Covenantal Food

It seems that I have slowed down substantially in posting on this site. Though I am still excited about a biblical view of food (and life in general) I am doing many others things, such as college, internship, working part-time, etc... Recently, though, I was listening to a lecture series by O. Palmer Robinson "On the Covenants" (available for free here) and one of his lectures started me thinking again on a topic I started writing about here. The idea is that food is covenantal, that it is granted to us by God's grace as part of His bond of friendship with us. This can be seen through the progression of God's covenant with His people throughout time. The passage from the lecture is as follows (commenting on Genesis 3):

"Man will eat bread. The gracious character of these simple words cannot be overlooked. The creative grace of God which gave to man the bounties of every tree of the garden has continued. God's grace and mercy is still to man, though he has rebelled against him. The extension of the provision of the creation covenant characterizes the totality of human history from that day until the present. Even today, you eat bread. And you very fittingly give thanks at the table, each time you eat bread, for the grace of God which permits you to sustain life." -O. Palmer Robinson, "Covenant of Commencement" 

Even before Genesis 3, when we examine the pre-fall "covenant of works" or, as Dr. Robinson titles it, the "covenant of creation" we find not only the the prohibition of eating of the forbidden fruit, but also the gift of all the other trees in the garden.

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17, emphasis added). 

In fact, the covenant is rather comprehensive, including the broad concerns of Genesis 1:28-30:

"And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so. (Genesis 1:28-30)

An emphasis in American Christianity on the narrow test of the forbidden tree to the exclusion of the broad mission and purpose of the covenant of creation (or works) has led to (or has resulted from) a narrow focus on justification by faith and the point of conversion to the exclusion of sanctification and the broad purpose of redemption. God's covenants with man concern man's whole life, not merely some narrow "religious" element of life. As Dr. Robinson points out in his book, Christ of the Covenants,

"If the covenant of creation is thought not to exceed Adam's probation-test, a curious brand of Christianity ultimately emerges. It is a brand of Christianity greatly at odds with that in which the probation-test is understood as the focal point of the total life-embracing covenantal relationship. The difference between the two views is the difference between 'fundamentalism' narrowly conceived and the broader covenantal theology of Scripture" (p. 82).

This separation of faith from life has been detrimental to modern Western culture.

Here we find that food is a basic element of God's original command and grace to man. Man is commanded to subdue the vegetation for food and is given the grace to use and enjoy it.

As Dr. Robinson pointed out above, this concept is continued after man's sin enters the world. As God establishes his covenant of grace with man in Genesis 3, giving the promise of redemption, he reaffirms man's calling to bring forth food from the ground. Adam gets to keep the job! Admittedly, it is a bit harder, and now the struggle against sin and curse is also thrown into the mix.

We find this pattern also God's covenant with Noah. Noah and his family not only save the plants and animals on board the ark, but God also tells them after the flood,

"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood...” (Genesis 9:1-4, emphasis added)

In the covenant administrations with Abraham and especially later with Israel we see that food is one of the great blessings of the covenant. To look into all the ways food is mentioned would take more time than I have at the moment (see my book for some), but some of the most obvious might be Deuteronomy 28:4-5, Leviticus, 26:3-5, and Exodus 3:8, 17. God sets up feasts for His people for them to commune with Him. The theme of famine and plenty is tightly woven into God's relation with His people. Food (or the lack of) can be blessing or curse, just as the covenant can work either way.

We have already seen how 1 Timothy 4 deals with this theme (see here). In addition, the Lord's Supper obviously forms the highest new covenant expression of Christ's communion with man through food. The "love feast" and Christian hospitality are also urged in the broader context of food and life in the covenant. This picture is consummated with the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation.

Some of this is old news to many of you all. The insightful thing I have found through this is that we do not deserve food. It is given by God's grace. He gives it to the just and the unjust, yet it is only Christian who can eat with enjoyment (Eccl. 2:24-26), exercising proper (not usurped) authority over God's creation. It is also interesting to see, once again, the unity of God's purposes through history. His promises and purposes are consistent through all ages. They demand our all, our entire life and being. Thus, we must eat and drink, as we do all things, to the glory of our gracious Savior and God.

Alien and Hostile Influences

"Those who think Christians can easily use the world's artifacts and methods in the creation of a new synthesis underestimate the all-pervasiveness and subtlety of alien and hostile influences." -Herbert Schlossberg, "Idols for Destruction," p. 322

This is true in culture at large. Whether we are talking about music, art, food, dress, speech, science, politics, or economics, Christians must be purposefully biblical about what they do and why they do it. Going with the flow is a dangerous choice, especially in our society.

