What do you think?
Rate this book
Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating
This book provides a comprehensive theological framework for assessing eating's significance, employing a Trinitarian theological lens to evaluate food production and consumption practices as they are being worked out in today's industrial food systems. Norman Wirzba combines the tools of ecological, agrarian, cultural, biblical, and theological analyses to draw a picture of eating that cares for creatures and that honors God. Unlike books that focus on vegetarianism or food distribution as the key theological matters, this book broadens the scope to include discussions on the sacramental character of eating, eating's ecological and social contexts, the meaning of death and sacrifice as they relate to eating, the Eucharist as the place of inspiration and orientation, the importance of saying grace, and whether or not there will be eating in heaven. Food and Faith demonstrates that eating is of profound economic, moral, and theological significance.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2007
96 people are currently reading
1960 people want to read
About the author
Norman Wirzba
32 books92 followersNorman Wirzba is Professor of Theology and Ecology at Duke University Divinity School and a pioneer of scholarly work on religion, philosophy, ecology, and agrarianism. He is also the author of Food and Faith, Living the Sabbath, The Paradise of God, and From Nature to Creation. He lives near Hillsborough, North Carolina.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 6, 2016
Food is sort of my thing right now. After reflecting on the life of Jesus and the reality in Luke's gospel that Christ is, quite literally, always at a meal, I began to re-think the importance of eating, food, and meals in my own life. Reading Robert Farrar Capon's "The Supper of the Lamb" was a huge, tiny mistake; I'm on the path to becoming a total foodie. Worse than that, I'm convinced it's biblical. It sounds ludicrous, I know. But Norman Wirzba's outstanding work, Food & Faith: a Theology of Eating, has me persuaded.
This is my first Wirzba book and it will not be my last. It's difficult in our Amazon.com-era to find theology that is insightful, well-written, draws from various, creative sources, and that doesn't completely bore you to death. Most stuff that passes for Christian reading (even among Reformed-types) is desperately wanting. It is incredibly delightful to find a book that makes me think, takes me out of my little, joke of a world, and for a moment gives me a vision for truth, goodness, and beauty. Food & Faith is the kind of theology Christians should be reading.
After an introduction on the importance and necessity of "thinking theologically about food," Wirzba looks at our daily practice of eating through the lens of Creation, Fall, Redemption, & Consummation. Covenantal thinkers will love this trajectory and recognize immediately the important role our food's narration plays in why we eat, how we eat, what we eat, and with whom we eat. So, if our world, our food, and us are a random collection of molecules and chemical processes, then the world has no inherent meaning and value cannot be trusted. A random world should inspire no awe. But if this world, our daily bread, and our lives is the overflow of a loving, eternal Trinitarian communion of Persons, then we might begin to see the contours of a vision for what relationships between creatures (my meal, its sources, and me) ought to be. Once we name and narrate the drama of food we begin to see, love, and care for the material, biological, social, and divine sources that feed into every mouthful.
I relished in and struggled with this book. I was reminded of just how much God loves this tangible, physical earth. I heard facts about the way God's gift of creation (land, animals, people) is often misused and abused due to sin. I was led to repent of the way I haven't cared for God's world or neglected to thank and celebrate Him through His gifts. I was taught a new way of considering sacrifice and reminded of how life ultimately does come through death. I was encouraged to yet again find my place in the eucharistic, eating assembly of the Church. I was given the best explanation of why we "say grace" before meals. I was invited to think about a new creation, free from the toxic effects of the Fall, where the feast and wedding banquet of Jesus will go on for eternity. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
This is my first Wirzba book and it will not be my last. It's difficult in our Amazon.com-era to find theology that is insightful, well-written, draws from various, creative sources, and that doesn't completely bore you to death. Most stuff that passes for Christian reading (even among Reformed-types) is desperately wanting. It is incredibly delightful to find a book that makes me think, takes me out of my little, joke of a world, and for a moment gives me a vision for truth, goodness, and beauty. Food & Faith is the kind of theology Christians should be reading.
