The New Year

Happy New Year all! This past year I learned so many new things and did so many things I never thought I would do. From getting my drivers license to playing my violin in a concert to turning 17. I hope that you had a blessed year as well.

Out of all the books I read this year, one interesting and wonderful book I read this year was "The Confessions of a Food Catholic" by Douglas Wilson. It hit on the matter of food in all sorts of ways. Here is an essay on the book. It is a recommended read! : )

What is the difference between an all natural food and a processed food? If there is a difference, whether in taste or chemicals, is there a bad or good difference? If there is a difference, should we still be grateful for the food?  In Confessions of a Food Catholic by Douglas Wilson, he talks about the so called clean and unclean food, the poisons or organic food, and he touches on the matter of being grateful for all food even if they are full of poison. Wait, poison? I’ll get to the definition of that later. The three take away points of Confessions of a Food Catholic are to realize that all food is clean, it’s ok to eat poisons in a guilt free manner as long as they do not make up everything you eat, and we are to be grateful for all food.

The first point to elaborate on in Confessions of a Food Catholic is that all food is considered clean. Unclean food could be considered anything that is not healthy. Chips, soda, Big Macs, these are considered unclean, unhealthy, or junk foods. But, let’s consider this matter for a minute, where in the Bible does it say that these foods are unclean? Where does it say that industrial food chains are evil? Just curious. Everything has been reinforced by the Fall and become clean. If we think that the “good stuff” came from the devil, think again. Would God really give us these food chains to just look at and not enjoy? No, God doesn’t do that. He gave us these food chains out of His mere good pleasure and for the glory of His will. We are to be free with our food. One last point on clean and unclean food; it is possible to sin by food, not with food. Whether we’re eating a salad or a quarter-pounder, it is not possible to sin with that food. However, picking up the food and throwing it at you brother is a sin, but you sin by  the throwing of that food, not with that food. See how this has played out? It is impossible to sin with food no matter if it’s processed or a salad. After all food is considered pure and good because God has given it to us for us to enjoy.

This leads to the next point to be noticed in Confessions of a Food Catholic. The next point concerns the matter of poisonous food being eaten guilt free. We are ingesting all kinds of poisons today and we’re living longer than those in the 1800’s. So, they can’t be that bad, can they? What do I mean by poisonous foods? I can’t mean the true poisons like “if you eat or drink me, you will die instantly.” No, poisonous foods are those who have GMO, are at your local fast food chain, in that jar of Cheese Wiz that you put in your broccoli casserole. Poisonous foods are those that have additives and preservatives. Actually, everything could be considered a poison. “What do you mean? I’m eating an all organic healthy kale salad with some lemon juice squirted on it. This cannot be poisonous or unhealthy.” Yes, even your healthy salad has been refined by preservatives. Everything has been refined by the Fall; everything has chemicals. Those who will deny this fact deny the theory or belief of the Fall.

So now that we have that out of the way, the last point to make in the matter of the poisonous foods is that God really does not care if we eat the poisons. If He doesn’t care, why should we care? Why not be guilt free and enjoy that bag of Doritos? Another thing that people may say that you should not eat that food is because it will make you fat. However, being a bit overweight is considered healthy. These skinny girls you see as models, or in your local mall are unhealthy. Don’t be afraid to be a little plump, enjoy life and eat!

The last point to consider in Confessions of a Food Catholic is really the main point of the whole book. The main point Mr. Wilson is trying to make is that we should be thankful for all food. Whether you have a friend who doesn’t mind eating at a fast food burger place every once in a while, or you have a friend who likes drinking juices at the natural juice bar, be thankful that you are getting some kind of nourishment.

Cheers!

Chloe Elizabeth