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God, Family, Medicine and Sweet & Sour Tofu Do Not A Full Life Make
January 07, 2006
The L.A. Times today has a fascinating, in-depth piece on the Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda, California. Interesting bunch. Conservative vegetarians way into health and cutting-edge medicine. Not your average bible-thumpers. Eschewing meat and alcohol, the men live 7.3 years longer, and the women 4.4 years longer than other Californians, on average. But is it worth it? The Loma Linda Market seems like a perfectly ordinary grocery store, until you search for the meat aisle. Cases of Morningstar Farms' $2.69-a-can Tuno meat substitute are piled next to Worthington's vegetarian Turkee slices. Organic shampoos share floor space with bulk barrels of spices and whole grains. The five-member City Council has historically enforced strict zoning laws against alcohol sales, reflecting the church's teetotaling ways. (Beer and wine are sold only at supermarkets and a few restaurants.) Vegetarian turkey and no Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving is hard enough. But here's where some of them really lose me: ...the most traditional church members shun fiction, movies and dancing. 'Scuse me, please: a James Brown CD and a really disturbing, lurid Joyce Carol Oates novel await. Gotta go! But, first, there's another problem, with so many local institutions being church affiliated, including the university and medical center: ......40% of the property in town is tax-exempt, according to City Manager Dennis Halloway. "We need more business," said Mayor (Floyd) Petersen of the town, which lacks the major retailers that are found just over the city line in Redlands and Colton. Well: anyone selling meat, booze, or videos is going to bypass Loma Linda - restaurants, multiplexes, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, e-commerce distributors of fiction, dance music CDs and vacu-sealed meat products.....forget it. So that leaves.....let's see, what? Car dealers and Home Depot and yarn shops.........? Radical asceticism is slippery slope. Do Adventists eat dessert? Just curious. How about a Ben and Jerry's in Loma Linda? TECHNORATI TAGS: SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS, LOMA LINDA, MOVIES, FICTION, MEAT, BOOZE, TAX BASE Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 7, 2006 10:19 PM Comments:
Radical asceticism IS a slippery slope, Matt. But please remember that we are just another slice of humanity's pie. And where you have people, you'll have a faithful cross-section representing a piece of the whole. Somewhere in the middle (I didn't say "Lukewarm"!) you'll find the balanced Adventist. That person loves his Savior passionately, and seeks to preserve his faculties, both so that he may understand great principles, and that he may be a willing and able servant. You don't have to go to Loma Linda to figure out that a spare and simple diet is the best for brain and body. Come on, give us a break. Get to know us, and you'll find that we are "just folks" like everyone else. No better, no worse. A little peculiar? You betcha!! Regards, Post a comment
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