After an introduction on the importance and necessity of "thinking theologically about food," Wirzba looks at our daily practice of eating through the lens of Creation, Fall, Redemption, & Consummation. Covenantal thinkers will love this trajectory and recognize immediately the important role our food's narration plays in why we eat, how we eat, what we eat, and with whom we eat. So, if our world, our food, and us are a random collection of molecules and chemical processes, then the world has no inherent meaning and value cannot be trusted. A random world should inspire no awe. But if this world, our daily bread, and our lives is the overflow of a loving, eternal Trinitarian communion of Persons, then we might begin to see the contours of a vision for what relationships between creatures (my meal, its sources, and me) ought to be. Once we name and narrate the drama of food we begin to see, love, and care for the material, biological, social, and divine sources that feed into every mouthful.
I relished in and struggled with this book. I was reminded of just how much God loves this tangible, physical earth. I heard facts about the way God's gift of creation (land, animals, people) is often misused and abused due to sin. I was led to repent of the way I haven't cared for God's world or neglected to thank and celebrate Him through His gifts. I was taught a new way of considering sacrifice and reminded of how life ultimately does come through death. I was encouraged to yet again find my place in the eucharistic, eating assembly of the Church. I was given the best explanation of why we "say grace" before meals. I was invited to think about a new creation, free from the toxic effects of the Fall, where the feast and wedding banquet of Jesus will go on for eternity. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
April 8, 2017
I started out really liking this book. The concept of eating as a spiritual practice is one that I really believe could be of benefit for many Christians.
The problem for me grew out of the author's discussions around food and economics. It first hit me in the second chapter when the author asked, "Could it be that our declining interest in gardening is rooted in our fear of failure and our impatience with loss?" (p.51) Having done some prior reading on the subject, it's been fairly well discussed that interest in home gardening has been falling off since the 1950s and positively correlates with the demographics of women entering the workforce and negatively correlates geographically with areas that have lower average income or have high rates of renter-ship vs home ownership. In other words, gardening has become the purview of those whom have time and money and property.
As I continued to read, the author returned to the issue of economics a number of times, but seemed to consistently frame his concerns as issues of consumerism, a lack of willingness to slow down, or a lack of appreciation for what they eat. Never does he engage with the issues of poverty that put people in positions where slowing down and attempting to source local foods (or learn where the foods were grown and how they were transported) is itself an unaffordable luxury.
The problem for me grew out of the author's discussions around food and economics. It first hit me in the second chapter when the author asked, "Could it be that our declining interest in gardening is rooted in our fear of failure and our impatience with loss?" (p.51) Having done some prior reading on the subject, it's been fairly well discussed that interest in home gardening has been falling off since the 1950s and positively correlates with the demographics of women entering the workforce and negatively correlates geographically with areas that have lower average income or have high rates of renter-ship vs home ownership. In other words, gardening has become the purview of those whom have time and money and property.
As I continued to read, the author returned to the issue of economics a number of times, but seemed to consistently frame his concerns as issues of consumerism, a lack of willingness to slow down, or a lack of appreciation for what they eat. Never does he engage with the issues of poverty that put people in positions where slowing down and attempting to source local foods (or learn where the foods were grown and how they were transported) is itself an unaffordable luxury.
July 9, 2021
This was broadly on humanity recognizing its reliance and need for nature (God) and sustenance that is provided by God (food). There are plenty of beautiful offerings of what food means to people peppered throughout. The great challenge that Wirzba creates is now how to go forth with this knowledge.
To receive every meal as an Eucharistic act seems to be the push here. That when we eat, we are eating God's love. The importance of food delves into our basic need to be fully engaged with God daily in order to live a full life of faith. I am convinced that pursuing God may look a lot like pursuing good times around a shared meal.
To receive every meal as an Eucharistic act seems to be the push here. That when we eat, we are eating God's love. The importance of food delves into our basic need to be fully engaged with God daily in order to live a full life of faith. I am convinced that pursuing God may look a lot like pursuing good times around a shared meal.
July 25, 2021
A profound meditation on our relationships, not only with food, but with the entirety of God’s creation. Wirzba expounds on the implications of an incarnational theology and how it should be reflected in our views of eating, sharing meals, saying grace, the Eucharist, and communion with nature and other people.
As expected, Wirzba draws on the thinking of Wendell Berry and Robert Farrar Capon, but also Michael Pollan, Alexander Schmemann, St. Augustine, and many others.
Thoughtful and challenging, this is what theology books should be. I will be thinking about this one for a while.
Very highly recommended.
And thank you, Aidan for the great gift!
