There are more than one hundred religious movements living and working in the Ruhr area. Religious norms that prescribe certain dietetic rules are of importance for the life of a community. Religious prescriptions that are defensible on the basis of nutrition science and which serve the taste of the consumers are the ones most likely to survive. Taste, however, is heavily influenced by cultural and religious tradition. It reflects Protestant Christian self-understanding, if one looks into the Bible for guidance on how a healthy taste can be described and built. As one would expect, the Bible differentiates between sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The metaphorical use of these terms is theologically significant. “Bitter” is connected with factors that diminish the value of life, e.g. the hard work of slave labour in Egypt (Exodus 1:14) or the experience of death (Qoh 7:26). “Sweetness” is attributed in an especially intense way to the personified figure of lady wisdom and God’s word. Of both it is said that their taste is “sweeter than honey”. God does not overpower human beings, demanding a morally intact but boring life: but instead, satisfies their deep longing for a life filled with joy and bliss.
Nevertheless, the New Testament in particular contains several instances where it is clearly stated that the experience of the bitterness of death also belongs to the life of the believers, as Jesus has shown by the example of his life (Rom 6). As long as this world is not completely in harmony with God, a meaningful life has to develop a taste that enjoys overwhelming sweetness with a flavour of bitterness included.