When Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink,” he does not mean, “Let’s all become lechers.” He means, there is a normal, simple, comfortable, ordinary life of human delights that we may enjoy with no troubling thoughts of heaven or hell or sin or holiness or God – if there is no resurrection from the dead. And what stunned me about this train of thought is that many professing Christians seem to aim at just this, and call it Christianity. Paul did not see his relation to Christ as the key to maximizing his physical comforts and pleasures in this life. No, Paul’s relation to Christ was a call to choose suffering – a suffering that was beyond what would make atheism “meaningful” or “beautiful” or “heroic.” It was a suffering that would have been utterly foolish and pitiable to choose if there is no resurrection into the joyful presence of Christ… Judge for yourself. How many Christians do you know who could say, “The lifestyle I have chosen as a Christian would be utterly foolish and pitiable if there is no resurrection?”

John Piper

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Vegetables		Vegetables, Side dish, Casserole	4	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	md	Buttercup squash
2	tb	Brown sugar
1/4	ts	Salt
1/4	ts	Cinnamon
1/4	ts	Nutmeg
2	tb	Margarine or butter
1	tb	Chopped fresh chives
1/8	ts	Nutmeg, if desired

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash into quarters; remove seeds. Place,
cut side down, in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45
to 50 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.
2. Grease 1-quart casserole. Scoop squash pulp from skin; place in medium
bowl. Discard skin. Add brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg,
and margarine to squash. Mix with potato masher or fork until well blended.
Spoon into greased casserole. Sprinkle with chives and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Nutrition Information Per Serving: 160 Calories, 7 g Fat, 210 mg Sodium
taken from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks magazine.
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest  by Paula <demoness@bellatlantic.net> on Aug
15, 1998

A Message from our Provider:

“Some minds are like concrete, thy’re roughly mixed up and permanently set.”