Did Jesus Die So We Could Eat German Chocolate Cake?

Published on by D. G. Hart

Do the every-square-inchers ever worry that making the gospel relevant to all of life may wind up depriving Christ’s work of its true significance? Bethany Jenkins is starting a series on the theology of dessert for the allies of the gospel (thanks to our southern correspondent). Weight gain is certainly a new way to put meaning in every square inch. Jenkins sees a lot of material with which to make analogies and so writes about milk and honey (but not baklava):

As we contemplate the eschatological reality of our future home in the presence of Christ, God once again turns our attention to desserts. First, he repeatedly tells our forefathers that Canaan will be “a land flowing with milk and honey,” combining milk (a rare and precious commodity in an era without refrigeration) with honey (the chief of desserts). Second, in Revelation, instead of finding a tree with forbidden fruit in a garden, John finds “the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.” Its leaves are “for the healing of nations” (Rev. 22:2), which fulfills the prophecy spoken by Ezekiel (Ezek. 47:12).

And this during Lent! What needless temptation to the church calendar followers.

Jenkin’s observations might be clever in a literature class, but is this the way the Allies want to handle Scripture? Apparently, the price of discovering ordinary matters in the Bible is worth the benefits that come with showing the gospel’s relevance. According to Collin Hansen:

This week’s series on how pastry chefs integrate their faith and work emerged from our editorial staff’s concerns about the narrow range of questions we typically ask ourselves as we apply our belief in Jesus Christ to everyday tasks. As Bethany Jenkins, our director of Every Square Inch, explored all the ethical issues facing the men and women who bake our cakes, we were amazed by the far-reaching implications of the gospel. You may not agree with every conclusion, but we’re hopeful the series will provoke you to think carefully about the costs and opportunities of discipleship, whether you’re baking cinnamon rolls for your children or arranging an elaborate dessert for display only.

Some believers may be amazed, but others along with any number of unbelievers are dumbfounded by the lack of seriousness implicit in such spiritualizing. Back in 2000 during the days when George W. Bush was running for his first term and securing the backing of evangelical Protestants, the editors at The New Republic quipped:

‘In God We Trust’ is on all our coins, but the ubiquity of the affirmation has not led to any sharpening of the soul or the moral sense. Instead, God is dropped into parking meters and vending machines throughout the land.

Will this series on the theology of ganache help to advance a better understanding or more gratefulness for the work of Christ? Or will it simply be an excuse to use the gospel to be clever? Galling indeed.

84 thoughts on “Did Jesus Die So We Could Eat German Chocolate Cake?”

  1. Huh? What?
    Answer: no.
    IOW let’s get up to speed, please.
    Mary, Joseph and Bishop Sheen died so that we can eat wedding cake celebrating Adam and Steve’s ummm, union.
    There, that’s better.

    You’re welcome.

    Like

  7. As a plumber’s son, I’m looking forward to the series the do on a theology of plumbing. I’m especially eager to read the section on unclogging some σκύβαλον from toilets.

    Like

  8. Nate,

    As the same plumber’s son, I am more interested in some of the meta-discussions on plumbing which would be more relevant to my own community (aimed at human flourishing of course). For instance, do we know if toilets exist as real extra-mental objects, or can I only know if the toilet exists in my mind. How do we handle the metaphysical (or metapoosical) import behind the common plumbing axiom that poo rolls downhill? Is this based on the shared existential observations of those who sit atop hills just to see if this is true of poo, or of a deeper truth that can be known through rational inquiry?

    All this to say, while I am very interested to see how the GC understands my blueberry muffin to be an object of Christ’s redemptive work. It seems to me that if we mix categories, by creating theologies of every square inch, or metaphysics of plumbing, we end up solving the problem of “monasticism” that every GC’er seems to be concerned about by making everyone a monk. To make everything special is to make nothing special, and it makes me wonder if they actually understand what is special about the very gospel they are co-allied around.

    Like

  9. Jed,

    Something to get you started, to provide some motility, on the intersection of philosophy and scatology:

    http://tinyurl.com/khh5wzf

    For higher brows, chapter 16 of Stanley Fish’s “The Trouble with Principle,” entitled “Truth and Toilets” http://tinyurl.com/p5zednq, see especially p. 302.