As expected, Wirzba draws on the thinking of Wendell Berry and Robert Farrar Capon, but also Michael Pollan, Alexander Schmemann, St. Augustine, and many others.
Thoughtful and challenging, this is what theology books should be. I will be thinking about this one for a while.
Very highly recommended.
And thank you, Aidan for the great gift!
January 1, 2025
“Food is God’s love made nutritious and delicious.” (305)
“Eating roots us into a world with others.” (299)
Eating is one of the most common activities in our lives and in the Bible, yet it is one of the most overlooked in terms of theological reflection. How should a Christian think about and go about eating? That, of course, is the key question of this book, and the two quotes above are the two main lessons to take away from it. Food matters because God created food. Needing and becoming food is baked into the order of creation, and unfortunately, we totally ignore this far too often. I could write a whole essay on this (thesis topic incoming?), but I will leave it at that for now.
I did go back and forth a bit on how to rate this. For the most part, I think it’s really good, although I have a couple of quibbles. Wirzba does have a sort of reverse chronological snobbery, where he tends to see most (all?) of the great food-related sins and problems as originating since the Industrial Revolution, although of course there were many issues before that. I also wish he spent more time on a biblical theology of food (which is not to say this is unbiblical; he just spends quite a lot of time on philosophical/abstract theology rather than exegesis). But after thinking about it, I realized those points are really just criticizing Wirzba for not writing the book I wanted him to write. For what this book tries to be, it is really excellent. There is a LOT in here that is worth dwelling on. Definitely a paradigm-shifter for me, and I anticipate coming back to it down the road.
If you want a new habit to work on for 2025, try this: When you pray before a meal, give thanks not just for the food before you, but also specifically for all the people, animals, plants, and natural processes that God put in place that enabled that food to come before you. That’s what I’m going to start with!
“Eating roots us into a world with others.” (299)
Eating is one of the most common activities in our lives and in the Bible, yet it is one of the most overlooked in terms of theological reflection. How should a Christian think about and go about eating? That, of course, is the key question of this book, and the two quotes above are the two main lessons to take away from it. Food matters because God created food. Needing and becoming food is baked into the order of creation, and unfortunately, we totally ignore this far too often. I could write a whole essay on this (thesis topic incoming?), but I will leave it at that for now.
I did go back and forth a bit on how to rate this. For the most part, I think it’s really good, although I have a couple of quibbles. Wirzba does have a sort of reverse chronological snobbery, where he tends to see most (all?) of the great food-related sins and problems as originating since the Industrial Revolution, although of course there were many issues before that. I also wish he spent more time on a biblical theology of food (which is not to say this is unbiblical; he just spends quite a lot of time on philosophical/abstract theology rather than exegesis). But after thinking about it, I realized those points are really just criticizing Wirzba for not writing the book I wanted him to write. For what this book tries to be, it is really excellent. There is a LOT in here that is worth dwelling on. Definitely a paradigm-shifter for me, and I anticipate coming back to it down the road.
If you want a new habit to work on for 2025, try this: When you pray before a meal, give thanks not just for the food before you, but also specifically for all the people, animals, plants, and natural processes that God put in place that enabled that food to come before you. That’s what I’m going to start with!
June 24, 2025
*4.5 stars. A very excellent book. Exhaustively researched and very well written. I learned a lot about fidelity and membership and the awful things we’ve done to our fellow creatures and the land we live on. The entire book flows from a beautiful and robust doctrine of the Trinity, a love for Jesus, and an emphasis on the incarnation. Wendell Berry quotes abound. I have a lot to think about and a reading list as long as my arm. Very thankful for this book. I think it needs a third edition. It feels more timely than ever.
May 19, 2023
I sure did love this one! What started as a way to pass the time on a plane ride because my prof required a book review ended up being a challenging but exciting way to reimagine food. Wirzba walks us through food’s relationship to Christian doctrine and invites his readers into a theology of abundance, delight, and gratitude. Salute!
May 1, 2024
3.5 stars.
Challenging - in a good way - and very niche at points.
While Wirzba provides thought-provoking insight on topics such as the ethics of food industrialization, the Eucharist, whether or not we will eat in heaven, and others, my resounding takeaway will be quite simple. The generous grace displayed through food.
