“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).
Not to Mention the Fork
“Saying grace with a full and sincere heart sanctifies the whole smorgasbord, even it is the kind you find in a cheap restaurant, and even if there is enough MSG in the pans there to make your spoon taste pretty good” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 153).
People Like to Cluster
“To want everyone to live close to the land is to want a human race that God, for some reason, decided not to create” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 149).
Or So It Seems to Me
“It doesn’t make sense to move from one end of the pool to the other because you are tired of being wet” (Confessions of a Food Catholic, p. 146).