    The money quote: “The thesis that toilets are more central to life than philosophy seems self-evident, perhaps only because I am the son, brother, and nephew of plumbers.”

    Like

  11. I just cannot handle the notion that Christ may have died to redeem Twinkies, (I suppose he is Lord over them) even though they did recently undergo a resurrection of sorts. Surely not everything is worth redeeming, or perhaps it’s just that some things (e.g., Twinkies) suffered more from the fall than others.

    Is there any chance this is all a TCG April fools joke?

    Like

  12. And Jed, to distill it down a bit — if everything on every day is so dang special then what happens, is said, and is done in churches on the Lord’s Day is necessarily less special. That’s the real loss. But how you gonna keep ’em down on the means of grace farm after they’ve caught the fever to redeem the large apple.

    Like

  13. Dessert Theology is the new Biblical Theology. Crossway has a whole series books coming out to deal with the emerging discipline:

    -Religious Confections
    -The Reformed Pastry
    -The Batter of Modern Divinity
    -ESV Study Cookbook

    Like

  15. Mark G
    If this is an April Fool’s joke, the joke is on them because it’s believable.

    Like

  17. Here is the comment I left at the end of Ms Bethany’s article at TGC (which is awaiting moderation).

    “As well-written as the essay is, and as hard as the author undoubtedly worked, I’m sorry, but as a woman, a student of the bible, and an ever-present voice for females to stop being silly with their theology, I say unequivocally that I am embarrassed by this piece.”

    Like

  21. “The coffee that they serve at my church before and after SS takes like it comes from the pit of…well, you know what I mean.” – Chortles

    Any coffee is serviceable if you brew it dark enough. Even Yingling tastes good as a black and tan.

    Like

  22. If baking is going to bring people in the kingdom then my wife is the Billy Graham of cheese cakes. #rollingindough…er…souls

    Like

  23. Elizabeth, welcome. Good stuff. Sounds better coming from you. We were beginning to feel like candidates for the cover of “Misogyny Today.”

    Amish, you meet the primary diaconal qualification: inability to brew redeeming coffee.

    Like

  24. Scatology can save your life. If it’s big enough and still has its edges intact and you’re in the Alaskan bush, you’d best be thinking of brown bear and turning around. Also, you can just pick up moose scat – nice and dry, and a charming little shape, like you could make a necklace of it.

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  25. So if a baker redeems pastries by making really good pastries then any time someone does something wrong, even screws up a batch of cookies, I’m going to immediately scowl at them and ask, “Are you even saved?!?”

    Or if I go to a restaurant and get bad service, I’m going to ask the manager, “What do have working here, a bunch of heathens?!?”

    Like

  32. In my in-box:

    This week’s series on how pastry chefs integrate their faith and work emerged from our editorial staff’s concerns about the narrow range of questions we typically ask ourselves and each other as we apply our belief in Jesus Christ to everyday tasks. As Bethany Jenkins, our director of Every Square Inch, explored all the ethical issues facing the men and women who bake our cakes, we were amazed by the far-reaching implications of the gospel. You may not agree with every conclusion, but we’re hopeful the series will provoke you to think carefully about the costs and opportunities of discipleship, whether you’re baking cinnamon rolls for your children or arranging an elaborate dessert for display only.

    We’d encourage you to read The Gospel Coalition’s Theological Vision of Ministry if you’d like to learn more about why we devote so much time and attention to seemingly mundane matters as baking. Our Council members affirm:

    Too many Christians have learned to seal off their faith-beliefs from the way they work in their vocation. The gospel is seen as a means of finding individual peace and not as the foundation of a worldview—a comprehensive interpretation of reality affecting all that we do. But we have a vision for a church that equips its people to think out the implications of the gospel on how we do carpentry, plumbing, data-entry, nursing, art, business, government, journalism, entertainment, and scholarship. Such a church will not only support Christians’ engagement with culture, but will also help them work with distinctiveness, excellence, and accountability in their trades and professions. Developing humane yet creative and excellent business environments out of our understanding of the gospel is part of the work of bringing a measure of healing to God’s creation in the power of the Spirit.

