Being overweight = Ungodly?

[Cran]

Just found this article on a size-acceptance-blog.7

This idea never occurred to me and I never heard about it, so I thought I put it up here. ;)

http://bigfatblog.com/seeking-straight-and-narrow

(Not broken because she will not care)

[reds]

I am not even sure what to think of this. I guess if being of size is ungodly... then i am really going to hell.

"If its fun and you know it, it's a sin"

:roll:

[Deleted07]

I suppose one could say its the deadly sin gluttony ?

But yeah, just seems a way to criticise people and point them out more.... Besides... Josh Duggar is the godliest man alive and look at his Buddha Body! lmao!!!!

[meow139]

That just crosses the line...

But on the bright side, sorry Joshie bear and Jimmy Boo, looks like you're going to burn in hell for all eternity!!!

[dairyfreelife]

Being "fat" is a sin? I guess instead of cleanliness is next to Godliness, we have thinness is next to Godliness. What this woman doesn't get it (the book writer) is that being thin doesn't equal being healthy. I am thin because of health problems and there are times where I can hardly eat without feeling like I will become sick. I have had an aunt and some friends struggle with anorexia and bulimia. There's too much pressure to be thin, to have a certain body type and look and be perfect when none of us can achieve that goal. I wish we could stop caring about the exact weight of a woman's body and focus on trying to be healthier and feel better (in the body).

And the gay thing-I think it's a thousand times easier to lose some weight than it is to stop being gay-since being a homosexual is something that's a bit innate in the bio drive of many people. The majority of people are heteros, yes, but it's not hard to find someone who is a homosexual. I know some. I don't think you can always "fix" biology and if you can-let me know. I would love to stop being such an anxious person.

[Angri-la]

I would rather be fat and gay than thin and an asshole fundie. Of course, I will always maintain if sexuality were really a choice, I would be gay; God made me straight, alas.

[Sister Mary Savage]

I don't know if it's considered ungodly in the fundy world but it might. Perhaps the women are expected to look good at all times for their headships and being overweight would ruin their image?

[Rachel333]

I've definitely run into the being fat=sin attitude before. I hate it; it just adds extra guilt if you are fat, and I don't think you need to feel guilty at all. One of the last times I saw my grandmother she had a big speech about how overeating is sinful, but so is being anorexic and we all sin anyway. It was her way of being gracious, but it really irritated me. I really don't think overeating is necessarily bad, and I definitely don't think you've done anything wrong if you have an eating disorder, whether you undereat or overeat or something else.

[The Archivist]

There are an awful lot of LOSE WEIGHT WITH JESUS!!! books out there.

[emmiedahl]

Gluttony is a sin, but like most Biblical sins, it is a lot more complicated than that.

I gained weight over Christmas and now am two pounds into the overweight zone because I had some leftover pregnancy weight already. I have metabolic issues so I really struggle to stay in a healthy range. I sometimes over-indulge, even to the point of gluttony if I am considering that people in Africa are starving while I am having a second piece of cake (and yes, I would love some ice cream on that :lol:). But it is hard to lose weight after five kids, with the 30's metabolic slowdown, and a sluggish pituitary gland on top of that. Also, our food budget is somewhat restricted, so I can't do a lot of diets and cleanses; I have to lose weight the old-fashioned way: by eating less and moving more. Which is also the sucky and more difficult way!

Shaming people and calling them sinners never helps. And it is so totally people-in-glass-houses syndrome because most of the fundies are heavier than me despite the religion.

[Kitty]

I read an article that said Mormon women and girls were more likely to have issues with their self-image as well as eating disorders. I wouldn't be surprised if the same held true for evangelicals: in order to be holy, you have to be as close to perfect as possible, and being thin helps.

Evangelicals seem to think that shaming people works; explains a whole lot about the movement, if you ask me.

[doe]

Shaming people and calling them sinners never helps. And it is so totally people-in-glass-houses syndrome because most of the fundies are heavier than me despite the religion.

Living in the South, I'm not sure I ever encountered the being fat = sin mentality. We had a paunchy preacher who made jokes about ordering a diet coke with his burger n fries, and potlucks were the thing. I knew gluttony was a sin, but it wasn't until I discovered the fundie universe online that I saw the biblical fat shaming.

