Question: .

Nutritionists say that butter is bad for us - too much cholesterol. Yet butter is mentioned in 8 books of the Bible as food and gifts. Is butter really bad for us if it comes from God?

- Troy

Answer:

Dear Troy,

The subject you raise is interesting, as there are related subjects - "why does the Bible condone red meat" is asked by some who are convinced that we would all be better off as vegetarians, and cite contemporary studies. Others cite one of the most common subjects - salt. Not only does the Bible not tell us to avoid salt, but it even counsels Christians to be like salt - but now we are finding out that too much sodium can be extremely detrimental to health"? "Didn't God know this?" goes the question.

Your question concerns butter - fat and cholesterol. I believe that the most accurate answer to your question, and others that are related, is that the Bible speaks to us from a particular culture and historical epoch that does not include our twentieth century processed foods and dietary habits. The Bible is silent about the specific negative impact of too much chocolate, smoking, and processed foods in general. The Bible does not take into account the many modern changes in the human body and its diseases, some of them contracted and imposed by our modern world and its culture. That is, our dietary habits may have upset some of the balances set up in the human system, and what may have caused no problem before does now.

Most nutritionists I have read concur that the diet of the average person in "Bible times" was balanced, and that nothing the Bible either advises or even foods used as a metaphor (salt) would have had any negative effects then. I believe that they are on the right track with such an answer.

Hope this helps.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht