How Christian are Americans in practice?

[Tietjen]

Your last line is really disturbing. We’re talking about starving people and America’s problem huge problem with obesity, and you joke about eatting yet more.

I hope you ate a little less in order to give more.

As a matter of fact, breakfast is the only meal of the day that I usually eat. And yet, you again ASSUMED that I was sinning because I was eating that! I am trying to take you seriously but I’m sorry that ability seems to escape me. Would you have me wrap up half my breakfast and send it to a 3rd world country?

 

[Techno2000]

I’m not talking about going to church and saying prayers. I’m talking about how Americans live.

I found this stat recently, and I had to wonder how many of these people are professed Christians.

"Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 66.3

Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 32"

About 1/3 of the country is obese. Fully 2/3 is overweight.

Americans like to think of themselves as the most religious country in the world. They like to think that they lead the world in compasion, charity, and all things Christian.

How can we claim this knowing that so many people around the world and even in this country are malnourished?

How does a fat country claim to be Christian while it makes itself still fatter by eating like pigs while watching news reports on TV of starving people?

If you are overweight now but weren’t always, does seeing these stories more now than it did when you weren’t overweight?

The proud Pharisee ‘prayed’ this prayer: Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't commit adultery, I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.' But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored. Luke 18:11-14

 

[Tietjen]

kalt:

Take the time to think about the obesity epidemic in the US and the condition of others around the world. Are you really proud of this?

It’s not a matter of pride. It is what it is. There will always be poor and hungry people. There always has been. Yes, we should and do attempt to help them, yet always there’s more. You almost seem to be suggesting that when Americans hit the $1 menu at McD and get the 2 apple pies, they should mail one to a third world country or at least scour the alleys looking for someone who looks hungry. This is impractical and ridiculous.

kalt:

Do you measure how well we are living up to God’s will by comparing us to others?

Do you measure a nation’s Christian legitimacy by how much it’s people weigh?

kalt:

I think there’s a higher example given to us in Jesus.

Would Jesus be satisfied that Americans give only what is left over after we’ve eaten so much that 66% of us are overweight, and diabetes and heart disease are rampant?

I don’t know… would Jesus address a multitude and call them “pigs?”

kalt:

You obviously don’t like this topic. But the facts are the facts.I haven’t singled any person out. I haven’t implied that anyone here is overweight. I talked only about the condition of the US in general.

I have nothing against the topic. I do take offense to your badmouthing the American people, your judgmental attitude towards an entire nation’s population, and your overall methods used solely to elevate yourself above a people whom you see as less than Christian. As though your opinion even counts.

 

[Cinette]

I posted about consumerism in America several months ago. Some agreed. Others thought that we have little responsibilty for the rest of the world. Having 4 TVs while others go hungry is OK to some–not OK to others. It is tough to know where to draw the line when it comes to durable goods. No one “needs” even a single TV. Are we called to live as paupers? I don’t think so.

But I brought up the obesity problem in the US because it’s so clearly easy to draw the line. If you’re eatting to much, eat less and give the extra to someone who needs it.

It’s truly comparing apples to apples (food consumption to food consumption).

I’m not too sure how many Catholics even know that gluttony is a sin.

Talking about eatting too much is apparently a taboo subject in America, unless it’s on the Oprah show.

Gluttony is a sin, but few Americans want to look at it.

They’ll talk about the rich having air conditioned dog houses, jets, and 15 room mansions. They’ll say that they should give the money to help poor people.

But will they look at how their overeatting habits are out of line with their religion?

Hi Kalt -

I am dying to tell you that eating has only one t - you have made this error more than once!

Apart from that I believe you have raised a very good point. It is true Americans are grossly overweight. It is true they are self indulgent. It is true that it is a sin to indulge in self-gratification when there are so many starving people.

I think you have begun a very good thread and I hope many people will offer their wisdom and comments.

Will be watching you.