Food inherently reminds us we are not self-sufficient. We are in constant need. Yet God meets this dependence with overwhelming generosity. He didn’t have to make food delicious - but He did, out of love. It is almost comically generous. He allows us to actually enjoy our dependence in this tangible way. He invites us to garner the physical strength and spiritual strength necessary to live a life already accomplished by Christ through ordinary food and the Eucharist table, respectively.
What Wirzba taught me is that - contrary to what the last two reads for this month have told me - food is not simply fuel … it is deeply and beautifully spiritual.
Challenging - in a good way - and very niche at points.
While Wirzba provides thought-provoking insight on topics such as the ethics of food industrialization, the Eucharist, whether or not we will eat in heaven, and others, my resounding takeaway will be quite simple. The generous grace displayed through food.
Food inherently reminds us we are not self-sufficient. We are in constant need. Yet God meets this dependence with overwhelming generosity. He didn’t have to make food delicious - but He did, out of love. It is almost comically generous. He allows us to actually enjoy our dependence in this tangible way. He invites us to garner the physical strength and spiritual strength necessary to live a life already accomplished by Christ through ordinary food and the Eucharist table, respectively.
What Wirzba taught me is that - contrary to what the last two reads for this month have told me - food is not simply fuel … it is deeply and beautifully spiritual.
April 2, 2023
My friend Stewart gave this book two stars. My friend Stewart is wildly optimistic.
March 25, 2019
This review was first published in the University of Edinburgh Journal Volume 48 Number 1 (June 2017)
Even if you do not believe in Christianity, according to Wirzba, you still participate as a member of God’s creation through consuming his provision: food. Food and Faith explores the concept of food and addresses the challenges we humans face as a participating member of the created world in our post-modern context. The individualistic, consumer-driven society causes its human inhabitants to generally degrade God’s good creation to a mere commodity. As a result, we might find it difficult see our steak dinners past its plastic wrappings to where the cow it came from and who cared for the cow. Wirzba also suggests that because humans were created to exist in community, choosing not to belong to each other makes us incomplete people. Without a fully integrated understanding of our food consumption, it would be difficult for us to realise that habits such as consuming fast food or eating on the go are acts of individualism: membership and community are now optional in our contemporary lives.
The need to eat is a daily reminder of our creaturely mortality. Eating gives us life, but it also means death for the party that we are consuming. It allows us to be aware that we are never self-sustaining, and food is never cheap because it always requires the sacrifice of another. Wirzba proposes that when we consume, we too are also being consumed: what we ate becomes part of who we are, since our bodies continually shed cells and produce new ones from what we eat. This creates a transformative and mutually binding relationship between those who consume and those being consumed. We are not merely consumers with buying power, but rather, a part of the creational membership that demands us to be sacrificial to other members of the creation. We cannot damage our planet without damaging ourselves, because all members of the creation are linked, whether we believe in it or not.
Rather than setting out a list of prescriptive guidelines in how to eat responsibly, Wirzba gives his readers a compelling argument that will help reframe the way the readers view consumption, and ultimately, the purpose of their existence in the world. The purpose of our existence is more than just functional; it includes giving gratitude to our maker and being a blessing to other members of the created world. True humanism begins with recognising our dependence on and membership in the created community. Documentaries such as Food, Inc. may only present the current environmental and ecological problems associated with post-modern food production and consumption, but Food and Faith actually provides a solution: a God-centred worldview.
Even if you do not believe in Christianity, according to Wirzba, you still participate as a member of God’s creation through consuming his provision: food. Food and Faith explores the concept of food and addresses the challenges we humans face as a participating member of the created world in our post-modern context. The individualistic, consumer-driven society causes its human inhabitants to generally degrade God’s good creation to a mere commodity. As a result, we might find it difficult see our steak dinners past its plastic wrappings to where the cow it came from and who cared for the cow. Wirzba also suggests that because humans were created to exist in community, choosing not to belong to each other makes us incomplete people. Without a fully integrated understanding of our food consumption, it would be difficult for us to realise that habits such as consuming fast food or eating on the go are acts of individualism: membership and community are now optional in our contemporary lives.
