I’ve had this notion of ideas fluttering through my head for some time now.
According to dictionary.com, an idea is defined as:
1. any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.2. a thought, conception, or notion: That is an excellent idea.3. an impression: He gave me a general idea of how he plans to run the department.4. an opinion, view, or belief: His ideas on raising children are certainly strange.5. a plan of action; an intention: the idea of becoming an engineer.
Ideas can be a beautiful thing. They are the ignition to creation.
Through ideas, inventions, technology, art, and human understanding, through all genres of life, have soared in such a short amount of time.
Our imaginations take from what we’ve learned, the environments in which we live, and formulate ideas that can lead to artistic and scientific breakthroughs.
It’s amazing to me to think about this brain which God has given us and seeing so many people use it to discover and create leading to new trends and ideas.
I’m currently inspired by this artist. Dinara.
At the same time, it’s these ideas that can become popular, hit mainstream, and we can look to them as truth. Let’s remember, there’s a reason God calls us his sheep.
We enjoy to follow, sometimes blindly.
Here are some examples of bad ideas
- Factory Farms
- Genetically Modified Anything
- Monsanto 😉
- Pre-cooked rice (these bottom 3 are meant to make you laugh 😉
- Cleaning wipes
- Single serving pre-made pancake mix in it’s own large plastic tub
- _________________________
- _________________________
- _________________________
Feel free to fill in the blanks. I’m sure we can each think of a bad or silly idea. Please share your own in the comments below. It gives a good laugh 😀 Goodness, think of all of those made for tv products.
As far as ideas go, there are also some really great and captivating ideas that lead us in a better direction. That in its essence have great thoughts and philosophy behind them.
The problem is when we take hold of these ideas as truth.
These ideas can make change and progress, yet it’s always a good idea to step back and look at its entirety.
Most importantly, to compare these man made ideas to God’s word.
Here are some examples of good ideas that we can take hold of as truth
- The ever growing list of homeschooling philosophies (This method versus that method)
- The ever growing list of diet philosophies (Weston Price vs Paleo vs Vegetarianism, etc…)
- Man made religion (this denomination vs that denomination)
- Even… a mothers role (stay at home mom, work at home mom, working mom)
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
Again, feel free to fill in the blanks in the comments below.
These are great ideas but can we hold onto any one of them as absolute truth?
No. There are so many different variables including time, environment, maturity, ethnicity and cultural differences.
Raw Milk Example
Here’s an example that stems from the Weston Price diet philosophy.
Drinking raw milk.
In it’s essence, it’s a great idea. drinking raw milk preserves all of its nutrients and healing properties.
Myself, I drink raw milk.
However, I can’t help but notice that many people who adhere to this diet philosophy claim that every culture in the world has been drinking raw milk for centuries.
Well, part of this is true.
I have a different insight being that I am a first generation American with European and Mexican background that stems back generations. Yes, in both sides of my family, my parents included, have grown up on raw milk.
However, it was always boiled first.
I have friends directly from India, South Africa, South America, Europe, Northern Europe and EuroAsia that have also grown up drinking raw milk. However, I have not met one of them that has not thought it odd that I do not first boil the milk before consuming it.
They get very excited to hear that I have a source of raw milk, but for them and their generations before them, they have ALWAYS boiled their milk first.
In Mexico and Spain, the nata, the cream that rises to the top after being boiled is cherished. Scooped off the top and spread on bread is something children fight over.
So where did this “idea” and popularization of drinking raw milk before boiling it stem from?
The Weston Price Foundation. One man’s idea.
I’m not saying that no one has ever lived off drinking raw milk before. My husband’s grandfather living on a farm, with his own cows, drank raw milk his entire life.
However, it just illustrates the notion of taking one man’s idea as truth… and along the way, making up our own truths about it as well.
Casting Judgement Onto Others
The sad thing about clinging onto someones idea as truth is that we can begin to elevate ourselves and in turn judge others that don’t adhere to our newfound truth.
I’m right, you’re wrong.
These past couple of weeks at church, the message has been powerful. Specifically about judging others.
I’d like to encourage you to listen to these messages and let the Holy Spirit speak to you.
With these notions of ideas and holding them as truth, I feel that they are a weapon of the enemy to keep our eyes off of what is truly important.
Jesus is coming back… soon. Are you ready?
Ideas are great to learn from, generate imagination, and creativity but at the end, if ideas or “philosophy” doesn’t hold true to the one and only “Author of Life”, it’s just an idea.
Let’s Talk. Do you have any silly ideas or good ideas that we claim as truth to share? What are your thoughts on ideas and judging others?
I was expecting you to reference the movie Inception at least once!