The Artistic Life

"The art gallery or art museum theory of art to which philanthropists and promoters would persuade us views art as a luxury quite beyond the reach of ordinary people. Its attempt to glorify the arts by setting them aside in specially consecrated shrines can hardly supply more than a superficial gilding to a national culture, if the private direction of that culture is ugly and materialistic–Keyserling would say, animalistic. The proposition is as absurd as this: Should we eat our meals regularly from crude, think dishes like those used in Greek restaurant, but go on solemn occasions to a restaurant museum where somebody's munificence would permit us to enjoy a meal on china of the most delicate design? The truly artistic life is surely that in which the æsthetic experience is not curtained off but is mixed up with all sorts of instruments and occupations pertaining to the round of daily life."
-Donald Davidson "A Mirror for Artists" I'll Take My Stand (1930)

The Incarnation of Religion

"We may go further and ask whether what we call the culture, and what we call the religion, of a people are not different aspects of the same thing: the culture being, essentially, the incarnation (so to speak) of the religion of a people."
-T.S. Eliot (Christianity and Culture, 1948)

Food and Dominion

In 1 Timothy 4:1-5 we learn several things. First, everything created by God is good, and second, we are to be thankful to God for His blessings. To reject either of these things is to destroy God's gifts (see other posts on these subjects here, here, and here). A third thing that Paul brings out is that God created food “to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” What then? Did He not created it to be received by all men? What about common grace and the rain on the just and unjust? John Calvin has a great point to make on this subject:

“I reply, Paul speaks here of the lawful use, of which we are assured before God. Wicked men are in no degree partakers of it, on account of their impure conscience, which, as is said, 'defileth all things.' (Titus 1:15)

"And indeed, properly speaking, God has appointed to his children alone the whole world and all that is in the world. For this reason, they are also called the heirs of the world; for at the beginning Adam was appointed to be lord of all, on this condition, that he should continue in obedience to God. Accordingly, his rebellion against God deprived of the right, which had been bestowed on him, not only himself but his posterity. And since all things are subject to Christ, we are fully restored by His mediation, and that through faith; and therefore all that unbelievers enjoy may be regarded as the property of others, which they rob or steal."[1]

In a similar vein, commenting on the fact that “it is made holy by the word of God,” Calvin comments:

"And which of us would venture to claim for himself a single grain of wheat, if he were not taught by the word of God that he is the heir of the world? Common sense, indeed, pronounces, that the wealth of the world is naturally intended for our use; but, since dominion over the world was taken from us in Adam, everything that we touch of the gifts of God is defiled by our pollution; and, on the other hand, it is unclean to us, till God graciously come to our aid, and by ingrafting us into his Son, constitutes us anew to be lords of the world, that we may lawfully use as our own all the wealth with which he supplies us."[2]

Of course, this doesn't mean that unbelievers don't have civil property rights. It does mean that in the eyes of God they are unlawful trespassers on earth. It does mean we have been restored to the task (and promise) of dominion under Christ. It is because Christ was exalted with dominion that we as His people gain the dominion which we lost in Adam. By our union with Christ we are made kings to reign with Him (Rev. 5:10). Since He is the Lord of all, so we also are heirs with Abraham of the whole world by faith (Rom. 4:13). As children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), we inherit the land. The world and the blessings on it (e.g. food) have been given to us so that we may enjoy and glorify God through them.

The food we eat is made holy. It is set apart for righteousness by the Word of God and prayer. We are taught by the Word of God our place of dominion in our Father's world. We give thanks in prayer for our food, eating for the glory of God, the giver of these blessings. When that is done, we will not be self-centered. We will give our worship and service not to food, nor health, nor any other earthly thing, but to God alone. In that way will God’s blessings be used correctly and to our good. We will thank Him for the way He has made all His blessings. We will not pervert His blessings for our glory, but will stand in awe of His wisdom in His creation, and work with it humbly and joyfully.

Food and History

When we consider food we should examine it as part of life. We live in a world that is interconnected, not necessarily put in neat, isolated boxes. One example is the connection between history and food.

