Is it a sin to eat pork?

[Dave Slayer]

I still eat bacon! :yes

 

[follower of Christ]

I still eat bacon! :yes

Me too.
Im trying to feed my brain worm ;)

 

[Vic C.]

The question is still valid guys.

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

 

[Dave Slayer]

If too much pork causes illnesses, perhaps we shouldn't eat it. Just like too much fried food can lead to fat build up in the arteries. There are all sorts of foods that are very harmful to our bodies, not just pork. Should we stick to an all fruit, veggie, and grain meal?

 

[handy]

If too much pork causes illnesses, perhaps we shouldn't eat it. Just like too much fried food can lead to fat build up in the arteries. There are all sorts of foods that are very harmful to our bodies, not just pork. Should we stick to an all fruit, veggie, and grain meal?

Well and there you go, Dave. The truth is we were created to be vegetarians. God tells us in Genesis that the trees and plants bear good things to eat. Since the flood though, God has let us eat the animals and since the New Testament, He's let us eat pretty much what we want.

I think that Fembot brings up a good point, that our bodies are the temple of the Spirit and that we should take care of them. However, if one is taking the time to properly prepare and cook the meat, then there shouldn't be any health issues in eating pork. Chicken is another thing that can be quite nasty if it hasn't been properly handled from start to finish. I took a 10,000 ambulance ride to an Emergency Room back in 1994 because of eating chicken and that's supposed to be one of the healthiest of all meats.

Is there such a thing as "free range pigs" Dora?

Oh yeah! They gets big and mean too. Tasty though, if you prepare 'em the right way! But you gots to catch 'em first and that's the tricky part. ;)

 

[Guest]

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

Yes and no, because the Bible says so.

 

[jasoncran]

The question is still valid guys.

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

no because jesus said its not what goes in but what comes out that defiles a man, and that was reference his comment to the pharisee on there strict following of the law on the rituals, washing ceremonly ere eating.

if one is follow the law exactly then a lot of things can't be eaten, or u have to kosher, i also believes that as beleivers we have freedom to decide no to eat pork,but shouldnt force others not to.

Jason

 

[follower of Christ]

Should we stick to an all fruit, veggie, and grain meal?

Jesus, aka GOD, didnt...so why should we ?

Hunting, Fishing and eating meat from Gods word
By Wm Tipton

Assertions/Conclusions of this article:

Here we will show conclusively that man has been given all animal life for his use and that there is no sin in taking these animals for his use and for eating them. We are not interested in debating hypothetical ‘sins’ here not mentioned specifically in scripture, nor are we going to discuss that animals were not eaten in the garden by Adam and Eve, as these are irrelevant points for us HERE and NOW in this new covenant.


Supporting evidence:

Firstly, we are not interested in debating hypothetical ‘sins’ here not mentioned specifically in scripture in that no mention of a mans mental/emotional state while hunting/fishing is ever taken into account in Gods word.
Nor are we going to discuss that animals were not eaten in the garden by Adam and Eve.
These are irrelevant points for us HERE and NOW in this new covenant and merely a distraction from the truth. What we are focusing on here is one single issue if whether or not Gods word allows hunting/fishing and our consuming of meats from animals.

We will start in the Garden where God clothed Adam and Eve.

And for Adam and his wife Jehovah God made coats of skins, and clothed them. (Gen 3:21 MKJV)

The use of the word 'skins' there overall takes on the intent of animal skins. While we do find this after the fall, this is only relevant in that at this present point Adam and Eve understand that they are naked now, they did not grasp this before, apparently, thus before the fall there was no need for them to be covered. If there had have been, surely God would have done no differently than He did at this point. God Himself used animals to create clothing for man.

Now we move on to Genesis 9...here we see Gods clear permission to take/eat animals.

And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon the animals of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon all that moves on the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herb. But you shall not eat of flesh with the life in it, or the blood of it.
(Gen 9:2-4 MKJV)

Here, after the flood, God gives man every animal of the earth for his use. Man is given the right to eat these animals and how does one do so unless he hunts them? (short of raising them for that purpose, which some, of course do). There is a restiction that we see even at the time of Acts, that we not eat the blood of any animal.

