Books

Being Healthy and Skinny (The Hyles Way!)

127 Comments

From the book description:

When failing health, extreme gatigue(sic), pain, obesity, depression, and a myriad of other symptoms began to severely limit her ability to care for her responsibilties(sic), Jane Grafton could not seem to find answers. After being told she would have to live with her debilitating symptoms, there came a point when she realized that he health was her responsibility. Jane began to diligently research women’s health; she has read dozens of books, attended seminars, consulted medical professions, and done Bible studies on the subject. Mrs. Ciny(sic) Schaap, the senior editor of Christian Womanhood, asked Jane to write a book on women’s health from a Christian layperson’s persepctive(sic). Jane shares the practical principles she instituted that have helepd her on the road to regaining her health.

So…what could possibly go wrong with a fundy writing a book full of home-grown “biblical” advice on how to be skinny and healthy?

127 thoughts on “Being Healthy and Skinny (The Hyles Way!)”

    1. If the whole book is full of that many grammatical/spelling errors, it would be impossible to read even if I were to want to. 🙄

      1. Is that a website description or review that someone posted or was that actually in print on the book? If it was on the book, some editors seriously need to be fired.

        1. That’s the official description on Amazon. It’s published by “Christian Womanhood Publications,” a “ministry” of the giant mega church (sic) First Baptist of Hammond, IN.

    2. Darryl was being conservative. George has really “helepd” this woman create her brochure!

    3. She may have consulted “medical professions,” but obviously Jane Grafton did not consult any proofreaders or editors. Just reading the blurb causes me extreme gatigue.

      1. I wonder if Dr. Streeter was the “Medical Professional” she consulted. If so, this book would be worse than anyone here could even imagine. (He was the quack who “cared for” the college students and basically on staff at HAC and FBC.)

      1. aw…thank you. (Would you mind my saying that “A Dangerous Game” was THE single most exciting book of my fundy childhood?)

        2. *grins* thank you. Definitely getting this at some point. Your kids’ books always had more cojones than the other BJU Press stories did. I played tricks from the Jack&Penny books on my brothers. (Reaching out from under the sink with wet rubber gloves on and grabbing someone’s ankles. Didn’t go over too well.) 😛

  5. I love the vagueness when she describes her “debilitating symptoms.” I grew up among fundy health-nuts who sounded exactly like this. They were always giving prayer requests and updates on their “health conditions,” but whatever their health conditions were, they seemed unable to name them. They always looked anemic, drawn, and weary, but they always had looks of serenity on their faces–like they were happy suffering for Jesus. Probably suffering from chronic malnourishment as a result of the “Hallelujah Diet” they touted.
    I think that we are fallen human beings in broken bodies, and there are lots of times when all of us don’t feel the greatest-but that doesn’t necessarily make us unique. It’s just the unsolvable human condition. Nobody feels good all the time. And–surprise–we all get fat if we eat too many calories at church picnics.
    I’m sure that, for whoever typed up this atrocious blurb, the fact that Jane has read “dozens of books” seems like a pretty whopping achievement. For a barely literate person, reading even one book is something to boast about.
    and I also can’t resist commenting on the phrase “looking good for the cause of Christ.” Just how exactly do those two things go together? Never thought I’d hear a fundie woman say THAT 😯
    oh, wait, . . . maybe it’s “for the cause of Christ” to look sexy because it’s your God-bound duty to your husband. And it will keep him from being tempted to be unfaithful to you–which, of course, is ultimately your responsibility.

    1. It’s a difficult line to walk – you have to look attractive but not sexy, appealing but not worldly, well-dressed but not trendy.

    2. My wife stuggle w/ the ‘line’ PW is talking about. I think it helps to know that there is no line as far as rules go. It’s your attitude.

      My poor wife struggles with this because of fundy attitudes that have got into her head. I’m always telling her that it’s okay for her to look feminine and beautiful.

