How Will It End?

In this episode, we’re going to explore different viewpoints on the end of the world—otherwise known as the apocalypse.

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to a form of [b]godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NASB

A few Bible verses about the end times:

• The Book of Revelation
• Daniel 7
• Daniel 9
• Daniel 12
• Matthew 24

Abrahamic Beliefs

• Christianity
  • There are various interpretations of end time events within the Christian community
  • Commonly agreed upon events are the moral decay of mankind, calamity from war, famine, and pestilence in the land, the return of Christ, and the ushering in of God's Kindgom
  • Most Christians associate fire with the end of the world
• Judaism[4]
  • Judaism is still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah, which is involved in the apocalypse
  • This event will bring about the restoration of Israel and the resurrection of the dead
• Islam[5]
  • Although Islam sees Jesus/Yeshua as a prophet instead of the Son of God, Islamic prophecy expects the return of Jesus during end time events
  • Good will triumph over evil

Science

• The sun will eventually die (probably by supernova[1]). At some point the sun will expand as a red giant,[2] and during this process the earth will be ingulfed by the sun—put plainly, the earth will burn up.
• The earth could also be annhilated by a stray asteroid (or other space debris) colliding into us.[3]
• Climate change also poses a threat
• Nuclear war could also wipe us off the face of the earth

Hinduism[6]

• There is a cyclical view of time which is divided into four Yuga cycles
• The Yuga cycles "descend" from purity to chaos
• We are said to be in the fourth Yuga cycle: Kali Yuga
• This cycle is marked by war and strife
• It ends in a cataclysm event that respawns the first Yuga cycle and takes people back to a state of purity

Jainism[7]

• Also has a cyclical view of time
• Avasarpiṇī and utsarpiṇī make up the two periods of time
• Utsarpiṇī is ascending time (a time of goodness and religion)
• Avasarpiṇī is descending time (a time of decaying goodness and religion)
• According to Jains we are in avasarpiṇī
• At the end of avasarpiṇī, we will return to utsarpiṇī

Norse Mythology[8]

• Ragnarök - "fate of the gods" or "doom of the gods"
• This time period is marked by natural disasters
• "The sun will be darkened, the stars will vanish, and the earth will sink into the sea"[8] (see Matthew 24:29)
• 2 human survivors will repopulate the earth when it reemerges from the sea

Zorostrianism[9]

• A battle of good and evil
• Resurrection of the dead
• Punishment of the wicked

You can see this article for even more beliefs on the end times.

Patterns

While we do not agree on the details, the common thread is that most religions acknowledge we are currently in a state of moral decay and trying to get back to an Eden-like state.

Disclaimer

I believe that all religions and cultures trace their origin back to Adam and Eve. While I believe the Bible to be the true and preserved Word of God, I believe that we can find bits of truth in other religions and cultures. The purpose of this series is to examine the themes that remained universal to highlight universal knowledge--in this case, the pattern of moving from a time of morality and spiritual goodness into sin and immorality, then back to morality.

References

1. Ethan Siegel. "This Is How We'd All Die Instantly If The Sun Suddenly Went Supernova". Forbes. December 27, 2019
2. Matt Williams. "Will Earth survive when the sun becomes a red giant?". Phys.org. May 10, 2016
3. Ryan Whitwam. "NASA: Asteroid Could Still Hit Earth in 2068". Extreme Tech. October 28, 2020
4. Yehuda Shurpin. "Does Judaism Believe in the Apocalypse?". Chabad.org; visited January 2021
5. "Religions on the End of the World". History.com. November 6, 2009
6. "The Yuga Cycles & Yogic Astronomy. What are the Four Yugas?". The Human Origin Project; visited January 2021
7. "Avasarpiṇī". Wikipedia; visited January 2021
8. "Ragnarök". Encyclopædia Britannica; visited January 2021
9. "Zoroastrian Apocalypse". Oxford Reference; visited January 2021

Would You Rather?: Ask or Disobey

Would you rather is a fun game to play, particularly when getting to know someone. A person is asked to choose betwen two things of equal desiring—making it hard to decide and opening dialouge as to why the person chooses the option they choose. Recently I stumbled accross several versions of "Would You Rather?: Bible Edition" and found the questions quite intriguing. I've decided to answer one every Sabbath. Let me know your answer to today's "Would You Rather?" in the comment section.

Would you rather risk your life approaching a king to request salvation for your people or risk your life disobeying a king and refusing to worship his idol?

Answer: Approach to request salvation

Backstory

Esther Approaches the King

After Esther rose to the position of quuen, a hateful man close to the king convinced the king to issue a decree that would cause all the Jews to be put to death. Esther's people were in danger, and she was the only one with access to the king; they needed her to convince the king to overturn the decree. However, in Persia, no one was allowed to approach the king without permission, not even the queen. If a person approached the king and he did not hold out his staff to acknowledge or accept the person, they could be killed![1]

Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego Refuse to Bow

Most people are familiar with the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.[2] Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree that everyone was to bow when the music played or else they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. These 3 young men stayed true to God's word despite the threat of death.

Rationale

In both of these situtation, the person (or people) had to risk their lives, just under different circumstances. When I first thought of this question, I leaned toward refusing to bow to the idol, mainly because these three gentlemen had each other for support. Having close friends standing beside you as you make difficult life decisions definitely takes the pressure off. Ultimately, however, I decided that I would rather take on Esther's situation.

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”Daniel 3:16-18 NKJV

The reason I settled on Esther's situation is because I feel like it would have been an easier decision to make. Although Esther didn't have two friends at her side ready to die with her, she didn't have much of an option. Had Esther chosen not to approach the king, the decree to kill the Jews would have caught up to her eventually, and she still would have died. Knowing this, I think, would make it easier to make the decision. Also, because Esther wasn't quite put on the spot, she was able to fast and pray going in to the action, whereas Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego didn't have time to think about it.

