I couldn't help but take a picture of this restaurant at one of the big train stations in London. It is called "PAUL, Pains Rustiques Et De Fantaisie". The subscript might mean something like this: Rustic (or rural, country, pastoral?) Bread and Fantasy.
If we make it: PAUL, Pastoral Bread and Fantasy, it comes close to the apostle Paul's nuanced view on food in 1 Corinthians 8. Paul states:
"But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse" (8:8).
The exception for Paul is when our liberty becomes a stumbling block for those who are weak. But food in and of itself cannot affect our relationship with God.
But are the ethical absolutes for Paul? I think so. Not when it comes to food though, but when it comes to sexual immorality (cf. 1 Corinthians 5-7).
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