Not Eating Pork (Biblical Reason?)

[BenFTW]

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork, was it due to how it was raised, worship related, to be different from the surrounding people and religions, or what? Was it strictly for dietary reasons that God said not to eat them (because they are bad for health)?

Is pork today the same as it was then? Or is it healthier now, depending upon feed? Or is it as terrible as some people suggest, saying it is "not fit for consumption"?

 

[RodB65]

I think it was primarily just to be different.

 

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

I would recommend reading, "None of These Diseases" by S. I. McMillan.

He looks at the dietary laws from the perspective of a doctor and explains how Israel was not equipped to deal with the medical issues of eating these things.

 

[Dino246]

Bacon!

 

[jameen]

Forbidding to eat pork is only a commandment for the children of Israel; Leviticus 11:2 read it.

So if you're a Gentile, you're not part of that commandment especially if your religion is not Judaism.

Christians can eat any meat because of this reason:

1 John 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving:

What matters most to our Lord is the heart and not what we eat as Christians:

Matthew 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

15:17 Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy?

15:18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man.

15:19 For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.

15:20 These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man.

We know people here on earth who don't eat pork but are terrorists and taught by their "holy" book to hate their non brethren in faith because they are worst of creatures according to that book.

you know already who are these people right?

 

[Dino246]

On a slightly more serious not (although bacon is fairly serious), I recall a discussion on the subject in my seminary class on Torah. The summary statement was essentially that God gave the dietary laws to Israel to set them apart from the other peoples. While pork and rabbit can carry trichinosis, fowl can carry salmonella and beef can carry E. coli.

The "bad for health" argument is based on the idea that "fat is bad". That's a dietary fad in a time when sugar consumption is high and chemical additives with unknown side effects are in almost everything processed. I could go on, but I'm busy digesting the pork sausages I had for supper.

 

[jameen]

On a slightly more serious not (although bacon is fairly serious), I recall a discussion on the subject in my seminary class on Torah. The summary statement was essentially that God gave the dietary laws to Israel to set them apart from the other peoples. While pork and rabbit can carry trichinosis, fowl can carry salmonella and beef can carry E. coli.

The "bad for health" argument is based on the idea that "fat is bad". That's a dietary fad in a time when sugar consumption is high and chemical additives with unknown side effects are in almost everything processed. I could go on, but I'm busy digesting the pork sausages I had for supper.

I suspect that God commanded it to children of Israel because He just wants distinction between Gentiles and children of Israel through the foods they eat.

From the start, God already had commanded to eat any forms of meat before it became a commandment to Israelite people.

Genesis 9:3 And every thing that moveth and liveth shall be meat for you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you:

 

[Hevosmies]

On a slightly more serious not (although bacon is fairly serious), I recall a discussion on the subject in my seminary class on Torah. The summary statement was essentially that God gave the dietary laws to Israel to set them apart from the other peoples. While pork and rabbit can carry trichinosis, fowl can carry salmonella and beef can carry E. coli.

The "bad for health" argument is based on the idea that "fat is bad". That's a dietary fad in a time when sugar consumption is high and chemical additives with unknown side effects are in almost everything processed. I could go on, but I'm busy digesting the pork sausages I had for supper.

Yup. Its sad we dont even know what chemicals we are eating

I eat lots of microwave / processed foods and I hope its not completely wrecking me lol

But honestly, I know some people who eat healthy, fresh, organic and are always sick. Some people eat junk food and smoke 20 cigarettes a day and are healthy as can be. It is what it is

 

[Lillywolf]

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork, was it due to how it was raised, worship related, to be different from the surrounding people and religions, or what? Was it strictly for dietary reasons that God said not to eat them (because they are bad for health)?

Is pork today the same as it was then? Or is it healthier now, depending upon feed? Or is it as terrible as some people suggest, saying it is "not fit for consumption"?

Contaminated meat. Contaminated meat when digested in a human stomach contaminates the body.
Pigs do not have sweat glands, or pores. The toxins that build in their bodies do not get processed out by that means. Which is to say whatever a pig eats, and pigs will eat people remember, devouring everything but the hair and teeth, regardless of if it is garbage of corn, the toxins that result after digestion remain in the animal.
Remember that old saying? You are what you eat.

That's why.

 

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

And who hasn't noticed when sitting down to a pork dinner the slight odor of urine in the meat. Yep! they pee through their pores as well.

But I still likes bacon! (but it is really bad for dogs so I don't tell Henry when I have some).

 

[p_rehbein]

I thought it had something to do with their feet being cloven or something like that?

They couldn't eat exoskeleton seafood either right?