Our culture, the way we do things, is greatly influenced by who we are around and with whom (or what) we have relationships. After spending time in an area where people speak with a particular accent, you will start to notice yourself speaking like them. So with food, if you spend much time with your co-workers you will start to eat like them. If you have your firmest relationships with your friends at school, you will start eating like them. If you have strong family relationships, as the Bible promotes, you will eat much like your family. (If your co-workers, your friends at school, and your family are one and the same, that is all the better.) If we honor our parents, we will do it not only in thought, but in deed as well. Ideally, our culture will be influenced by our ethnic background(s), and hopefully our culture will grow like a plant that adapts to its surroundings and matures, while firmly growing out of and formed by its past.

And not only is our food influenced by the past, but our food can be used to teach us about the past. In Deuteronomy 6:7-9 God tells the Israelites to teach their children as they go about life, in their walking, sitting, etc., in other words, to make their teaching a familiar thing of life. The Bible continues this mode of education in commanding certain feasts to celebrate and remember the past. Speaking of Passover, “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD” (Ex. 12:14; also see Deut. 16:3, Es. 9:20-32). In Christianity this is applied today in a sacramental and spiritual way in the Lord's Supper to remember and unify with Christ, but also in a lesser way in common celebratory meals to unify with God, His people, and our forefathers by remembering their acts in history. We see that in various celebrations, such as Thanksgiving and Independence Day.

So whether you are a Norwegian and eat lutefisk at Christmas, a Scot and eat haggis on Burns night, a Japanese and eat sushi, or a Bringe and eat the Thanksgiving meal wrapped in lefse, you are expressing honor for parents in tangible culture. This multi-generational culture teaches some humility and stability in our progress and growth, and calls to remembrance the fact that we are part of a community that includes past generations. It helps us remember where we came from and where we are going. It keeps us humble in times of plenty and joyful in times of want. And as the nations are discipled, all these rich cultures may continue to be claimed and reformed for the glory of Christ.

Biblical Directions for Art and Pleasure

Ever since Adam was created, man has had to deal with his earthly surroundings. God created man as one to subdue and interact with the world around him, and this interaction was at first perfectly righteous. Since man’s fall into sin, his relations to the world around him have been corrupted. As the Christian experiences Christ’s renewing power, he is forced to consider in what a right relation to this world consists. Especially difficult in Christian history has been our relation to those things that are not necessary for existence variously known as pleasure, art, decor, entertainment, and civilized culture. Even in the days of the Apostles there was conflict over ascetic practices of abstinence (1 Tim. 4:3, Rom. 14). Many extremes can be found in history from Christians who were very strict in prohibition of entertainments, to Christians who were very indulgent in all sorts of excess, although the former has tended to be more common. As we look at what the Bible says concerning earthly pleasures, we will find that it directs us in finding godly enjoyment in them.

Perhaps the most obvious direction we have concerning these pleasures is that they must be used with faith in Christ. Speaking of eating food, Paul teaches, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Without faith in God, our pleasure will be idolatry. We will look to something else as the provider of blessing. We might look at the pleasure itself as the object of our faith. Without faith in God, the blessings that God sends will actually only increase our accountability and judgement. God is the one from whom all blessings flow, and to deny this is to deny His deity. On the other hand, when we have faith in God, our enjoyment becomes a way to praise and worship Him. These blessings then are truly blessings, for our good, because they build up our enjoyment of our relationship with God. With faith in God’s power and goodness through Christ even the littlest pleasure is recognized as a gracious gift from our Father.

Similar to faith, joy is another aspect of what should be our relation to pleasure. When we receive something good and reject it as “earthly vanity,” or as a mere temptation, we are being ungrateful for what God has made for us. Paul harshly condemns this attitude of abstinence, saying, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim. 4:4-5). It is not the pleasure (marriage and food, in this case) that is evil, but the way we might use it. When we receive it with thanksgiving, praising God in prayer and using it according to His word, it is not only not evil, but good and holy. Paul also got upset at the Roman Christians who were dividing themselves by disputes over food. Food is supposed to increase, not decrease, faith, love, and joy. The food (or similar pleasure) is not an end it itself. The “kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Many people do become absorbed in the pleasures themselves so as to lose sight of God the giver. As John Calvin colorfully describes, “many are so delighted with marble, gold, and pictures, that they become marble-hearted—are changed as it were into metal, and made like painted figures” (471). Instead, “the object of creating all things was to teach us to know their author, and feel grateful for his indulgence” (470-471). When we eat, drink, dance, and sing with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, our enjoyments are actually expressions of the kingdom of God.