The need to eat is a daily reminder of our creaturely mortality. Eating gives us life, but it also means death for the party that we are consuming. It allows us to be aware that we are never self-sustaining, and food is never cheap because it always requires the sacrifice of another. Wirzba proposes that when we consume, we too are also being consumed: what we ate becomes part of who we are, since our bodies continually shed cells and produce new ones from what we eat. This creates a transformative and mutually binding relationship between those who consume and those being consumed. We are not merely consumers with buying power, but rather, a part of the creational membership that demands us to be sacrificial to other members of the creation. We cannot damage our planet without damaging ourselves, because all members of the creation are linked, whether we believe in it or not.
Rather than setting out a list of prescriptive guidelines in how to eat responsibly, Wirzba gives his readers a compelling argument that will help reframe the way the readers view consumption, and ultimately, the purpose of their existence in the world. The purpose of our existence is more than just functional; it includes giving gratitude to our maker and being a blessing to other members of the created world. True humanism begins with recognising our dependence on and membership in the created community. Documentaries such as Food, Inc. may only present the current environmental and ecological problems associated with post-modern food production and consumption, but Food and Faith actually provides a solution: a God-centred worldview.
July 24, 2018
This is my book of the year. Yes, it is July. I will not read a book as challenging, edifying, and engaging, to say nothing of a book having all 3 qualifying features, as this one.
Wirzba begins by challenging readers to being to think differently--primarily, theologically--about food. He then works through illuminating readers to the current status of the Food Industry, and forcing us to think very hard about how comfortable we are with the current trends and it's implications on the biotic community. By the end of the text, Wirzba is enlightening readers as to what eating has to do with the Eucharist, what eating at the Lord's table has to do with the other meals we eat, and what classical theology can teach us about better understanding the world around us and the age to come, especially in regards to eating.
"Eating is not incidental to the expression of life as Christ reveals it. Indeed, eating can serve as a witness to the heavenly kingdom. Why? Because eating is the action whereby we share and strengthen life, celebrate blessings received, and enact fellowship. When we eat well with each other we perform an essential meaning of home.... Following Jesus we learn to eat like he does so that we can move into the fullness of life he makes possible. Throughout his ministry Jesus broke down the barriers that keep people apart by eating with them. In the hospitality realized at a common, inclusive table Jesus testified to God's reign on earth, inviting others to welcome and live out God's rule.... Insofar as we learn to co-abide with him, eating can become a sacrament, the daily sign that the world we call our garden, kitchen, and home is also the home of God." (216-217)
Wirzba begins by challenging readers to being to think differently--primarily, theologically--about food. He then works through illuminating readers to the current status of the Food Industry, and forcing us to think very hard about how comfortable we are with the current trends and it's implications on the biotic community. By the end of the text, Wirzba is enlightening readers as to what eating has to do with the Eucharist, what eating at the Lord's table has to do with the other meals we eat, and what classical theology can teach us about better understanding the world around us and the age to come, especially in regards to eating.
"Eating is not incidental to the expression of life as Christ reveals it. Indeed, eating can serve as a witness to the heavenly kingdom. Why? Because eating is the action whereby we share and strengthen life, celebrate blessings received, and enact fellowship. When we eat well with each other we perform an essential meaning of home.... Following Jesus we learn to eat like he does so that we can move into the fullness of life he makes possible. Throughout his ministry Jesus broke down the barriers that keep people apart by eating with them. In the hospitality realized at a common, inclusive table Jesus testified to God's reign on earth, inviting others to welcome and live out God's rule.... Insofar as we learn to co-abide with him, eating can become a sacrament, the daily sign that the world we call our garden, kitchen, and home is also the home of God." (216-217)
October 25, 2013
Such a great book with some amazing insights. Made me really dig further into what and how I eat. No it's not a book about becoming a vegetarian or vegan, it's a book about making sure your eating habits align with where our hearts should be: stewards of Gods creation. Lots of great references (maybe at times too much) and overall a book I recommend the church in general should read.
Recommend:
Ages 16+
Great as a small group book!
Anyone passionate about food
Recommend:
Ages 16+
Great as a small group book!
Anyone passionate about food
December 13, 2025
I wanted a little more linear and systematic argument, and there’s a lot of repetition, but the material is fantastic! A set of dense essays connecting eating to Christian anthropology, Creation, sacrifice, Trinity, Incarnation, Eucharist, eschatology. Some nice connections to those continental philosophers that I don’t understand well. Lots of Wendell Berry connections, which always helps. For me, the book was at its best when it described what Wirzba thought we should actually DO in light of the rich theological reflections.
