The Last Supper Grew to Ungodly Portions

Paintings Reveal That Plate, Portion Sizes Gradually Grew in the Past Millennium

By Bill Hendrick from WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD




March 24, 2010 -- Paintings of the Last Supper over the past millennium show that plate and food serving sizes have gotten larger throughout history, possibly foretelling today’s supersized portions, according to a new study.

The findings suggest that the phenomenon of serving bigger portions on bigger plates, which pushes people to overeat, has occurred gradually over the past 1,000 years, says co-author Brian Wansink, PhD, a marketing and economics professor at Cornell University and an expert on eating habits.

“We took the 52 most famous paintings of the Last Supper and analyzed the size of the entrees, bread, and plates, relative to the average size of the average head in the painting,” he says in a news release.




Wansink and his brother and co-author, Craig Wansink, professor of religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College, used computer-aided design technology that allowed items in 52 paintings to be scanned, rotated, and calculated, regardless of the orientation of the objects in the artwork. “To account for the varying dimensions of the paintings, the average sizes of these items were indexed based on the average size of the heads depicted in the paintings,” the authors write.

The main discernable dishes depicted in the paintings included fish or eel (18%), lamb (14%), and pork (7%), and 46% of the paintings had no discernable main dish.

'Last Supper' Portions Growing



The study, published in the April 2010 issue of the International Journal of Obesity, finds that the size of the entrees in Last Supper paintings has progressively increased 66%, plate size 66%, and bread size 23% in the past 1,000 years.

“The last thousand years have witnessed dramatic increases in the production, availability, safety, abundance, and affordability of food,” says Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.

“We think that as art imitates life, these changes have been reflected in paintings of history’s most famous dinner,” he says.



The researchers used 52 paintings depicting the Last Supper that were featured in the 2000 book Last Supper by Phaidon Press.

Craig Wansink tells WebMD in an email that “the use of the head in measuring the size of the bread was simply to focus on proportionality between the paintings.”

In short, the scholars say the trend of larger plates and portion sizes detected in recent years and linked to obesity is a phenomenon that started hundreds or even more than 1,000 years ago.

They examined 10 paintings of the Last Supper completed between 1000-1300, five done between 1300 and 1400, 15 between 1400 and 1500, 13 between 1500 ad 1600, and nine between 1600 and the year 2000.

“Perhaps the increasing portion sizes and food availability we have recently noticed is rooted in a general trend that has been artistically depicted for more than a millennium,” the authors write.

Left vs. Right Article

I have friends that have conservative views and friends that have liberal views.  I love them all, although the ones that are liberal are somewhat of an enigma to me. 

A few years back my wife and I were invited to a Reform Synagogue in Cincinnati.  If you did not know it, Cincinnati is a major center for Reform Judaism and home to Hebrew Union College.  Reform Jews are definitely liberal in their religious views and can have liberal views in politics. 

The experience of worshipping with the people that attend this schul was wonderful, unforgettable and treasured.

I don't think we can lump all liberals and all conservatives together as society and the media often portray the two groups.  I certainly do not want to be hurtful to anyone.

I found this article yesterday in the Jewish World Weekly online.  It was written by Dennis Prager.  I have reprinted the text just to share it with my friends and family. 

Prager is a gentleman on the far right of the playing field. Some of his views are rather extreme.  However I found this article to provide some insight into cultural differences.  (I can hear some of my liberal friends groaning.)  Email me if you disagree.  Keep in mind it was geared to a Jewish audience. And keep in mind Prager's views are not entirely my views. I disagree with some of his points.

Many Americans find it difficult to understand why Jews on the Left — including many who would call themselves "liberal" rather than "Left" — continued to enthusiastically support President Obama after the revelations about the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish views of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the religious mentor and close friend of Obama. This confusion is all the greater now that Obama has humiliated the prime minister of Israel and created the most tense moment in American-Israel relations in memory.

