Bree

My mom sent me her church newsletter - apparently she thought I'd be interested. And believe it or not, something caught my eye.

Apparently God hates fat people!

There was no Biblical "proof" given to back up this statement, but, quote, "every major world religion, although not correct, includes a clause banning the abuse of the holy body through obesity" - UGH!

Can anyone else, with better knowledge of other religions than I, back up this supposed claim?

kwigibo

I think the people of South Asia might have something to say about that

kwigibo

ok, let's see if i got this straight:

godhatesfags (ugh )

godhatesfigs (hehe )

godhatesfats (what the health )


how fat exactly does one have to be to sin, surely every healthy person has some degree of bodyfat

-DM-

The biblical basis for this statement comes from the fact that obesity [allegedly] results from gluttony, which in turn is a sin in the eyes of "God." And "God" [allegedly] hates all sin. On the other hand, it is nonbiblical that "He" hates fat people -- or "fags" for that matter. Rather what "He" [allegedly] hates is the sin, not the person.

--Don--

Toto

The concept of obesity is a modern one. For most of human history, starvation was the major health problem.

I did a search on "gluttony" in the Bible, and found:

Proverbs 23
1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

I am not sure if this is a condemnation of gluttony, or just a warning about eating with kings.

And then later there is

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Nothing about abusing your body which is a temple - just common sense about living a moderate lifestyle for the sake of financial health.

Then in Matthew 11 Jesus says (comparing John the Baptist to himself):

16 "To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 "`We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon.'
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

So Jesus may have been a glutton, or perceived as one.

Even here, gluttony is not the same as obesity, although habitual gluttony will lead to obesity.

Monkeybot

Don,

You are correct about the reasoning behind "fat" being a "sin." I was given this very lecture by one of my holier-than-thou classmates in high school, and was backed up by other Christians I've asked. They justified it not Biblically, but by saying that "gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins."

Of course this always struck me as unbelievably cruel, considering that fat kids usually get mercilessly teased in school anyway. I guess it's not enough to call them a freak -- now they're hellbound too.

Furthermore it doesn't take into account low metabolisms or compulsive overeating or post-pregnancy fat or glandular disorders. So I think it's incredibly premature for anybody to assume that someone is fat just becasue they have low self-control.

(Not that anyone was arguing that)

kwigibo

well a great part of the cause of obesity is genetic predisposition, so this is a great part unfair (and therefore stupid and wrong )

Monkeybot

Yeah, unfortunately it can also be "inherited" culturally. One of my mother's coworkers is from the deep South, meaning she eats a lot of fried, fatty, and/or pork-related products. They eat stuff like three-cheese omelets, bacon or sausage, and biscuits (the American kind ) for breakfast. Then there is the deep fried chicken, fried eggs, fried okra, Krispy Kreme donuts... all of which are individually OK but as part of your regular diet...! Needless to say she is incredibly fat. So is the rest of her family because she cooks all the meals!

I am of two minds about obesity. On the one hand, it often can't be helped -- for some of the reasons mentioned above. Some people genuinely have low metabolisms or what have you. and I feel bad assigning blame or attaching a perjorative label to obesity because we all know what happens to the fat kids in elementary school -- they get teased mercilessly. And I don't want to perpetuate an adult version of that.

At the same time, I see it as a major health risk. The woman I described above -- her husband is in his early 40's and has had multiple heart attacks already. Yet she keeps feeding him fried chicken and three-cheese omelets! That's just so irresponsible! (Even worse, this woman is a nurse -- she has no excuse for not knowing!) Furthermore by feeding her kids the same unhealthy diet, she's probably foisting a lot of these same problems on them.

Mind you, I realize it's none of my business what her family does, but there you go.

[/end rant]

kwigibo

Well, that's why i have no problem with gluttony as a sin, because unless your planning on hibernating, or living in the arctic, u shouldn't be eating that sort of food. But there are people who have considerable weight problems without diets like this, and i especially feel sorry for the fat kids whom i knew, who had healthy diets and were very active, yet couldn't shake tthe weight off.

Ysabella

Hey, I completed the Danskin Women's Triathlon in 1999. I followed the online eating guidelines and training plan for three months beforehand (and had been working out regularly already). I didn't lose an ounce. Literally. I did not lose inches, I didn't lose any weight. And I know people who followed the same plan and lost 20 lbs or more in that time.

So maybe that just goes to show how much God hates me!