 

[kalt]

what is the possible connection you see between the fact that I may be overweight, and news stories of starving children? do you know my medical history? do you know what I do materially or don’t do for starving children? where is your certificate from the Pope appointing you to judge other people? and what does my being overweight have to do with American foreign policy or whatever your real agenda is today? With what warped logic did you leap from “some people are overweight” to “Americans, even those professing to be Christian, do not help the poor”. Check out a logic class in your local community college why don’t you. then you can see if they have a moral theology course, since yours is whacked

we can talk about being overweight all day long, in fact, we have several dieting threads. What we cannot talk about is “oooh you are overweight, what a sinner, you must hate starving children because every bite you take is food out of their mouths”

I think you need to look at the sin of gluttony.

I didn’t say that overweight people don’t give food to the poor.

The connection between Americans’ overeatting and starving children is obvious.

Our parents’ admonishment to eat everything on our plates because there are starving children in China didn’t make much sense.

If you eat a normal amount of food for a person your height and build, then that isn’t gluttony.

There was a very interesting study that involved people who self-reported that they only ate 1200 calories per day and couldn’t lose weight. The scientists fed those people 1600 (or maybe 1800, I read it many years ago), and every single person in the study lost weight.

Americans tend to underestimate their calorie intake, and overestimate what a portion is. I think they said that a person will pour a bowl of cereal and call it 120 calories. In reality, they’ve poured about 2.5 servings. They really ate 300 calories.

I personally like to ignore any calories that are sweet and can be bought at the register.

For those who’ve been making personal attacks against me, the reason I asked this question in the first place is because I’ve been on a unbelievable eatting binge. I’m not overweight by the charts, but only because those charts are very generous. I do consider myself overweight. And it’s because I eat more calories than I need. It’s too bad more Americans can’t be as honest about how they eat.

And, not that it’s any of your business, I have a degenerative neurological disease that has no cure and no good treatment, and that makes it difficult to move. Still, that’s no excuse for overeatting. If I’m not moving as much as I once did, I obviously don’t need as many calories.

 

[kalt]

This a rehash of the fallacy of fat equalling wickedness.

Americans are probably more fat because of what they eat (processed foods high in refined carbs,sugars and salt) than how much they eat.
in addition our lifestyle denies many Americans the opportunity to be physically active. I know many many people who juggle multiple jobs, sick spouses or parents, and children. They simply have no time for exercise.
NPR did a piece about how your income was directly related to general weight trends. Guess who was fatter?(hint: it wasnt the rich)
In olden times corpulence probably did indicate excess but today I think chemistry biology and technology are better explanations

This is a thread about the sin of gluttony.

It seems that no one here, despite the info I provided, believes that it’s a sin.

It’s listed in the CCC!

Why do you choose to believe that gluttony isn’t a sin?

How does someone justify eating (thank-you, Cinette ) himself sick (heart disease, diabetes, and all weight related diseases and conditions {bad knees, backs, etc]), when that food could go to someone who needs it?

 

[kalt]

More on gluttony from the Catholic Encyclopedia

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Gluttony

 

[TheOldOne]

This is a thread about the sin of gluttony.

It seems that no one here, despite the info I provided, believes that it’s a sin.

It’s listed in the CCC!

Why do you choose to believe that gluttony isn’t a sin?

---

You answered none of my points. You simply restated your position that overweight=gluttony=evil=Americans are evil.

I don’t doubt that gluttony is a sin.

I do doubt that every “overweight” person is a glutton.

Our bodies are not perfected vessls left here by the Lord yesterday. They evolved through millenia of feast or famine conditions and are programmed to suck up calories when there is plenty to be had. Combine this with a society that is constructed in an idiotic fashion to maximize unhealthy behavior and you have a problem.

Your approach is simply to condemn. What is called for is rationally changing our society to improve health.

The French are thinner than Americans, are they more virtuous? More Christian?

 

[nebula]

I’m not talking about going to church and saying prayers. I’m talking about how Americans live.

I found this stat recently, and I had to wonder how many of these people are professed Christians.

"Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 66.3

Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 32"

About 1/3 of the country is obese. Fully 2/3 is overweight.

Americans like to think of themselves as the most religious country in the world. They like to think that they lead the world in compasion, charity, and all things Christian.

How can we claim this knowing that so many people around the world and even in this country are malnourished?

How does a fat country claim to be Christian while it makes itself still fatter by eating like pigs while watching news reports on TV of starving people?