Likewise, many Americans wonder how Democratic congressmen who claim to be faithful Catholics and are pro-life could vote for the health care bill that allows for federal funding of abortions — after opposing it up to the last day.

There is an explanation.

Leftism, though secular, must be understood as a religion (which is why I have begun capitalizing it). The Leftist value system's hold on its adherents is as strong as the hold Christianity, Judaism and Islam have on their adherents. Nancy Pelosi's belief in expanding the government's role in American life, and therefore her passion for the health care bill, is as strong as a pro-life Christian's belief in the sanctity of the life of the unborn.

Given the religious nature and the emotional power of Leftist values, Jews and Christians on the Left often derive their values from the Left more than from their religion.

Now, of course, most Leftist Jews and Christians will counter that Leftist values cannot trump their religion's values because Leftist values are identical to their religion's values. But this argument only reinforces my argument that Leftism has conquered the Christianity and the Judaism of Leftist Christians and Jews. If there is no difference between Leftist moral values and those of Judaism or Christianity, then Christianity is little more than Leftism with "Jesus" rhetoric added, and Judaism is Leftism with Jewish terms — such as "Tikkun Olam" ("repairing the world") and "Prophetic values" — added.

But if Christianity is, morally speaking, really Leftism, why didn't Catholics or Protestants assert these values prior to 19th-century European Leftism? And, if Judaism is essentially a set of Left-wing values, does that mean that the Torah and the Talmud are Leftist documents? Or are the two pillars of Judaism generally wrong?

More questions:

Why are almost no Christians and Jews who believe that G-d is the author of the Bible (or, in the case of Jews, the Torah) on the Left?

Why are so few pro-life Catholic and Protestant Christians on the Left? Do they not care about "the poor"?

Of course, that is what people on the Left believe. As former head of the Democratic Party Howard Dean said, "Our moral values, in contradistinction to the Republicans, is, we don't think kids ought to go to bed hungry at night."

They believe such things despite the fact that traditional Protestants and Catholics have created more institutions to take care of the sick and needy than probably any other groups in the world. And despite the fact that religious Americans give more charity and volunteer more time than secular Americans do.

And why have the great majority of Orthodox Jews rejected the Left? For Jews on the Left, the explanation is simple: Orthodox Jews have primitive beliefs and therefore primitive values.

The obvious response is that for the Leftist, all opposition to the Left, secular or religious, is primitive and usually worse (Racist, Sexist, Homophobic, Xenophobic, Ignorant, Bigoted, Intolerant, Mean-Spirited, etc.). So this doesn't tell us much. What might tell us much is this: With a handful of exceptions, Orthodox Jews know Judaism far better than non-Orthodox Jews do. Given how few of them are Leftist, this would suggest that Judaism and Leftism are indeed in conflict.

But that doesn't matter to most Jews on the Left because to be a good person (and, to those for whom it matters, to be a good Jew), one need not know Judaism, let alone follow Judaism. One needs only to feel what is right (Leftism is overwhelmingly based on feeling); and, when in doubt, one can determine what is right from The New York Times, not from sacred Jewish texts.

One of the many fundamental differences between Leftism and Judaism concerns evil. Jews and others on the Left (everywhere, not just in America) have a real problem identifying, let alone confronting, evil. Yet, for Judaism, identifying and confronting evil is as basic a Jewish value as exists. That is why, for example, there is no pacifist tradition in Judaism.
Regarding evil, the Psalmist writes — and this is recited in synagogue every Sabbath — "Those who love G-d — hate evil." And as regards pacifism, one of the Prophets, Joel (3:10), inverts what became the much more famous quotation of Isaiah and Micah: "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears." And later, the Talmud, almost equivalent in importance to the Bible, teaches (Berachost 58a): "The Torah has said: If a man comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first."

In contrast, Leftists, including Leftist Jews and Christians:
 were the loudest in condemning President Ronald Reagan when he labeled the Soviet Union an "evil empire."  