  7. Uggghhhh! Same old fundy theme! Women’s problems are all their own fault! If you just try harder, you won’t be such a loser. Uh huh, being overweight, having fatigue issues, has to be your fault, it’s not the result of aging and going through the change of life. If you just try harder! Guilt manipulation at it’s worst. And fundy women by the score will be lined up to hand away their money on this garbage. Disgusting! 👿

  8. and, as a PS–this books appears to be a reflection of the general attitude, shared among the fundies I grew up with, that we should “not have to live with,” as Jane puts it, our physical imperfections. That people who aer truly right with God have the right to feel good, 100% of the time. If this juice fast doesn’t work, try raw foods. Try green drinks. Eventually you’ll find the philosopher’s stone.
    Seems awfully Faustian and presumptuous to me.

      1. lol–I remember constantly being told by adults in the church that if I would just try the “Hallelujah Diet” then I would be cured of my childhood diabetes. It was insulting to say the least. These people lacked basic knowledge of physiology.

        1. We sure don’t change do we? “Rabbi who sinned, this man or his parents..?”

        2. They seriously claimed a dietary cure possibility for Type 1 diabetes? That’s appallingly stupid.

  9. Sorry, I prefer to get my health advice from real doctors. 😈

      1. I am serious here. When I was in my first Fundy church, the preacher showed us how preachers (Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge) are wiser and have more knowledge than any Dr or politician or counselor or other professional. He then said taht with any sickness, you should come see the pastor first to determine the root causes of your sickness, because we all know that sickness comes directly from sin. It may take several sessions, but he could help you root out the sin and deal with the sickness from the bottom up (At least that is the gist of the hogwash he taught).

        2. And that’s an automatic fail right there. This is what happens when we attempt to make life, especially life in the larger sense, subject to an axiom system. This one is simple:
          a) God’s wisdom is greater than Man’s wisdom
          b) God’s wisdom is made available to us through the Holy Spirit
          c) Those who are “closest to God” get extra helpings of the Holy Spirit.
          THEREFORE: for any problem at all, one should consult someone “full of the Holy Spirit” as opposed to someone who might know what they’re talking about.
          Pernicious, dangerous nonsense. Even in matters of theology, Biblical interpretation, or following Christ in discipleship, history shows that we manage to disagree all the time. Why then would relying on someone being “Spirit-filled” work any better for things which are not directly relevant to he Kingdom of God?

      2. “Dr.” Schaap’s medical credentials are about as valid as his theological credentials.

      1. Bingo! There’s the scriptural justification for liking big buts! No need to lie. 😉

    1. I have. They’re the worst kind. They have boundless energy because they have a good metabolism and think since they can do so much (due to their youth and thinness) everyone else should as well. Our first pastor in Michigan was like that. At least at that time I was young and able to do a lot more than I can now. 😕

    2. Agreed… or in the manner in which my fellow Hoosiers would say it… “I never sawl (sic) a skinny fundy”

  11. One of my favorite passages is Acts 10:13.
    “Rise, Peter, kill, and eat.”

    Love a good salad…followed with a ribeye, baked tater with fixin’s, bread n buttah, some lahbstah, and a good drink.

    And I look good eating it.

    1. and sometimes the drink is followed with a “hic” not a “sic”, just sayin(sic).

  12. Don’t get me started. ugh. My mother has spent $$$ for years on Jordan Rubin’s very expensive Makers Diet. It’s all she talks about and if you get near her she hands you the book. She thinks most doctors are stupid and refuses their treatments. She has NOT been healed, in fact recently she had a stroke.

    1. I took a Jordan Rubin supplement last summer that helped a problem I had after taking very power antibiotics before my surgery. The prescription I was taking wasn’t helping and this supplement helped me in two weeks. I do take some of his other supplements as well which my doctor has recommend I take anyway.

      We eat healthy as a family but we don’t buy organic nor do we think every family should eat the way we do. My current weakness right now is Dove chocolates.

      But I think both alternative and conventional medicine can work together and that’s what I do for my health.

      I’m sorry your mom had a stroke and I hope she will go see a doctor soon. That must be very hard for you to go through.

    2. The funny thing about his diet is how he calls it biblical, but leave out the “wine & strong drink”…

      Fundyism will show..

      1. Jordan Rubin is a Messianic Jew and he admits that he and his family still eat the Levitical diet because he is a Jew. I don’t think that qualifies him as a Fundy. Just saying.