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. Esther 4:13 NKJV

Which would you rather do?

References and Footnotes

1. Esther 4-5
2. Daniel 3

Church is Cancelled

²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25 NKJV

We are meant to fellowship with each other

• Hebrews 10:23-25
• Matthew 18:20
• Acts 2:42-47

We are not to be conformed to this world

• Romans 12:2
• Deuteronomy 14:2
• 2 Corinthians 6:17
• 1 John 4:4-5
• 1 Peter 2:9

We are protected

• Revelation 9:4
• Daniel 3
• Exodus 7-11
• Revelation 18:4

God did not give us the spirit of fear

• Matthew 16:25-26
• Matthew 10:39
• Romans 8:15
• 2 Timothy 1:7

definition

pandemic[1]

noun

1. : an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population : a pandemic outbreak of a disease

definition

epidemic[2]

noun

1. : an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time : an outbreak of epidemic disease
2. : an outbreak or product of sudden rapid spread, growth, or development

References

1. "Pandemic". Merriam-Webster; March 11, 2020
2. "Epidemic". Merriam-Webster; March 11, 2020
3. Tessa Wong. "Shincheonji and coronavirus: The mysterious 'cult' church blamed for S Korea's outbreak". BBC. March 14, 2020
4. Choe Sang-Hun. He Blames ‘Evil’ for South Korea’s Coronavirus Surge. Officials Blame Him.". NY Times. March 2, 2020
5. "N.B.A. Suspends Season After Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus". NY Times. March 11, 2020
6. Steve Almasay. "The NCAA is canceling March Madness". CNN. March 12, 2020
7. Grace Hauck and Doug Stanglin. "Coronavirus updates: Trump declares national emergency; schools in 12 states shut down; cruise lines halted". USA Today. March 13, 2020

The Daniel Fast

If you can't control yourself with food, how can you control anything else in life? Fasting is an integral part of our walk with Christ, and an opportunity to grow. People don't usually associate fasting with Christianity, but Jesus expects us to fast! I tried out the Daniel Fast, so I wanted to share with you my experience with this fast.