• much of their lives to opposing the war in Vietnam, which they labeled immoral even though it was a war against Stalinist tyranny.  
• opposed deposing the mass murderer Saddam Hussein.
• Many even opposed the Gulf War.
•  believe that the moral wasteland known as the United Nations is, or must be the greatest force for good on earth, not the United States.  
• oppose allowing the American military to recruit on campuses.
  

And the further Left one goes, the more one demonizes free Israel and supports the dictatorships that wish to destroy Israel.

Indeed, Israel provides the clearest proof of how Leftism is stronger than the Jewishness of most Jews on the Left. Israel is threatened with a Holocaust by Iran and tens of millions of Islamic supporters outside of Iran, and Palestinian society is saturated with the most virulent Jew-hatred since the Nazis. Yet while today's Jew- and Israel-haters call the Left home, Jews on the Left continue to be proud members of the Left. Such is the power of Leftism, the most dynamic religion in the world for the last 150 years.
And that explains Bart Stupak's vote, too. In his inner conflict between Catholicism and Leftism, the more dynamic religion won.

Romans 12:2

It takes knowledge, wisdom, and effort to be a Christian. No one said it was going to be easy.

Romans 12:2, which tells us that we are not to conform to the pattern of the world any longer, but rather we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In this context what does “World” mean?


I try to think of the fact that Jesus was Jewish. So was Paul who wrote this letter to the Romans. Jewish wisdom tells us that everything which God created in His universe comes into one of three categories:  

1. Creations made up of a combination of form (TzuRA) and matter (ChoMeR). These are constantly coming into being and ceasing to exist: for example, the bodies of man and animals, plants and metals.
2. Creations made up of a combination of form and matter that do not change from body to body or from form to form in the same way as those in the first category. The form of the creations falling into this second category is permanently fixed in their matter, and they do not change as the others do. Examples are the spheres and the stars and planets that revolve in them. The matter of which they are constituted differs from other kinds of matter and their forms from other forms.
3. Creations that consist of form but no matter, for example the MaLaChiM, angels. ["Angels" is the usual English translation of MaLaCh, but the Hebrew root, which is related to the word MeLaChaH, meaning "work" or the application of energy, indicates the spiritual "force" that is responsible for some process or other phenomenon in the world.] The creations in this category do not possess bodies or corporeal being, but rather are forms that are separate from one another.

The Greek word used here for “world” is not the Greek word kosmos, the created world, but rather aion, or “age.” The word aion does not just mean “age” in the sense that it is a finite period of time. "Aion" came to mean all that exists in the world under conditions of time.

Aion includes all the thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, impulses, and aspirations present in the world at any given time.


Hence we, as new creatures in Christ, need not to form our minds and hearts according to a pattern or mold of the ages past, present and future, but we are to be transformed, as opposed to being a conformist to the age, by not letting others mold you or think for you or becoming a follower and an imitator. 

We are to be transformed undergoing real change that continues as we go through life. It is this is a complete change that renews our mind and desire to learn more about God and His Son, Jesus.

PAT ROBERTSON SAID WHAT?

Wednesday, January 13th 2010, Pat Roberston stated on his Christian Broadcasting Network show, that the nation of Haiti has been devastated by a large earthquake because its people "made a pact with the devil."

In my humble opinion, the honorable Mr. Robertson(a man who has mastered the art of the continuous smirk) should get off his lazy keister and go to Haiti to aide in the earthquake recovery effort instead of sitting on his comfortable couch in his studio and passing judgement on some of the world's poorest people. The man has the resources to do this.

Didn't he make a similar comment a few years ago regarding New Orleans and hurricane Katrina? That was certainly helpful to the citizens of Louisianna. Thank you!

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. What is wrong with this man?



As always, I am expressing my opinion.

THE JESUS HOUSE

Israeli archaeologists announced Monday, December 21st, 2009 that they had uncovered remains of the first dwelling in the city of Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus.

The home is not far from Basilica of the Annunciation, where archaeologists found remains of a wall, a hideout behind a wall and a water system that appeared to collect rain water and condensation from the roof. Inside the home and nearby were found were clay and chalk vessels used by Galilean Jews of the time.

