GOD

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Joe, for your thoughtful reply.

> > So, then. Here are my questions:

> > 1. Does God approve of my decision to have WLS?

>Why don't you ask him? Pray about it long and hard. What does ?

>your gut (sorry) tell you? In my humble experience, God speaks in

>many ways, not the least of which is by the people and opportunities

>he places in your path.

I do ask Him, but I hope he doesn't forget to speak loudly, clearly,

and slowly, because I'm a little thick of head! At the beginning of

my quest for this surgery, I ran into so many insurance obstacles

that I was beginning to think that this wasn't meant to be. (Can you

imagine if everyone thought this way? NO ONE would have WLS!)

Recently, things have been falling together thanks to the generosity

and kindness of so many strangers in New York. I do feel more at

peace about not dying on the table. This group has helped me. Maybe

this combination of events could be construed as positive " signs. "

Maybe I just need to let it go for now.

> > 2. Is it a further and unnatural violation of HIS temple?

> > Religiously speaking, this body does not really belong to me.

>Very true, but you wouldn't object to having open heart surgery to

>save your life, would you? Do you avoid vaccinations? We aren't

>talking about a facelift here, we are talking about something that

>will more than likely lengthen and certainly improve the quality of

>your life. How could God be against that? Use this gift you are

>being given for His greater glory. Use the excess energy you have

>afterwards to give back to mankind or to serve him in some other way.

> > 4. WHAT ABOUT THE FACT THAT ABUSE OF FOOD, GLUTTONY, IS A SIN,

AND ONE OF THE PASSIONS WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST (and there are so many

> > others!).

>I once went to confession and confessed to the sin of gluttony. The

>priest said that he didn't consider it sinful, but a disease. In

>his mind, gluttony was more a sin of attitude than action. In other

>words, just because you are obese doesn't mean you are a glutton.

Actually, most theologians would consider them one in the same. That

is, sin is a disease of the human condition.

> > 5. Is morbid obesity really a disease or is some (or a lot!) of

> the condition indicative of our unwillingness to fight temptations?

> Both, I would suspect.

OK, then. If you agree that some of it has to do with the latter,

then obesity is at least partially caused by gluttony and our

unwillingness to fight temptations. It just shows more in us because

of our bad genes??

All best,

[Guest guest]

> 2. Is it a further and unnatural violation of HIS temple?

Um... what was the original " violation " ? Overeating? Would, say, exposing

oneself to carbon monoxide driving to work also qualify as a " violation " ?

> Religiously speaking, this body does not really belong to me.

Please don't characterize this as " religiously speaking " . Not all religious

faiths or even all branches of Christianity have such a self-defeating

(*literally*) notion.

> 3. What about the Orthodox Church's dictates about fasting (no

animal products or alcohol) on Wednesdays and Fridays and lengthy

periods throughout the year, especially Lent?

WLS does not prevent you from fasting, or from experiencing the possible

physical unpleasantness of doing so, if that's your goal.

> 4. WHAT ABOUT THE FACT THAT ABUSE OF FOOD, GLUTTONY, IS A SIN, AND

ONE OF THE PASSIONS WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST (and there are so many

others!).

I must have missed the " Thou shalt not eat too much " commandment. What's

the threshold for " gluttony " ? 50 french fries? 20? 10? 5? Any?

> 5. Is morbid obesity really a disease or is some (or a lot!) of the

condition indicative of our unwillingness to fight temptations?

Granting for the moment that eating is an evil " temptation " , I know many

people who eat more than I do and have no issues with weight. MO seems

largely biological to me.

" Condemn not, that ye not be condemned. " --Jesus