Season 1 Episode 23

¹⁶“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:16-18 CSB

00:01:20	Hey guys! Welcome back to the PSALMS to God podcast. Today, I want to talk about fasting. Fasting is a topic that has recently fascinated me. Growing up, the church that I attended did not talk about fasting. The churches that I was ping-ponging between and visiting—I never ever heard anyone say anything about fasting. I never saw anybody fast. We didn't really dwell on the passages in the Bible where people were fasting, and so it was never something that I associated with my walk with Christ.
00:01:59	When I went to college, I had a teacher who was Muslim and that was the first time I really saw somebody fast, because in Islam they have Ramadan, which is a month where they do an intermittent fast (for the whole month) where they can eat at night but they cannot eat while the Sun is up. And so that was the first time I ever saw that form of fasting or anyone like purposely fasting.
00:02:30	And you know, then I had friends in college again who did Lent—that's a whole ‘nother topic in and of itself—but even then, the one time that I went along with them, I was like sure I'll give up this up, it was moreso because somebody said that I couldn't do it, and I just wanted to prove to them that I could. It had nothing to do with the relationship with God. It wasn't like, “I'm leaning on God, I'm praying on God. Every time I want this I'm going to pray, I'm going to think about God or memorize verses.” Like, there wasn’t any spiritual this about it at all. it was all about to tell me what I can and cannot do; I'm going to prove you wrong. It was extremely self-motivated, and that's not how fasting is supposed to work—not from a religious standpoint, not from a Godly standpoint.
00:03:21	And it was out of college when I first saw somebody who did, like, what I would call an extreme fast or a full fast, where they were abstaining from everything but water. Or even the times where people are abstaining, period—like even from water! And so now that I'm, I guess, more into The Word, every day doing my devotions, and trying to really grow my relationship with Christ, the topic of fasting started coming up more and more. So for the past couple of years, I've been thinking more about how fasting should be incorporated in my life, and how I should be fasting, what that should look like, and how that should work for me. Because everyone's fasting life will look different. There are different types of fast, as I mentioned, and there's also different reasons for fasting.
00:04:22	So for instance, in the Bible you see that Jesus fasted,[1] obviously he did a all but... I think he had water during his fast[2]. Elijah fasted.[3] Daniel fasted.[4] Moses fasted.[5] Esther did a full fast![6] She called for the people to do the full fast, eating nothing, drinking nothing. There were playing fasts in the Old Testament. Before battles people fasted. Particularly women who wanted to have children and were unable to have children, they were fasting to have those children. There were just different reasons people were fasting and different ways that people fasted. And what I found particularly in this past month is that your fast has to also match your... The way you are. And what I mean is when you're fasting you're giving up things that you love, or things that you desire, in favor of spending that time with God. So you can't fast from... Like I can't fast for football, 'cause I don't watch football anyway! Like that's not giving up anything. It doesn't matter if that's not hard for me to do. And so when you think about it even in terms of food, it has to match what you're used to. You have to actually be giving up something that it's hard for you to give up for the fast to actually be an efficient fast.[7]
00:06:06	Now with that preface, I want to talk about the Daniel Fast specifically, because I just tried it in the month of May and this is actually one of the problems that I think I had with the Daniel Fast. So everyone raves about the Daniel Fast. It is supposed to be a very grand experience and people at the church that I attend now say wonderful things about it, so I decided that I wanted to try it.
00:06:38	So the Daniel Fast actually is comprised of two different passages in the Book of Daniel. People, when they first told me about it they were referencing the scenario from one but they were actually kind of doing from the second, and I'm not going to lie I got kind of confused about what the Daniel Fast was actually supposed to look like as I got deeper into the Word. So the first verse that is generally mentioned in association with the Daniel Fast is in Daniel 1:8-16. In this passage Daniel and his friends have been taken into captivity in Babylon. They're in some sort of servitude program and the king is feeding them. There is this man that is over them, and he is supposed to feed them what the king tells him to feed them. He supposed to watch them and train them and all of these things. And this program was supposed to be for like 3 years. And of course, because they're in Babylon—this is a pagan nation—the food that is being presented to them is not food that God allows for them. OK, they're probably presenting them with unclean food, but they're also providing meat that has been sacrificed to pagan gods and things like that. They are providing wine, and the wine has probably also been sacrificed a pagan god. And there's a lot of things that God would have condemned or had condemned that they as Israelites were not supposed to be partaking in.
00:08:20	So Daniel and his friends take a stand and say that they don't want this. They're not going to eat this, and they want to eat their own diet. The diet that God has prescribed for them. And so the person who's in charge of this is not really sure that this is a good idea. He doesn't want to get in trouble. And he thinks that if they do this that they're going to look sickly, and that they're not going to perform as well as the other people,[8] who are all of the same race—and I'm saying race with quotation marks (you guys can't see my hands) because it's really like a bloodline, or lineage. If you want to call it a race, I guess. So, when they get into this, basically Daniel said let us do this for 10 days and then judge our appearance and if it's good then we're going to do this, and if not then we'll eat the king's food. So that is how that fast began. So they did not have the wine, they did not have the meat, they had vegetables. So this is the first definition of the Daniel Fast: vegetables. Vegetables with no wine. So this is one definition.
00:09:42	Now, also for time duration this 10 da period was the test for the the overseer to say yes or no, but the ask was that they never had to consume the king's meat or the king's food. So I'm pretty sure that this was actually for the full three years that they were being trained not just for the 10 days, because obviously when everything happened after the 10 day. they showed to be better than the others.
00:10:17	Interesting side note before we talk about the second passage. When I started the Daniel Fast, because I started the Daniel Fast this May, it actually overlapped the time period that some of the people at my job are celebrating Ramadan, because I have a lot of Muslim coworkers. And so I was talking to one of my friends, my coworker, at work who is Muslim. I was telling her that I was going to be doing the Daniel Fast at the same time that she was going to be doing Ramadan. I actually started earlier and ended earlier. But we were talking about it, and she had found this article of a peer-reviewed journal (article that I will link in the show notes [9]), where they were studying these types of fasting and religious fasting and how they affect the body and what benefits they have. And it was interesting because she was talking about how they didn't really find a conclusive thing about Ramadan, specifically intermittent fasting, because when you do intermittent fasting, yes you have this period where you can't eat, but there's no restrictions when you can eat. So when you are allowed to eat, you can eat whatever you want to. So you could not eat anything all day and then at night you could cram down some fried chicken, some french fries, some Oreos, a bunch of soda, sugary things. Like you can be eating things that are horrible for you and that could do you harm, or you can eat things that are good for you. It really just depends on the person; so it could be a good experience or a bad experience.
00:11:53	But in this article, they actually found several health benefits to the Daniel Fast, because you are restricting what you're eating the whole time. And so I thought it was really cool. I wasn't really surprised because, obviously, God set this fast as an example in His Word. He's telling... Its something that He told us to do. And if you truly believe in the Bible, then you know that everything that God tells us to do is for the good of our body. Obviously, I already knew that Daniel did this fast and at the end he was better off than his peers, so clearly the Daniel Fast has benefits. But scientist is agreeing with the Bible, so there's that.
00:12:36	The second passage in Daniel that people cite for the Daniel Fast, that's slightly different, and probably why people have different definitions of the Daniel Fast, is I Daniel 10:2-3. So he says, "In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over." So this is where people get the 21 day Daniel Fast. And so people... There're different translations of this passage, well of the Bible in general, but specifically for this passage, what's said here is different in different translations. So this was the Christian Standard Bible (the CSB), and here it says he didn't eat rich food—which would people generally assumed to be like sugar and things like that. Somehow that has morphed also into like processed food. I guess processed food is considered rich food. I would consider processed food maybe more like poor food, but hey OK. And obviously the no meat, but then it says no wine. So that's... People obviously assume that to be alcohol. But there are verses[10] that I think it says he only consumed water,[11] And so there are people who say that you can only have water. So I saw some people were saying like you can't even have tea, even though tea is just water with leaves in it, which leaves is technically a sort of a vegetable. And then, of course, you don't have like dairy and milk which I guess falls under rich food—dairy and eggs, not dairy and milk; milk is Dairy. I guess that falls under rich foods. And then, you know, people abstain from, like I said processed foods, white rice, white flour, all of these things.