        1. Messianic Jews are a completely other flavor of Fundy.

  13. when and where, exactly, did radical health notions become linked with certain branches of fundamentalism? It seems to go back several generations in many cases. Where did it all begin? Was it Lester Roloff or someone else?
    Or is it just that offbeat health and offbeat religion tend to attract the same followers?

    1. My guess is when the government forced fluoride into the water system.

      It was the first order given by the Illuminati. It progressed from there to eating pulse like Daniel, refraining from bacon and TV dinners, pork, lobster, shrimp, etc into colon cleansing with coffee enema’s.

      1. of course . . . Fluoride! the one-world government is plotting against my God-given right to rot my teeth.
        Although I’ve already had 14 cavities in my brief span—so I think I’ll take my chances with drinking the water of the Beast.

    2. It stands to reason that people who are prone to accepting outlandish claims without supporting evidence would do so not just in regard to faith and politics, but also in health matters.

      1. Great point, B.G. It is really sad that so many people have been convinced that the local mog is always right (by the local mog).
        I preached a Sunday evening sermon at our somewhat fundy-lite church a few months ago on the topic “You are the one responsible for your spiritual growth”. I even used untwisted scripture. Within a couple of weeks we heard how much responsibility God gives pastors in their oversight over the growth of the church people spiritually. From a somewhat lacking exegesis of Heb. 13:7.

  14. The book description title claims the forward was by Mrs. Schaap, wife of Dr. Jack, who pastors a “giant mega church.”
    Are there “mini-mega churches”?

    1. Well, clearly mega-church was insufficient to describe their fundy compound. 🙄

  15. The push to “Be skinny and healthy” is of the world. I have heard fundys say things to the effect that a woman who gets married and lets herself go and become “Overweight” (whatever the hell that means.) is out of god’s will, or is lazy, or is in jeapordy of losing her Managawd. It makes me want to vomit. Comments like that have been the cause of far too many women thinking that the sum and substance of the measure of a woman’s godliness has to do with her body shape. Show me one place in the Bible, just one, that mentions a woman’s weight having anything at all do with anything and I will give you a million dollars.

    1. As far as fatness in the Bible, the story of Ehud and Eglon is all that comes to mind . . . oh, wait, they weren’t women 😯
      I can never remember which one was the fat one, Ehud or Eglon. But I remember furtive perusals, during church services when I was a kid, of the passage where he gets skewered by a sword and craps himself.

      1. Oh, my dear Mag, you’ve misquoted. It is hezekiah 32:15, and it says in the original languages this: “The woman who driveth the oxcart off the shoulder of the road bringeth the family to shame.” So you see, it really has nothing to do with a person’s weight, but with her driving habits.

        1. well there goes MY family’s hopes of ever being able to hold their head high . . . my husband grips the dashboard when I drive 😈

        2. Oops! That was supposed to be Deuteronomy 32:15.

          FWIW. Because it’s totally in context. 😆

    3. I don’t either spouse should ‘let themselves go’ after married. It’s very selfish. Sure sometimes weight fluctuates and things happen. I get that.

      However, many times, obesity is caused by laziness. People eat too much and don’t excercise. Is it fair to your spouse to eat youself into diabetes and/ or a wheel chair so that they have to take care of you? What about sexual attraction? If you marry someone and they put on 100 lbs not because of illness but because of laziness, is that okay?

      1. There is has never been a link between laziness and obesity. Two people can have the exact lifestyle and diet, and one be obese, and the other be thin. With obesity comes health problems, but being within the correct BMI ranges is not an absolute indicator of health. Health should always be the goal, not a dress size or a number on a scale.

        1. I would agree that you can’t make positive connections between obesity and laziness. There is a definite correlation between eating more calories than you expend and obesity, though, which a lot of people tend to chalk up to/think of as laziness. And, unfortunately, some of that has a great deal to do with the quality of food a person can afford. That doesn’t particularly relate to fundies, though. I think there’s a huge issue among fundies with having expectations for women particularly that cannot be met. Emotionally eating ensues because food is something a woman can control in her life. Too many calories for her lifestyle then becomes a big problem over time (pun partially intended). I agree that blaming laziness will often miss the point completely. For a lot of people (excepting the instance where you can only afford crap-for-you food full of corn sugars and processed everything), over-eating is just a symptom of deeper issues–laziness not usually being one of those issues. Whether it’s emotional/mental oppression, depression, or even an arrogance (thinking MOG here–“I’m special, I can indulge in my vice of gluttony and it doesn’t matter” kind of attitude).

