I found a related article in the DMN Archive:

Let us pray, and pass the salt

America loves pigging out, especially at Thanksgiving. But as waistlines grow, many pulpits are silent on the sin of gluttony.

By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH Staff Writer
Published November 26, 2003, Dallas Morning News (Archive)

It's Sunday morning, and Baptists hungering for the Lord and for a hot meal are congregating in Prestonwood, the stadium-sized Plano church with a big new cafe.

In the worship hall, the preacher serves up an inspirational story about Jesus. In the dining hall, they're dishing out chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausages, biscuits and gravy.

With a fork in one hand and a Bible in the other, some choose to praise God and pass the pastries simultaneously. They give their hearts to Jesus and their bellies to Krispy Kreme while catching worship on the cafe's big screen.

Fattening feasts, from pancake breakfasts to fried chicken dinners, have long been a staple of religious fellowship across America. Even when healthful options are available, as they are at Prestonwood, the temptation is to overeat.

The disconnect between food and spirituality, some people of faith say, is never more poignant than at Thanksgiving - America's gorge-fest. Families gobble, gobble, gobble to their heart's desire, treating their bodies as objects for overindulgence rather than sacred temples.

Buddhists call it a lack of mindfulness. Early Christians called it gluttony - the most likely of the Seven Deadly Sins to cause heart disease. For centuries, the world's religions identified undisciplined eating as a spiritual problem.

But many pulpits are silent on the issues, even though 63 percent of the population is overweight. For millions of believers, overeating is not a sin, but the American way of life.

"Pastors don't preach on this because they're not living it," said Lisa Young, who developed the Walking with Weights exercise program and Body for God Cookbook sold at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, where her husband, Ed, is pastor.

After weekend services at many houses of worship, families routinely pile into their cars and head to buffets laden with gastronomical delights that some restaurants advertise as "sinfully" good. Turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie have become year-round staples.

Overindulgence?

There's a reason they call it stuffing. Thanksgiving, in particular, has become a day of gluttony and less a day of giving thanks, said Stephen Webb, a religion scholar who has written about food and the Bible.

"The pilgrims at Thanksgiving were grateful to God for having enough to eat," said Dr. Webb, of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. "They would not have been eating more than they needed because they had to stretch their food reserves."

But Americans need not feel guilty about overindulging on Thanksgiving, said Michael Patella, a New Testament scholar, priest and monk from Minnesota.

"God wants us to go overboard," said Dr. Patella, who teaches at St. John's School of Theology. "It's a day to rejoice in creation, to realize that it's a gift from God. If we can't be generous with ourselves, we can't be generous with others."

Thanksgiving has long been linked to Americans' sense of abundance. Early settlers often boasted of their good fortune to be in a country with more resources than they'd imagined.

"I don't want to be seen as praising overindulgence, but we need to be cautious about denying God's gifts by not using them," said Daniel Sack, author of Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in Mainline American Culture.Even Jesus said he came to bring abundant life, Mr. Sack noted.

But when the link between spirituality and food is strong, abundance is experienced from within, said Deborah Kesten, columnist for Spirituality & Health magazine and author of

Feeding the Body, Nourishing the Soul.

"It's a quality or way of intention towards a meal that predisposes you to find abundance no matter what is presented in front of you," she saidAncient spiritual leaders have long railed against gluttony, but it's not a word often heard in modern congregations.

"Gluttony," Jim Dawkins said as he sat in the Prestonwood cafe. "That's not a word used in the Bible."

But Jesus was accused of gluttony, some New Testament scholars say.

"Some people were offended that he enjoyed a good meal with friends" - sometimes with people of ill repute, said the Rev. Ron Witherup, a biblical scholar from Baltimore.

While fasting, Jesus told the devil that humans couldn't live by bread alone. While teaching, he identified himself as the bread of life. At the Last Supper, he said the bread and wine were his body and blood.

The New Testament also uses meals to symbolize God's heavenly banquet.