00:14:39	And so what I saw people defining to actually be the Daniel Fast was different for different people, and so because I was like "OK, I'm going to read the Bible on the see what it says, what I think it says, and then I'm just going to pray. And me and God are going to come to an agreement about what I'm actually going to fast from." And so upfront it was just like, OK these are the things that I think Daniel said he was fasting from, this is what I'm going to try. And that's what I went for.
00:15:13	Now that being said, before I talk about the experience and what was good, what was bad, and all of that. I want to point out this last statement from Daniel 10:3. It said "I didn't put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over." When I first read this, I was reading—so I had to study Bible and then I have the Bible that I use for the podcast. I a lot of Bibles, OK, because I like to read the different translations. Of course on the podcast, I usually read to you guys from the CSB, because it's easier to speak because it's closer to our Modern English, but I grew up in a King James only church. So there's something about the King James Version that just speaks to me. So generally when I'm studying for myself, I read the King James Version. And the King James Version, here, says anoint. And y'all! I didn't pay no attention to the word anoint, because, I'm like "Oh, yeah, anointing. Like, they used to anoint themselves in the temple and stuff like that." And in the back of my mind I knew that they used to put like oil on their heads and things like that, but I didn't pay that any attention that didn't seem like something I ever do. I don't ever anoint myself, so that's not something I need to worry about. But at the end of the fast, as I was getting ready to do this podcast and I was looking at the CSB, and it was like "I didn't put any oil on my body," I was like "Wait a minute!" Y'all, every week I wash my hair, and I put oil in my hair; so I didn't do this part of the fast, at all. Just putting that out there. And so if I ever do this again I might have to re-evaluate how I do my hair. And then there's another translation, I can't remember which one it is; I will link it in the show notes. They actually said lotion; they didn't put any lotion on their body.[12] Y'all! I'm black—not putting lotion on my body... Like Jesus said don't go out looking like a hot mess while you're fasting. You should look happy, and if I don't put any oil in my hair and I don't put any lotion on my body, I'ma look a little crazy. I think. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe if I consume the correct amount of water I will be OK. I don't know; so this is something for me to investigate in the future. And I definitely think that those things definitely would have been game changers in this fast. It definitely would have made it more difficult is what I'm saying. So in the future I want to actually do that part.
00:17:38	Now back to the site itself, I am already vegetarian with plant-based tendencies. I say that because I may or may not be lactose intolerant. I don't really do well with dairy in general, so I already don't use milk—I use almond milk, soy milk, whatever. And I typically, like my yogurt and ice cream things like that are all from like coconut milk. I use vegan butter. The only real dairy products that I guess I use are cheese. Regularly, I use cheese. Sometimes, I'll dabble with some sour cream, but I usually substitute yogurt—like unsweetened yogurt—for the sour cream. Y'all, it tastes exactly the same! So giving up like the dairy portion was not such a stretch, and I already did a vegan challenge this past January for 30 days and that was fine. I slipped twice, it was an accident, but it was fine I didn't really struggle with that. So I was pretty sure that that part would be a breeze. The part of the Daniel Fast I thought would be the most difficult is the not having sugar, not having processed foods. Fried vegetables do not count. Like you can't have fried vegetables, according to someone. I guess that's considered rich food? I'm not really sure, like I said, I wasn't really sure where some of these rules that people were setting were coming from, but some of them I just liked them. I'm not really sure if they're necessarily biblically-based but as I was like "Yeah, OK I think I should not have fried foods," because for me, one of the things that I realized would be the difficulty is convenience. So processed foods, things with sugar, are easily accessible. At my office, we have a break room; we have potato chips. We have like little like brownie things, and cookies, and popcorn, and things like that that are So, they may be vegan or they may be vegetarian, but they're not necessarily good for you, and they are processed, and things like that. Those things I couldn't just snack on if I got hungry at work, and what I knew that I would default to is there is a burger place behind my job. And I would like I would just go and get—they have fried green beans and they have fries. So, those are vegetables: that's potato and a green bean. And I was like I will definitely cheat by just going and getting the fried food, and so I was like I'm going to adopt this whether this is part of the biblical definition or not. So that like, I said, that was my concern and you can't have sugar, you can't have processed food, excetera excetera.
00:20:32	Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Nadine Primeaue And so I was like this is where it's going to be hard. And people talked about you know, like having, like the withdrawals from the sugar, and things like that. And it actually was not as difficult as I thought it would be at all. The first week or so, I had in my head decided that I was going to try out like chia seed pudding, and I was going to do like my overnight oats and things like that, and I was just not going to use the sweetener—because I should add, a lot of people when they said no sweeteners included natural sweeteners like honey, because I guess that's considered rich food. Well. OK, chia seed pudding and oatmeal do not taste good without sugar. I'm just going to put that out there, all right. Don't try that. Do not just make oatmeal the way you normally make it and don't put sugar in it, or chia seed pudding. It does not taste good. You will not be able to finish eating it. You will have wasted food. Don't do it. That's what I did the first week, and eventually I bought like some dates and tried to blend up the dates in the milk—the almond milk, not real milk guys—to try to give it some flavor. And you know, it was a little bit better. It wasn't great, and then of course, because I could only find dried dates, the dates didn't blend as smoothly as I would like them too. So there were kind of like chunks of dates in the mixture and that just didn't go over as well as I wanted it to. So, after the first week, I gave up on having breakfast foods for breakfast, and I switched to this like potato thing. And so what I would do is roast potatoes and roast some veggies and have them together. Or I would do, like I did like a cucumber, a tomato, and avocado, and I would like combine them and squeeze like some lime juice on it, or something like that. And that's what I would do for breakfast. And then for lunch, I would have like salad, or I would have like brown rice and roasted vegetables and things like that and you know for dinner, dinner and lunch looked pretty much the same. Well, this isn't really an extreme departure from my normal diet, guys. What I realized is that, I don't know if I actually don't eat that much sugar normally, or if... I don't know. Like it just—as I got into the routine it wasn't that different. The only thing is like "OK, I'm not going to go to Pieology and grab a pizza, because I can't have that." or I'm not eating like brownies or whatever, but I don't eat sweets that often. And I don't normally eat egg—on occasion, but it's not like I ate eggs every single day. I did miss juice. I will say that; I like grape juice, and so I was a little annoyed at only drinking water. I did not consume tea, because I know myself, and I know that drinking just water is a challenge for me, and I thought like if I was drinking tea it would be easier, and so again like I said in the beginning fasting is about giving up something you love, so it has to be meaningful. So I did try the full, you know, just water, and I think that because it wasn't that much of a departure form my normal diet. It did not have as profound of an impact as I thought it would.
00:24:27	Now I'm not going to say nothing changed in my spiritual life. If you watch me—if you follow me on Instagram—if you don't follow me on Instagram should: shiree.hughes. I started doing Testimony Tuesday. I got back to the whole idea of sharing testimonies about what God is doing in my life, and that's something that I used to do that I had stopped doing, and I felt like, you know, I was a little bit I guess more distant from God. So I felt like I got more energy. I did get more energy. I did feel more energized in my spiritual life, so that is a thing, and that was a good thing. But in terms of like just feeling really different, or you know having to stop and pray because I'm having a craving for this food that I've given up, that didn't happen for me. It really wasn't difficult because it wasn't that far from my normal diet.
00:25:29	One of my friends is about to embark on the Daniel Fast. She also has a podcast: GirlTalkWithFo, she'll get your finances right. She is thinking about doing just vegetables and it says: just vegetables, in the beginning. I think that, you know, of course there's always a question: do you count fruit as a vegetable?[13] But I do think that perhaps if I do this again I may have to cut out like grains and things like that to try to make it more challenging. Again, that's something that I would be concerned about for myself, because I have iron deficiency anemia, and I'm about 10lbs underweight, according to what the doctor say you're supposed to weigh. So, for me I would be cautious of what I actually fast from 'cause I need to make sure that I'm getting the right amount of protein and nutrients and iron to, you know, not cause health problems. So I would have to do some research before I actually try that.
00:26:41	But you know, if you tried the Daniel Fast, how did it help you, and do you think it's more efficient for people who generally eat meat and things, than for people who are already living like a plant-based lifestyle or vegetarian lifestyle? Also, definitely, pray about fasting in general. Maybe God is calling you to do some fasting; like I said it doesn't have to be food. Maybe it's something else. It's definitely something you should think about incorporating into your life. Definitely remember that the point of the fast is to get closer to God, so you should be praying throughout the fast. And yeah, let me know about your experiences, and what you want to try, and what you have tried. How it works for you, and what blessing that brought into your life?
00:27:32	Thank you guys for tuning in! I will see you guys next time. Bye