One of the blessings that God gives, to be received in faith and joy, is beauty. Beauty comes from God; it is an aspect of His glory. To seek the source of beauty somewhere else (e.g. in ourselves or the creation) is a form of idolatry. God proclaimed that He would take away and defile Tyre’s beauty because the king of Tyre had set himself up as god, saying, “I am perfect in beauty” (Ezek. 27:3, 28:6-7). On the other hand, God gives beauty to His people. God gave extraordinary physical beauty to Job’s daughters as a blessing (Job 42:15). He describes His salvation in terms of beautification, as in Isaiah 28:5, 62:3. He promises that the beauty and glory of the nations shall come “to beautify the place of my sanctuary” (Is. 60:13, also Rev. 21:24, 26). God’s beauty is all around us in His creation and, as we have said, to ignore it would be wicked ungratefulness (Ps. 19:1, Rom. 1:20). As the heirs of the world (Rom. 4:13, Gal 3:29) we are to rejoice at the beauty that God has made, claiming it as His sons.

Not only do we receive beauty, but we also imitate God in making beauty ourselves. Adam and Eve were created perfectly in God’s image, reflecting Him by taking dominion of the earth in ordering and, among other things, beautifying it. The creation was good already, but it was not developed and needed to be brought into its potential. Since man’s fall, both we and the creation have been negatively influenced by sin. As we are now being renewed into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29, Col. 3:10) we must once again learn to obey God by imitating our Creator (albeit imperfectly) by beautifying the world, engaging both the work of dominion as well as the additional work of reversing the ugly effects of the curse.

As Zechariah 9:16-17 says, we are made beautiful because our Savior is great in beauty. We engage in this pursuit of beauty by reflecting the source of beauty, God. I would suggest we define beauty as that which is the earthly reflection of God's nature. As R.C. Sproul Sr. has said, "God is the ultimate standard of beauty, just as He is the ultimate standard of truth. Works of art that somehow reflect His nature are more beautiful than works that do not" (60). There are several aspects of this. For example, order as well as zeal are attributes of God (1 Cor. 14:33, Is. 42:13) and both add beauty, especially when entwined together. Our Triune God is both one and three, bringing aspects of unity and diversity in perfect harmony. God is also ethically pure, and true beauty will reflect this. Since God’s beauty is revealed in His creation, we can study patterns and values in creation, recognizing that we are to take these primitive elements of nature and develop them. It is in this rewarding pursuit of beauty that much of art consists. When we are engaging in painting, music, dance, and poetry we are taking color, sound, bodies, and words and subduing them to God’s beauty. Art, then, is to be God-centered.

Another important direction given to us concerning enjoyment is that it should be relational. The Bible doesn’t really talk much about “me time.” There are times when a person is away from other humans but only to be more focused on God (e.g. Matt. 14:22-23). As we have already mentioned, our enjoyments are always to be done in relation to God in faith, joy, and thanksgiving. To enjoy things purely by one’s self is selfishness. Moreover, the Bible places a high priority on enjoying God’s gifts in community with other people. In the Old Testament thanksgiving feast of the tithe it was important that the intense celebration be done by “you and your household,” incorporating into the household celebration the Levite, widow, orphan, and stranger (Deut. 14:26, 15:20, 26:11). Jeremiah proclaims that the prosperity that God’s salvation brings shall include the dancing of the young and old, men and women, all together (Jer. 31:13). In the parable of the prodigal son, the celebration described, which included feasting, dancing, music, and rich attire, was done in community, celebrating the love of the father for his son (Luke 15:22-32). The Philippian jailer and his household rejoiced together that he had believed in God (Acts 16:34). Hospitality and the sharing of our blessings with others are encouraged and commanded in many places in Scripture (Heb. 13:2, Rom. 12:13). The list could go on and on, including every section of the Bible.

This community in which we enjoy God’s blessings and create beautiful culture is a complex thing. The basic social unit seems to be the family, or more properly, the household. This is the group of people, tied by the natural ties of blood and time, and more importantly, under the protection of the marriage covenant with strict commands to obey father and mother. Death is the punishment in biblical law for the undermining of the family, i.e. adultery or incorrigible rebellion (Lev. 20:9-10, Matt. 15:4). It is to this unit, under the headship of the husband, that the dominion mandate was primarily given (Gen. 1:26-28). The household is in a manner saved as a unit (Acts. 16:31) and covenantally unified in its aim to glorify God (Gen. 17:7, Acts 2:39). It is here, in (what should be) the strongest of relationships, that culture and pleasure is primarily enjoyed and developed. It is in the family in which you have the elements of the rest of society: male and female, young and old, with differing gifts. Thus, a culture that is operating biblically will have distinct ethnic, folk, and traditional elements.