    As you read the series we’d love to hear from you about other vocations we should be covering and questions we should be asking about faith and work.

    Collin Hansen
    Editorial Director

    Like

  35. I get the idea from Twitter interactions with the author of the piece in question that the GCers are shocked, shocked that anyone could disagree with their w-wism and that they have little awareness of other v-ws. Maybe the pushback will be helpful and have some redeeming value. Or maybe they’ll just think we’re jerks.

    Like

  39. Apparently all work has value and is all so darned important. But the Gospel-Industrial Complex seems to have a lot more to say to the underemployed graphic designer, foundation employee, the stockbroker who feels a bit guilty about the Beemer, or the professional urban Xian entrepreneur than it does to the dishwasher at their fave funky networking bistro. This is just an observation from a rural rube.

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  40. There is a definite similarity between the silliness of the square inch crew with superstition at the door ready to pounce and the avowed superstitious silliness of RCers, and both engage it in the name of piety toward God. I guess the only riddle is why more evanjellyfish haven’t looked up and said; “hey, they do the same thing but with priests and sacraments and cathedrals and the “tradition’ which is just chock full of monastic and contemplative and activists aids. Rome does evangelicalism better

    Like

  42. CW, I’m guessing in their lenten ‘reflections’ they won’t be invoking Zwingli on sausages or Paul on the uselessness of a piety that sets asides seasons for ‘do not handle’, ‘do not taste’, ‘do not touch’. But here’s something right out of the contemplative handbook;

    Park Forum;…………….”The Daily Examen to reflect on the day, detect God’s presence and discern his direction.” Why not just roll the beads and rub the st christopher’s medal while you’re at it. Get that Mojo going.

    Like

  43. Erik,

    They gave the rapper, Voice, a platform in the pulpit at Piper’s church, certainly because of his ‘transformational’ work (redeeming rap music). Will they extend the favor to plumbers? Do electricians get a pass into the pulpit for their ‘redeeming work’ as well? Where does it end? Does Piper let his plumber deliver the next sermon because of the evident Christianization of the leaky faucet under his kitchen sink?

    It’s like they’re trying so hard to show that in order for people’s work matters to God it has to be imbued with Christ, and if you can’t figure out some way for Jesus to be shoved into the framework of how you understand fitting zeros and ones together, maybe you need a heavier dose of worldview.

    Like

  44. David,

    Thanks for the Fish links, or should I say no thanks, I spent a good portion of my evening reading him. Last time I make a wisecrack here, who knows where it’ll lead?

    Like

  45. Jed,

    You’re welcome, or I should say not welcome. I think Fish has a profoundly deep understanding of Christianity and the absolutism of its claims. An earlier chapter on Milton is especially cogent.

    Sorry you’re evening went down the drain.

    Like

  46. CW,

    Just to riff a little more off of your comments, I ran a little internet search, and came up with this:

    Earth has a surface area of 196,940,400 square miles, which is equal to 12,478,143,744,000 square inches.

    So I came up with the idea of challenging the Every Square Inchers/TGC Enthusiasts to put their money where their mouths are, and put up a progress map of how they are bringing all 12.4 trillion square inches of this planet under Christ’s rule. Maybe we can set up some guidelines of what Christ’s effective lordship over a square inch looks like, so that we can see how they are doing. Of course when one square inch falls out of Christ’s rule, that’ll have to be tracked as well.

    Like

  47. David,

    Actually, there are worse ways to spend an evening. Fish makes for good reading, but should that be shocking? After all he is a plumber’s son. I’ll have to read some more, maybe I might even spring for a book or two – after I buy DGH’s newest of course.

    Like

  48. I’ve got some ideas for redeeming the plumbing trade, beginning with extra long-tailed T-shirts or — to completely eliminate the housewife horrification factor — mandatory jumpsuits. Amen?