Footnotes and References

1. Matthew 4
2. "Did Jesus Drink Water When He Was Fasting For 40 Days". Never Thirsty; visited May 2019
3. 1 Kings 19:1-8
4. Daniel 1; Daniel 10:2-3
5. Exodus 24:28
6. Esther 4:15-17
7. I actually meant meaningful. I don't know why I said efficient (I actually did this twice).
8. People have this same reaction when I tell them I'm vegetarian.
9. John F Trepanowski and Richard J Bloomer. "The impact of religious fasting on human health". Nutrition Journal. 2010
10. Definitely meant translation
11. Actually this is from the first passage.
12. The version that says lotion is the NIV
13. What about things like squash and tomato: its actually and we think of them as vegetables.

My 10 Favorite Books of the Bible

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Herrmann Stamm

Book for Motivation in Life

I feel like most of life's scenarios and questions can be found and answered in the following three books: Job, Jonah, and Proverbs.

Job

Job is basically a tragedy that pulls an ex machina and ends on a happy note. What could possibly happen in my life that would be worse than what happened to Job? He lost all his children. He lost his wealth. He lost his health. The people were convinced he had some major skeletons in his closet for such tragedy to befall him, so he lost his reputation too. Yet, Job was highly favored by God. The book of Job answers the question of why bad things happen to good people and it reminds me to keep my faith through dark times.

Proverbs

Proverbs needs no explanation. The book is full of gems that grace walls, pictures, shirts, etc. There's a proverb for nearly every situation. The short, succinct messages are easy to memorize, poetic, and profound.

Jonah

When I was a child, my grandmother used to always remind me that "a hard head makes a soft tail"—i.e., when you don't listen you get a lot of spankings. Jonah is the spiritual embodiment of that theme for me. Jonah is most famous for ending up in the belly of a sea creature for 3 days. Why was he in the sea creature? Because he didn't listen to God. Jonah took the long, hard road, choosing to ignore God's calling. Imagine how different the story would be if he'd just gone where God told him to and done what God told him to do in the first place! That's the story of all our lives. We often wrestle with God, trying to go our own way, and in doing so we put our lives and the lives of others in danger.

The Relationship Between God and the Church

I know, you're expecting the gospels, or some other books from the New Testament that talk directly about the Bride of Christ or the history of the church, but actually this set of three (and a quarter) is all from the old testament. The themes in these books drive home God's love for us in a way that just touches my soul.

Genesis 1-3

Don't get me wrong, Genesis is a great book as a whole, and probably one of the best books of the Bible when it comes to the ratio between importance, interesting, and ease of understanding, but when it comes to the relationship of God and the Church, Genesis 1-3 melts my heart every time. When you truly dig into God creating us, giving us free will, the parallels between Adam (God's created son) and Jesus (God's only begotten son), and the fact that God spoke salvation into existence before He ever uttered the punishment for mankind's sin, it's powerful.

Exodus

Exodus tell us about the formation of Israel as an independent nation the first time, which was spurred by God delivering them from bondage in Egypt. It doesn't seem that important from a Gentile perspective, but it actually has a ton of spiritual significance. The journey of the Israelites out of bondage into freedom is the same as our journey from sinfulness to righteousness. Exodus introduces us to the holy feasts, which align with their journey, but also foretell of Christ's coming. We see God call Moses directly and using Moses, triumph over the most powerful king of the time. There's a song, "Reckless Love," that says "There's no shadow You won't light up, mountain You won't climb up, coming after me. There's no wall You won't kick down, lie You won't tear down, coming after me." Exodus truly shows us the lengths God is willing to go through to save His people.