Dunno, I love me some pulled pork BBQ and a good smoked Boston Butt.............and Boiled Shrimp or Lobster tail

yuuummmmm

 

[Ahwatukee]

It is because of the following reason:

"He (Peter) saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air. 13Then a voice spoke to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”

14“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Now, the above is one of those scriptures which has a dual meaning. At face value, it shows that God deemed which animals were clean and unclean, else how could an animal at one time be unclean and then later be clean? The animals deemed unclean under the law were only unclean because God said they were. The figurative meaning was referring to Gentiles, who were previously unclean in relation to the Jews. But now that salvation had come through Jesus Christ, Gentiles were no longer unclean, but were made clean through Christ. We know this because of what Peter said below:

"As Peter talked with him (Cornelius), he went inside and found many people gathered together. 28He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him (unclean). But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”

 

[TorahIsTruth]

That verse where Peter had that vision has nothing to do with eating, gentiles are the unclean animals and Jews are the clean animals, and the messiah was saying he wants both to hear his good news.

 

[PS]

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork, was it due to how it was raised, worship related, to be different from the surrounding people and religions, or what? Was it strictly for dietary reasons that God said not to eat them (because they are bad for health)?

Is pork today the same as it was then? Or is it healthier now, depending upon feed? Or is it as terrible as some people suggest, saying it is "not fit for consumption"?

Muslims do not eat pork either. Both nations, in fact all people would dig a hole or make a trench over which they would squat when they needed to answer a call of nature. Then the pigs would eat the solid waste and clean it up. It was very hygienic. The trouble was, the pigs were full of worms. Just remember not to eat pork. The eating of pork was forbidden for health reasons. The same conditions do not apply today.

There are very good and sensible reasons for all the 'rules' in the Old Testament.

 

[jameen]

That verse where Peter had that vision has nothing to do with eating, gentiles are the unclean animals and Jews are the clean animals, and the messiah was saying he wants both to hear his good news.

It means that impure people who are the Gentiles eat unclean animals and pure creatures who are the Jews only eat clean animals.

There are pure and impure people during the Pre-Christian Era in Israel's eyes.

In fact the children of Israel were forbidden to marry a non Israelite.

Like I said God ordered it to Israel as way of identification of children of Israel and Gentiles.

but since Christianity has both the children of Israel and Gentile members, eating impure animals in Judaism is allowed.

 

[Nehemiah6]

Why couldn't the Israelites eat pork...

Primarily for health reasons. Swine (pigs) were regarded as unclean and were also raised as unclean, being fed what was generally unacceptable, and also harboring parasites.

Today -- in the West -- hog farming is generally a serious business, and due care is taken in raising swine. Also health inspectors generally ensure that the issue of diseases and parasites is addressed.

In any event all Christians are free to regulate their diets as they wish without imposing their dietary preferences on other Christians. The dietary laws of the Old Covenant are null and void within the New Covenant.

 

[Hevosmies]

That verse where Peter had that vision has nothing to do with eating, gentiles are the unclean animals and Jews are the clean animals, and the messiah was saying he wants both to hear his good news.

Do gentiles have to get circumcised today? Yes or No?

Mr Torah is Truth? Yay or Nay?

 

[Hevosmies]

I like to keep it kosher, out of HABIT, not because its DEMANDED under the new covenant!

 

[Starflower7]

Personally, I believe that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 6:19-20), and that we should honor God in our eating and drinking (1 Cor. 10:31), so we should seek to live as healthfully as possible. In the beginning, God gave us a healthy plant-based diet of fruits, nuts, and grains (Gen. 1:29). And early on, God differentiated between clean and unclean meats--even before the Israelites. He told Noah to make sure to have 7 of every clean animal in Gen. 7:2, but only 2 of each kind of unclean animal. It was only after the flood had wiped out a lot of plant life that God made allowance for meat-eating (Gen. 9:2-4). Interesting fact: the life spans of people dropped significantly after the flood when meat-eating became common. http://www.biblestudy.org/maps/large-chart-life-span-patriarchs-from-adam-to-noah.html

I believe that God separated clean and unclean animals for health reasons, and that those reasons still apply today. In fact, I think meat has gotten more polluted in recent times, not less polluted. I guess we could argue about all sorts of details regarding this, but my main focus is that God wants us to be as healthy as possible, He gave the Levitical dietary guidelines for a reason, and there have been a lot of studies showing that a vegetarian and even vegan diet are more healthy than a diet full of meat--especially pork. Our goal should be to honor God in both our minds and our bodies, and taking care of our health is an important way of giving glory to God. A healthy body equals a healthy mind, and a healthy mind is more receptive to the Holy Spirit. That's my viewpoint.

 

[BaptistBibleBeliever]

Do gentiles have to get circumcised today? Yes or No?

Mr Torah is Truth? Yay or Nay?

Gentiles, no . . . Christians, yes. But it is not a circumcision involving a human-made knife. Rather it is an operation that God performs whereby He separates our soul from our body at the instant of salvation. Paul says . . .

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ" (Colossians 2:11).

It is spiritual, just as we are baptized in His Blood. God has seen fit that the ordinance of baptism would be physically repeated as a testimony of our salvation--but not circumcision.