These thoughts remind me a lot of the Quaker belief that each parishioner should read and interpret the bible themselves and if moved share with the congregation. I like the idea that religion is learned and not given. It puts the responsibility on the individual. No excuses for following the actions of others blindly. I try and apply this to the rest of my life as well.
Apparently, I’ve got enough of an opinion to write a whole blog post on milk, I had no idea! Diane, you always get my brain going!
I recently started reading up on the Weston Price Foundation diet and came to the same conclusion about raw milk. Both my husband and I come from dairy farming families and while we don’t remember, our parents do recall, the small home pasteurizers on the stove. Even in Panama folk boiled the milk slowly over an open fire before serving it in coffee and then turning what was left into queso nuevo. No refrigeration made keeping milk difficult; cheese at least extended it a couple days.
I’ve recently read about “slow boiled” or High Temperature-short time milk or batch method. It has lots of names. Basically they are all the practice of heating milk at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. I believe this is what our grandparents were doing as the alternative, ultra-pasteurizing, heats to 280 degrees for 2 seconds and isn’t possible on a stove. Ultra-pasteurized is what most/all grocery stores sell. From what I gather slow pasteurization only kills pathogens and not all the potentially beneficial bacteria (like what yogurt has). So there is some argument that slow boiled is better. You might be able to find this low temperature pasteurized milk for sale near you.
—Excerpt from http://strausfamilycreamery.com/?id=34 —
Milk is pasteurized using the HTST (high temperature-short time) method. The raw milk is heated at 170 degrees Fahrenheit and immediately cooled to 40 degrees or below. This slow-heat method gives milk 16 days of shelf life. The benefit of pasteurization, destroying all bacteria that are harmful to health, is assured while still keeping our product as fresh-tasting as possible. You will notice a fresher, less-cooked flavor with milk that is pasteurized at a lower temperature.
How Are Most Other Brands Of Organic Milk Pasteurized?
You’ll notice that many types of milk are labeled ‘Ultra-Pasteurized’. When used to describe a dairy product, this means that the milk was heated to or above 280°F for at least two seconds. Ultra-pasteurized products can have shelf life of up to 60 days.
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The Weston A. Price diet assumes that milk is chemically altered by heating. I accept this as true. But Price fails to ask how much is milk altered and is the risk of pathogens worth the trade off?
I found this http://www.organandicvalley.coop/products/milk/pasteurization/ chart from Organic Valley website showing vitamins present in raw, high temperature-short time, and ultra-pasteurized milk.
For more information Google “home milk pasteurization site:.edu” to learn about home pasteurization from state extension.
Make your own informed decision about what type of milk to give your family.
Foy – That is so interesting. Thanks for sharing that.I’ve always found it interesting learning about food history within the United States. A good book is called Kitchen Literacy. It’s sometimes crazy to see how even economic status has led our food industry in certain directions.
In Iowa we do have a source of VAT pasteurized milk. Picket Fence Creamery. What I love about it is that it’s un-homogenized as well so you still get the delicious cream if you buy the whole milk.
For us, we do drink it raw but we do know our farmer and the way they pasture their cows and hand milk each and every one of them. Goodness, they even write the name of the cow on each bottle of milk. We love it!
I’m hoping one of these days it can actually become legal in Iowa, or course with regulations.
Interesting about the raw milk!
diana,
i am listening to the unrighteousness message, thank you for sharing this link. it is so good and has made me evaluate how i act and think. i look forward to the other message as well.
judi
My grandparents and great-grandparents also pasteurized the milk from their cows. I had their home-pasteurizer for a long time.
But I also have several government issued pamphlets and articles on nutrition published about that time, and their dietary recommendations are recipes for pellegra, anemia, and malnutrition. They are loaded with encouragement to feed children on rice pudding and white bread, with few suggestions about fruit or vegetables, and what fruit they do recommend is heavily stewed. Meat is largely considered ‘too rich’ and in my great-grandparents’ time, corn syrup was recommended as more ‘pure’ and sanitary than honey. I think I’d want to look back to traditional foods of at least five generations ago or more.
Wow, great post! I agree 100%. It always saddens me to see Christian women hating on other sisters because they don’t follow their particular lifestyle philosophy. I mean what a bummer, it certainly doesn’t help further the cause of Christ! And I think it’s easy to forget many, MANY Christians around the world don’t even have the luxury to make the kind of lifestyle decisions we make in United States & Europe.
“With these notions of ideas and holding them as truth, I feel that they are a weapon of the enemy to keep our eyes off of what is truly important.” Amen! The enemy definitely tries to get us to “major in the minors” instead of building our lives around the rock that is Jesus Christ.
Thanks for sharing the messages. We go to Calvary Chapel Bangor in Maine, so you guys are kind of a sister church to us, too! 🙂 I really enjoy your site, it’s very informative and easy to connect with.