The blessed food?

Been thinking about "Saying the Blessing" before we eat. I grew praying as a family before eating our dinner and continue to stop and pray most nights before eating. Its a good thing to pause and thank God for what we have and to refocus on him for our provision. There is an irony in my mind however, it seems to me that God may not want to bless our food. As I continue read about our industrial agricultural food system that feeds us, I question more and more whether our food warrants God's blessing.

Would God bless a dinner that is supporting a food system that ruins the soil it came from? A system that pollutes our air, water, and the food itself? A system that exploits poor nations and workers, diminishes biodiversity, drives farmers out of work, supports corporate monopoly, and creates public health decline?

Let's ask ourselves a simple question: instead of asking God to bless our food, shouldn't we be asking God if our food blesses him?

Fields of Plenty by Michael Ableman

Just finished this book a few days ago. A fun story of a farmer touring sustainable farms for a summer. Interesting reading about the different farms from a farmer's perspective. He's very gracious and is able to see the hope and passion in each farmer's life. Here are a few quotes I like:

“People’s perception of scale is influenced by the relatively recent idea that farms should be big and far away from the communities they serve.... As a society, we no longer have a concept of what an appropriate community-based scale would be for our farms. They have become factories cranking out product, reducing valuable living soil to an inert medium for holding plants up in the air and turning independent farmers into cogs in a corporate machine.” p.119

(quoting Tom Willey), “ ‘We must consider it a scientific fact that you are what you eat, the same molecules that make up the food we consume become the molecules of our minds and bodies. So, unless you are your own farmer, you should choose one as carefully as you would choose your doctor or your pastor. Therefore, it is fitting that farmers, like doctors, lawyers, professors, and pastors, should command a high level of respect and income, commensurate with this level of responsibility. I consider it an honor and a privilege that you have chosen me to be your farmer.’” p. 74

Epic dinnerness!

Mac and cheese from scratch using raw sharp cheddar and blue, roast beets sauteed in butter and balsamic vinegar topped with blue cheese, roast broccoli and a sourdough baguette (not homemade). Can you say delicious?

Chocolate Chippers

Alisa eat your heart out. These may be the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Pastured butter, organic evaporated cane sugar, organic dark brown sugar, and I added a little whole wheat which stass actually prefers now. It gives it a little back bone and more complex flavor (actually can taste the wheat)!

Winter food

No local salad greens at the farmers market so I have had to resort to California greens... oh well, at least its only one state away. Used hood river apples and local blue cheese. The dressing was raw apple cider vinegar, olive oil, flax seed oil, and local egg yolk. Yum!!



Some tasty mexican food. Home made tortillas, pinto beans, local green onions, local greens, chicken (not local), raw milk cheddar cheese, and sauce using new mexico chiles, tomatoes and spices.

Listening to our critics

Lately, because of my warehouse job, I have been listening to music all day including (but not limited to) lots of punk rock. One common trait of punk is strong oppisition to government, religion, establishment, capitalism, etc. (which, among other things, is why I enjoy it). Usually when punk bands sing about religion they are specifically targeting Christianity, probably because it has been the dominant religion of the west. Today I listened to a few bands (Bad Religion, All, for example) brashly sing against the violence that many Christians turn a blind eye to, or worse, rally behind.

I think for many Christians it is easy to get defensive and start to make excuses for things, pass the blame onto someone else, or write off the critic as a bad person who is wrong. But I think that what we need to do is admit that our critics are right in their critique of Christianity. Many of the things that our critics say are very true. Some critics aren't always right and can be fairly belligerent but thats not the point. The point is that we need to listen, that we need to admit our problems, learn from them and ask our critics how they think we should correct these things.

I had this revelation a few years ago: That when I had arguments with people, they were usually partly right. This is hard to see of course because when our feelings get hurt or we're offended we usually act defensive and become stubborn beyond reason, and the disagreement never gets resolved. But in retrospect we usually see (if willing) that the person in disagreement with us usually has a point and is somewhat right.

In religion, most of us never make the next step after facing disagreement to actually consider the validity of our opponents' argument. We usually claim something like because our opponents are 'unbelievers' that somehow they just don't understand and will always be wrong. This just isn't true. Many times people on the outside looking in are very accurate in there analysis of us. Now, of course there are many things that we all will not agree on, but next time someone starts criticizing you or your beliefs, stop, listen, and consider their point.

I think we will find that once we come to terms with our critics accusations (that modern Christianity is too violent, too consumeristic, too judgmental, too far removed from Jesus's teachings, etc) we will be able to become reconciled to our critics and our world.

Everything must change

Just finished Brian McLaren's book Everything Must Change. McLaren is one of my new favorite Christian thinkers. His books make me excited to be a Christian again. McLaren has a chapter in this book on 'Theocapitalism'. A really interesting topic of how we have turned our monetary system into our God. He goes on to list a new set of spiritual laws in this theocampitalistic society. Provocative! Go read it.

He's not as quotable as Wendell Berry but he uses incredible quotes from others. Here is one of his, and one he quotes.

“But this insurgency can never use the weapons of the occupying regime; otherwise, it simply becomes another manifestation of it. So it is a merciful insurgency, a wisdom insurgency, a hope insurgency, a generous insurgency, a courage insurgency, a compassion insurgency, a faith insurgency, a peace insurgency.” p. 129

“Only a fraction of our sins are personal. By far the greater part are sins of neglect, sins of default, our social sin, our systemic sin, our economic sin. For these sins Christ died, and continues to die. For these sins Christ atoned, and continues to atone.... As long as evangelism presents a gospel centered on the need for personal salvation, individuals will acquire a faith that focuses on maximum benefits with minimal obligations, and we will change the costly work of Christ’s atonement into the pragmatic transaction of a salvific contract.... The sanctifying grace of God in Jesus Christ is meant not just for the sinner but also for a society beset by structural sin.” -David Lowes Watson and Douglas Meeks