Included in the family, and beyond, are the elements of personal community and generational continuity. While the family is basic, it ought not be ingrown. These principles express themselves in the local community in which the family lives, creating nations and their cultures. Both the culture and the medium in which it is conveyed is important, and they actually influence each other. In fact, in today’s situation, “the forms of our popular culture may well have a more significant effect on our perceptions than the content” (Myers, 16). In modern society, culture and its popular forms have been uprooted from the family and become individualistic, impersonal, and revolutionary. As Christians, not only must our motive and standard of enjoyment be right (i.e. thanksgiving and God-defined beauty) but also the situation of our enjoyment. Our enjoyment becomes richer when it is shared by a community, transcending the individual, where each can contribute his/her gifts. It becomes more excellent when it is shaped and built upon by the generations, transcending the moment, where each generation adds more experience and perspective to our enjoyment. And the interaction of people, when done in Christ, is itself something to celebrate. “Like feasts and holidays, celebration in lovemaking is about remembering. It is a love of history, a couple’s history of good times, of positive personal knowledge shared by no others, of refuge from a crazy world” (Jones, 86-87).

While there is much more that could be said concerning our enjoyments, we can see that the Bible does give us good, and comprehensive, directions. Our motivation must be faith in Christ and joy for what God has given us. We must measure our (puny) achievements not only by their usefulness, but by the beauty and glory of our God, submitting our work to His nature. Our medium of pleasure and enjoyment must be rooted in the family and community, sharing God’s gifts and our work with one another. As we have mentioned, this godly culture should not be ingrown, but should grow into our communities and nations. Discipling the nations is our “Great Commission” and includes the art and culture of the nations. The Christian family disciples the nations by its dominion work in its vocation and cultural relations to its neighbors. The Church as an institution also changes culture. Through the preaching of its pastors, a Christian culture is indirectly founded when men are made new creatures in Christ (Van Til, 225). The Scripture which the Church teaches equips us for “every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). While the exact application is usually left to the families in their vocations, the families of the earth are coming to the Church, the New Jerusalem, to learn the ways of God and to learn to walk in its light (Is. 2:3, Rev. 21:24). May we show the world a culture of delight and hope amid its gloom of death. May we learn to exalt in the goodness of our God who causes

“the grass to grow for the livestock

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth

and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine

and bread to strengthen man's heart.”

(Ps. 104:14-15)

Works Cited List:

Calvin, John Institutes of the Christian Religion. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Jones, Douglas and Douglas Wilson Angels in the Architecture. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1998.
Myers, Kenneth A. All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1989.
Sproul Sr., R.C. Tabletalk 36.9, Sep. 2012: 60
The Holy Bible (ESV). Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
Van Til, Henry R. The Calvinistic Concept of Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.

An Irish Story of Cultural Transformation

Here is a great article written by Geoffrey Botkin concerning a story of cultural transformation and family vision in the realm of food and drink:

Alcohol, Movies, and Other "Toxins"

"I am frequently asked questions about the wisdom of training Christians to produce movies. Is it right? Is it merely trying to “Christianize” the things of the world? 

One sincere critic recently wrote in (via the technology of the Internet) with a comment. He compared Christian involvement in filmmaking to this: walking into a room of alcoholics and giving them a list of rules on how they should drink. Then he posed this perfectly legitimate question: 

“Why bother fooling around with alcohol or movies at all? We do not need them. Rather than trying to copy the culture around us, would it not be a better witness to follow the directions in 1 Timothy 2:1-4?” 

In attempting to formulate an answer, I was reminded of a story of a great entrepreneur who once “fooled around” with alcohol in the same way I am working with media. This young entrepreneur believed it was possible to turn the poisonous custom of binge drinking against itself, creating a replacement culture from a lawful institution..."

-PB

Beauty

On that day the LORD their God will save them,

as the flock of his people;

for like the jewels of a crown

they shall shine on his land.

For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!

Grain shall make the young men flourish,

and new wine the young women.