If you are overweight now but weren’t always, does seeing these stories more now than it did when you weren’t overweight?

I should point out that the problem with world starvation isn’t that Americans are eating up all the food, the problem is that there isn’t a way to get the food to the starving people. There is enough food in the world for everyone. The sad fact is that corrupt governments and lack of infrastructure make it exceedingly difficult to feed everyone.

 

[BlestOne]

I should point out that the problem with world starvation isn’t that Americans are eating up all the food, the problem is that there isn’t a way to get the food to the starving people. There is enough food in the world for everyone. The sad fact is that corrupt governments and lack of infrastructure make it exceedingly difficult to feed everyone.

Not to mention, when we do bring food to areas that need it… it is the greedy evil warlords that steal it all from the people it was meant for. Whose fault is that? Certainly you can’t think it is the Americans fault…

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

I’m not talking about going to church and saying prayers. I’m talking about how Americans live.

I had to respond to this thread - just had to. Okay, so you’re talking about how Americans live. Do you know how Americans live? Before going about your faulty logic, did you take a case study of Americans across gender, race, lifestyle, age and religion? Did you then analyze that data and find any patterns? Did you then come to a clear understanding of the issues?

I found this stat recently, and I had to wonder how many of these people are professed Christians.

So, you found a stat and you linked that to professed Christians. Interesting. I’d like to see your case study data that I asked about above to see how you linked these together.

"Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are overweight or obese: 66.3

Percent of noninstitutionalized adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 32"

About 1/3 of the country is obese. Fully 2/3 is overweight.

Okay, so you have three stats and now you are prepared to say that Christians are gluttons, overweight and don’t care about the rest of the world. Do your research. Then come back and tell us what you found. Otherwise, you’re like a clanging cymbal.

Americans like to think of themselves as the most religious country in the world. They like to think that they lead the world in compasion, charity, and all things Christian.

And I could produce a nice stat that shows that Americans are the most generous nation on earth. Same scenario - did you find a case study that factored in age, gender, nationality, religion, etc? I didn’t think so.

How can we claim this knowing that so many people around the world and even in this country are malnourished?

Because you have faulty logic and false premise you cannot substantiate your claims that Americans are fat, lazy, Christian and non-givers to those in need. Don’t you see that?

How does a fat country claim to be Christian while it makes itself still fatter by eating like pigs while watching news reports on TV of starving people?

How can you summarize Americans this way when you’ve done no research to substantiate your claims? Do you have any case studies that we can look at?

If you are overweight now but weren’t always, does seeing these stories more now than it did when you weren’t overweight?

Again - do you have any data that shows this kind of situation - where people were once thin, became fat and now are gluttons and non-givers to others? You should really think about this yourself. You’ve provided 3 stats that have absolutely no meaning because you haven’t done any research to determine WHY Americans are overweight and what that means.

If you can’t support your position with the available data you should stop the thread now - because you are only going to come across very poorly and no one is going to take your claims seriously. And I’m one of those people.

Peace…

MW

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

Why is it that being overweight is a topic that’s off limits to so many people.

It’s not off topic. But you have such a flawed understanding of the data that you can’t see how ridiculous your claims are.

If I talked about spending our money in other selfish ways, as I did here several months ago, there were plenty of people who agreed. (We talked about having 4 TV’s while others are malnourished.)

And what does that have to do with anything? You haven’t provided any information that shows Americans spend their money unwisely on food and selfishly.

Somehow Americans can see that gluttonous consumption of goods isn’t a good thing. But talk about gluttonous consumption of food–well now you’re really stepping on toes. It’s as if pointing this horrible situation out is the sin.

Gluttony is wrong. The question is: How do you KNOW (since you don’t have the data to support it) that all Americans who are overweight are gluttonous consumers? It’s about facts, not about stepping on toes.

One of you asked me to rephrase the question (while adding a personal insult - yes, that’s just more proof of the Christians values of so many Americans. )

I’ll ask again.

To those of you who were once thin, but are overweight now -

Does it bother you more now to watch news stories of starving children?

And I ask you to share the data that supports your assertions.

Peace…

MW

 

[Cinette]

It’s not off topic. But you have such a flawed understanding of the data that you can’t see how ridiculous your claims are.

