“Which sanctifies which? The gold the altar or the altar the gold? Having established the principle, i.e. that the altar does the sanctifying, we have to ask, in matters of table fellowship, whether the altar is on the platters or in the chairs” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 193).
The Choice is Obvious
[On Prov. 15:17] “If we love one another, we can overlook the fact that we are having to eat like vegans. And if we hate each other, there is not a French chef in the world that can make a sauce that will cover up that acrid taste” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, pp. 190-191).
Three Food Principles
“Christians who are concerned that their food life be healthy—and that should include all of us—should therefore concentrate on these three things. Whatever we do, Paul says, we should eat and drink to the glory of God. Eat together on a daily basis with people who love you, and whom you love. Second, make it …
Which Is Not a Good Thing
“If there is an inverse relationship between the complexity of the universe and the education, training, and intelligence of its purported interpreter, then what you have is just one step up from shamanism, if that” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 183).
Scam-Free Knowledge
“The issue is the nature of knowledge, not the nature of the stuff in the world. If oils made from pine needles were able to do marvelous things, there would be no one happier than I. But if no one is allowed to ask any judicious questions, then you may depend upon it—a scam is …
But Enough about Essential Forgiveness Oil
“Paul doesn’t give us the content of the [old wives/1 Tim. 4:7] fables he had to deal with, but the word refers to a genus that has never lacked for content in any age” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 171).
Conservative Conservation
“Stewardship is a basic Christian duty, which is why so many people want to pretend they are doing it. It is much easier to put a green decal on your car, or widen your phylacteries some other way, than it is to actually conserve something for real” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 165).
The Michelin Tire Boy
“I am not talking about genuine allergies. Everybody should know what those are. You serve your guest ground up peanuts in that Thai dish you’ve been wanting to try out, and forty-five minutes later he looks like the Michelin tire boy, and the dinner party concludes late that evening in the ER. That’s an allergy, …
Deep Potluck Doctrine
“The central pastoral issue of the New Testament was a dietary one—whether Jews and Gentiles could eat together. And if the apostle Paul fought so long and hard on this one—to keep the body of Christ from being divided this way—when the issue really was created by the laws of the Old Testament, how much …
And the Thicker the Better
“In these our postmodern times, the relativists in the Church want to mix the Apostles’ Creed up with about five gallons of paint thinner. But we must learn to take our Creed thick” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 155).