What's your thoughts on this? Should obese individuals be viewed the same as homosexuals? I'm especially interested in hearing from the "sin has no degrees" crowd.

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What's your thoughts on this? Should obese individuals be viewed the same as homosexuals? I'm especially interested in hearing from the "sin has no degrees" crowd.
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I kind of agree with what the cartoon is saying, but in a way I don't. It's possible it'd be hypocritical to serve food to a glutton, while refusing to cater to gays. But the big difference is that fat people aren't pushing for an agenda, and are not harming the image of a God-ordained institution, and are not trying to get our kids to turn away from their upbringing to accept obesity as an ok lifestyle. Quite the opposite, actually. When someone sees an obese person, they think, "I do not want to end up like that."
Should obese individuals be viewed the same as homosexuals?
I try to not immediately think someone is a glutton for this reason. However, well over 3/4 of the obese people I've met (closer to about 9/10) were obese because of overeating.Gluttony - a lifestyle characterized by eating until one cannot eat anymore - is a sin. It is different from feasting, which is an indulgence of food in celebration and is biblically recommended from time to time.
Unfortunately, those who want to be watchdogs for gluttony tend to focus on obese people, assuming that they are necessarily gluttons. I have actually caught a fair amount of flack from Christians about my alleged gluttony.
Obesity has many causes. I am severely overweight because of a tumor on my pituitary gland (Cushing's Disease, if you want to look it up). I am losing the weight, but it will be a long process.
Others really are obese because of gluttony. Still others are obese because of a combination of age, sedentary jobs (the mind works very hard, but the body has to sit behind a desk), and the content of the food that is readily available.
Obesity is a condition not an action and it is not a sin. Guttony is never listed as a sin in scripture. It is listed a long side of a drunkard in the OT twice but it is only spoken of as having negative consequences.
Homosexuality is listed as those actions that will keep one from the Kingdom. It is clear that scripture sees those two things in a much different light.
Shouldn't someone actually define gluttony on this thread? It would make it so much easier to discuss. I suspect there are several different definitions in the minds of the posters.
Food for thought: was it gluttony when the Jews had a feast commanded by God? Is there a difference between feasting and gluttony?
Thank you. It seems to me, though, that the term "habitual" ought to be in there somewhere, since the same Hebrew word (zalal) as in the two verses in Proverbs (also in 23:21) is in Deut. 21:20. In that verse a gluttonous son is to be stoned, which seems to be a quite unreasonable punishment for a one-time offense. (Granted, other sins of the son were mentioned in that verse, but I think my point still stands.)That is a good idea.
So here goes the BIBLICAL definition: Gluttony is engaging in too much food or drink—overindulgence (Pro. 23:20). A glutton is a disgrace to the Father (Pro. 28:7). Since a glutton is the same as a drunkard (Pro. 23:21), gluttony is a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:21) opposite the fruit of self-control that the Spirit gives (Gal. 5:23).
Well said.Well by the biblical definition of gluttony, no—Jewish feasting (so long as it wasn't overindulgence) was not gluttony. However, gluttony can appear even in feasts commanded by God. That was the case in Corinth regarding the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:17-22).
Thank you. It seems to me, though, that the term "habitual" ought to be in there somewhere, since the same Hebrew word (zalal) as in the two verses in Proverbs (also in 23:21) is in Deut. 21:20. In that verse a gluttonous son is to be stoned, which seems to be a quite unreasonable punishment for a one-time offense. (Granted, other sins of the son were mentioned in that verse, but I think my point still stands.)