My article last issue on aspartame (Nutra-Sweet, Equal, etc.) really grabbed many of my readers. One was very negative from a California pastor. He has read one issue (of my paper) and decided that it has “little, if any, Scriptural references.” He said, “I would really like to encourage you to build up the Lord and His Word—not just give out information.”
   
He has every right to that opinion even if it is wrong. He does not seem to know that Common Sense for Today is not a “preaching paper.” There are plenty of those out there that are doing an excellent job to fulfill that mission. But my mission (in our publishing facet) is to do what pastors and others can’t do because of limited time: Provide information from a Biblical perspective that can be used by pastors, educators, politicians, etc. 
          
The pastor seemed to overlook that we have many other ministries that are as Bible oriented as his ministry! We take one or two extended working mission trips per year—at our expense. We do get a little help from some interested churches but not nearly enough to pay the airfare. When most pastors go on a mission trip, their church pays their way. 
          
We do numerous couples’ conferences and child rearing conferences, creation conferences, Bible Conferences and revivals that are all saturated with the Bible. No, this is another example of a pastor who picked up his pen before he put his mind in gear. And the problem was not my lack of Bible references, it was that I hit him with facts about his favorite sweeter, a poison known as Equal, Nutra-Sweet, etc.
          
He is like others who preach against tobacco, booze, etc., yet are cavalier about how they treat their bodies—the Temple of the Holy Spirit. They would not think of putting a glass of whiskey to their lips or inhaling a Lucky Strike but they fill their bodies (again, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit—see I Cor. 6:19) with all kinds of pollutants, poisons, and preservatives that can be deadly.
          
The California pastor says that “most of the allegations contradict the bulk of medical evidence” but his research is very incomplete. In later articles I will provide the facts as to the scientific studies  relating to aspartame. He knows about some studies that are pro-aspartame but he doesn’t know that they were funded by the manufacturer of aspartame! How about those studies from independent scientists? More later.
          
He also has an enormous amount of confidence in the Federal Drug Adminis-tration saying, “the agency has common sense and years of accumulated research on its side when it maintains that the sweetener is safe for most people.” He must be living in a cave not to know of the thuggery committed by the FDA over the last twenty years.      
         
The good pastor (and he is doing a good job to my knowledge) was able to point out that I had attributed an article to the wrong lady, but he did not support his criticism of my position. He said that the article was “disorganized, hysterical, and poorly substantiated.” Funny, I was about to use those same words to describe his information.

Tags: health