    Like

  50. Jed,

    Maybe we should change TGC to “The Gatekeeper Coalition” since they will be in charge of ensuring all those square inches have been effectively redeemed. Oh wait, they’re not a church so they’re not in charge of anything…

    Like

  52. JAS, even better — EDWARDS!!!

    Mark Edwards is chief operating officer at Edward Marc Chocolatier, a Pittsburgh-based chocolate company founded in 1914 by his great-grandparents. Previously, he worked in the White House Office of Presidential Advance.

    Like

  55. DG, but what if you eat dessert to increase the Lordship of Christ and subsequently violate proper stewardship of the Christ’s Lordship (Bethany’s upcoming post #3 on consumer health)? What is a transformationalist to do? Oh the dilemma.

    Like

  57. Darryl, Not getting the Gospel right is their first error which seems to lead to all of the rest. Perhaps they should just go back to being neonomian and be done with it. They may get less love, but the authority obtained is indeed heady!

    Like

  58. Gotta give you OL’ers lots of love for this thread. Not sure why I bothered to read Van Drunnen, as this thread may be the best apologetic for 2K ever! (or, at least the funniest) I’m with you on being sad about GC’s every-square-inch foray.

    Like

  59. Petros, who’s sad? This only vindicates Van Drunen’s point about redeemed goat-herding. Neo-Calvinist critics scoff at the absurd example, but what animates Christian shepherding is what also gives us pious baking.

    Like

  60. Zrim – fair enough. Let me substitute irritated, annoyed, floored, and mix-in a little ‘mad’ at pious baking. I enjoyed Van Drunnen, btw, and appreciate your referral to him.

    Like

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  62. Pardon me for entering the realm of speculation, but the Every Square Inchers (ESI) do seem to employ great reusable shopping bags full of imagination in their redemptive musings. So it seems only fair. Here’s the question: Could/did Jesus himself live up to the ESI ideals? I mean, he was a carpenter — right? If so, why have not archaeologists noted a “Nazareth School” of carpentry with unequaled examples of quality and design? Why didn’t he set up shop in Jerusalem? Shouldn’t he have been famous for the quality of his life and work long before his public ministry? Surely none should have been incredulous when he began teaching and healing. Surely he was also noted for his kindness for animals and his concern for good agricultural practices. What grand opportunities were missed! Or maybe ESI is not really biblical at all. Maybe it’s more modern than anything else.

    And maybe, as Sean has suggested, the HURS (Hipster Urbanites Redeeming Stuff) are just drawn to something like monasticism. Maybe guilt for their privilege (or struggle with envy from their humble state of underemployment) makes them want to carve out little personalized cells. And maybe the high cost of living in the Large Apple makes it easy to imagine that they’ve taken a vow of poverty.

    Like

  63. *SPOILER ALERT*

    The payoff paragraph from the latest pastry post at The Gospel-Industrial Complex:

    Of course, when making artisanal pastries, we may be tempted to overestimate “one’s own domain” or look “down with conceit upon every lower area of life,” as Kuyper warns. But in the end, when we bake, we have the opportunity to image God as Creator, taking the raw materials of his creation and innovating new pastries with interesting textures, tastes, and flavors. We become co-creators with him, not creating and innovating to express self-value, but looking to him as the source of all that is new, beautiful, and pleasing.

    http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/04/03/building-a-better-donut-on-creating-and-innovating/

    Like

  64. “Of course, when making artisanal pastries, we may be tempted to overestimate “one’s own domain” or look “down with conceit upon every lower area of life,”

    No comment.

    Like

  65. Call me Captain Obvious, but doesn’t Jesus’ death (and purchase of sinners) mean we don’t have to worry if our actions here are redemptive enough?

    Or maybe I’m going too Protestant again.

    Like

  66. Petros, those are cage phase 2k feelings. In time the affect goes to face palm then becomes a shrug.

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  67. E-dubs-C, exactly. In point of fact, what we discover is the polar opposite–he was hung on a tree. You’d think that would give the worldviewers some pause.

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  72. This seems like a pastry-friendly version of JRR Tolkien’s idea/doctrine of sub-creation as an act of worship and representation of the true Creator. I know that Piper has written about Tolkien’s writings and ideas in at least one of his books, and of course Tolkien has received a huge boost in popularity in recent years.