        2. MKX, I agree that health should be the goal, not necessarily BMI. I guess my concern is that in a culture that puts too much pressure on people to look a certain way, we may be going too far the other way. Perhaps laziness was too harsh. I’m not sure.

      2. Shut up. Please, shut the eff up. “I don’t either spouse should ‘let themselves go’ after married. It’s very selfish. Sure sometimes weight fluctuates and things happen. I get that.
        However, many times, obesity is caused by laziness. People eat too much and don’t excercise. Is it fair to your spouse to eat youself into diabetes and/ or a wheel chair so that they have to take care of you? What about sexual attraction? If you marry someone and they put on 100 lbs not because of illness but because of laziness, is that okay?”

        That is the most arrogant, outlandish statement I’ve seen yet on this site.

        Templewoman, you too need to shut the eff up. “I don’t know about healthy overweight people. Extra weight brings up just about any health risk, from cancer to stroke to heart disease, high blood pressure…. Weight loss is not a bad thing, and I’ve been feeling much much better since working out regularly. If someone gets the motivation to work out or eat healthier out of this book, I don’t think it’s too “out there.”

        Your obsession with sex and looks is what destroys young girls in American culture. Let me guess, you’re both hetero and proud to be so? Typical breeders.

        1. Maybe you should take your own advice until you can learn to debate properly -_-

        2. Why don’t you get a life and shut the eff up. Give your reasons for disagreeing and look for a response instead of just spouting angry posts.

        3. “Your obsession with sex and looks is what destroys young girls in American culture. Let me guess, you’re both hetero and proud to be so? Typical breeders.”

          You sound like the type of person that would have girls look all pirate manly.

        4. “You sound like the type of person that would have girls look all pirate manly”
          Arrrr, you say that like it’s a bad thing! :mrgreen:

  16. I saayyyuudd “Neva trust a skinny preacher” Amen?

    Pass the steak Ah!
    And the fried chicken Ah!
    And the buscuits Ah!
    And the pie Ah!
    And the cakes Ah!
    And Little Debbie Ah!

    And Awl Gid’s glorious, blessed, happy peope said…

  17. The thing is, this is the thing… for me the way I stay at a healthy weight and improve my general health is mainly by exercising. Actually I would dare to say it makes me look better as well, regardless of weight, because doing sweaty cardio exercise improves your circulation, helps you get rid of toxins and gives you better skin.

    I’m kind of curious to know what her advice is, because I suspect that my (healthy) look good/feel good approach wouldn’t go down well in fundie circles. I would be more than surprised if she is suggesting that the way for a woman to improve her health and wellbeing is to go running for an hour (especially when you take into consideration the garments that I like to wear for said activity 😉 ).

    1. Oh, Bella, you mean you wear shorts above your knee and a t-shirt whose neckline is more than 4 fingers below your collarbone?

  18. And why is Cindy Schaap even being credited? According to the description all she did was ask Jane Grafton to write a book.. Yet she was billed with a 14 word embellished title. And Listing Jane Grafton’s qualifications as having read dozens of books and attending seminars…They really expect people will take this seriously?

    1. It’s the whole fundy cult of celebrity. While condemning the way the world fawns on movie stars and singers, they themselves set up their own idols and treat them as if they are more holy and closer to God than other Christians.

  19. The cover photo for the book should be recaptioned as “Fundy Sister Wives” to stir up an entirely new type of debate

    2. Sister wives? Really? I understand what they were trying for, but all I could really see was Maiden, Mother, Crone — which would get you an entirely different debate.

