What Would Jesus Weigh…if American?
If Jesus lived (and died) in Mississippi these days, would he look like this?
There are an overwhelming number of American Christians that find the time and funds to rail against the rights of gays in cases of civil unions and marriage, but will totally ignore “gluttony”.
In an age where people are becoming fatter, and becoming physically disabled due to gross obesity…why is the subject of gluttony ignored? Many Christians regularly ridicule smokers or drinkers quickly labeling these activities as “sin”. They often refer to their bodies as, “temples of God”. Despite the hypocrisy, American Christians in the Bible Belt are becoming fatter.
This time, I decided to go cherry picking:
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
~ Proverbs 23:20-21
There are many other verses that condemn excessiveness and the lack of self control, but yet the rail of other sins are the only that are often emphasized:
Proverbs 28:7, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9, and 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Mississippi is the most religious state
and the fattest state. I guess they do more eating than praying or fasting. 
Atheist blog writer Austin Cline asked back in 2003,
If gluttony is a deadly sin, why are higher rates of obesity associated with greater religious dedication? If America is a Christian Nation, why is America the fattest nation in the world? Should American Christians be a little more concerned about gluttony?
If gluttony of food (overeating) is not a sin, what would Jesus weigh?
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I doubt that the nails would have held him up at that size.
That is what rivet guns are for.
They’d need Limbaugh-sized railroad-track sized rivets for that fat-ass! Love the chicken leg, too.
Right, gluttony and gossip are both grossly ignored as sin.
I have food allergies (wheat, milk, etc), and at the countless potlucks in church, I was always encouraged to have just a little bit. I’m so glad I no longer have to deal with the well-meaning, over-eating Christians.
Maybe we should use the Bible to deny the fat christians their right to eat?
It only seems fair…
Good point! Maybe they shouldn’t be able to marry in certain states.
Haha pretty much.
Nice article, I’ll just repost here what I wrote on reddit.
On this subject… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8129184.stm
Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children (ages 10 to 17) at 44.4%.
That is disgusting!
But obesity is not just an American problem. It is appearing in all Western countries, Even in China this is starting to become a problem, though not yet to the degree it is in Western nations (walking around China there were so many beautiful health women).
Things need to be done to promote healthy eating. Fact is, we can’t reasonably expect the majority of humans to eat sensibly. We are a creature that has evolved in an environment where food was not plentiful, so if you were going to survive, you ate when you could and as much as you could. Put into our current environment with surplus food supplies it is no surprise that this once helpful behavioural trait is causing big problems.
If you’ve got the self control though then eat healthy. For at least two weeks now I’ve cut out virtually all snack foods and for lunch I make a nice salad consisting of lettuce, capsicum (that’s bell peppers to you Americans), celery, cucumber, tomato, avocado, olives and lite French dressing. I have been feeling great since I’ve been eating better, and for dinner I just often have a curry with extra vegetables put in and a good helping of broccoli (I’ve gone for broccoli after reading this article which says that it contains good amounts of superoxide dismutase which is hopefully very beneficial to longevity.)
“But obesity is not just an American problem. It is appearing in all Western countries, Even in China this is starting to become a problem.”
The article isn’t pointing out obesity, it’s saying that christian’s are fools, they don’t even follow their own belief!
I KNEW someone would catch on.
Hehe, well, it’s true. Religious people (especially Christians for some reason) seem to not really know as much about their religion as they claim…
But hey, I can’t say that I blame them… the bible with all those scripts and everything… it’s just too damn much!
Besides the fact that it defies all logical thinking, of course
Yeah, and that’s all fun. Plenty of oppotunities to point out the lunacy of religious people. But obesity is becoming a massive problem and it’s going to place massive strain upon public health care services. Something needs to be done to curb obesity.
I totally agree.
What I was attempting to convey in this article was the hypocrisy among American Christians and the fact that they are among the most obese groups, especially in the Bible Belt.
The hypocrisy was the fun part.
The obesity is the sad part.
We should deny them the possibility of having a family or to adopt. To raise a child to be an overweight individual with cardiac disease is child abuse
Damned right!
I always notice when I see an obese parent somewhere with their child, the child is always obese also. Or on the way there.
Oh come on now, the overweight Mississippians I see every day are not “real Christians!”
Absolutely right! Jerry Falwell and Rick Warren were/are sinners too!
Wow, your post drips of hatred and contempt on a level equal to the Christians whom you attack for their prejudice towards others. Really, as a person whom probably considers him/herself to be better-than-those, perhaps you need to look inside rather than criticize others. Both of you need to show a bit more compassion and understanding. Being judgmental isn’t only a sin, it’s just bad form.
Maybe YOU can start by NOT judging me???
And I doubt if you’re an atheist.
