new VF conference

[Mommy22alyns]

I think a very common food heresy is not putting ketchup and onions on a burger.

Damn, that makes me a heretic.

[Brainsample]

I am about to check about a book on evangelicals and dieting called Born-Again Bodies, as I was wondering what the connection was between their form of Christianity and the focus on weight control. I suspect that it's more about disciplining bodies than health in the same way they attempt to discipline people into "proper" sexual behavior, attire, and gender roles.

Here's my question for Doug. If he had to cook 3 meals a day from scratch for his family, how would he find time for his manly jaunts and highfalutin conferences? He might, like lots of adults everywhere, be tempted to use convenience foods occasionally. But of course rather than examine the way that the current structure of work and family in the U.S. makes it difficult to find the time to cook, shop, and serve healthy meals, he's just going to blame mothers and wives for not feeding everyone well. And he isn't going to look at whether or not healthy food is available in all areas and affordable and try to help those who are struggling. They just need to try harder. No need for that horrible statist intervention.

Freehannie,

You're late to the dance on this topic. The looneys beat you to it and came up with it first.

Gwen Shamblin started writing diet books for Christians where I guess you're supposed to pray instead of eat, and she marketed books and video workshops, the "Weigh Down Workshop". She ended up setting up a big church because she became so popular and made so much money. And because she wasn't all that in terms of her knowledge, she ended up teaching several heretical doctrines (in terms of what the Bible says). So she really beat Doug Phillips to the punch on creating a food oriented religion.

[Brainsample]

"Certainly many of the greatest victories, crimes, celebrations, ceremonies, revelations, and judgments took place around events that involved food."

Yes, because oddly enough even the greatest generals, criminals, heroes, prophets, and judges needed to eat. So...they probably had breakfast before doing whatever they did that made them famous. And perhaps they had dinner afterwards. Gosh, the culinary revelations.

What next, a conference on the theology of breathing? "Hear Dr Joe Morecraft III preach a powerful message on common respiratory heresies."

That will come after the theology of bathroom cleaning. Don't disappoint all of us that who are saving our shekels to go to that one.

[thoughtful]

I'm saving my money for the "theology of bathroom cleaning" conference that is sure to follow this one, since they've clearly run out of ideas.

I've researched some potential merchandising.

The Steve Maxwell toilet brush:

The Ray Comfort/Kirk Cameron model:

A general "we hate women in positions of power" one:

And, sadly, nobody has yet thought to make a "Sword in the Stone" or "Anaconda-handled" one, so this will have to do as the Doug Phillips model, since it's in a cute but inaccurate military uniform that it has no right to wear:

[onlyorganic]

I see Joe Morecraft is listed as one of their special entrées; seriously that guy is like 300 lb. It would be funny if he was speaking on “Food and Frugality”. “Avoiding Food Heresies” just cracked me up.

Um... this man will tell me about the importance of being healthy? Will Colonel Sanders also be featured as a guest speaker?

visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/2011/06/9490/

That's not me being mean. If Mr. Morecraft can sit in the greatness of St. Peter's Square bein' a douche-a-roo I can snark.

[Buzzard]

I'm also guessing we're going to learn all about teh gayz and fast food. The only fast food restaurant you will be allowed to patronize is chik fil a due to its kristiehn values and possible sweet tomato since they e verify to keep the illegaylz out. Teh gayz eat everywhere else so thats bad. Sorry christina, arby's isnt on the list.

[thoughtful]

More from the planned Taking Dominion of Your Bathroom conference.

Gender roles and modesty issues will be discussed:

[Marian the Librarian]

OMG, the Steve Maxwell toilet brush - that's great!!!

:lol:

[Mompom]

I think a very common food heresy is not putting ketchup and onions on a burger.

Or cheese. And if you go to Smashburger, a mini haystack or jalepenos. :)

[Mompom]

I've researched some potential merchandising.

The Steve Maxwell toilet brush:

The Ray Comfort/Kirk Cameron model:

A general "we hate women in positions of power" one:

And, sadly, nobody has yet thought to make a "Sword in the Stone" or "Anaconda-handled" one, so this will have to do as the Doug Phillips model, since it's in a cute but inaccurate military uniform that it has no right to wear:

Love it. These people need to quit paying for this drivel and take their children somewhere fun.

[thoughtful]

OMG, the Steve Maxwell toilet brush - that's great!!!

:lol:

It's definitely "him."

I wonder if he'd make Teri clean the toilet with Diet Pepsi.

[Brainsample]

I like the Ray Comfort one, complete with the banana that fits perfectly in his hand... Too funny.

[thoughtful]

I like the Ray Comfort one, complete with the banana that fits perfectly in his hand... Too funny.

But would it drive him nuts that it's a monkey? :lol:

[Brainsample]

But would it drive him nuts that it's a monkey? :lol:

That's part of the beauty of it, but he might not even see the irony.

[libmomj]

So Doug wants to jump on the foodie broccoliniwagon. I actually think he's a little late to the party for VF to fully capitalize on kitchen merchandise. Giada is in Target, Duff is in Michael's, and Top Chef is in its umpteenth season/spin off. I'm pretty sure the fundie bloggers can locate a Vit-a-mix blender online without an additional VF markup.