  20. I really came to grips with how my fundy upbringing had affected my thoughts when I was struggling w/postpartum depression. I had miscarried and then struggled to get pregnant again and when I had a wonderfully healthy baby girl I couldn’t seem to enjoy anything – including church and fellowship w/others. I was still (maybe even to this day a little) mad at God for taking my baby and I quit reading my Bible, became critical of things and constantly struggled with the fact that I had been “taught” (screeched at) that if you are out of God’s will of course life won’t be good for you. I have a degree in Bio/Chem and even knew about chemical imbalances etc. and still couldn’t bring myself to ask for help b/c “drugs are the devil’s tools”. It was truly a day of grace when I saw a doc in my practice who is a Christian and voiced the fact that our entire bodies — including our minds– are touched by sin and things don’t get better by ignoring them. He understood the medical reasons behind my depression but also understood the concerns I had for taking scrips. He prescribed a low dose and it has made quite a difference in daily life! How sad that so many women are out there still trying to put themselves together b/c some pastor says they should be able to.

    1. Fundy leadership’s denial that depression can and should be treated medically makes faithful fundies avoid medical treatment. This is an issue that has hurt many, many people…Including some I know and love. 😥

    2. I praise God for Zoloft! Was on it for a couple of years and it made a world of difference. I also praise God for Ambien when I was going through a really bad season of insomnia. I heard all the sermons on how getting help with drugs was a cop out and worldly and not trusting God enough. To all that I say, respectfully, BULLSHIT 👿 . Had I not gotten on Zoloft at that time I might have just ended it all (my life) for relief.

    3. Scarlett, your problems go a lot deeper than you realize. You’re caught up in this whole “let’s get pregnant and breed” right wing mentality. Let me guess, you only vote pro life (pro freak is more like it) and you consider every pregnancy a “blessed event?” Make me vomit.

      1. Ok, to come on here and make such a lame attempt to start a fight about abortion is pretty weak. That isn’t what Scarlett’s post was about, nor what this site is about, nor what this thread was about. Take your agenda with you on your way out.

        1. I’m confused on your response. Most of us have left fundamentalism and along with it we’ve left behind all the things they are known for such as being radically pro-life and against abortion. I find it hard to believe that anyone here would still hold to some of the vestiges of fundamentalism such as still being pro-life, being all pro marriage (as long as it’s a HETEROsexual marriage), etc. I find it hard to believe that anyone here would still find these 50’s values still something good to hold on to. That poster was probably just surprised that she would still find such beliefs on this place, of all places. It does seem to be a dichotomy to be on this site and still on to these far right values that define fundamentalism.

        2. I know I’m only one person, but I’m a perfect little Fundy and I’m on this site all the time. I may not post much, but this beats reading slashdot for news because I find the news on this blog and its associated forum more relevant. I’m right-wing conservative. I don’t really mind any insulting statements or derogatory statements. It probably is a dichotomy, but is that a sin? (Saying yes makes you a Fundy, right?) 😉

        3. @Shandurkeli
          Um, you’re way off base. You said most. I would replace that with the word “some.” There are a lot of “pro-life and against abortion” people who have left fundyville and are still Christians, but not wacked out fundys, and I don’t theink being pro-life is a mark of fundamentalism.

        4. @Shand,

          I agree with Bob. I am a Christian and a right wing Conservative as well. I left the IFB church nine years ago but I still believe in Christ and I still vote Republican.

        5. Thanks, Mominator. I have found you to be one of the kindred spirits on the Blog and forum. I posted a new thread this morning and Darrell seemed to think it was a duplicate to Greg, so he combined it with Greg’s. I hope and pray that I am not as much of a butthole as Greg. I appealed to Darrell but he refused to let my thread stand. I am done with the forum for now. If I am going to be lumped with the assface who pretends to be a Christian called Greg, I’ll pass. I have opposed the atheists and homosexual defenders time and time again and Darrell never once stood with me, so I guess he is afraid to speak out against them. Yes, I hate fundamentalism, but I am still a Christian who believes the bible is the WORD OF GOD and is inerrant. Every time I say that I get ridiculed by the atheists and Homosexual agenda defenders, and only one or two people, you being one, have ever had the balls to agree with me. Thanks. In real life, it would be an honor to know you. Bless you and your husband as you begin the journey back to a real church, not a funndy circus.

        6. Good grief.

          Apparently you don’t spend much time on forums. Standard procedure is to combine threads on the same topic to keep things tidy.