And what does that have to do with anything? You haven’t provided any information that shows Americans spend their money unwisely on food and selfishly.

Gluttony is wrong. The question is: How do you KNOW (since you don’t have the data to support it) that all Americans who are overweight are gluttonous consumers? It’s about facts, not about stepping on toes.

And I ask you to share the data that supports your assertions.

Peace…

MW

:bigyikes: :banghead: :dts: uch: :doh2:

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

I posted about consumerism in America several months ago. Some agreed. Others thought that we have little responsibilty for the rest of the world. Having 4 TVs while others go hungry is OK to some–not OK to others. It is tough to know where to draw the line when it comes to durable goods. No one “needs” even a single TV. Are we called to live as paupers? I don’t think so.

Okay, I don’t get it. You started out about consumerism and your last line seems to support having TV’s.

But I brought up the obesity problem in the US because it’s so clearly easy to draw the line. If you’re eatting to much, eat less and give the extra to someone who needs it.

But, you don’t know that obesity is from quantity eating. You’ve done no research to support that. Have you thought for a minute that it may be our sedentary lifestyle and quality of food, not to mention the kinds or lack of different kinds of foods we consume?

It’s truly comparing apples to apples (food consumption to food consumption).

I’m not too sure how many Catholics even know that gluttony is a sin.

And now you are insulting the intelligence of about a billion people. Good one.

Talking about eatting too much is apparently a taboo subject in America, unless it’s on the Oprah show.

No, having no research makes your assertions meaningless and unquantifiable. You just don’t get it, do you?

Gluttony is a sin, but few Americans want to look at it.

Of course gluttony is a sin. Do you know where the line is drawn? Do you know how many Americans are gluttons? Do you know how many Christians are gluttons? Well, so far you have shown us that you have no idea. You just keep repeating the mantra that it is so. Show me the “money”.

They’ll talk about the rich having air conditioned dog houses, jets, and 15 room mansions. They’ll say that they should give the money to help poor people.

The demographic for these kinds of people is probably about 5% or less of Americans. If these people acquired their money legally and still gave a large portion to charity, what would you think then?

But will they look at how their overeatting habits are out of line with their religion?

You have no idea of how many people are overreating though. You have no data. You only have 3 stats that tell you NOTHING about how those percentages work, who these obese people are, their backgrounds, their lifestyle, etc, etc. Talk about head in the sand

Peace…

MW

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

Sin
The Seven Deadly Sins

We should not be satisfied merely to keep the commandments of God, but should always be ready to do good deeds, even when they are not commanded. The commandments of God state the minimum requirements for salvation. They should be kept not merely according to the letter, but also according to the spirit, which obliges us to strive for greater perfection.

Actual sin is any willful thought, desire, word, action or ommission forbidden by the law of God.

PRIDE: Unrestrained appreciation of our own worth.
GREED: Immoderate desire for earthly goods.
LUST: Hankering for impure pleasures.
ANGER: Inordinate desire for revenge.
GLUTTONY: Unrestrained use of food and drink.
ENVY: Sorrow over another’s good fortune.
SLOTH: Laxity in keeping the Faith and the practice of virtue, due to the effort involved.
THE FOUR SINS CRYING TO HEAVEN FOR VENGEANCE

Willful murder (including abortion)
The sin of Sodom.
Oppression of the poor.
Defrauding laborers of their wages.
THE SIX SINS AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

Presumption of God’s mercy.
Despair.
Impugning the known truth.
Envy at another’s spiritual good.
Obstinacy in sin.
Final impenitence.
NINE WAYS OF BEING ACCESSORY TO ANOTHER’S SIN

By counsel.
By command.
By consent.
By provocation.
By praise or flattery.
By concealment.
By partaking.
By silence.

I smell a Pharisee. Brother, please read the writings of the blessed apostle Paul.

Peace…

MW

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

I think you need to look at the sin of gluttony.

And I think you need to do your homework.

I didn’t say that overweight people don’t give food to the poor.

You seemed to imply that.

The connection between Americans’ overeatting and starving children is obvious.

Only to you, my friend. Only to you. Does that tell you something?