The findings indicate the home belonged to a simple Jewish family. They also suggest Nazareth was probably an extremely small village during this era based on evidence from the graves within the city. These graves suggest Nazareth at this time had an estimated 50 houses that were built on a plot of land that is less than four acres.


In antiquity Cities had honor ratings based on the size of the community. Since Nazareth was such a small village, it was at the bottom of the list. No small wonder one of Jesus’ disciple Nathaniel posed the question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Until this discovery, very little written evidence exists concerning Nazareth during Jesus’ lifetime. The only actual evidence prior to this discovery was obtained from graves of that era.

Only in the Bible do we have evidence that Jesus was in Nazareth. We now have an idea of what the town dwellings were like.



Alexandre works for the Israeli Antiquities Authorities at the dig in Nazareth and is directing this dig... He states the walls of the house itself and the pottery date this house to the early Roman period, which is to say, the era of Jesus. Palestinian Christians in Nazareth celebrated the announcement of this find as a Christmas gift to them from God.

He also stresses the Jewishness of the find based on the pottery and shards that have been found. Today Nazareth is currently mostly populated by Moslems and is the largest Arab city in Northern Israel with over 65,000 inhabitants. In this era it was a tiny Jewish village.

He also elaborates regarding the stone construction of this home. It suggests stability and the fact the residents were planning to spend their lives in this city. And though no glassware has been found, the stone construct implies permanency. Mud and wood constructed homes would have been built for residents planning on temporary dwellings.

The find gives credence to the fact that Jesus was a Jew living in a Jewish village. The clay and chalk vessels discovered there were used during his lifetime to ensure purity of food and water. The hiding places and caves discovered adjacent to some of the potential home sites bear out the division and politics between Jews and Roman that are outlined in the Gospels and exemplified in Jesus’ birth and death.

As with all discoveries of this nature, we draw closer and closer to actual physical evidence that is detailed in the Bible and sheds light on The Truth.

The Whipping of a 15 Year Old Girl and Christmas

AP CAIRO — a 16-year-old Christian girl from southern Sudan said Friday she was lashed 50 times for wearing a skirt deemed indecent by authorities in the north who enforce a strict version of Islamic law.

Silva Kashif said a policeman in a Khartoum market arrested her last week for wearing a skirt beneath the knee.

She was convicted of offending public morality and received 50 lashes in the courtroom.

"I was treated like a criminal," Kashif said in a telephone interview. "I am confused what to wear. The trousers were an issue. My skirt was beneath the knee. What more can I do? I am Christian. My tribe and my customs permit me to dress like this."



This troubles me greatly. We just had Thanksgiving, which is the least offensive of the Christian celebrations, since everyone or every faith or lack of can be thankful for something. We are fast approaching Christmas. In everyday conversations we can call it such. However in the business and scholastic world it has been reduced to a Holiday so we don't offend those who are not Christians.

When I was a little guy there were two sisters in my fifth grade class that were Jehovah Witnesses. Back in the 1960's our teacher could read a Bible verse, we could say The Lord's Prayer and we could have Thanksgiving and Christmas parties in which we could sing hymns and carols of the season.

I can still see the faces of Esther and Martha with their noses pressed on the glass of the window of the closed door that blocked them out of the Christmas party. This was at their parents request since Jehovah witnesses didn't believe in Christmas celebrations. Both of the girls were sobbing.


Last week I asked my older grand kids if they sang any Thanksgiving songs at their school. They both said no, they weren't aware of Thanksgiving songs.

The above AP story regarding the poor 15 year old Christian girl appeared around the 24Th or 25Th of November of this year in many newspapers.

Modern society demands that we conform and not express our faith and beliefs lest we offend. We are not permitted to have prayer in school or demonstrate ones faith.

And yet I have known of folks who have traveled to predominantly Muslim countries. Those countries don't seem too wishie-washy in punishing those who don't conform to their ways through strong arm tactics and force as it witnessed in the above story.