          We already had one thread on that topic and we didn’t need a separate one. Whoever started the first thread is irrelevant and the merging is not a commentary on any of the participants. It’s just good housekeeping.

        7. My thread was not a duplicate. It was an article that dealt with the issue in an interesting way. I did it for the very purpose of avoiding Greg’s thread.

        8. I am not trying to argue with you Darrell or get you to change your mind. YOu are who you are, and you see things how you see them, and I don’t blame you. I just won’t be lumped with an ignoramus asshole like Greg. I thought I was regularly providing quite a bit of thoughtful interaction on the forum, but my own perception of my input is obviously flawed.

        9. Thanks Bob and bless you and your family as well. I don’t mind the ridicule. In real life, homosexuals are outnumbered so they feel they have to scream louder than everyone to be heard. I think they are just really angry they aren’t getting the marriage agenda done in individual states.

          Anyway, I hope you return to the forum soon!

      2. Umm Thanks (not really) for that 2 bits worth of psychology. For the record, my husband and I have only 2 children and we are done. I do think that it is a “blessed event” when children are born. Gee does that make me weird? Better tell Hallmark then because they make a lot of cards for “weirdos” like me! Don’t know who you are or why you took such a militant tolerant attitude towards my post but dude seriously chill out!

        1. You totally didn’t deserve that evil-minded attack, Scarlett, especially after being so open . Thank you for sharing about your struggles and triumphs. I’m glad you found a good doctor!

  21. Okay, now seriously, I have heard A LOT of stupid stuff from doctors and nurses over the years, as a patient as well as an employee. I will always do my own thinking. With that being said, what I don’t get is that the “Christian Womanhood” magazine by the same publishing club there has a paid advertisement for a provider of HCG “diet” injections. I’m not sure it has registered with the people in charge what they are advertising. Of course, there’s a lot of things that aren’t registering. PS the magazine subscription was a gift, and thankfully has now expired. 🙂

    1. true, but there are skinny ones too – think Kent Hovind. Yikes.
      Anyhow, not having read Grafton’s book, I shall abstain from further comment.

      2. There are skinny ones, I know quite a few. However, where I’m from most are like Billy Kelly, God rest his soul. I’m from the South, so I have to say that, or “bless his heart” to make it okay.

  22. To be blunt, I have always noticed Fundy preachers that are terribly obese. Then they brag about how much they eat, and talk about which icecream they prefer. Then they turn around and scoff at the doctors who tell them to go on a diet.I’ve heard them tell women that they don’t have husbands because they are too fat. It drives me crazy! Gluttony is a sin for preachers, too.
    What they also fail to mention is that Gluttony is mentioned in context with drunkenness. Most of the time, when you see gluttony mentioned, you don’t have too far to look to find drunkenness.

    1. Greg, the grossly-fat preacher ranting from the pulpit about some other (usually sexual) sin happens enough IRL that it’s become a standard trope.

      And a lot of Baptist pastors are overweight; I think it’s from all those church potlucks you find in that church tradition. I know I’m a sucker for certain foods and dishes.

      1. Probably so. I went to a church that had what they “Family Night” and all the old ladies brought food. Jesus was only mentioned at the end of the blessing. I was guilty of gluttony every Family Night! I kinda miss it. . .even though I’m much thinner today.

  23. Ah yes, I remember this book. The editing in the book is a lot better than that blinding review. The book itself is not truly that bad, just a rehash of what we all heard from the fundy pulpit from time to time. Not truly as bad as it could be, but not worth the time or effort of reading. As far as “exercise” at HAC, there was an exercise club that was allowed to walk around the campus with a teacher during the evenings, but that would not have burned the amount of calories necessary for weight loss.

  24. OK, so I can *almost* understand writing a book about being healthy so that you can do God’s work and take care of your family or whatever, but what I don’t understand is where the “Looking Good!” (read: Being Skinny) part came from! What the hell does that have to do with anything?? Healthy fat people can’t further the cause of Christ, I guess.

    1. That is what is implied. Doesn’t it make you want to bash smoebody’s skull in? Ok, maybe you’re not as violent as me, but it has to make you mad.