Our parents’ admonishment to eat everything on our plates because there are starving children in China didn’t make much sense.

Okay

If you eat a normal amount of food for a person your height and build, then that isn’t gluttony.

Are you a nutrionist? Are you suggesting that we get out our dietary bible list of foods and calories and make sure we’re doing it right? Do you think the Lord Jesus is concerned about that?

There was a very interesting study that involved people who self-reported that they only ate 1200 calories per day and couldn’t lose weight. The scientists fed those people 1600 (or maybe 1800, I read it many years ago), and every single person in the study lost weight.

All by itself without any supporting information makes this information meaningless. So, what are you saying? Since it was self-reported, I imagine the the people MAY not really know how much they are taking in. That’s the problem with stats that you pull out of a hat or study. It doesn’t make any sense unless you provide all the data.

Americans tend to underestimate their calorie intake, and overestimate what a portion is. I think they said that a person will pour a bowl of cereal and call it 120 calories. In reality, they’ve poured about 2.5 servings. They really ate 300 calories.

Ah, I see. So, these people who really aren’t aware of their portions and caloric intake are still sinners and gluttons? Wouldn’t they have to know about it for them to be responsible?

I personally like to ignore any calories that are sweet and can be bought at the register.

Okay.

For those who’ve been making personal attacks against me, the reason I asked this question in the first place is because I’ve been on a unbelievable eatting binge. I’m not overweight by the charts, but only because those charts are very generous. I do consider myself overweight. And it’s because I eat more calories than I need. It’s too bad more Americans can’t be as honest about how they eat.

It’s not about Americans being honest. How do you know that Americans are not being honest? Isn’t it possible that they don’t look at every label and count their calories. They are just taking uneducated guesses? Talk about honesty? How about you be honest and provide all the data?

And, not that it’s any of your business, I have a degenerative neurological disease that has no cure and no good treatment, and that makes it difficult to move. Still, that’s no excuse for overeatting. If I’m not moving as much as I once did, I obviously don’t need as many calories.

If it’s none of our business then why share it? You should probably see a nutritionist who can help you with your diet. That way you can be sure TO THE LETTER that you are not a glutton and keep the new dietary law according to kalt that you want to impose on all of us.

By the way, I’m standard weight now, but lost 45 pounds a couple years ago. I used Weight Watchers and really found out how much sugar I was consuming in a day - not 5 steaks in one meal, but the candy bars and junk are what made me obese.

Go do your homework.

Peace…

MW

 

[BlestOne]

As a once thin person who is no longer thin… I will bite… Does it bother me more now that I am fat to see starving children on TV? nope… it bothers me the same as before. Let me tell you a little something more than I did before… I was not only thin, I was a model and that being said, my dimensions were my livelihood too…

But, I went to school and changed my profession… I am now a computer geek… I build them, I fix them, I network them, I write software, I test software, etc… if it has to do with sensor systems or computers… I do it. Anyway, after putting a husband through college… he left me with 3 kids and no support… so now I was poor too… this is when I went back to school… there were many nights when I didn’t eat so my kids could and there were nights when I mixed together condensed soups without water and convinced my kids it was stew… I know hunger, trust me.

When I got just enough money to eat, I had to make it last… so I bought high carb foods to pack the weight on my kids… they were all underweight too. Through this we maintained “normal to slender” weight. After I finished school we had a few more years of this until I moved up in my career… Then we could afford real food… so I did my best to change our diet to a more healthy array of foods… kids did ok, but my body rebelled because it got used to high carbs… but still I maintained…then my broken leg and miscarriages… the ones I mentioned before. That is when I gained a bunch of weight… 30-40 lbs in a year. This year specifically.

I found myself eating not more food but fatty processed foods because I was burying myself in my work to compensate for my grief so we ate out alot. That is really where the weight came in. I have recently taken steps to change my diet, exercise more and take time to heal from the losses I suffered. While I find world starvation a sad thing… even Jesus said, “The poor in your midst you will always have” didn’t he. He didn’t say that they fat should be ashamed and feed them off their own plates… because we don’t know why each person may have gained weight… or even if it constitutes gluttony do we? In my case it is relatively obvious that it is situational. My grief made me less active and crave foods that weren’t as healthy, while I maintained about the same intake.