Both of these thoughts, the forbidding of Christian Holidays and the brutal whipping of a young girl, bring to mind the words of our Lord that are found in Matthew 18:6.

I will go over the words in different Biblical translations to provide the underlying meaning of His Words.

Within the New International Version;

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

The passage from the King James Version;

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.


Young’s Literal Translation states;

…and whoever may cause to stumble one of those little ones who are believing in me, it is better for him that a weighty millstone may be hanged upon his neck, and he may be sunk in the depth of the sea.


In a wonderful online site the author Lee Smith has put together an excellent study of Matthew. Here I have consolidated some of his remarks concerning Matthew 18:6;


In the New Testament the word Sin was also used of a stumbling block or something which trips someone up from walking the correct way and the meaning of stumbling block is probably the best in the context here.

The Revised Standard Version's rendering of the word implies that there’s a certain force in the stumbler’s life which makes the childlike believer sin regardless of their own freewill. Their translation which, in Matthew 18:6 for instance, speaks of "...whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin...".

This should be better rendered "...whoever is the cause of stumbling to one of these little ones who believe in Me..." so that the person is not seen to be the force that makes the sin but the lead that encourages it.

Bible teacher Leon Morris therefore interprets the verb used as giving the reader "...its idea of entrapment which indicates that the person in question is leading the little one into something that that little one does not properly understand. The little one is deceived into committing sin..".



Punishing a Christian for being a Christian or causing a child to not have the freedom to believe God's Word is no different from placing a stumbling block before them. This holds true for those that abuse children by beating and whipping them as well for those not acknowledging the Christian historical aspects of Christmas.


Let us celebrate our faith and belief.

Christian (and Jewish) Holiday Gift Ideas

Do you know a nice Jewish Cat Lady?
Then here's the perfect gift of the holidays that she can use to commemorate the oppressive Syrian rule, the torture of Chanah's sons and of course the Maccabees, all while celebrating the love she has for her 80 plus cats.



Luke chapter 6, verse 38 says; "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Whoo-hoo! Now you can be reminded of this as you chew on squishy, sugary bubble gum. Ain't life grand!



What child would not be excited to spend their play time with the delightful Ten Plagues of Egypt Finger Puppets. After all what is more fun than a plague?









Pass the Word of God with minty-fresh breath by using Testamints. Sinners will love you for it.











I realize that Jesus took bread and said, "This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." I'm not sure that he had baby Jesus cookies in mind. I mean really! Could you eat baby Jesus?




Chocolate and Jesus! I love 'em both. Just not together in one carb-packed serving. The product name is well..it's just not right!
But that's just my opinion.














Next time you go to the beach, display your faith with Jesus Loves You flip-flops. Folks will say, "There goes that crazy Christian."





















Don't let your boy grow up with a role model like the GI Joe Action figure. Set him straight with the new Jesus Action figure. My Lord and Savior can whoop GI Joe with both of His hands tied behind His back.




You gotta' start the girls early on becoming good church ladies and taking care of themselves.


And here is the perfect product to "redeem your reputation" as it says on the box. Get your daughter some Lookin' Good for Jesus make-up and bubble bath.






Tackle sin. Coordinate a good defense for your faith. Run with it and pass it on. You can with you new Jesus is my Coach football figures! Rah-rah, sis-boom-bah!






Why settle for reading a comic book...excuse me...graphic novel about the Miracles of Jesus in only 2 dimensions, when you can read about the Miracles of Jesus in 3 dimensions with the Miracles of Jesus with 3 D GLASSES!






Next time you have guests over for dinner, delight them with Grapes of Galilee Wine. Made from grapes grown along the Jordan River and gently aged for two weeks before being packaged in a plastic bag and put into a box. Remember, "He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored."





I know, a mutt nativity set!

Nothing says Away in a manger than these delightful mangy critters. Ah, Look, puppy Jesus wants His belly rubbed.