(Zechariah 9:16-17)

When discussing almost anything, especially when discussing the arts, the subject of aesthetics and beauty can arise. The culinary arts are no exception. The problem with aesthetics is that we often rely on our instincts to determine beauty. This actually has worked somewhat, in a large part because the Western world has been very influenced by Christian presuppositions and values. But as Christendom and even as the Modern world fades away into post-modernistic relativism, objective beauty can no longer be decided on the assumptions of the general culture. In short, we need to recover and build a Christian philosophy of beauty.

The first starting point we have is that God is the determiner of beauty. God created us and the world we live in. To seek beauty without God, to seek autonomous beauty, to seek self-centered beauty, is to rebel against God, to stir up His wrath, and is actually to destroy beauty. Take the example of Tyre in the book of Ezekiel. The LORD GOD address Tyre and the king of Tyre by saying, 

“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty’...Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god...yet you are but a man, and no god...Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor." (Ezekiel 27:3; 28:2; 28:6-7)

Conversely, when God favors and saves His people, He gives them beauty. In Psalm 50:2 God shines forth from "Zion, the perfection of beauty." When God address His people with the promise of their salvation in Isaiah 62:3, He says, "You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." In Isaiah 28:5, right after Isaiah proclaims the fading flower of apostate Ephraim's glorious beauty, He declares that "In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people." One of the ways God blessed Job after Job's sufferings was that "in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters" (Job 42:15). In short, beauty is something we receive from God, and humility is needed in our pursuit of it. We seek beauty from God and we do it in relation to Him.

As we see in the verse at the top (Zech. 9:16-17), when God saves us, He gives us not merely beauty, but His beauty. We are made beautiful because He is beautiful. We imitate His beauty as we become godly. We are His image. We were created like Him and beauty is found in His works of creation, but sin has corrupted us. God, in His "common grace" has allowed ungodly civilizations to imitate His creational beauty to an extent, at least until they, like Tyre, become more consistently rebellious against God and His attributes and become ugly. It is in redemption that we recover God's beauty.

So how do we define beauty? I would suggest we define it as that which is the earthly reflection of God's nature. As R.C. Sproul Sr. has said, "God is the ultimate standard of beauty, just as He is the ultimate standard of truth. Works of art that somehow reflect His nature are more beautiful than works that do not."1 In my book I give the example of how the mix of unity and diversity in art reflects God's triune nature. And we can also see how order (which is also an attribute of God, 1 Cor. 14:33) brings unity, and how zeal (which also is an attribute of God, Is. 42:13) brings diversity, and how they are not conflicting considerations, but build on each other. "If we only have zeal, that zeal will become chaotic and will lose meaning. Let our food not be like a bunch of people shouting 'I love you!' at the top of their lungs, but let it be like a beautifully crafted song of love with melody and harmony."2 There are many considerations that can be used to connect art with God. R.C. Sproul Sr. comments, "Historically, Christian thinkers have evaluated art according to four criteria: proportion, harmony, simplicity, and complexity. Such criteria reflect the criteria of God and the world as He made it, a complex creation reflecting proportion and harmony."3 It would be good to mention that good art will reflect God's moral nature as well, and so even though some perverse Greek sculpture might have been done with excellent proportion, etc... and be beautiful in some respects, it still is ugly in the sense of the immorality it portrays.

With all that said, I am not saying that everything we make or do must be perfectly beautiful in all respects. Our greatest creations will still be defective and imperfect. And please, do not tear apart your brother's creations because of their imperfections. Humility and love ought to be used. But beauty ought to be pursued and valued by us, and having a basic criteria for what beauty is helps us greatly in doing that.

If there is any aspect of art that has been cheapened, it is food. Especially in the realm of fast food, but really in most food that people eat today, beauty has often been surrendered to the demands of expediency and "pleasure." Not that pleasure is a bad thing, but self-pleasure as the criteria for good food is, well, selfish. It is arbitrary and often is merely a contest of what can stimulate you more than last time. Godly pleasure involves enjoying God and all that He is. Godly pleasure is taken in beauty (which includes tasty food); self-centered pleasure is taken in drunkenness and gluttony.

Thank God for beauty!