Whenever this topic is presented to you, always refer back to Genesis 9:2-4 here to see what God say on the matter.


Let us jump ahead to the Proverbs and see what is written there about eating animals.

The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. (Pro 12:27 KJV)

I think that is fairly clear.
There is some confusion concerning the exact intent of 'roasteth' there, it either means what it is rendered as, or it the very least means to 'snare or catch in a net'....ie "hunting".
Scripture calls this man 'slothful' who does not do so when he hunts.

* * * * *
Here are passages showing Jesus’ involvement in both helping to catch, and eating, fish.

And they said to Him, "We do not have anything here except five loaves of bread and two fish." But He said, "Bring them here to Me." And commanding the crowds to recline on the grass, taking the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looking up to heaven, He blessed, and breaking them, He gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the crowds. So they all ate and were satisfied, and they took up what they had left of the fragments, twelve baskets full.
(Mat 14:17-20 EMTV)

Now Jesus, having summoned His disciples, He said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been remaining with Me three days, and they do not have anything to eat. And I do not desire to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get so many loaves of bread in this deserted place, so as to satisfy so great a crowd?" Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few small fish." So He commanded the crowds to recline on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish, having given thanks, He broke them, and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the crowd. So they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what they had left of the fragments, seven hampers full.
(Mat 15:32-37 EMTV)

Dismiss them, so that they may go into the surrounding farms and villages and may buy themselves food; for they have nothing to eat." But answering, He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?" But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish." Then He gave orders for them all to recline in groups on the green grass. And they reclined in parties of hundreds and of fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves, and was giving them to His disciples, so that they might set them before them; and the two fish He divided to all. So they all ate and were filled.
(Mar 6:36-42 EMTV)

Then His disciples answered Him, "From where will anyone be able to satisfy these people with bread here in this deserted place?" He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." So He commanded the crowd to recline on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and having given thanks, He broke them and was giving them to His disciples, so that they might set them before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them before the people. So they ate and were filled, and they took up an abundance of fragments, seven hampers full.
(Mar 8:4-8 EMTV)

Jesus, the Fisherman

and He saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen, after getting out of them, were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and He asked him to put out a little from the land. And sitting down, He began to teach the crowds from the boat. Now when He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and lower your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have labored all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will lower the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was tearing. So they beckoned to their partners who were in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they were sinking. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" For astonishment gripped him and all who were with him at the haul of fish which they had taken.
(Luk 5:2-9 EMTV)

Post resurrection Jesus is still eating meat

Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But as they still disbelieved for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Do you have any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And taking it, He ate it in their presence.
(Luk 24:39-43 EMTV)

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and he threw himself into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from the land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. Then as they got off onto the land, they saw a charcoal fire laid there, and fish placed on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." Simon Peter went up and hauled the net onto the land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come, eat breakfast." Yet none of the disciples dared to question Him, "Who are You?"--knowing that it was the Lord.
(Joh 21:7-12 EMTV)

There can be no doubt that our Lord both helped His disciples to catch fish and also ate of animal flesh Himself.
Notice that nowhere is anyone’s motives or mindset brought into account. This is because it is irrelevant.
There is no scripture that says “hunt...but ONLY if you feel badly about itâ€Â...and neither shall we make up new laws and sins to add to Gods word on the matter.

There are those who create these new ‘sins’ by saying that Jesus and His disciples fished for food....of necessity...and since many hunters do not hunt because they have to, then they do it for pleasure, so it is supposedly ‘sin’.
We see in this passage that Jesus had a defenseless fish hooked and caught merely to pluck a coin from its mouth.

Mat 17:27 "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook, and take the first fish coming up. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a coin; taking that, give it to them for Me and you."

Do we believe that Jesus (God) could not simply have made this coin appear in His pocket or in a tree somewhere instead of hooking a poor fish in the mouth?