And on that note, in my fundie lite days I signed up for an online program that dealt with gluttony. I thought it was pretty awful. The daily lessons were repetitive and it called for extremely restrictive eating. I realized that one could easily gain that weight back once returning to eating regular portions.

[crazyforkate]

Not to mention it would be hard to stay thin after 15-20 pregnancies...I'm surprised Michelle Duggar's abdomen is still attached to her body, frankly.

[Kitty]

Living in the South, I'm not sure I ever encountered the being fat = sin mentality. We had a paunchy preacher who made jokes about ordering a diet coke with his burger n fries, and potlucks were the thing. I knew gluttony was a sin, but it wasn't until I discovered the fundie universe online that I saw the biblical fat shaming.

And on that note, in my fundie lite days I signed up for an online program that dealt with gluttony. I thought it was pretty awful. The daily lessons were repetitive and it called for extremely restrictive eating. I realized that one could easily gain that weight back once returning to eating regular portions.

I have to agree with this, many of the conservative churches are a part of the 'clean plate club' so I was actually shamed for being thin pretty much all my life. It wasn't really connected to religion, though, and I don't recall anyone in my last church who was really overweight. It was mostly out of church, and it didn't really kick in until I was in high school, well after my family left.

It doesn't surprise me, though, that some have jumped on the fat-shaming bandwagon.

[Deleted08]

I love BFB, it's great!

Ah, the weight issue. The old fundie group I ran with was fine with fatness, because if you

were modest enough no one could see it LOL :P.

The fundies see if you're fat, you're worshipping food instead of Christ. Heaven forbid you have a gland condition or something.

Shallow as a puddle of water.

[fakepigtails73]

Not to mention it would be hard to stay thin after 15-20 pregnancies...I'm surprised Michelle Duggar's abdomen is still attached to her body, frankly.

No kidding!

I'm actually surprised that she seems in better shape phys. than in the "17 kids" days. Must be the 1hr on the elleptical every day thing. That's motivation; I have a treadmill that is more often used as a clothes hanger than as an exercise machine.

re: "fat" and religion...Just another way to control the women, by telling them "thin=godly". And what about the men? If it's good for their women it ought to be good as well for their men, no? (looking at you Smuggar).

One of the meds that I am on made me gain some weight, and I hate it. I am a bit lazier than I used to be, I should motivate myself more to hit the gym 5 times a week...Good news is that my Doctor and I decided that in early March I'll taper from that medication, so I guess that in time when I won't be on it anymore I won't have the insane cravings that I have nowadays...And you know that the cravings ain't about brocoli or carrots, even if I do love these! :doh:

[BogoPogo1]

Does anyone remember Gwen Shamblin? gwenshamblin.com

As I recall, she managed to start a whole church based on fat control. I think there may be a survivors group out there, I'll have a look. In the meantime, her site is worth a gander.

Also, there is this article about the undercurrents of the belief system and effects it has on the members.

http://www.spiritwatch.org/RFfearxtianity.htm

"After indoctrinating them through their interaction with the Remnant culture with the fear of being overweight and with unquestioning trust in her ability to relieve them from their fears using "God's laws", Shamblin then drives home her true agenda. She uses her views on fearing God and hating sin to warn her followers, supposedly from the Bible, that there will only be a "remnant" of people on the earth who will please God and trust Him enough to follow what she claims are his appointed boundaries in terms of hunger and fullness, holiness and profanity. She paints a shining, radiant vision of a perfect land called Zion where God is exalted, the people are pure, the children obedient, and the faith of its inhabitants is undefiled by the carnality and sin of the age. It's a refuge of the steadfast "remnant" of true Christians, holding their own in a world doomed to judgment, a land of attractive, well dressed and slimmed-down men and women all too ready to extend their undying love to you - once you join in their quest to remain "pure" by becoming a baptized member of Remnant. "

edited to add juicy tasty tidbits

[reds]

My father, typical patriarch, was a shaming for your own good kinda fella.

I have been overweight since i was six. I coped with stress and everything else with food. I was a good binger.

So the shaming one make the issue worse. I only hid the food better and gained more weight.

He continued until i was married because one of his main arguements was i would never find a husband if i was fat.

One of his compliments was "at least you are strong, men like a strong helpmate."

:shock:

[Hane]

I think most of this attitude is tied into commodifying women. You know, because no man wants a fat chick. :eyeroll: