Are American churches too heavy?
Scott Stoll, M.D., has made a strong case. Stoll’s June 3 opinion article on FoxNews.com, “The Obesity Epidemic in America’s Churches,” cites various studies to show that obesity, which is a growing problem in our culture, is particularly widespread in the church. Among the evidence he marshaled: a 2006 Purdue University study that showed that “fundamental Christians are by far the heaviest of all religious groups,” and a 2011 Northwestern University study that found that “young adults who attend church or a bible study once a week are 50% more likely to be obese” than those who don’t. Ouch.
Dr. Stoll, a Christian, links the problem partially to “Platonic dualism,” which treats the human body (and the physical world in general) as effectively irrelevant. One corollary to Platonic dualism is the view that our stewardship of the body is unimportant, because we will one day receive resurrected bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15). This view is impossible to reconcile with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, in which he argues against the Corinthians’ licentious disregard for the body:
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (ESV).
You can find related comments in our prior post on why Christians should take care of their bodies.
Stoll is right that gluttony “has become a secret and acceptable vice in the modern church,” one that church teaching often minimizes or ignores. While the Bible does not make gluttony a major theme, it does speak strongly against gluttony (e.g., Proverbs 23:20,21; Titus 1:12,13), and a proper understanding of our role as stewards should militate against eating too much and moving too little. I can say that as a teacher it is tempting to leave the issue untouched, because I am know that many people are not exercising proper stewardship of their bodies and probably don’t want to hear this. Pastors who struggle with this sin (and the numbers say that many do) may also be reticent to uphold the challenge of God’s Word on this subject, recognizing that they fall short themselves.
I have struggled my entire adult life with my heart attitude toward food, and I realize how difficult it can be to rip the tentacles off this idol. Perhaps you know what I am talking about. If this is where you find yourself, men, I encourage you to address the sin at the heart level. Don’t be content with eating regimens and exercise plans, though those can be helpful tools for stewarding the body. Ask the Lord to grant you insight into why you have chosen this idol, and call on Him for the strength to choose Him instead of food, laziness, or any other paltry substitute.
—Beau Stanley
Titus 1:2? …”in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,…
Good catch, Steve. The reference should have been Titus 1:12-13. I have updated the post.
Having spent most of my life in research, I look at research suspiciously. Are they talking about BMI or just weight? Were the kids in the study already heavy when they came to Bible studies, seeking a kinder group of kids then the cruel sort in the school circles? He didn’t even mention pot-lucks (lol).
You raise some good questions, Steve. Correlation is not causation, as statisticians like to say, so the numbers as presented in Stoll’s article don’t PROVE a causative relationship between Christian culture and obesity. I assume this issue is addressed in the studies he cites; note that Ken Ferraro, one of the researchers, makes a pretty strong statement about churches being a “breeding ground” for the obesity problem.
I’d like to think that acceptance and lack of superficiality within the church culture is a contributing factor when people decide to attend church services or Bible studies, and this may very well skew the obesity numbers upwards. The magnitude of the data, however, as well as my own experience, leads me to agree with Stoll that good stewardship of the body is a subject that American churches have not adequately addressed.
At Grace we don’t preach about it. I think I heard Julie say Tapestry had as scripture based course on this. Of course for the men we have the “All You Can Eat Breakfast” featured.
I have wondered if some of the fundamentalists who do drink, dance, play cards etc. feel smug and look at food as the one area where they can find comfort and excitement. No survey or statistics, just a thought.
Perhaps a much larger part of this picture is the marriage that we, as the Church, have with the world. We live in a pleasure-driven society that put a high emphasis on leisure activities. I past times people had to be much more productive with their bodies in order to simply survive. It’s hard to get an ear with today’s Christians that they are much too involved with the world. Sometimes there is hostility at the mere mention of it.
Since scripture warns of being wed to the world we would do well to look at our lifestyles and see just how little time we spend doing crown-worthy activities vs. the wood, hay, and stubble that is far more prevalent. Maybe we should be burning a few more calories for the Lord eh?
I’d like to see/hear some good preaching on just what being married to the world means as well as being separated from the world means. Scripture seems to give clear instructions and warnings but I think few have a clue as to how this should apply in our modern society.