Mmmm, Coffee. If there is one central reason for my nearly complete lapse of our dominant religion, it’s my love of coffee. Mormons are taught, for some reason, that coffee is the Devil’s nectar, and they have embraced this article with a faith that is all at once fervently respectable and laughingly hypocritical (Diet Coke, anyone?).
The LDS avoidance of coffee is summed up in a vague half sentence contained in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Word of Wisdom:
9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
Yup, that’s it. That’s the reason I was slapped upside the head, at the age of 17, on a flight to Orlando with my family, when I asked for coffee with my breakfast.
The Catholics, and my favorite pontiff, have got the Mormons beat when it comes to my favorite drink.
Coffee first arrived on the European continent by means of Venetian trade merchants. Once in Europe, coffee fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic church. Many felt that Pope Clement VIII should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.
Well, you’re going to have to be the judge on the Coffee vs. Diet War, but, let me give you a few fact nuggets…
Vitamins and Stuff:
Antioxidants. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. Melanoidins from roasted coffee have antioxidative effects depending on the way the coffee is treated.
Fight Off Brain Diseases:
Parkinson’s disease. Regular coffee consumption reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. A number of studies [1],[2] have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
Be A Genius!
Improved mental performance. Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.
Cure The Plague!
A publication which came out during the plague of 1664-1665 entitled ‘Advice Against the Plague’ by Gideon Harvey recommended coffee against the contagion. Harvey was an eminent human physiologist, and played a large role in characterizing the circulatory system. He was also a great lover of coffee and upon his deathbed in 1657, bequeathed to the Royal Society the greatest treasure in his lab– 56 pounds of high-quality Venetian coffee.
Don’t Forget Stuff
Alzheimer’s disease. Regular coffee consumption seems to protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Recent mouse study showed that caffeine equivalent to 5 cups of coffee per day reduced the build up of destructive plaques in the brain.
Drink All You Want (BYOB)
Liver cirrhosis. Coffee drinking may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis.
So, there you have it! Coffee! The miracle brew! Drink some today!
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*there may be some incidental draw backs as well. See Dumb Little Man for more INFO
Now, you’ve brought up one of my favorite drinks, coffee. And the Dumb Little Man link sums it up with “all things in moderation”. Since you already brought the LDS religion into it, I might as well say what I think on all of this, right?
I just don’t get the religious banning of a substance such as coffee or alcohol (LDS or not). All things in moderation seems like some pretty sound biblical theology, to me. The ability to control oneself and not overindulge in anything, be it coffee, alcohol or even food, proves far more than not partaking in it at all, doesn’t it? I mean, how are you going to prove to whatever higher power you believe in that you are a good person, and would not kill anyone (or commit whatever other sin you want to bring up) if you’ve taken away all temptation or ability to commit the sin? Sure, a man won’t sin by lusting after a woman whose cleavage he saw if his society covers a woman head-to-toe so that he never sees the cleavage, but does that really prove anything?
I’ve never gotten any answer that makes sense to me on any religious ban of coffee or alcohol.
Back to my original point – wine is good for your health, too. As long as you don’t overindulge. Many, many things are, and finding a healthy balance to all things in life seems like much more of a fitting religious ideal than banning something to prevent an unhealthy balance.
Sorry if I’m rambling or don’t make sense – blame it on the cold medicine if needed.
I’d like to say I agree wholeheartedly. I really would. I’d like to say I’m with Misty too. But I can’t. I don’t care what religion you are, I don’t even care if your a ‘non-religion’ if there is such a thing. MY love of coffee is a sin. A dirty… dirty… delicious, steaming hot cup of caffeinated sin. Oh sweet beans of oily roasted love [CENSORED] [gag] [CENSORED]
Well, Sgt_Jake…do you think they roast coffee beans in hell? I bet they make some “damn” fine coffee there.
Ironic to read that Pope Clement VIII viewed coffee as a “Christian beverage.” It came originally from the Islamic country of Yemen.
The best way to explain it is to think of Mosaic law. Jews don’t eat pork. Why? Some folks say it’s because of the way the meat would have been handled at the time. Others point to research showing that pork is unhealthy. The bottom line is that God asked the Jews to give up something relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. We don’t know why. Why isn’t important. What’s important is that it’s been asked of them and it really isn’t that big of a deal to go along with it. I don’t mean to condemn or sound preachy, so I hope that all came out as intended.
Note that I say all of this as an LDS convert who sorely misses sweet tea whenever I go to visit family in Alabama.
I’m not supposed to consume hot drinks? Dangit!
We had a lesson in young women’s on the word of wisdom, and one girl got a little worried at the mention of tea, “my mom drinks tea”…
We assured her that herbal teas were fine.
I’ve never tasted coffee, and never really had the desire to. I like the smell though, and my great grandfather (this is probably why I like the smell) drank coffee (and he was a bishop for 20 some odd years) for his (really low) blood pressure (it was either coffee or really expensive caffeine pills).
I don’t drink coke either. I do occasionally drink a glass of inca cola (which has caffeine in it).
(did I use enough parenthesis?)