L. Shannon Jung is Director of the Center for Theology and Land and Professor of Rural Ministry at the University of Dubuque and Wartburg Theological Seminary. In this fine paperback, he issues a clarion call to Christians to heed the ethical and spiritual connections among food, eating, health, community, work, addiction, the environment, and globalization. He notes that in the Bible eating involves enjoyment, providence, goodness, and delighting on the one hand; and hospitality, justice, mission, and sharing on the other. Although many of the central theological beliefs and practices of the church involve food, many Christians do not seem to grasp the full sweep of just what is involved in the ethics of eating.
With great skill, Jung outlines the variety of eating disorders common in America, covering not only bulimia and anorexia that stem from compulsive behavior and self-loathing, but also the phenomenon of overeating that results in serious health dangers. The author also takes a hard look at "the global food disorder" resulting from the environmental and social costs created by the corporate food system. He challenges us to consider how we are complicit in this food supply system because of our eating habits. The author has some keen ideas on redeeming our lives through good eating and states that the way out of the food crises we face involves awareness, confession, and transformation. Jung's new vision for the church centers around food as a communal expression of grace, and he suggests things everyone can do to carry out God's dual purposes for food and eating.
