The Daniel Diet?

In today's culture there is a topic that gets much attention, it gets attention from individual households, schools, the work place, communities, government, even television has programming devoted specifically toward targeting the problem of obesity and dieting (The Biggest Loser).
Dieting has become a daily household word. There have been numerous types of diets to fit every need and lifestyle under the sun, mentioned below are just a few.
The Adkins diet, the Buddhist diet, the Cabbage Soup diet, the Crash diet, the Earth diet, the Fruitarian diet, the Grapefruit diet also known as the Hollywood diet, the Herbalife diet, the Jenny Craig diet, the Kosher diet, the Liquid diet, the Low-carbohydrate diet, the Mediterranean diet, the Nutrisystems Diet, the South Beach diet, the Subway diet, Weight Watchers, and some of my personal favorites include the Cookie diet, the Ice Cream diet, the Junk Food diet, and the Lemonade diet.
There are even Bible based diets such as
the Hallelujah Diet, based on Genesis chapter 1, verse 29, and the Daniel Plan diet which is currently being undertaken by a very popular mega church pastor who is encouraging 6,000+ of his congregation in this endeavor as well. This leader has pledged to lose 90 pounds through the Daniel Plan while partnering his church with non-believers to accomplish this weight loss endeavor.
Already some scriptures come to mind, like 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 which says,
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."
According to christiannewswire.com, the kick-off event for this 52-week course to stress losing weight and becoming healthier featured Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Daniel Amen, and Dr. Mark Hyman the developer of the course. All three have Eastern spiritual connections.
Dr. Mehmet Oz- A follower of Emmanuel Swedenborg according to The New Church website. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and is Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University.
He is inspired by Emmanuel Swedenborg, a cult leader who died in 1772 in Sweden. Swedenborgianism has up to 50,000 members worldwide according to the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website. They deny the atonement, the trinity, and the deity of the Holy Spirit.
They believe all religions lead to God and that Christianity must go through a rebirth. Also, they do not believe in a personal devil. They believe the Bible is not inspired and that when people die, they become an angel or an evil spirit.
Emmanuel Swedenborg had a vision in 1745 where he supposedly saw creatures crawling on the walls. He believed God then appeared to him as a man and told him that he would be the person to promote the new teachings to the world.
Dr. Daniel Amen - Teaches tantric sex, a Hindu mystical approach to sex, and Eastern religion meditation.
Dr. Mark Hyman promotes mystical meditation based on Buddhist principles.
It seems strange to me that this Daniel Plan diet, which is based on the biblical account of Daniel found in Daniel chapter one, is being promoted and taught by men who are not Christian men (men lacking the Holy Spirit) however, scripture is being interpreted as they see it.
Please don't misunderstand, losing weight and being healthy is most definitely an important issue, and for some a critical necessity. It has been documented by many physicians and health experts that eating well and making wise choices that include fruits and vegetables can decrease serious health risks. However, anytime something is attached to or associated with the Word of God it is just as crucial to correctly interpret and understand the scriptures connected to it or we will easily be led astray by intelligent sounding men and women.
Let's look at the scriptures, Daniel 1:1-21
According to the Bible, Daniel chapter 1, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon laid siege upon Jerusalem and the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, then king Nebuchadnezzar commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, bring some of the youths, skillful in wisdom, endowed with knowledge to stand in the palace of the king, these youths would be educated for 3 years in the literature and the language of the Chaldeans then placed in service to the king. These youths were selected from the peoples of Israel (Judah).
Among these were of the children of Judah; Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the he ate, and of the wine that he drank.
In verse 8 it says that Daniel decided that he would not defile himself by eating the kings food or drinking the wine that he drank. Scripture does not say that Daniel decided to drop a few pounds, Daniel WOULD NOT DEFILE HIMSELF by eating the kings meat, (meat that had been sacrificed to idols).
Daniel said, vs. 12, give us only vegetables and water instead for 10 days and see if our appearance is different from those who ate the kings food.
After 10 days it was observed that they were in better condition and FATTER than those who ate the kings food. God had blessed them for their obedience, and gave them greater wisdom and understanding and the king found them ten times better than all those in his service.
Daniel's decision was not to shed unwanted pounds by eating nutritious foods because the kings food was to rich, but to obey his God. Also note that Daniel did not lose weight but gained weight instead, scripture says he got fatter.
Folks, do not fall for everything you hear from those who teach or even preach the Word of God, even if it comes from the popular, well known, high profile pastors and leaders. Do not blindly follow the teaching of any man, study the scriptures, the Word of God, and follow the Christ who died for you.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Peter 1:16 - 2:2
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophesy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophesy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, e!
ven denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.