Ruth

Most people go to Ruth to talk about waiting for love and basically romanticize the book as a how-to for dating. While that may be a valid interpretation, Ruth really is about the relationship of Jesus, the redeemer, and the Church, who needs redeeming. Ruth travels a great distance and gives up everything she knew to follow her mother-in-law, but the two women can't survive without a male benefactor, just as the church cannot survive without Jesus as our protector. Ruth puts in the effort of gleaning the fields for food (i.e., reading the Word and seeking God for spiritual food). Boaz ensures that there's always enough for her to glean, just as Jesus paved a way for us to get to Him. In the end we see the happy resolution of redemption and protection bestowed upon Ruth (the Church) by Boaz (Jesus).

Esther

How did Esther end up in my list of favorite books concerning God and His relationship with the Church when the book of Esther never mentions God? When I reread Esther last year and realized the whole story could also be interpreted as an allegory for the transferal of God's Word from the Israelites to the Gentiles and the salvation of God's people through Jesus, my mind was blown. If you shortened the history and foretellings of the Bible into their simplest forms, you would get the book of Esther with different names.

Prophecy and the End Times

Seeing prophecy come true is mind boggling. If there's one way to shock yourself into awe of God and the legitimacy of God's Word, it's to read and understand prophecy. That's why my actual favorite book of the Bible is in this set of three wonderful books on prophecy and the end times.

Daniel

Daniel is a history book, except it was written hundreds of years before the history took place. Reading Daniel and a history text book at the same time is life changing; not to mention what you see once you realize that Daniel is a key to Revelation! Not only does the book give us a roadmap of events for what to expect, Daniel and his friends provide an example of how we should react. From refusing to eat unclean foods to refusing to bow to the golden statue and face death, Daniel defines standing firm in the face of persecution. We can be confident that if we stand with God, when we get thrown in the fire, He'll bring us out unscathed because that's exactly what happened in the book of Daniel.

Matthew

A list of favorites isn't complete without a book from the gospels! In Matthew, Jesus addresses His return and the end of the Jewish nation. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which end He's referring to, but Jesus' Word about the end of days resonate for both occasions. Jesus gives us the tools and signs to identify false prophets and false doctrine, reminding us that if something is devoid of love, it's also devoid of God. Unfortunately, so many people do not know how to spot false doctrine and we have so many people turned away from God over false prophets and false doctrine. Matthew is the book that I feel like should be in the forefront of everyone's mind, may be then there'd be less non-believers.

Revelation

My absolute favorite book in the Bible is Revelation. I had an irrational fear of the end of the world as a child because I didn't understand what was supposed to happen or what it meant. Reading Revelation helped me understand that the end of the world is actually a victory for those who surrendered to God. Piecing together the pieces of the puzzle and finally understanding what's really written there was a fun journey, but more importantly, it gave me peace. The church—at least the churches I grew up attending—never really explained the end of the world, so it seemed uncharacteristically evil and harsh. It was only when I truly understood the book of Revelation that I could truly accept God and be at peace with Him.

All About Vegetables

"19. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV

Introduction

¹⁹What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? ²⁰For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJV

God tells us that the body is a temple; it's something He has given us that we are tasked to take care of. From both a Biblical and a scientific perspective, it is important to eat properly as part of taking care of our body. As such, the Spirit has laid on my heart the desire to learn more about nutrition and the wonderful foods God has placed on this Earth for us. This post is the first in the nutrition series, in which I will be researching food groups in general (e.g., vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.), nutrients (e.g., vitamin A, iron, protein, etc.), and specific foods (e.g., okra, mango, rice, etc.), then share what I find. I'm kicking off the series with vegetables.

I don't have to tell you vegetables are important to your diet; you know that. Nonetheless, I've compiled some info of the benefits of vegetables anyway. From identifying what actually is a vegetable to determining whether to go for fresh veggies, frozen veggies, or canned alternatives, there's a lot to dig into for this food group.

Defining a Vegetable

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/NeON RAND

We all know the age old debate about whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, but did you know that cucumbers, squash, eggplant, zucchini, corn, and pumpkin also belong to this confusion? The confusion stems from the fact that the botanical classification of foods does not match the culinary classification of food. Botanically speaking, a fruit comes from the flower of a plant and carries the plant's seeds, while vegetables come from the rest of the plant.[4] From a culinary perspective, however, the distinction is about taste. Fruits are generally used to garnish something or as a dessert, while vegetables are typically more savory. This difference enables us to think of something as a vegetable even though it is a fruit scientifically.

Generally, if it seems more like a vegetable than a fruit (e.g., tomatoes, eggplant, etc.) you can count it toward daily vegetable intake. I base this assumption on the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Choose My Plate website, which lists recommended serving sizes under vegetables for foods that can be classified as fruits scientifically but are thought of as vegetables.[2] What determines this distinction? I'm not sure, but I would guess it has to do with the nutrients these foods provide.

Vegetable Nutrition

That brings us to the question of what exactly vegetables give us that is important for our diet. They're always listed separately from fruits in nutritional eating diagrams, but what does a vegetable give us that a fruit won't (especially since many vegetables are actually fruits!)?