OF course He could have....yet He chose to “use†a fish to do so. Is Jesus ‘cruel’ for needlessly hooking a fish in its mouth simply to gain a coin that He could have made appear right in His own hand?
Of course not.
And neither is the hunter ‘cruel’ when he hunts for reasons other than food.


Eating Meat and Vegetarianism

Lets look to a couple passages and see what Gods word says about eating meats versus being a Vegetarian.
Romans 14 is a wonderful passage as it is apparent that Paul is dealing with this same issue that some are today.

Receive one that is weak in the faith, not for disputes over opinions.
One indeed believes that he may eat all things, but another, being weak, eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or he falls. And he shall be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
(Rom 14:1-4 EMTV)

The main point being that NEITHER side is to judge the other in the matter. Both stand before God alone in the matter, not each other.
The second issue is that it is he who refuses to eat meats, believing that he shouldn’t or isn’t permitted to for whatever reason, it is this man that Gods word calls ‘weak’ of faith, not the man who eats meats and knows that he is able and permitted to do so.


Responsibility, Denial and Hypocrisy

The argument that men hunt and fish to feel powerful or prideful is one that I’ve found comes from either ignorance or misconceptions... at least where most christian hunters are concerned.
If anything most christian hunters would feel a sense of loss when an animal life is taken even if they do enjoy hunting. I know that even when I take the life of a fish, there is always a sense of concern that the animal not suffer needlessly and it is always in the back of my mind that I’ve taken the animals life. Its not a sense of guilt, per se, but more just an acknowledgement that I am the one who ended this animals life.
I think that most hunters who are truly christian would feel this way, as well as many other hunters who are responsible and care about wildlife and nature, even if they are not believers.

One thing that is quite disturbing to me about many of these arguments where hunting is concerned is the accusations levied against hunters because they dont ‘need’ to hunt, but choose to do so.
The fact is that a hunter or fisherman is far more capable of understanding the issue of animals literally dying to be food on their plate, than someone who has only bought their meats from store.

Those who have always purchased fast food and grocery meats keep themselves pretty much clueless as to what really goes on in putting meat on their tables and in their stomachs. In most cases it is simply ignorance of the details...in others it is a willful rejection of responsibility in the death the animal being eaten to relieve oneself of that guilt....the ‘I am not the one who killed the animal’ excuse...

To stand back and refuse to kill an animal for oneself ...to refuse to take the whole responsibility upon oneself for the slaughtering of the animal by refusing to assume the guilt for killing the animal simply because one buys their meat at the market....to then turn and levy judgment against the person who does take that responsibility upon themselves by hunting/fishing....is the finest display of hypocrisy one can commit.

We can have no respect for the opinion of the individual who judges those hunters/fishermen who do take on this responsibility and personally know the cost, the price that was paid for that roasted animal flesh on their plate, while these accusers partake of the very same animal flesh, yet deny their own responsibility in the death, and possible abuse, of the animal they consume.

Wm tipton

 

[follower of Christ]

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

Yes and no, because the Bible says so.

actually,the bible shows that at Noahs time we werent restricted.
When the law came the Hebrews were until the time of the Messiah when those ordinances were nailed to the cross and now we can eat what we want, save for blood.

 

[handy]

Excellent post!

 

[Fembot]

I still eat bacon! :yes

:smt056

 

[Fembot]

[quote="Dave Slayer":1rdwr55u]I still eat bacon! :yes

Me too.
Im trying to feed my brain worm ;)[/quote:1rdwr55u]
:rolling

 

[Vic C.]

FoC posted:

Hunting, Fishing and eating meat from Gods word.

Can you at least condense it down to addressing whether or not it is a sin to eat pork? This isn't a topic that is condemning eating meats, foul and fish, it is addressing PORK!

[attachment=0:3tgmnz70]porky.jpg[/attachment:3tgmnz70]

 

[follower of Christ]

FoC posted:

Hunting, Fishing and eating meat from Gods word.

Can you at least condense it down to addressing whether or not it is a sin to eat pork? This isn't a topic that is condemning eating meats, foul and fish, it is addressing PORK!

