Christians eat pork but, in the Bible it is forbidden?

[Lewis]

Some Christians do avoid the eating of pork because of the biblical laws mentioning this. The Seventh Day Adventist denomination is one which observes this practice. The majority of Christians believe that the laws do not apply to them and that this law, along with others, passed with the sacrifice of Christ.

Answer

The teaching to eat "unclean" exists because of a misunderstanding that has been passed down and is now "tradition." There is no change to the dietary law in the New Testament (NT).

Here is a list of the passages used to defend changing the dietary commands and you can easily see that this traditional teaching is not upheld from Scripture; it is the creation of man.

In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus is discussing hand washing with Pharisees, not changing non-food into food. Verse 20 makes this clear.

However, men have inserted into many translations:

"(And thus Jesus declared all foods clean.)"

If you check with the original Greek, or even a King James Bible, you will not find this parenthetical clause. Therefore, this is the addition of men, not the instructions of God.

In Acts 10, Peter's vision was about MEN, not food. Jewish tradition was to not enter the home of a gentile because they and their home would be "unclean." The vision of the sheet with unclean items uses the same terminology that Peter uses in verse 28, proving this point:

28) "And he (Peter) said to them (gentiles), 'You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.'"

The whole point of the vision was that gentiles were to be included in the covenant, not to change non-food to food.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 talks about eating what God created to be eaten, and that everything God created to be eaten was good.

The word "food" or "meat" in this passage is the Greek word broma which means:

broma, bro'-mah; food (lit. or fig.), espec. certain allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law. (Strong's definition, broma, #1033).

Paul's warning was that in the last days, teachings would arise that men should not eat what God calls clean, such as chicken or beef or fish, not to turn non-food into food.

Therefore, this passage is talking about eating what is allowed under the dietary commands and avoiding what is forbidden by them.

The bottom line is this: Christians are supposed to be Christlike. If Jesus did it, we do it. If He didn't we don't.

There is no record of Jesus or the disciples ever eating anything unclean. If the dietary commandments had been changed, don't you think God would have given at least ONE example of His Son eating something unclean as an example to us that we could?

Since no such example exists, then this is the teaching of men, not God.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_Christ ... _forbidden

 

[Vic C.]

Lewis, you may want to check out the two threads on pork in the Apologetics Forum. :yes

 

[Lewis]

Lewis, you may want to check out the two threads on pork in the Apologetics Forum. :yes

Ok, I hardly go over there anymore.

 

[Vic C.]

I don't blame ya!

 

[jasoncran]

if that the case then u better not anything from chinese restaurant as they use pork bones for a lot and others, i did believe the apostles in acts that the gentiles weren't to put under the law, the only commands given were not eat things given to idols and and blood, if i remember correctly

jason

 

[turnorburn]

I've been of the opinion laws are laws are laws, meant to bring us to a place of faith.
Having read some books on pigs and diseases, pigs carry a parasite that can rain
on your parade if not thoroughly cooked, I believe this was the reason pigs were
off limits.. "Trichinosis"


What is trichinosis? What are symptoms of trichinosis?

Trichinosis (also termed trichinellosis, trichiniasis, or trichinelliasis) is a disease caused by parasites, called roundworms (Trichinella spp.), that can infect and damage many body tissues. Although the parasites can pass through the intestinal tract and other tissues, muscle tissues are where the majority of them persist. Trichinosis is usually characterized by two phases; the initial phase (intestinal) of abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and nausea that begins one to two days after ingestion and the second phase (muscle) of muscle aches, itching, fever, chills, and joint pains that begins about two to eight weeks after ingestion.

Trichinosis is caused by Trichinella species (also termed parasitic nematodes, intestinal worms, and roundworms) that initially enter the body when meat containing the Trichinella cysts (roundworm larvae) is eaten. For humans, undercooked or raw pork and pork products, such as pork sausage, has been the meat most commonly responsible for transmitting the Trichinella parasites. It is a food-borne infection and not contagious from one human to another unless infected human muscle is eaten. However, almost any carnivore (meat eater) or omnivore (eats meat and plants for food) can both become infected and, if eaten, can transmit the disease to other carnivores and omnivores. For example, undercooked or raw bear meat can contain livable Trichinella cysts. Therefore, if humans, dogs, pigs, rats, or mice eat the meat, they can become infected. In rare instances, larvae that inadvertently reaches cattle feed can infect cattle. There are six species that are known to infect humans:

* T. spiralis found in many carnivorous and omnivorous animals worldwide


* T. britovi found in carnivorous animals in Europe and Asia


* T. pseudospiralis found in mammals and birds worldwide


* T. nativa found in arctic mammals (for example, bears, foxes)


* T. nelsoni found in African mammals (for example, lions, hyenas)


* T. murrelli found in wild animals in the U.S.

Two other species, T. papuae (found in pigs in New Guinea) and T. zimbabwensis (found in crocodiles in Tanzania) have not been reported to infect humans to date. There are other strains (antigenic variants related to named species) that are unnamed and can infect humans.


turnorburn