According to the USDA, they provide the same nutrients.[3] Healthline makes the claim that fruits have more sugar and thus, more calories.[4] Although I have not been able to verify this as a fact, it makes sense logically, considering that fruits are generally more sweet than vegetables. I think it is very possible that the reason fruits and vegetables are separated in diagrams is to make sure you don't overdo it on sugary fruits (which we typically prefer) and neglect vegetables which may provide different nutrients, or the same nutrients with less sugar. (I'll dig into variance of vegetables later in the post.)

Healthline also tackled the question of nutritional differences between vegetables and fruits.[11] As could be expected, they found the difference is merely what vitamins, minerals, etc. are more easily extracted (if extracted at all) from the food. They also point out that fruit is higher in calories

Benefits

According to the USDA, vegetables:[2]

• are low in fat and calories
• do not have cholesterol
• rich in the following vitamins and minerals
• potassium
• dietary fiber
• folate (folic acid)
• vitamin A
• vitamin C

Harvard's School of Public Health lists even more benefits studies have proven we reap from eating more vegetables. Among these benefits are reduced risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, improved eye health, lowering high blood pressure, and relief from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).[12]

Raw vs. Cooked

Some people think it's healthier to only eat raw vegetables; in fact, there's a group of people, known as raw vegans, who don't eat anything cooked. I'm not here to debate their food choice, but after watching a few raw vegan bloggers, I was definitely curious as to the research behind eating raw versus cooked vegetables.

After comparing 22 studies, researchers found that both raw and cooked vegetables have inverse correlations to cancer, meaning those who ate more vegetables had a lower risk of many types cancers. This relationship was found more often for raw vegetables than cooked vegetables, but there was one instance in which cooked vegetables were found to lower the risk of a type of cancer that raw vegetables did not.[5]

Another study found a decreased risk in breast cancer among women who consumed raw vegetables.[6] Cooked vegetables neither increased nor decreased the risk, according to the study.

Based on the studies I've read, cooked vegetables are not harmful and in some cases makes it easier to absorb nutrients.[5][6][7] Raw vegetables, however, have been proven to reduce the risk of cancer for more cases. As such, it is important for us to get an adequate supply of both.

Fresh vs. Canned vs. Frozen

You can probably guess that if there's a debate about raw versus cooked there's probably a debate about fresh, canned, and frozen vegetables as well. Personally, I've always disliked canned vegetables; it's something about the preservatives that make them taste funny to me. I was a stickler for fresh vegetables for most things until I went graduate school and became poor. During that time I learned to love frozen vegetables. Not only can you buy in bulk without worrying about expiration, it's cheaper! Of course, that probably matters less if one is significantly better for you, huh? My gut instinct says that fresh and frozen are the better options. I would assume the preservatives in canned food have some kind of effect—but that's just a hunch, so I did some research.

Most of what I've seen asserts that it's impossible to know. Studies couldn't seem to find an absolute correlation to say fresh or frozen vegetables were better than the other.[9][13][14] In some cases the frozen vegetables retained more nutrients, while in others, the fresh vegetables were more nutritious. Seems like the theme is going to be variety!

How Much Should You Eat

The USDA suggests that about a quarter of your plate should be vegetables. Personally, I think looking at it in terms of ratios is much easier to deal with. Of course, in the US we typically over eat, so it's good to know how much that actually should be as well. Bearing in mind that age, sex, and activeness play a role in how much you should eat, adults should be consuming somewhere between 2-3 cups of vegetables a day.

What Does A Cup Look Like?

Measuring out a cup of vegetables is one way to determine if you're meeting the requirement, but in some cases that's too much extra work, or not quite accurate. Leafy greens, like spinach and kale, can be eaten raw or cooked; a cup of raw spinach can easily cook down to a much smaller portion size. For both spinach and kale, you can count 1 cup toward your daily vegetable intake with 2 cups in the raw state or 1 cup in the cooked state.[19]

Variety

Values from ChooseMyPlate.gov

It is also important to vary the type of vegetables you eat. I use the "eat the rainbow" method to check my eating habits—basically, I make sure I'm eating fruits and vegetables of every color. According to the USDA, the bulk of our vegetable intake should come from red or orange vegetables (e.g., tomatoes, carrots, and peppers) and starchy vegetables (e.g., potatoes, corn, and peas). We should also have a portion of beans/peas, dark leafy greens, and all the other vegetables.[19]

In the Bible

God created vegetables with the intent for us to eat them—in fact, they were one of the few foods that were actually included in our original diet. So, you know He had to mention them throughout scripture. He may not be as heavy handed as our earthly parents when it comes to telling us to eat our vegetables, but He definitely makes the point.

Genesis

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:29-31 KJV

Unlike processed foods, and meats, vegetables were given to us for food from the very beginning of God's design, back when everything was perfect. Genesis 1:29-31 gives us permission to eat herbs and fruits from seed bearing plants. Although it could be mere coincidence, the time in which mankind was only permitted to eat fruits and vegetables is also the time when people lived into their 900s. Given that research today shows increased vegetable consumption promotes good health and prolongs life, I don't think it was a coincidence.[3][15][16][17]

Daniel

Another place where the Bible promotes vegetables is in Daniel 1:8-16, often referred to as Daniel's fast.18 In this passage, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (the latter also known as Shadrach, Mesach, and Abendego) refuse to eat the meat of Babylon's king. The person in charge of them was worried that a vegetarian diet would make them weak and frail, which is very reminiscent of the feedback I receive when telling people I'm vegetarian today. However, after a trial period of only ten days, the 4 men proved to be stronger and healthier than those who were consuming meat! While this diet includes fruits, it says a lot about how important vegetables are to our health.