"In heaven, people sit down at table with one another," Father Witherup said. "It's table fellowship. It's not people sitting down and stuffing themselves."

And Holy Communion remains the most intimate time of spiritual eating for many Christians.

Every religion has that kind of communal sharing, Ms. Kesten said.

"That's how memorable meals are done. The food is eaten with gratitude and shared with love. They're not jamming it down their throats."

Some Muslims admit to struggling against gaining weight during Ramadan, the month they fast during daylight hours. It's tempting to overeat after fasting all day, they said.

"Clearly, gluttony is not the desired practice," said Dr. Andrew Rippin, a professor of Islamic history at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. "Nothing in the Quran prohibits overeating, but no Muslim would think that was the right thing."

Jewish perspective

Gluttony isn't an issue in the Hebrew Bible either, said Diane Sharon, who teaches at Jewish Theological Seminary.

"Famine is an issue. Fasting is an issue. Starvation is an issue," she said.

But the Old Testament is rich in verses about feasting.

"There are great texts about how wonderful feasting is and on filling up on good things - foods you wouldn't ordinarily eat during the week," said Dr. Richard Nelson, a biblical scholar at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

American prosperity skews that biblical sense of feasting by treating every day as a holiday, said Donald Wuerl, the Catholic bishop of Pittsburgh.

"Because in this land we have so much food and abundance, we don't often appreciate it and overindulge," he said.

In some cultures, a big waistline is a sign of material wealth. But in others, it's a sign of poverty. People who are poor, lack access to healthy foods and subsist on inexpensive, starchy foods are often overweight - though not necessarily gluttonous.

"Mutton stew and fry bread is not the best thing for Navajo people suffering from obesity and diabetes," said Catholic Bishop Donald Pelotte of the Diocese of Gallup, N.M. "But you need the appropriate resources to deal with it."

Gluttony doesn't begin and end with club-sized drumsticks and gooey yams. New York spiritual author Jim Martin defines it as "consuming more than you need." He said it's an attitude pervasive among consumer-driven Americans.

They don't just overeat; they buy oversized cars and houses, confusing the goods in life for the good life."That extra jacket in your closet doesn't belong to you, but to the poor," said Father Martin, a Jesuit priest. "We've lost that connection."

In Buddhism, liberation comes through self-awareness. Desires and cravings continue, but through spiritual practice people develop the ability to observe those desires and not act on them.

Buddhist teachings

Stephanie Kaza, who writes about Buddhist food practices, considers the cost of overconsumption to the environment.

"If everybody consumed what North Americans did on average, we would need five more planets to grow enough food and water," said Dr. Kaza, who teaches environmental studies at the University of Vermont.

Muslims, Jews and Buddhists are known for food restrictions. So, too, are Seventh-day Adventists, Latter-day Saints and Catholics. Many world religions tout the spiritual benefits of fasting.

Some congregations are promoting diet plans. They have support groups that reflect on books such as Slim for Him, and More of Him, Less of Me.

Dr. Webb, the Wabash College professor, has mixed feelings about church diet groups.

"Some churches are doing it just to get people to come to church," he said. "The theological basis of it is pretty flimsy."

Leaders at Prestonwood declined to be interviewed about their "cafe ministry." A statement attributed to Executive Pastor Mike Buster said the cafe offers a selection of "low-fat options every day." The church also offers sports and exercise programs.

'Foods that honor God'

Ms. Young of Fellowship Church said she doesn't promote a diet but a Christian lifestyle. She tells people to ask God to bless their meals but also their menu choices and food preparation.

"The prayer begins long before you put the food on the table," she said.

Her husband, Ed, has preached on "foodolatry" and written about gluttony as sin. He says spiritual fitness includes physical fitness, which is why the church has "sports ministry" groups that promote cycling, walking and running.

"We're also helping people make better food choices," Ms. Young said. The church's cafe is being transformed to "serving foods that honor God."

Krispy Kremes are out; bagels are in.

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