    Like

  73. Thanks AB.

    Further thoughts which I may even expand in my own blog:
    Turkey season opens April 12 in NC, for which I am more excited than a metrosexual getting his first pumpkin spice latte of the year.

    That being said, how can I be sure that my hunting practices are in compliance with ESI? Is there a way to load a 2 1/2″ shell that is redemptively superior to another? Is my camo designed by a company committed to fair trade? Is it reasonable to assume they are complementarian? In short, I want to know how to preach the Gospel using a box turkey call.

    Which again comes back to how untenable ESI/TGC’s position is, unless it is narrowly applied to the urban middle class with cash.

    Like

  74. I’m sorry, but the RC have been at this longer and do it better. Meet the Trappists

    https://shop.monksbread.com/

    ALONG WITH A VARIETY OF BREAD WE ALSO BAKE A SELECTION OF CAKES AND COOKIES
    AVAILABLE AT OUR ABBEY STORE

    MONKS’ BREAD

    White – $1.90

    Whole Wheat – $1.90

    Sunflower $1.90

    Rye – $2.40

    Multi Grain – $2.40

    Multi Grain w/raisins – $2.90

    Cinnamon Raisin – $2.40

    Maple Cinnamon – $2.40

    Holiday – $2.90
    (Christmas Season)

    FRUIT CAKES

    Rum
    10 oz. – $8.50
    32 oz – $15.00
    32 oz. tin – $25.00

    BurgundyWine
    10 oz. – $8.50
    32 oz. – $15.00

    Vanilla
    10 oz. – $8.50
    32 oz.- $15.00

    Biscottini

    Rosemary – $4.99

    Cranberry Orange – $5.99

    16 OZ. CAKES

    Blueberry – $7.00

    Cranberry Orange – $7.00

    Chocolate Chip – $7.00

    24 0z. Date Nut w/Whiskey – $13.00

    Brownies – $4.99

    COOKIES

    Chocolate Chip – $5.50

    Oatmeal Raisin – $4.99

    Mint Chocolate Chip – $5.50

    Molasses – $4.99

    All we have to offer as a protestant communion, is the gospel preached and the sacraments administered rightly. All the culture transformation has been done before and better.

    Like

  75. Now baking makes us co-creators:

    Of course, when making artisanal pastries, we may be tempted to overestimate “one’s own domain” or look “down with conceit upon every lower area of life,” as Kuyper warns. But in the end, when we bake, we have the opportunity to image God as Creator, taking the raw materials of his creation and innovating new pastries with interesting textures, tastes, and flavors. We become co-creators with him, not creating and innovating to express self-value, but looking to him as the source of all that is new, beautiful, and pleasing.

    Whatever happened to the language of vocation and stewardship?

    Like

  76. JAS, my 11-year old got a big ol’ turkey using the Turkey Reaper method. http://www.turkeyreapers.com/
    But I’ve never enjoyed watching creatures go from animated to lifeless, so I’ll let youse guys fight over Christian Turkey hunting.

    Like

  77. How’s this quote she uses from Culture Making

    “Revelation 21:2 is the last thing a careful reader of Genesis 1-11 would expect: in the remade world, the center of God’s creative delight is not a garden but a city. And a city is, almost by definition, a place where culture reaches critical mass—a place where culture eclipses the natural world as the most important feature we must make something of.”

    That is a specious reading of Rev 21:2 if I’ve ever seen one. How can the heavenly Jerusalem be both co-created and not? Don’t these people read their bibles?

    For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

    Like

  79. So what if I’m a mediocre baker, cook, or plumber at best? This is what gets me about transformationalism. It just seems like a cover for the smartest and most talented among us to humble brag.

    Like

  81. Maybe Rick Warren’s diet plan book could do some cross-marketing with the GC’s baking efforts?

    Like

  83. Someone left the cake out of His reign
    Oh and maybe I Kant makes it
    But this worldview I can’t shake it
    It sanctifies and rectifies it allllllll
    Oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..

    Like

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