  25. My first thought after seeing the title of this book was..”You’ve got to freakin’ kidding me!”

    I guess fundies want to get as much work and as many babies out of their women as they can.

  26. I don’t know about healthy overweight people. Extra weight brings up just about any health risk, from cancer to stroke to heart disease, high blood pressure…. Weight loss is not a bad thing, and I’ve been feeling much much better since working out regularly. If someone gets the motivation to work out or eat healthier out of this book, I don’t think it’s too “out there.” Especially not when compared to the many idiotic ladies’ magazines. I have a lot of bones to pick with fundies, but staying overweight is not a cause I’m going to join.

    1. and looking better is a by-product of working out. Compared to me 7 months ago, I’ll gladly choose me today.

  27. Don’t real fundies scoff at natural foods (sounds too hippy-ish) and regular exercise (time wasted not door-to-door soul-winning). I lost track of how many big, fat IFB preachers filled chunks of their “sermons” talking about how real men eat LOTS of meat. Of course, none of this applies to the women…they need to stay nice and fit in order to please there husbands…

  29. I’ve never read this book, but the title itself misses the point entirely, so I don’t hold out any hope for the content. “Feeling great” sounds good at first, but the simple fact is that we won’t always feel good. Minor illness is a part of life, and major illness is not always the result of living an unhealthy life or in some other way the fault of the sick person. Neither of them are even necessarily the result of personal sin. No self-help book is going to change any of that.

    “Looking good” misses the point even more, not to mention that the push to attain the world’s standard of “good looking” causes both emotional and health problems in a lot people (not that fundies would ever admit that they adhere to the world’s standard of beauty). How skinny do you have to be to be “skinny enough”? Everyone has a different standard, and some peoples’ standard demands anorexia. How pretty do you have to be in order to be considered beautiful? Some standards demand a perfection that is impossible without expensive and possibly dangerous surgeries. While most people would agree that those are going too far, the point is that if you’re going to shoot for “skinny” and “beautiful”, there are so many different standards that in someones eyes you’ll never be skinny enough or pretty enough.

    Instead of pushing for silly, superficial things like “looking good”, “skinny”, and “pretty”, they need to emphasize good health. Good health according to proven medical science by real trained doctors. Not self-important preacher’s who think their honorary doctorates or doctor of divinity degrees make them experts in every field.

  30. For a minute I thought the post was about Fatty & Skinny, ie, Laurel and Hardy. I used to refer to them as F&S when I was a kid, and my own sprats do the same thing.
    FTR, I was a Unitarian turned Fundy, now I’m a Buddhist-inspired Presbyterian. 🙂

    1. In Spanish-speaking countries, Laurel and Hardy have always been billed as “Flaco y Gordo,” i.e. “Skinny and Fatty.”

    2. Back when I was a wee lad, long before political correctness had been invented, we had a local TV kids show called “Tubby and Lester”. The title characters, as best as I can recall, (the days of local kids TV were long ago) were loosely based on Laurel and Hardy. As a side note of no interest to anyone but me–one of my childhood friends had been one of the kids in the clubhouse on an episode. A point of jealousy for years.

  31. “For the cause of Christ”
    This is the big lie that taints most of fundamentalism. The truth is, dieting, exercise, image management, and general health have got nothing to do with the cause of Christ. His cause isn’t and never will be about your looks, or even your health. How arrogant do we have to be to think that “the cause of Christ” is wrapped around our self image? Or any of the other random topics that fundies have an opinion about? It’s like this silly “gospel centered” meme going around these days, as if everything we do is about the gospel. It ain’t. And I’m ok with that.

    1. I don’t mind if people see it differently than I, but living the Gospel is really important to us. In the past, we saw the Gospel pretty much as the Romans Road, the plan of salvation. Now we see it as God’s amazing story of redemption, for us and for the world and knowing we’re part of that invests everything we do with a special significance “whether therefore we eat or drink or whatsoever we do”! We also encourage each other that there is a Gospel answer to the issues we face in life. For me, this is so encouraging; instead of the focus being on ME living up to some stringent standard imposed on me by my IFB church, it’s all about Jesus and how His sacrificial death and resurrection gives me power and love and peace and joy.

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