1. Sproul Sr., R.C. Tabletalk September 2012 p. 60
2. Bringe, Peter The Christian Philosophy of Food p. 61
3. Sproul Sr., R.C. Tabletalk September 2012 p. 60

Christian View of Restaurants

As Christians we believe that the family is very important to the Christian life (Exod. 20:12, Ps 127, 128, etc...). Thus in my book I mention how a move towards a more family based culture of food is needed. But I thought I would also add that not only are there times to eat at other family's houses, but also at restaurants. I believe there is a place for restaurants in a Christian culture, although our current view of restaurants needs some reforming. Basically when eating at home you are having fellowship with family. When eating a potluck after church you are having fellowship with your church. When you are eating at a restaurant in a community, what makes this different than normal is that you are having fellowship with your local community. Many of us, though, do not take advantage of this opportunity to be a community at restaurants but hide in our own corner.

My family moved a year and a half ago from Missouri to Colorado, and after moving we haven't gone out to eat as much as we used to; part of the reason being that we live farther out in the country near a small town. Instead we have really enjoyed Saturdays when we will often to the local coffee house where my mom and I will played music and the family will get to know many of the locals and regulars from the area. After doing this for a while we are making friends in the community and do the culture of music and food in relationship with real people. This is great! And then we will sometimes go to our favorite Mexican restaurant across the parking lot from the coffee house for lunch or dinner and see our friends over there, sometimes running into friends from church, or people we just saw at the coffee house.

Most Americans do need to eat more at home. It's more affordable, it builds very valuable relationships, it's almost always healthier, etc... But when we do eat out in the community I think we need to examine how and why we are doing so. When used in moderate amounts, eating out can be used to the glory of God and for outreach of Christian culture and life into your mini-nation. I need to think about it some more, but here's a start. Your thoughts?

The Boy and the Bike

There once was a boy who got a bike from his dad for his birthday. He looked at the bike and thought, "Wow, what a temptation for me. I better not get too excited about this bike. I might end up greedy and selfish." He let the bike sit on the garage wall and would look at it every once and a while. Occasionally he would take a ride on it, but then he would feel guilty and ashamed and call it a sinful delight.

There was a friend of his who also received a bike from his dad for his birthday. This boy took a look at the bike and thought, "Wow, this bike is so much better than everyone else's bike." He went to his friends, including the boy who didn't ride his bike, and got into a big argument with them about which bike was better, safer, etc... When he got home to his family he was grumpy that not everyone wanted a bike just like his.

There was another boy who also got a bike from his dad for his birthday. He looked at the bike and without another thought he grabbed it and took off. He forgot about dinner with his family because he loved the bike. The only problem was that when trying to show off for his friends he fell and broke a leg.

And finally, there was the boy who received the bike from his dad, took a look at it and joyfully exclaimed, "Thank you, dad! This is great!" He got on the bike and zoomed down the road, waving to his dad, smiling. As he passed the group of arguing boys he called for them to join him, wondering why they didn't enjoy their bikes. When he got home for dinner he talked excitedly with his dad about the fun he had on the bike. Afterwards, he carefully fine-tuned the bike and put on the wall, making sure to take care of what his dad gave him.

Which dad do you think was the most pleased with his son?

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In case you didn't get what I was getting at in this little parable, let me put it another way. Our Heavenly Father, through his creation and providence, has provided great blessings of food for us. We can look at these blessings and react in different ways. We could ignore them. We could spend all our time arguing about them. We could focus on the blessings themselves without remembering the Father who gave them, making idols of food. Or we could take this food and delight in God's goodness, giving thanks to Him for providing such wonderful things for us. It is with this last option that we will act like true sons of our Father, fulfilling the purpose of His blessings to us. In fact, this thankfulness will be a blessing in itself.

You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. And if the way is too long for you...then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household...

At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

(Deuteronomy 14:22-26, 28-29)

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

(Psalm 107:8)

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

(Matthew 7:11)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 14:17)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

(1 Timothy 4:1-5)

The Reformation of Food & the Family Conference

This July 12-14, The Reformation of Food & the Family Conference hosted by Vision Forum Ministries will be held in San Antonio, Texas. I am looking forward to it and to seeing how it will all turn out. Here is one of their videos that they have made in preparation for the conference, Food and the Bible. 

-Peter B.

An Interview, Part 2

Here is part two of the interview I have been doing with Abby K. (for part one see below): http://imprimis.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/an-interview-with-peter-bringe-author-2/

Food, Culture, and the Direction of Civilization

Food is usually not the most grand thing to our view. Except for the wreckage of Pop culture, food is domestic and personal. Even in Pop culture it is a firm part of life, outflowing from who people are. A great deal made be said of us by the food we decide to eat. A keen observation was made by theologian Robert L. Dabney in his essay, The Uses and Results of Church History (1854), concerning this very thing. Writing of history in general, he makes the following comment:

"Those things which are the most operative elements of social, national and religious welfare are just the things which historians have been least careful to record. The knowledge of them has, in many cases, perished away for ever from our search. In secular history, battles, sieges, coronations, conquests, treaties; and in ecclesiastical history, councils and their canons, controversies and anathemas, have been the favorite themes of the story. But the food which nations ate, the clothing they wore, their domestic life, the state of domestic discipline, their arts, agriculture and amusements, the method of their devotions, their superstitions, the hymns they sang, the preaching to which they listened, the books they most read, the color of the national and social passions, the pecularities of the national spirit; all these every-day and homely influences are the causes which potentially form the character and compose that mighty current of the age on which kings, battles, conquests and conquerors are but the floating bubbles which indicate its motion. But all this historians have usually left to die with the passing time, as if it was unworthy of the dignity of their drama."

While we ought not to make food our obsession--we must be changed by God's grace before our food can change meaningfully--we ought to realize that the day-to-day influence of our familial culture is a powerful tool directing our civilization.

The Cultural Puzzle

When dealing with food it it important to deal with it in its context of life. Here is a quote that describes this very well by Ken Myers in his book, All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes (p. 34):

"We can't simplify things too quickly by isolating one of these cultural expressions and asking how Scripture applies to it in isolation from everything else, for then it's not part of that social experience that's called culture. We cannot, for example, evaluate the virtues and vices of fast food in our culture merely by looking at Biblical teaching about meals. We have to take into consideration the place of the automobile and highways in our culture, our view of time and convenience, the pressures on modern families (both theses relieved and those exacerbated by fast food), the opportunity for employment created by this new service industry, and the many other pieces of the cultural puzzle. We then have to ask, given all the of the other forces that shape modern culture, whether eliminating McDonald's from the equation would mean that the people would automatically eat more nutritious home-cooked meals with the family gathered around the table, or whether they would eat more frozen TV dinners on their own unsynchronized schedules."

While I don't agree with everything in Myers' book, he really hit it on the head at this point. The title of my book, The Christian Philosophy of Food, may seem an ambitious title, but we really need a more comprehensive view of the many cultural aspects of food before we can deal with the details of each aspect. May we use the wisdom of God in trying to adjust our whole life in accordance with His Word, recognizing the difficulties of the web of "the culture puzzle".

The Roast Beef of Old England

Food is part of culture and will be connected to its surroundings. While some things have a constant meaning in all cultures (drinking blood and disregard of life, Gen. 9:3-6), other things receive meaning by local culture and common usage. A good representative of this would be the food offered to idols in 1 Corinthians 8. The food there wasn't inherently sinful, even the idols were nothing, but because some "eat food as really offered to an idol" (1 Cor. 8:7) it has a meaning that Christians ought to beware of.

I think of this symbolic nature of food when I come across songs like the following, this time in a good way. This song, The Roast Beef of Old England, uses food, namely roast beef, ragout, coffee, and tea, to symbolize the changes in England in the early 1700s. The song became popular and was used in the British army, and later the American army, to call the men for the midday meal (dinner) by being played on fife and drum. It is also said that it was also used by bugler P.W. Fletcher, to call first class passengers to meals on the RMS Titanic. Here are the lyrics:

The Roast Beef of Old England

By Richard Leveridge

When mighty Roast Beef was the Englishman's food,

It ennobled our brains and enriched our blood.

Our soldiers were brave and our courtiers were good

   Oh! the Roast Beef of old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!

But since we have learned from all-vapouring France

To eat their ragouts as well as to dance,

We're fed up with nothing but vain complaisance

   Oh! the Roast Beef of Old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!

Our fathers of old were robust, stout, and strong,

And kept open house, with good cheer all day long,

Which made their plump tenants rejoice in this song

   Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!

But now we are dwindled to, what shall I name?

A sneaking poor race, half-begotten and tame,

Who sully the honours that once shone in fame.

   Oh! the Roast Beef of Old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!

When good Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne,

Ere coffee, or tea, or such slip-slops were known,

The world was in terror if e'er she did frown.

   Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!

In those days, if Fleets did presume on the Main,

They seldom, or never, return'd back again,

As witness, the Vaunting Armada of Spain.

   Oh! The Roast Beef of Old England,

   And old English Roast Beef!