So should I feel differently? Should my compassion level change because of my weight? That doesn’t seem right to me. I am still the same compassionate person I was last year before my weight gain. Should I feel guilt? I think it is a reasonable reaction to loss of mobility and death of 2 babies in a year. Does that make me a bad or uncaring person?

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

As a once thin person who is no longer thin… I will bite… Does it bother me more now that I am fat to see starving children on TV? nope… it bothers me the same as before. Let me tell you a little something more than I did before… I was not only thin, I was a model and that being said, my dimensions were my livelihood too…

But, I went to school and changed my profession… I am now a computer geek… I build them, I fix them, I network them, I write software, I test software, etc… if it has to do with sensor systems or computers… I do it. Anyway, after putting a husband through college… he left me with 3 kids and no support… so now I was poor too… this is when I went back to school… there were many nights when I didn’t eat so my kids could and there were nights when I mixed together condensed soups without water and convinced my kids it was stew… I know hunger, trust me.

When I got just enough money to eat, I had to make it last… so I bought high carb foods to pack the weight on my kids… they were all underweight too. Through this we maintained “normal to slender” weight. After I finished school we had a few more years of this until I moved up in my career… Then we could afford real food… so I did my best to change our diet to a more healthy array of foods… kids did ok, but my body rebelled because it got used to high carbs… but still I maintained…then my broken leg and miscarriages… the ones I mentioned before. That is when I gained a bunch of weight… 30-40 lbs in a year. This year specifically.

I found myself eating not more food but fatty processed foods because I was burying myself in my work to compensate for my grief so we ate out alot. That is really where the weight came in. I have recently taken steps to change my diet, exercise more and take time to heal from the losses I suffered. While I find world starvation a sad thing… even Jesus said, “The poor in your midst you will always have” didn’t he. He didn’t say that they fat should be ashamed and feed them off their own plates… because we don’t know why each person may have gained weight… or even if it constitutes gluttony do we? In my case it is relatively obvious that it is situational. My grief made me less active and crave foods that weren’t as healthy, while I maintained about the same intake.

So should I feel differently? Should my compassion level change because of my weight? That doesn’t seem right to me. I am still the same compassionate person I was last year before my weight gain. Should I feel guilt? I think it is a reasonable reaction to loss of mobility and death of 2 babies in a year. Does that make me a bad or uncaring person?

Thank you blestone for that.

Now, kalt (if you are still watching this thread), this is a case study. Blestone has given you information on why they consider themselves overweight. That’s more information than you’ve been able to give to support your position.

Again, thank you blestone. You’ve bared your soul and I just want to encourage you to keep your head high. I will share my story as well, which will be two actual cases to dispel the myth that kalt would have us believe.

Here goes:

I was always very thin, all the way through high school. After I married at 22 years old, my wife (who was young too) and I ate junk food. Our dinners and lunches consisted of frozen pizza, deep fried french fries and always, always a dessert of some kind. No more balanced meals that momma used to make

I also drank about 5-6 cans of soda pop every day that were filled with empty calories. This diet went on for years - 10 years to be exact. Then one day I looked at my 50 pound overweight body, bald head and overall appearance and didn’t like what I saw.

So, my wife and I picked up a weight watchers book and decided we were going to follow it closely. We did. The first thing I cut out was regular soda pop and started drinking diet pop. That was roughly 600+ empty calories a day that were instantly gone. The weight starting pouring off.

I trimmed my portion sizes, cut out the deep frying, cut out the desserts and 16 weeks later I dropped 45 pounds. I actually got to a point where I kept losing and had to add calories to my diet just to keep a medium weight.

For me, my weight was a matter of the kinds of food I ate and drank and the knowledge that came from weight watchers on what foods were healthy and what wasn’t. I’ve gained about 5 pounds back because I haven’t followed the system for about a year.

I feel the same about starving kids in China now as I did before. And statistics from this one site:

kidscanmakeadifference.org/hunfa.htm

Show that 1 in 10 American households experience hunger and 13 million American children go to bed hungry every night. It’s not just the starving Africans who need help. Americans are suffering too. So, before people go spouting mantras of starving people around the world and how Americans are dumb, fat and lazy, they should look at alternative statistics as well.

