Whitebread Protestants : A Book Review

"Protestants like to think religion is not materialistic. Its theology, spirituality, and liturgy are rooted in concepts and words and any religious practice that involves material objects or invokes the senses is suspect -- dismissed as papist or shunned idolatrous. But the place of food within American Protestant church life calls this anti-materialism into question. There is nothing more material than food ..." (Back Cover) 

Daniel Sack's "Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in American Culture" has been sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me to dust it off and give it a proper review. I bought the book several several years ago for an undergraduate Religion course. The first time I sat to read it I had a difficult time reading the text as the more I learned about American Protestantism the more I realized just how off base it is with true Christianity. I've since reread it many times and I now find it to be a wonderful resource for any Catholic (especially those in regular communication with Protestants). 

The book itself is not that long, hovering somewhere around 220 pages or so, but it tackles the hows and whys of American Protestantism better than most books on the subject. "Whitebread Protestants" is broken into five chapters entitled: (1) Liturgical Food:Communion Elements and Conflict, (2) Social Food: Potlucks and Coffee Hours, (3) Emergency Food: The Development of Soup Kitchens, (4) Global Food: Hunger Politics, and (5) Moral Food: Eating as a Christian Should.  

The whole thing begins with an excellent examination of the history of Protestant involvement with the Temperance Movement and their subsequent changes and reinterpretations of the Bible in order to fit their new concerns over alcohol.Sacks explains the origins of contemporary Protestant "Communion" trends that had previously baffled me (such as using grape juice) and some that I was unaware of (like the use of individual paper cups and prepackaged "Communion" products). Sacks continues on to paint us a vivid picture of mainline American Protestantism and culture all through their relationship to food.   

     

Throughout the book it is apparent that American Protestantism has been (and continues to be) committed to ignoring tradition and changing theological interpretations in order to justify preconceived notions and social anxieties. And, again and again, we see case after case of American Protestants not only changing their own minds, but expecting the rest of the world to fall in line with their new personal revelations.

We see the story of a people banishing doctrine in favor of "community" (perhaps to validate their "personal interpretations") that ironically uses church practices like Communion to separate the community and emphasize personal worship. It probably shouldn't be surprising then that they feel the need to augment their desire for "community" and "fellowship" with shallow attempts to forge ties through Potlucks and "community" events. While these things are always nice to have in a community, it's best to keep in mind that religion is delicate. It is not unlike a house of cards. If you start removing a piece here and a piece there it will either collapse or need to be rebuilt to accommodate the changes. Sacks does a wonderful job putting this into perspective as he traces the struggles and changes of "Whitebread Protestant" religion and culture. For as much as we hear their religions are supposedly based on a "deep personal relationships with Jesus Christ" it was intriguing to learn that the focus is more accurately about "relationships" with one another than the Big Guy Upstairs. 

After reading this book you'll have gained deeper insight into the hows and whys of "Whitebread Protestants" and, if you're like me, with every page you'll see just how much they miss the mark. While frustrating at times (through no fault of the author), this book has helped me to grow deeper in love with Catholicism and to more clearly see the necessity of stability and tradition in Christianity.  

If the world is a puzzle and we are the pieces...

The world is like a giant jigsaw puzzle and we are each a piece of it. We are not all intended to be the same shape or piece- there must be some of us who are ‘ends’ and corners while others must be the middle pieces. We cannot be something that God did not create us to be. If we try to jam ourselves into the puzzle in the wrong spot- we’ll set the whole puzzle off. We all have a purpose. But how do I know if I am supposed to be on a corner or in the center? How do I know if I am supposed to be a wife or a nun? Unlike a jigsaw puzzle, the world is not so neat and clean cut. But unlike a jigsaw puzzle, we have a God who guides us and is with us every step of the way. We have a God that intimately knows each piece and can see the whole picture.  He sees our trials and failures and softly whispers hints and directions in our ears-- we must be willing to listen. 

No matter where God is calling you and me to be, I know that He is calling us to live a life of love. He wants each and every one of us to be saints. As we all know, the saints are varied and diverse people. The path to holiness and sainthood does not automatically mean that everyone must be a priest,brother or nun … 

In France during the mid-1800’s, Zélie Guérin and Louis Martin were both discerning the call to the religious life. While Louis considered staying single, Zélie discerned the call to become a nun. As fate would have it, they met and decided to marry on July 13^th 1858. Although they were married, they tried to live together in chastity like “brothers and sisters” but were instructed by a priest that this was not the way to embrace their vocation of marriage. At the age of 46, after 19 years of marriage, Zélie Martin passed away. This left Louis to raise their (living) five daughters. The daughters of this French couple became nuns of various orders… one of which is now widely known as a patron to the Carmelites, St Therese of the Little Flower. This couple which had such different plans for themselves gave their lives to God and trusted in His plan for them. Who could imagine that God would be calling them to birth, nurture and raise saints and holy women!

We can all learn a thing or two from their experiences. Everybody has a plan for themselves, not fulfilling our own plans does not mean that we have 'failed' or 'fallen short'. Sometimes God has different plans for us. As pieces in the puzzle of life, we have a limited understanding of our surroundings. If we wish to live a life that truly glorifies the Lord and allows us to reach our full potential, we must rely on God - who not only can see but actually made the whole picture. We must trust in Him to lead us. As a Trinitarian sister once told me, we are all like different types of flowers, we all need different things to help us grow (spiritually) but only God knows what garden we belong in so that we can be as beautiful and full of life as possible. We must trust that God will lead us to that garden which will nurture our souls- whether it is through motherhood, becoming a hermit, or remaining single. Only God knows what is best for us...

May God Bless and guide you in whatever vocation you are called to. May you trust Him utterly and completely to ‘see the big picture’ and may you desire to be the piece of the puzzle that God wants you to be. For an increase in understanding and acceptance of vocations and for all who are discerning- we pray to the Lord!