[attachment=0:38192312]porky.jpg[/attachment:38192312]

Sure
Tho I find it somewhat irritating to have to REPEAT the entire debate from the other thread in this one.
Its almost like if we keep repeating ourselves on any given topic the 'winner' is the one who can keep persisting with the most posts and threads on the topic.

I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself; except to him considering anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
But if your brother is grieved on account of your food, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food the one on behalf of whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be slandered. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 14:14-17 EMTV)


And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the midst, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed principalities and powers, He mocked them in public, triumphing over them in it.
Therefore do not let anyone judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or of a new moon or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.
(Colossians 2:13-17 EMTV)

No, it isnt 'sin' to eat pork or any other meat.
Pretty much ALL meat has risks involved in eating it. But then, so does a lot of veggies when we buy them at the store or in a restaurant.
The video from the OP said plainly that food can be contaminated simply by some who is affected just handling it.
I cant even remember how many E. Coli contamination stories Ive read in the last few years...vegetables included.

Can eating ANY meat or vegetable be harmful ? Absolutely if its contaminated.
Is it 'sin' to eat pork because of what MAY be ? Absolutely not.
Am I going to worry myself about it ? No.

 

[Sparkey]

Is it a Sin to Eat Pork ?

If you are in the garden of Eden and God has said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." <---- what do you think?

Calling vegetables "meat" should not be all that confusing. We do it. Have you heard the terms "flesh or 'meat' of the fruit" as in, "meat of the coconut"? Hebrews do the same thing - they also use the term "bread" occasionally to mean all foods.

If you are the grandchildren of Noah and God has spoken to your gramps and made a covenant with him about you and your childrens saying, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." <---- what do you think?

Now that is not to say that you have not been taught about clean and unclean --- check out the Scripture about Noah's sacrifice to God: "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done." <----- Did man understand "clean and unclean" at the time of Noah?

At the time of Moses the covenant between God and Man changed as God had called the children of Israel "His chosen people". He declared, "Be thou holy because I am holy," and the Holy Spirit taught them about sanctification and holiness (separation from sin). The Hebrews were not to eat pork. Did God accept pork as an offering? No, nor has it been offered as part of any sacrificial offering. Now we have some protection for our friend Mr. P. Pig.

If we lived as Jews at the time of Christ. <---- what do you think?
Jesus did not eat pork.

Peter never ate pork:
The Holy Spirit showed Peter in a vision that he was not to call man "unclean" or "common" or "polluted" and Peter knew that the Gentiles had been given the same baptism of the HOLY Spirit (as Peter said, "like as we"). Up until the time of Peter's vision the law had been, as Peter said, "an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation". Sorry Porky Pig, Peter never even mentioned you.

But notice the distinction between a man that is a Jew and one of another nation. Even though Peter was a Hebrew and understood Holiness (being separate from sin), he was being taught that Gentiles were not unclean because they ate unclean meats. It was the same for them as it had been for Peter! By the Holy Spirit he understood that they would be circumcised in the heart and the word of God would be written in their hearts.

Paul explained this as other brothers here have so often quoted.

Is it unlawful today for a Jew to eat pork? Yes, indeed it is. But that's the least of their worries.
Sin is a heart matter between God and man. Plain and simple.

Sorry Charlie - tuna is unclean too, but then so are dolphins. :yes
Shall any condemn my Christian brothers or sisters or judge them for the meats they eat? Not in my sight, but and I almost hesitate to say this, but....

I still won't eat worms! It's been almost 40 years since I ate the worms found in Pork. Saying "cook them" means I'm eating dead worms and this isn't all that appetizing to me. I've said it before in the other thread - I'm not under the law in this. There is wisdom in the understanding of "clean vs. unclean" doctrine though. But regarding my habit: eating foods that God pronounced "clean" is purely voluntary and I think beneficial. Is it sin? <---- what do you think?

