A FEW DAYS ago, on Sunday, I was driving on a highway about an hour away when I passed by one of those mega-sized Protestant temples, a mammoth structure surrounded by acres of parking. It was one of those places where the sanctuary is filled with seats like they have in movie theaters and on the stage there’s a screen with a large image of a cross.

Almost immediately afterwards, I passed two billboards. One was for bariatric surgery. That’s the procedure whereby doctors mutilate the intestines to try to save the patient from gluttony. The other was an enormous billboard for chicken wings. It was a vivid image of chicken wings, somewhat like the one above but even more vivid.

It occurred to me then, as I thought of that temple filled with people who believe Lenten fasting is unnecessary and even decadent because once you believe in Jesus Christ you are SAVED no matter what you do, no matter how many chicken wings you cram down your throat, that Protestantism leads to a culture of obesity. People who are so large that they must travel the aisles of Walmart in scooters are the victims of a theological hoax. They have not been told the truth about gluttony and salvation and have probably never been encouraged to fast not to lose weight but to please God.

— C0mments —

Bruce B. writes:

It’s interesting that you refer to the Protestant megachurch worship space as the “sanctuary.” My wife and I noticed years ago that many of these churches  don’t even call it a sanctuary. The sign as you enter says “auditorium.” I think of a sanctuary as a place where something sacred happens.

A lot of the megachurches don’t even call themselves churches anymore. “Faith community” is what they commonly refer to themselves as. Some Novus Ordo parishes are copying this. The nearest Catholic Church to our home has a sign that says ”Catholic Community” not “Catholic Church.”

Laura writes:

These megachurches are community centers. And people do need community, that’s for sure.

Sven writes:

The reason Protestants have less inclination to fasting is because in the past they were a lot more austere than Catholics the whole year around. No raucous feasts and Mardi Gras for them. They don’t call it the Protestant work ethic for no reason.

Bruce B. writes:

The reason Protestants aren’t inclined to fast is there’s no place, theologically speaking, for fasting in Protestantism. To most Protestants, it’s “works salvation.”

Alan Roebuck writes:

You wrote:

These megachurches are community centers. And people do need community, that’s for sure.

Bingo. And that connects with my Orthosphere post “Peter Drucker’s Key Role in the Corruption of Evangelicalism.” In brief, Drucker devoted the last third of his professional life to promoting (mostly Protestant) churches as the key to social renewal, but since he was a nominal-at-best Lutheran, he had no regard for the actual teachings of Christ and the Apostles. It was Drucker who hand-picked the three most influential pastors of recent decades and mentored them in the application of his management theories to church administration. The bottom line of the Drucker / Rick Warren method (commonly called the Seeker-Sensitive movement): pretend to be theologically conservative, but give the customer what he wants, not the gospel that he needs.

And since liberalism has smashed community, and since, as you observed, mankind needs community, the Seeker-Sensitive movement has succeeded (by worldly standards) like nobody’s business.

P.S.  Actually, most megachurches don’t call it the “auditorium.”  “Worship center” is their name for it. Mustn’t be too “churchy” or we’ll drive away the seekers.

Laura writes:

I know I will not offend you, and I mean this as no detraction of your eloquence, if I say that there is no such thing as theologically conservative Protestantism. It is all revolutionary and there is nothing to prevent it from becoming ever more seeker-friendly.

That reminds me — there is a huge banner outside a local “Evangelical” Church. It says, “Divorce Care.” It makes me think of people driving up and getting divorce tune-ups.

Anna writes:

I live in a city that was recently deemed the fattest city in the USA. Those obese people you see at Wal-Mart are not church-goers, for the most part. A recent study on middle class America found that poor people don’t attend houses of worship near as much as the middle-class.

Middle class kids can afford being in sports and athletics as they can afford the large fees. They get fresh air and exercise. Poor kids are left to themselves and don’t get encouragement to go play outside. Chances are obesity will start early in life for them.

Mega-churches abound in this area but it is not the poor who attend. The middle class mothers enroll their kids in these churches to provide activities for their kids; more physical activity is available. You’ll see lots of overweight people but not much obesity. Fasting in those places? Not likely!!

Laura writes:

I didn’t actually mean that the people who attend Protestant churches are fatter than everyone else. I meant that the culture created by Protestantism leads perhaps to a higher incidence of obesity because it places no value on fasting or on the idea that sins such as gluttony impede one’s salvation.

In Catholic cultures historically, Lent was observed by the society as whole, in the sense that there were even restrictions on foods sold during Lent. There was an awareness of the importance of fasting that must have touched even those who were not particularly religious. More importantly, gluttony is a sin and sin can hurt a person forever. The Protestant idea of justification by faith does not recognize this concept.

The elites in America do think of gluttony as sinful — not a sin against God, but a sin against good health and aesthetics. But they naturally have more self control than the poor, for whom these things are often abstractions.

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