verse in the NT or OT condemning gluttony for you. But neither could I offer an explicit verse condemning sex before marriage. I would justify calling gluttony a sin based on the principles that ARE explicitly laid out in the NT: self-control, knowing your body is a temple of the HS, etc.
There’s some verses on gluttony in Proverbs, but I don’t think they were referring to the kind of gluttony Joe is talking about here. Perhaps you already know the answer, ex? Please enlighten me.
Lest you also forget, not all fat people are guilty of the sin of gluttony. The words “overweight” and “obese” were made up by people in my profession, and they change in definition every year. Yet again and again we cannot find consistent scientific data to support any notion that fat people eat differently than thin people. PLEASE, for the love our God, stop talking about people’s sizes when you want to talk about their behaviors. It’s really not that hard to talk about the sin without talking about how to visually judge people as sinners from afar. In fact, it’s downright easy. Just educate yourself (look up information on fat athletes, for instance, or the science-supported Health At Every Size approach many health professionals now use), check out the very clear fact that the bible ALWAYS mentions fatness as a positive gift from God, and then set aside your modern Western biases so you can talk about gluttony without talking about weight. We’ll all be edified for it.
Drew,
That seems to be what I’m also finding googling it a bit. No one seems to have a Biblical argument for wine not being wine. The closest I saw was one guy whose argument essentially was that wine is bad therefore Jesus would never make anything that could be bad (did the bread, then, have zero carbs in it and cause no increase in sugar levels for the diabetics?)
Perhaps prohibitionists simply created a bit of folklore about wine being grape juice?
Here ya go, Boon, if you were curious this is a pretty thorough explanation of the words translated “wine” in the English Bible: http://www.bible.com/bibleanswers_result.php?id=213
The article is honest enough to recognize that the wine Jesus made was fermented.
Incidentally, the article echoes many of my thoughts on the subject. But it does go on to advocate being a teetotaller, which I reject.
Wait, here’s an even better article: http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p188.html
‘This text confirms both that Christ sat at meat and that he was with publicans. We see that he drank wine with them.
Matthew 11:19 “the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” (RSV)
To suggest that Christ drank grape juice while the publicans and sinners drank wine in the normal sense, yet was condemned for drinking with them, is ludicrous. These same publicans and harlots believed and were converted.’
It seems to me that gluttony probably isn’t one of those eternally applicable sins like murder or theft, but a sin more like running away from your slaveowner or working on Rosh Hoshanah. This is because food was much harder to come by in the days of old. Today we make so much corn, for example, we are turning it into diesel so we can drive our SUV a quarter mile to church.
“I couldn’t offer up a verse in the NT or OT condemning gluttony for you. But neither could I offer an explicit verse condemning sex before marriage. I would justify calling gluttony a sin based on the principles that ARE explicitly laid out in the NT: self-control, knowing your body is a temple of the HS, etc.”
After reading Joe’s article and all the comments I think it’s obvious why we don’t put much emphasis on the sin of gluttony: no one knows what it is and the Bible doesn’t help much either. I preach the Word. So what can I say about gluttony that I can back up with Scripture?
I can give some vague generalities and everyone will nod and agree and nothing will change (including in my life). Or I can try to be specific and give 33 Pharisaical regulations defining what gluttony is (”One donut with friends is OK, but if you eat a second one or eat donuts alone, you have sinned”), but of course I can only do that if I make stuff up.
We need a theology of food and meals (and some good work has been done toward this) before we can even begin to talk usefully about gluttony.
Anyway, I’m in training this month so I’m running two hours a day, six days a week. It’s almost impossible for me to overeat right now!
I never thought about it the way you present it before, but it is definately a forgotten sin. Thanks for the thoughtful reminder.
Barb
“ucfengr writes:
Look at comment 41; I made an assertion that in comment 29, Nancy misinterpreted the Bible verse she was drawing from.”
Or perchance,instead of quoting the scripture, the intent of the comment was concerning the hardened condition of old wine skins…sometimes, clarification from the author or an “inside source” is required to correctly understand the written word.
Here is an article supporting the non-fermented wine theory…seems they could preserve simple grape juice after all.
http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/wine_in_the_bible/1.html
Or perchance,instead of quoting the scripture, the intent of the comment was concerning the hardened condition of old wine skins…sometimes, clarification from the author or an “inside source” is required to correctly understand the written word.
That wouldn’t support your original statement:
“”New Wine” has always been much better than the old!”Old Wine” tends to eat-up its containers!That is why “New Wine” requires a new container!”
You referenced the “corrosive” properties of “old wine”, not the condition of the “old wine” skins as the reason “new wine” goes into “new skins” and “old wine” into old ones.
I find exception to the article in certain things as it clubs people like myself who enjoy the food I eat as gluttons.
I enjoy eating junk food more than eating “non-junk” food. Yet I am perfectly fit for my age, hieght and in wieght. I eat fried chicken or pizza or a philly cheese steak meal EVERYDAY for lunch for the past 10 months at the least. I thank before every junk food meal for giving me food to eat which I enjoy and like. Believe it.
Dinners are almost the same. I don’t do all that dieting and going for greens and tons of vegetables and all. Yet healthwise, I am normal by God’s grace (132 pounds for 5′ 6”, Blood pressure: 115/80). I walk around 5 miles everyday for my commutes which helps I guess.
Yet because I enjoy the food I eat, burgers, steaks and pizza with coke and fries and all, I would look like a “glutton” to joe carter.
My two cents:
The article makes the mistake of clubbing gluttony with enjoying food you eat or it doesn’t talk at all about the biblical view that you can and should enjoy the food you eat giving the impression that enjoying the food you eat is also sinful and glutonous at worst.
Gluttony as explained by scripture:
Romans 16:18
For they that are such SERVE NOT our Lord Jesus Christ, but THEIR OWN BELLY; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Philippians 3:19
Whose end is destruction, whose GOD IS THEIR BELLY, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
A glutton’s god(s) is his belly.
Can we enjoy or are we allowed to enjoy a good meal say a double cheese quarter pounder which I enjoy? According to the article, no. According to the Bible: yes.
Proverbs 13:25
The righteous eateth to the SATISFYING OF HIS SOUL…
Is eating “junk food” gluttony or what is not always “needed” by the body gluttony - icecream, choclates, pizza, fried chicken?
According to the article - yes (eg: Hardees’ Monster thick burger). But who told the fats, proteins, carbs and nutrients, no matter how insignifcant they are in your meal are “not needed”? Who defines what is “junk food”? What if I eat junk food everyday for the past two years and am still healthy and fit. Is that still “junk food”?
We are to eat “meats” with thanks giving:
1 Tim 4:3
…and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanks giving
ALSO, scripture is loaded with plenty of feasts. We are all invited to the GREAT HEAVENLY FEAST… unless Joe wants to abstain to make sure he doesn’t cross the 2000 calory limit.
In Christ,
George,
Perhaps gluttony should be NOT enjoying one’s food. Scoffing down food without paying attention to it, without appreciating it would be gluttony. The sterotypical image we have of a glutton is not only someone who eats a lot of junk food but doesn’t really enjoy it. Food has become ‘background noise’ for him whereas the non-glutton thinks about what he is eating and enjoys it for what it is.
There is overlap with health. Gluttony often can lead to health problems but they aren’t the same thing.
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The Reverend Billy Graham said:
Eat to satisfy your hunger, not your appetite.
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