"The discovery of agriculture and domestication of animals some 10,000 years ago gradually reduced the precarious food supply imposed theretofore by hunting and gathering. From its humbler beginnings as a species struggling to survive in an environment that offered few options between feast and famine, humankind could now grow its food. However, whereas the new society of farmers and herders improved control over food production, eventually paving the way to city-states and empires, food supply remained scarce, erratic, and subject tot the vagaries of nature.
Perhaps the best record of those times, the Bible, is filled with food imagery because it was written for an audience that was hungry most of the time, and for whom the abundance of food in the Garden of Eden, the idea of Heaven as a place where food was plentiful, and the promise of a land of milk and honey had a lurid potency, as did those of the vividly described periods of food shortages and famine. This hypothesis also explains why every biblical event of any importance was an excuse for eating and why food was a sacrificial offering to God and the deities of Egypt and Mesopotamia." (Eknoyan, 2006, p.422)
quote from: Eknoyan, G. (2006). A History of Obesity, or How What Was Good Became Ugly and Then Bad, Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease, 13 (4), pp. 421-427
Reading a text for my masterthesis and came across this interesting snippet. Felt like sharing. Thoughts?
That is still being practiced today.
Quote from: dawiw on April 14, 2014, 07:13:39 AM
That is still being practiced today.
True, even the new Christian holidays are feasts surrounding food. Christmass is just a giant feast, for example. And Easter and the forgoing fasting could be seen as a way to deal with scarcity and abbundance of food. This is clearly not just a Christian-thing, though. One could posit the hypothesis in most religions I know, if one stops and thinks about it; modern or old.
Yeah, I'll buy it. Sounds right to me. You can add Thanksgiving from more recent times here. Consumption is still wealth in our minds.
Strange, I saw this picture and was thinking about food worship and this thread just miraculously appeared! I guess even spaghetti monsters get to drunk once in awhile too.
(http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q490/atheola/ramen.jpeg)
Proof of the FSM
He works in mysterious ways.
Hell, jesus bribed them goat herders with fish and wine and stuff.
"Hey man I'm jesus, savior of the whole universe.
- Fuck you asshole.
Want some fish and wine to go with it?
- Thank You my lord. You are my personal savior. Praise the lord!!"
Hey, you want to see food worship, go to a Baptist Barbecue. Hint: don't get in front of any fat people.
Or just try to go driving around the time churches get out... Christians are mean drivers when they want to get To the chicken first! Food is definitely a major aspect of religion!
It's always "the land flowing with milk and honey, " not "the land flowing with porn and video games." Maybe if God had taught them about these things, they would have been more likely to obey his commands.
I've been worshiping food for years, it's more tangible and satisfying than a God!