The Botkinettes could become VF's celebrity "keepers of the hearth" (no formal chef training allowed for the womenfolk). Perhaps that's how they will lure themselves a worthy headship.

[FuManchu]

All joking aside, it will be fascinating to see how the suggestions at this conference (which I'm sure will be resold as a study guide and CD) square with all the other Vision Forum materials encouraging you to buy cheap food in bulk and freeze it so you can afford to squeeze out that extra child.

[gilora]

There will likely be some lecturing on how wives must keep themselves slim and in shape so that their headships won't stray.

[pfamilygal]

Oh wow, they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren't they?? I see that the presenters are (mostly) the usual suspects, although I don't see Daddy Bot anywhere on the list...perhaps he did not want to dress up as a farmer for the event?

I'm saving my money for the "theology of bathroom cleaning" conference that is sure to follow this one, since they've clearly run out of ideas.

Come on. Fundies don't poop. They can't have any more waste left in their bodies after they spew it all in their words.

[Soldier of the One]

Late to the game here, but I actually think this is one of the few (if not only) VF conferences that kinda... makes sense?!

Hear me out, guys! :lol:

It doesn't make sense in the fundie way but contemplating our food, our food culture and our food habits in and of itself *does* make sense. Food is a huge part of our lives and a big factor in our globalized economies. Food influences us from the global perspective (think GMO's, environmental concerns, climate change, agri-business and food scarcity) all the way down to the personal (think fastfood, obesity or eating-disorders, personal, ethnic or religious food cultures, the relationship to our families and bodies etc). So pondering our relationship to our food, our bodies and ourselves is not a bad idea at all.

... if it were only executed in a *reasonable* way.

Religion does have a lot to say about food, at least mine does. But VF made me lulz, especially regarding the remark regarding 'the ceremonial law of Moses'.

And AthenaC: I think I love you. That Lamentations quote was classic, if not a little morbid :)

[Olive Plant]

A quick Google search on Francis Foucachon, the French chef on the program for this event, reveals he is involved in something called Huguenot Heritage Ministries, an organization concerned with "the re-evangelization of Europe." I'm betting he and Dougie became fast friends during one of Dougie's recent VF junkets.

Francis was a chef in Moscow, Idaho, for awhile. He went/possibly still goes to Doug Wilson's church. I went to his restaurant. It was awhile ago, but I remember being slightly disappointed, because someone had told me it was really good food. It wasn't bad, but it by no means was the best food I've ever had. Not even close. It had the distinction of being one of the top two or three best restaurants in a small college town, which is really not hard when you're charging that much for an entree, and it shut down after a couple of years, I think because of financial problems. Also, I remember being put off by the decor and the choice of flatware. They had Eiffel tower flower vases and some equally cheap-looking French-cliche stuff strewn around. I kept thinking: really? An "authentic" French restaurant with ugly Eiffel tower flower vases? How could any self-respecting French chef be OK with that? And what's up with these cheap-looking plates?

Of course, I'm sure if you've never been anywhere other than Denny's and your own pork-and-beans kitchen, such an experience would be beyond compare. And I'm sure Francis would have some OK cooking tips... the mere fact that he's a man could throw a jolt into these people's worldviews. I mean, if men can be chefs, and boys need to train for potential careers, isn't it usurping their places for women to spend time in the kitchen, then?

[defrauding]

I'll bet $10 that they say food started going downhill when women started working outside the home (a view held by quite a few people in the Slow Food movement), and $20 that they will somehow connect food with abortion.

Does it count if Michelle Duggar makes a surprise appearance and presents one of her culinary abortions?

(Also, Brainsample's "epistemologically self-conscious" comment cracked me up once I got the reference.)

[Brainsample]

(Also, Brainsample's "epistemologically self-conscious" comment cracked me up once I got the reference.)

This is actually something that Doug copped from Rushdooney, so he didn't even come up with that as his own original idiotic statement.

Some of the people who followed Rushdoony use the term, but it's generally part of an ivory tower academic discussion..... Ridiculous.

[marmalade]

That will come after the theology of bathroom cleaning. Don't disappoint all of us that who are saving our shekels to go to that one.

JimBoob Duggar and Sons will be the guest speakers for that seminar. They know the ins and outs of RV septic clog repair, a must for your family's jaunts to the film festival or homeskool konferences.

[AnnieC 305]

Yeah, I'll jump in late.

First off given that Upton Sinclair was an actual card-carrying Socialist who founded the California branch of the ACLU, and given that These People seem to believe that you can get an authors political/religious cooties off their work (Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery) I seriously doubt that Doug has read "The Jungle".

Second I read an article in I believe the NYT (which I now cannot find) which spoke on the idea that many in the south/bible belt feel that all this talk of healthy eating/organics/sustainable eating/local eating and so on were all some kind of elitist/liberal/hippie ploy to Destroy America and demonize the culture, or some variant of the usual cr@p. If that is the case and given that Michelle Obama ( ) supports the healthy/organic food movement, I really wonder if Doug can actually spin this in a way that his audience will accept. I can't wait to see how he tap-dances around this one.