Why I'm Not Persuaded By 'The Daniel Plan'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""It wasn't a very spiritual thought--'we're all fat.'" That's what went through Pastor Rick Warren's mind when he was nearing the end of an 800+ person\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2012\/07\/27\/why-im-not-persuaded-by-the-daniel-plan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I'm Not Persuaded By 'The Daniel Plan'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""It wasn't a very spiritual thought--'we're all fat.'" 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{"id":3062,"date":"2012-07-27T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/?p=3062"},"modified":"2012-07-27T06:00:15","modified_gmt":"2012-07-27T10:00:15","slug":"why-im-not-persuaded-by-the-daniel-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rachelmariestone\/2012\/07\/27\/why-im-not-persuaded-by-the-daniel-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I’m Not Persuaded By ‘The Daniel Plan’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a very spiritual thought\u2013\u2018we\u2019re all fat.'\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what went through Pastor Rick Warren\u2019s mind when he was nearing the end of an 800+ person baptismal service last year.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>Recently, one of the New York Times<\/em>\u2018 blogs had an interesting piece<\/a> on the \u2018Daniel Plan,\u2019 the small-group based health program at Rick Warren\u2019s Saddleback Church in California.<\/p>\n

The Daniel Plan<\/a>\u2013named, of course, for the Biblical Daniel who rejected the king\u2019s rich food and drink for a diet of vegetables and water\u2013involves three medical celebrities: brain expert and Saddleback member Dr. Daniel Amen<\/a>, Dr. Mark Hyman<\/a>, and Dr. Mehmet Oz<\/a>, the heart surgeon, author and TV doctor, who attended Daniel Plan rallies and made videos.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>I don\u2019t know a whole lot about the Daniel Plan, but it looks to be mostly in the tradition of \u201chealthy eating is a spiritual discipline\u201d <\/a>and emphasizes a mostly vegan, whole-foods diet and moderate exercise. The distinctive feature of the Daniel Plan is the fact that participation in small groups<\/em>\u2013whether online or in person\u2013is the first step of the program.<\/p>\n

While I must admit that a program that speaks the discourse of \u201chealth\u201d in a narrow way never appeals to me, I\u2019m not surprised at all by the successes of the Daniel Plan thus far. As I\u2019ve suggested elsewhere<\/a> on this blog\u2013eating together is powerful stuff, <\/em>and it seems to be just as powerful for those struggling with obesity as those struggling with anorexia and everything in between. $\"\"$ <\/a>I just wonder if The Daniel Plan is really capable of creating a new but lasting food culture. As with all plans that are so health-focused in their understanding of eating\u2013food is to bring health, full stop\u2013I\u2019m doubtful it is. And its \u2018Biblical\u2019 basis is flimsy indeed.<\/p>\n

But I wish them well.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"