June 21, 2024
I understand this book is particular to my own interests, and so not everyone would enjoy it to the degree I did, but I’d highly recommend the book! Wirzba is a compelling author and I think he makes fantastic points both about how food impacts our life on this earth but also about what the concept of food and eating in heaven would look like. I find Wirzba’s statements and thesis so compelling, that he actually makes me want to be a gardener…so be on the lookout for that I guess 👩🏼🌾
Read
February 16, 2022"𝘛𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."
November 25, 2025
A great read for any Christian!! Definitely felt like I was back in my theo days. I really appreciated the last 2 chapters!
August 8, 2020
A book I will recommend for a long time. Life-giving and life-affirming. It invites you into a real newness of life, making room for all that the earth and community has to offer
March 30, 2023
Read for class. Definitely an interesting read that brought up several good key ideas and made me think. He also definitely could have summarized his points better and been more concise. But definitely makes me think more about how I eat and how I approach it theologically.
Read
May 18, 2021Tough slogging in places but some great food for thought (see what I did there?)
May 22, 2017
...Been looking for a book like this for a long time! Fundamentally important.
Wirzba lays out a meaningful, complex and most sensible case for the importance of eating, Theologically. He realises that food and eating's proper significance comes in the Eucharist and in the Triune God, suggesting in real ways how we might properly order our lives, with creation, one another and God, in ways that we may become proper Priests of creation.
This would require respecting farmers, gardeners, various crafts, land, water and the cosmos in Toto in relation to God, as creatures grateful for his communal gifts.
Thanksgiving is the proper way and Norman calls on The Scripture, The Liturgy, The Christian Tradition, Fr Schmemann and science, amongst others, to reveal just how important this is.
All of this adds up to a very rich Theological project, which wasn't wrapped up in jargon or self absorbed in any way, instead this book was written in understandable terms supported by copious footnotes for further research.
The argument that food is proper to the Kingdom and that eating is something which we will do in the hereafter, strikes me as incredibly prescient and a wonderful antitode to fluffy abstract depictions of God's Kingdom, which denigrade matter and I fear the Kingdom itself. Someone has read their bible properly, seen the more intelligent musings of the church fathers as well as modern day theologians and philosophers.
Wirzba has used all of the above to great effect and gives the reader a helpful prod to delve deeper, to not take what we have for granted but calls us to an evangelism of sorts, which is by no means of his own making even though he may digress into sensationalism at times, in my view. (Very sporadically however.) His is an important message and is well delivered.
I look forward to reading further this great scholar, a descendant of the great Wilhelm Roepke, to learn more about God's good creation and recommend this to anyone interested in Trinitarian Theology, The Eucharist, Food and even the politics thereof.
Wirzba lays out a meaningful, complex and most sensible case for the importance of eating, Theologically. He realises that food and eating's proper significance comes in the Eucharist and in the Triune God, suggesting in real ways how we might properly order our lives, with creation, one another and God, in ways that we may become proper Priests of creation.
This would require respecting farmers, gardeners, various crafts, land, water and the cosmos in Toto in relation to God, as creatures grateful for his communal gifts.
Thanksgiving is the proper way and Norman calls on The Scripture, The Liturgy, The Christian Tradition, Fr Schmemann and science, amongst others, to reveal just how important this is.
All of this adds up to a very rich Theological project, which wasn't wrapped up in jargon or self absorbed in any way, instead this book was written in understandable terms supported by copious footnotes for further research.
The argument that food is proper to the Kingdom and that eating is something which we will do in the hereafter, strikes me as incredibly prescient and a wonderful antitode to fluffy abstract depictions of God's Kingdom, which denigrade matter and I fear the Kingdom itself. Someone has read their bible properly, seen the more intelligent musings of the church fathers as well as modern day theologians and philosophers.
Wirzba has used all of the above to great effect and gives the reader a helpful prod to delve deeper, to not take what we have for granted but calls us to an evangelism of sorts, which is by no means of his own making even though he may digress into sensationalism at times, in my view. (Very sporadically however.) His is an important message and is well delivered.
I look forward to reading further this great scholar, a descendant of the great Wilhelm Roepke, to learn more about God's good creation and recommend this to anyone interested in Trinitarian Theology, The Eucharist, Food and even the politics thereof.