God told me.
I can’t get enough of these ‘atheists’ who post here and say, “You know, I’m an atheist, but I like Jesus, too. And while I agree with your atheist beliefs, I know that you will repent on your day of judgment and JEsus will welcome you into his heart and…” Well, you get the idea.
First of all, there’s no group more deserving of attack than Christians. And I don’t like your use of the term ‘drip’. Just think of it as Chinese water torture. And maybe the giant herds of obese people in this country should look deep, deep inside, if they could see past the thundering rolls of fat. And I say that out of kindness, for I know they will find their way back to the Righteous Caloric Path.
Then you have misunderstood the major subjects in this article. …HYPOCRISY and obesity.
Obesity is a big problem in the US. The people in the Bible Belt are among the most obese folks in the US.
I didn’t make this stuff up.
No Chris, your religious nonsense deserves only mockery and ridicule, no tolerance and respect for your delusions. Yes, rational people do have contempt for your harmful superstitions. You have no reason to believe your crap.
You are the one who needs to look inside, with the help of a psychiatrist for believing what you do. You and your claims deserve no compassion or understanding. They are well understood, and need to have the light of day shown on their idiocy.
There is no such thing as sin.
One more thing, calling yourself a proud atheist and posting crap like this only makes me feel shame to have the same theistic belief as you. Being an atheist doesn’t somehow preclude you from being an asshole also.
We don’t have the same “theistic belief”(as you say).
You’re theistic….I’m not.
(Troll)
Yes, Chris. If you are in fact an atheist, you are proving your own point by behaving like an AH.
The only crap around here is your cult’s delusional fairy tales. Believing any of that nonsense is sick.
And it’s sad that you see rejection of your looney beliefs as anything other than calling you out for the asshat you are.
Well, to be fair, Jesus would be one of those tofu and sprouts- eating long-haired hippies that piss off all the real Americans. No, Rush Limbaugh is more like the Jesus that America deserves.
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There’s no good place for this one, but I’ll post it anyway. Saw it over at another blog. “The problem with Baptists is they didn’t hold them under water long enough.”
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In other news, Sarah Palin stepped down as governor just in time for the July 4th holiday. Just as Russia’s starting to regroup, too! But don’t worry, she’s still on the job until July 26th. Just enough time to loot the Alaskan Treasury.
I’m guessing he wouldn’t weigh much, because he was Jewish I think…
In addition to Gluttony, which Fundies indulge in big time, we also have
Lust, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. I’ll cut them some slack on Sloth, at least when it comes to their efforts to overthrow the Constitution and replace it with their interpretation of the Bible. But as for the rest of the 7 Deadlies? I’d say that they’ve turned them into sacraments.
They’re full to bursting with Pride. If they could revise the Bible’s laws, Pride would be the first deadly sin to go.
Or maybe Lust.
Is stupidity a sin? It should be!
Great question. I found the perfect answer:
There is no sin except stupidity.
-Oscar Wilde
Actually, reputable studies have shown no conclusive or exclusive link between weight and health. Believe it or not, you can be healthy and overweight.
Sure….whatever.
This isn’t a medical blog, but let me light up a cigarette and think about it.
Umm…. I think it’s about the hypocrisy not the health effects. Acting out on your lust by proclaiming your superior Christian values and then leaving your wife and kids to spend the week-end with your lover is not a health issue either. But when you have repeatedly condemned this kind of behaviour in others and called for them to pay a price for it, it would indicate a double standard.
It’s also about the buffet line approach to the Bible in which Christians justify pigging out on certain verses and passing on others.
You’re another person that gets it.
Everybody knows Christians only take their dogma seriously when it comes to hate others.
Atheists are sinners, gays are sinners, alcoholics are sinners, druggies are sinners, people who don’t go to church are sinners, people who want a healthy sexual life are sinners(for example, those who wear a condom), abortionist are sinners(even in life/death situations) . All sinners.
But not gluttons, pedophile priests, people too proud of having jesus on their side (why do they exactly say that? how do they know?), greedy people (vatican?), murderers of abortionist doctors… Those are cool people, those go to heaven.
Ah dude! Disturbing picture, but oh God you’re right. Seriously. I hate that I’m laughing, but I am.
I’m so over Mississippi. Here are some more Mississippi related stats
Mississippi is also:
Ranked #3 (right behind Nevada and Arizona) in pregnancy among women age 15-19.
Ranked #1 in States by rates of live births among women age 15-19
Mississippi also had the dubious distinction of posting the highest rate of obesity in children ages 10 to 17, at 44.4 percent
Sources:
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/07/01/obesity-rates-continue-to-climb-in-us.html
http://womensissues.about.com/od/datingandsex/a/TeenPregStates.htm
Really??