Americans seek bodily salvation through Jesus diet

Americans seek bodily salvation through Jesus diet

Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday May 12, 2005
The Guardian

Man does not live on bread alone, but Americans have become increasingly reliant on doughy carbohydrates in their diet. Now many in a rapidly expanding country are asking: "What Would Jesus Eat?"

That is the title of one of a growing number of Christian diet plans crowding the lifestyle shelves of mainstream bookshops. Other bestsellers include The Maker's Diet, The Hallelujah Diet and Body by God. For the persistently overweight, they hold the promise of spiritual and bodily redemption.

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The selling strategies vary. Stephen Arterburn, the host of a Christian radio show and author of Lose it For Life, says: "If you want the world to notice Jesus, it helps to look and live like Jesus. We don't do this so we can look in the mirror and be more attractive. We do it so people can look at us and see Jesus."

Don Colbert, a Florida doctor and author of What Would Jesus Eat?, portrays his book as a way of putting some backbone into weak-willed believers.

"They're letting the flesh rule them and they're eating anything they want," he told the Guardian. "We're making them accountable. Many people will not eat the right kinds of food unless they're held accountable and before they put something in their mouths ask: 'Would Jesus eat this?'"

Dr Colbert said Jesus ate "whole grains, fresh fruits, seeds and nuts, rather than processed food". His book has recipes for Middle Eastern dishes such as hummus.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1481992,00.html

Give up the chips, the candy, the ice cream, the burgers, etc.

Uh huh.

I say this because it's obvious that Jesus and his followers (assuming they existed and were not created out of whole cloth) very likely at least used cannabis, which grows wild just about everywhere it's allowed (I'm uncertain if there were restrictions on it back then, but I don't *think* there were). There's also the argument that the very first Christians were a mushroom cult.

(This is not a slam against the purported teachings of Jesus or the alleged guy himself - coming from shamanistic roots, I hold entheogenic plants to be sacred, and believe that they have had a lot to do with human evolution and spiritual experiences and growth. Jesus' use of cannabis and shrooms would be a positive in my world.)

I haven't heard of any evidence that Jesus & followers used cannabis. AFAIK, I've never heard of it being prohibited anywhere before 1930s USA. It was certainly widely used for various industrial uses worldwide until then.

It's easy to read some sort of drug use into the story of the Last Supper, but I would see it more as something like the kykeon of the Eleusinian Mysteries (almost certainly lysergic acid from deliberately contaminated rye, possibly with alcohol too) although I guess mushrooms would be a possibility too.