I welcome kalt’s thoughts.

Peace…

MW

 

[kalt]

I had to respond to this thread - just had to. Okay, so you’re talking about how Americans live. Do you know how Americans live? Before going about your faulty logic, did you take a case study of Americans across gender, race, lifestyle, age and religion? Did you then analyze that data and find any patterns? Did you then come to a clear understanding of the issues?

So, you found a stat and you linked that to professed Christians. Interesting. I’d like to see your case study data that I asked about above to see how you linked these together.

The US is predominantly Christian. The report did break it down by race (and other things), but I decided to make this a people issue, not an issue of which sub-group is more overweight.

Okay, so you have three stats and now you are prepared to say that Christians are gluttons, overweight and don’t care about the rest of the world. Do your research. Then come back and tell us what you found. Otherwise, you’re like a clanging cymbal.

I understand that Americans just don’t want to hear this (unless it’s on Oprah ), but the facts are what they are. 2/3 of Americans are overweight. Almost 1/3 are obese.

Americans should be alarmed by this!

And I could produce a nice stat that shows that Americans are the most generous nation on earth. Same scenario - did you find a case study that factored in age, gender, nationality, religion, etc? I didn’t think so.

Are you comparing what Americans do to other people? Shouldn’t we be using a higher standard? Jesus?

Because you have faulty logic and false premise you cannot substantiate your claims that Americans are fat, lazy, Christian and non-givers to those in need. Don’t you see that?

Again, 2/3 of Americans are fat. You don’t seem to want to accept that fact. Check the CDC site if you don’t believe the stat.
I didn’t say that Americans are lazy. Why did you assume that?
Most Americans are Christian.

How can you summarize Americans this way when you’ve done no research to substantiate your claims? Do you have any case studies that we can look at?

Again, you refuse to believe that most Americans are Christian, and that most Americans are fat.

I didn’t say that all of the overweight people are Christians. I wonder how many of the overweight people are professed Christians. Certainly some of them are. (For evidence, look around your church.) And so my question is about the Christians who are overweight. Gluttony is a sin. It seems that people refuse to beleive that, too, though it’s in the CCC.

Again - do you have any data that shows this kind of situation - where people were once thin, became fat and now are gluttons and non-givers to others?

Do you believe that every overweight person was always overweight? My question was to those who were once thin and are now overweight. I asked how they feel when seeing news stories about starving people. I didn’t say that they are “non-givers”. Why do you assume that?

I never said that these people don’t give to charities. Those of you who have a problem with talking about America’s problem with obesity, and accepting that gluttony is a sin, are making that up because this topic bothers you.

You should really think about this yourself. You’ve provided 3 stats that have absolutely no meaning because you haven’t done any research to determine WHY Americans are overweight and what that means.

If you can’t support your position with the available data you should stop the thread now - because you are only going to come across very poorly and no one is going to take your claims seriously. And I’m one of those people.

The data is very clear. Most Americans are Christian. Most Americans are overweight. Gluttony is a sin.

Why do you have a problem accepting that data?

I didn’t say that Americans aren’t generous. My question is about overeating and what we could do better. Eat less and give more.

Peace…

Peace?

MW

 

[kalt]

It’s not off topic. But you have such a flawed understanding of the data that you can’t see how ridiculous your claims are.

I didn’t say “off topic”, I said off limits.

And what does that have to do with anything? You haven’t provided any information that shows Americans spend their money unwisely on food and selfishly.



Gluttony is wrong. The question is: How do you KNOW (since you don’t have the data to support it) that all Americans who are overweight are gluttonous consumers? It’s about facts, not about stepping on toes.

Did I say that all overweight people are gluttonous> That’s something that you assume, because this topic bothers you. I clearly said in two previous posts that if someone is overweight but is not overeating, that is not gluttony.

And I ask you to share the data that supports your assertions.

Check the CDC for the stats on the weight problem in the US. And check the CCC for info on gluttony. (I provided that info and more in previous posts, btw)

Peace…

MW