June 28, 2016
In Food and Faith, Norman Wirzba carefully compacts issues involving the industrial food system, factory farming, large-scale agribusiness, and the fast-food phenomenon into touch points for making comprehensive the problems concerning our complex global food web. Employing a distinctly theological vision, Wirzba brilliantly crafts an explanation of how the Trinitarian life of care and relationality, hospitality and gift as well as the Eucharistic act of self-offering, communion and celebration are all involved in enlarging how we think about the familiar act of eating. This book can be seen as a treatise to a Church in great need of seeing the larger picture of the story behind its food by exploring questions such as: in what ways have we de-contextualized food such that the 21st century American is largely estranged from the processes involved in its production? how might we become better members of the creation we are a part by deepening our understanding the ecological, economic, and psychological components of our food system? how might theology help us unveil a transformed politics of eating? I would recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring how a theology of eating may be conceived.
May 10, 2013
This is an interesting book (and so beautifully written!) that proposes a different perspective -for the most part- of food and faith than the one I hold. I learned, however, some good things and was once more challenged to see the meals we share -each one of them- as gifts from the hand of a Trinitarian God.
The weakest point in the author's argument in favor of a more "ecological life" is that it seems that he sees men only as part of the creation order, as "members" of it, as part of the ecosystem; but fails to emphasize the Creation Mandate given to men at the beginning to exercise dominion over the created world.
Some lines and paragraphs I kept in my commonplace because they are worth re-visiting later.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the cover! I love it!
The weakest point in the author's argument in favor of a more "ecological life" is that it seems that he sees men only as part of the creation order, as "members" of it, as part of the ecosystem; but fails to emphasize the Creation Mandate given to men at the beginning to exercise dominion over the created world.
Some lines and paragraphs I kept in my commonplace because they are worth re-visiting later.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the cover! I love it!
March 16, 2019
I had to read this book to compare to another in a grad school class. I thought the title was strange and probably would not have read it if I did not have to. I'm glad that I did--this is a unique way of looking at how we consume food and how destructive our practices have become. This is not another one of the moralistic crusades on veganism or anti-industrialism (at least, not in a direct way, I suppose), but rather a book that should make one think about how we consume what we do. The eating in exile portion is particularly thought-provoking, but understanding the distance between us and our meals (very few of us kill our own dinner) is valuable as well.
Wirzba's writing style makes this an easy read.
Wirzba's writing style makes this an easy read.
June 16, 2015
The book is somewhat heavy with its academic theological presentation. Wirzba lives the Trinity, as do I, but it will be difficult sledding for the uninitiated. That said, the book presents the reader with a fascinating connection between food and faith, connecting spirituality with daily life in a profound and moving way. The topic connects with environment, economic justice, family life, and human health in provocative ways. I gained much from reading it and will have its challenging lessons in mind going forward.
January 1, 2016
This is a great read. In our culture of think-free consumption, this book reminds us to contemplatively think about what we eat. Wirzba skillfully creates a connectedness for the reader which is necessary in a world where our most comfortable disposition is found in a fractured disconnectedness. Wirzba reminds his readers that food should hold a place of healthy sacredity in our hearts.
Please read this book
Please read this book
January 19, 2013
Powerful book. Will make you think about faith can creation every time you sit at the table.
A good book for a group study, not light reading!
Excellent points made about how eating together is a theological action that allows us to see the liveliness of life and the loveliness of love.
Good stuff.
A good book for a group study, not light reading!
Excellent points made about how eating together is a theological action that allows us to see the liveliness of life and the loveliness of love.
Good stuff.
June 1, 2013
This book was my favorite from my recent experience taking an amazing class called "food, faith and justice." This is an accessible look into some awesome theology around food and how we produce food.
June 12, 2014
Wirzba's book has helped me think deeply about something very common and very important to the heart of God and the life of Christian. I think regularly now about all that sacrifice to bring me my food everyday. Worth reading slowly and thoughtfully.
August 30, 2018
I wish there was another copy of this book, a version of this book for "regular" people, a dumbed-down version. I think I got the main ideas but there was a lot of detailed theology that went over my head and made my eyes glaze over.
July 21, 2012
Stunning book. One of my favourites this year for sure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews