89: Confessions of a Food Catholic with Pastor Doug Wilson
You don’t see a lot of pastors weighing in on food but this one has seen it come between too many relationships to leave it unaddressed. In fact, he wrote an entire book about the unscriptural approach to food and how Christians often let food dogma and righteousness rule over a heart for relationship.
This was particularly edifying for me as a health professional but also as a mom trying to balance health and sanity when it comes to family food choices. Pastor Doug talks about “boutique allergies,” Phood Pharisees, and the most important thing to have at the dinner table.
Listen in for a very interesting and refocusing Christian perspective on food and how to eat.
EPISODE 89: Confessions of a Food Catholic with Pastor Doug Wilson
SHOW NOTES
(0:00) Intro
Welcome back to the club!
Today we are welcoming special guest Pastor Doug Wilson
I heard him on the Ben Greenfield podcast
Douglas Wilson is the pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho and a Senior Fellow of theology at New Saint Andrews College.
He also serves as an instructor at Greyfriars Hall, a ministerial training program at Christ Church.
He has written over 50 books! I plan to read more of them, especially the one about raising boys that I heard Ben mention.
(3:12) You don’t see a lot of Pastors weighing in food as directly as you do in this book. What led you to write it? What is a Food Catholic?
God wants us to be companions.
Noticing the division of Christians over food.
To not be an apostle of shame, fear, and guilt.
(5:26) So what a pastor must care about is whether Christians are picking up the leaven - the fear, the anxiety, self-righteousness. Can you speak to this a bit?
Having a life that you are actually living— balanced life.
It is not healthy to be monomaniacal about anything.
What is means to be a food Catholic
Valuing fellowship
Let’s talk about labels and “designer/boutique” allergies:
Discernment of allergies vs. aversions
Oppressive spiritual guilt
Prioritizing fellowship with God and other people
(16:38) Are we baking fear into our families? How do we balance this desire to keep our families healthy without driving wedges into our families?
What leads to harboring secrets
Hard dogmatism doesn’t lead to common ground
What is prohibited is attractive
“By enacting stringent dietary regulations, {wives} are inadvertently trying to teach their husbands and children how to cheat.”
(30:16) What is a Phood Pharisee?
(31:31) What would be examples of food sin? “The sin is never in the food because Jesus declared all foods clean. The sin is always in the sinner. This means we can sin with food but we cannot sin by food.”
(33:19) What is our responsibility when it comes to stewardship?
1 Corinthians 6:19
Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit
Adopting a posture of humility
Wisdom stewardship tradeoffs vs. sin issues
Snapshot vs. The Video
(45:21) Doesn’t mind his people having fitness, he minds fitness having his people.
(50:48) Anchor Questions:
Anchor meal: Taco salad
Ancher verse: Isaiah 25:6
(54:25) How to find Pastor Doug and learn more
dougwils.com
(55:30) Eat together on a daily basis with people who love you, and whom you love. Make it a ritual appointment. Sanctify a place, a dining room table, say, and show up at appointed times.
(56:02) Outro & Disclaimer
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If food….or disapproval of other people’s food is your guilty pleasure then it is time to bring your kitchen, and all the cupboards therein, to the feet of Christ.” (paraphrased)
“We should be growing to the point where we take ALL our meals free of guilt and shame , and where saying grace over everything we ingest is not an empty ritual. We are on a pilgrimage, which means we are not there yet. We are helped by the Lord’s Spirit because we are not there yet. Insistence that we “attain” right now, in any area, is simply an ungodly impatience.”
God doesn’t care what is in your food, but he cares very much what is in your food thoughts.
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Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!