Romans

¹Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. ²For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. ³Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.Romans 14:1-3 KJV

An oft misunderstood passage, Romans 14:2 is also about vegetables. Many take this passage to be permission to eat unclean meats, but that is a topic for another post. Right now, I want to concentrate on the juxtaposition of eating "all things," versus "herbs." Clearly, "all things" includes both herbs and meat and refers to an omnivorous diet, whereas herbs would be a vegetation only. Paul says that those who believe they can only eat herbs are weak, causing many to associate vegetarianism with weakness.

Before we dechiper what Paul meant in this passage, ask yourself this: was Daniel weak?

Romans 14 is addressing the issue of belief; he starts out telling us that those who are weak in faith are doubtful, then goes into the famed verse about those eating only herbs being weak. In context, this is clearly an issue about faith. Ask yourself, why was there a dispute about whether the people could eat meat or not? Vegetarianism hadn't been the standard diet for that region since before the flood—the Israelites even complained about the lack of meat while they were in the wilderness (Exodus 16 and Numbers 11). Furthermore, this letter is addressed to the Romans, who were Gentile converts to Christianity. The issue they had was actually very similar to the issue Daniel had: meat given to them at their neighbors' homes was meat sacrificed to idols.

Remember, as converts, Paul's audience may have participated in these pagan religions before finding truth in Jesus. Being around paganism was a temptation for them the way being in a bar is temptation for a recovering alcoholic. They were weak because they were not yet confident in their faith to resist that temptation, not because of their food choices. I can't wait to really dig into this verse in it's on post, but for now, I think it's sufficient to establish that it is not condemning vegetarianism, after all Isaiah 11 sounds like the ideal society is a vegetarian one from God's viewpoint.

Other

The examples above are food-focused, meaning the consumption of food is a major point of the synopsis, so it's hard to miss (though many forget about this specificity in Genesis). However, there are many other times the Bible shows God's people enjoying vegetables, it which it's just a passing fact.

In 1 Samuel 17:27-29, the people who take in King David during his son Absalom's rebellion bring a feast for David and his men. The feast includes "corn," lentils, and beans. I put corn in quotations because the word translated to corn in the Bible doesn't mean corn in the sense we think of it today. It was likely referencing some type of grain.^[10] Newer translations such as the New International Version (NIV) or English Standard Version (ESV) show the word grain instead of corn.

Another example can be found in Numbers 11:4-5. The Israelites had just escaped bondage in Egypt and were complaining about the food supply. While they do ask for flesh (i.e., meat), they reminisce on fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. Obviously fish is the only meat, and melons are fruits, but the majority of the foods they list are actually vegetables. Stop and think about us today; you've just been freed from being held in captivity and you aren't asking for potato chips, pizza, or any other junk food; you're not even asking for steak! Instead you want cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic, all of which are vegetables (not the first vegetables that would come to my mind to ask for, but oh well).

References

1. "My Plate". USDA; visited March 2018
2. "Why is it important to eat vegetables?". USDA; visited March 2018
3. "Why is it important to eat fruit?". USDA; visited March 2018
4. Rachael Link, MS, RD. "What's the Difference Between Fruits and Vegetables?". Healthline. April 5, 2017
5. Lilli B. Link and John D. Potter. "Raw versus Cooked Vegetables and Cancer Risk". Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Volume 13, Issue 9. September 2004
6. Karl-Heinrich Adzersen , Patricia Jess , Klaus Wilhelm Freivogel , Ingrid Gerhard & Gunther Bastert. "Raw and Cooked Vegetables, Fruits, Selected Micronutrients, and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study in Germany". Nutrition and Cancer; Volume 46, Issue 2, pg. 131-137. 2009
7. Stephanie Brookshier "Raw Vegetables Vs. Cooked Vegetables". SF Gate. April 2, 2018
8. Cheryl L. Rock, Jennifer L. Lovalvo, Curt Emenhiser, Mack T. Ruffin, Shirley W. Flatt, Steven J. Schwartz. "Bioavailability of β-Carotene Is Lower in Raw than in Processed Carrots and Spinach in Women". The Journal of Nutrition; Volume 128, Issue 5, pg 913–916. May 1, 1998
9. DJ Favell. "A comparison of the vitamin C content of fresh and frozen vegetables". Food Chemistry; Volume 62, Issue 1, pg. 59-64. May 1998
10. "Corn". Bible Study Tools; visited April 1, 2018
11. Rachael Link, MS, RD. "What's the Difference Between Fruits and Vegetables?". Heathline. April 5, 2017
12. "Vegetables and Fruits". Harvard School of Public Health; visited April 2018
13. Joy C. Rickman, Diane M. Barrett, and Christine M. Bruhn. "Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Part 1. Vitamins C and B and phenolic compounds". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture; Volume 87, Issue 6, pg. 930-944. March 14, 2017
14. Roni Caryn Rabin. "Are Frozen Fruits and Vegetables as Nutritious as Fresh?". NY Times. November 18, 2016
15. Carlos A. González, et. al. "Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of stomach and oesophagus adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC–EURGAST)". International Journal of Cancer; Volume 118, Issue 10, pg. 2559-2566. May 15, 2006
16. Luc Dauchet, Philippe Amouyel, Serge Hercberg, and Jean Dallongeville. "Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies". The Journal of Nutrition; Volume 136, Issue 10, pg. 2588–2593. October 1, 2006
17. Lydia A Bazzano, Jiang He, Lorraine G. Ogden, Catherine M. Loria, Suma Vupputuri, Leann Myers, and Paul K. Whelton. "Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of cardiovascular disease in US adults: the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 76, Issue 1, pg. 93–99. July 1, 2002
18. "What is a Daniel fast?". GotQuestions.org; visited April 2018
19. "What foods are in the Vegetable Group?". USDA; visited March 2018