Is it sin for me to eat pork? Nope. Will I eat pork? Again, nope - ain't gonna do it. Does that mean that I've offered the eating of pork as a "sacrifice" unto the Lord? May it never be! Jesus is my all sufficiency. I think it is a lesson of holiness. I also think of it as a lesson in obedience. A pastor (a man whom I recognized as having authority given by God over me) taught me not to eat "unclean" and I figured it didn't matter so why not obey? I don't see why it matters to others what I eat or don't eat anyway. If eating Pork isn't a sin to them how could my not eating pork be construed as one??? I simply can't figure that one.

Go ahead and open another thread, "Is eating lobster a sin?" I've got another story ready for ya...

~Sparrow ;)

PS - I do want to thank every saint here for the prayers offered on my behalf and for the sake of my friends (and strangers) here. Also to thank you for the warmth of the welcome I have so much enjoyed. Not too many can accept me 'cause I'm trying to quit hiding. I'd also like to thank my 'opponents' in the 'other white meat' thread - because I had to seek the Lord over that and I learned a lot. /salute!

 

[Fembot]

I don't like Lobster either. I'm a cheap date.


Thanks Sparrow...

 

[Vic C.]

for Lewis.

 

[Cornelius]

The question is still valid guys.

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

The truth is that it is not a sin to eat pork.

Why are Christians still so confused about the Levitical Laws?

Here is the message to the Gentiles (us) regarding which laws they (us) still must keep :

Act 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
Act 15:29 that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.
Act 15:30 So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.
Act 15:31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.

So there you have it. Straight from the Holy Spirit.

Interesting, somebody shot some rabbits and a few ducks the other day and gave them to me. I gave them to my neighbor because I did not want them, because they still had their heads on after two days and all their blood was now inside them.He is not a Christian, but he then gave them away again, for the same reason. He just knew its not good to eat them like that.

 

[Sparkey]

The question is still valid guys.

Is it a sin to eat pork?

Yes or No and why.

The truth is that it is not a sin to eat pork.

Why are Christians still so confused about the Levitical Laws?

Thanks Cornelius!

Pardon me saying so, but part of the confusion might stem from the misuse of terms, no offense. Are you certain you meant to reference laws given to the tribe of Levi? Most of those laws concerned sacrifice and serving the Lord by handling (carrying) those things sanctified and set-apart as holy unto the LORD. Those "Levitical Laws" were comprised of instructions (laws) concerning the temple in the wilderness and the offering of sacrifices and the methods of their transportation, & maintenance. Are you certain that what you mean to say is that it is not a sin to offer swines blood or flesh to God as a sacrificial offering? I could make a strong case against you if that is what you meant. But I don't believe you meant that. I'm trying to listen to the spirit of what you are saying and in that you have 100% agreement. I'm not 100% sure (I'd have to look again) but the laws concerning tithe were certainly given about sacrifice and the Levites (who had no land of their own). They could also (perhaps rightly) be called "Levitical Laws". Put briefly the laws about offering clean things were "Levitical". Nobody has ever been released from the commands given to never offer the unclean. Not the people, nor the priests who made the offering for the people. All these laws taught and spoke to the Holiness of God.

The laws about eating clean and not eating unclean things were given to all the Children of Israel (not just the Levites and not just to Aaron). I believe that they were given as a lessons of Holiness and Obedience by God to an unholy and disobedient group of people. I further believe they were given for our sakes, as 'ensamples'. Clearly those "laws" directly related to circumcision and refraining from unclean meats were what Paul was in reference to when he clarified the question about Gentiles, Jewish law(s) and Jewish tradition(s).

Paul later clarified another point when addressing meats (or anything for that matter) offered to idols. He taught that if any brother considered eating it sin ---> to that brother <--- it is sin. God judges the hearts. The "stronger brother" (who had a clear conscience to eat all) was admonished to consider the weaker and rather than become a stumblingblock he is admonished to refrain from eating "meats", again this was for the sake of his brother. Again, God judges the hearts. But let me be quick to say that I know this was not the intent of your post, nor your heart! If I were asked to judge and were foolish to agree, "INNOCENT" would be my verdict here. And I am certain and without doubt that I could do justice to that claim. Good thing you don't need me for an advocate having Jesus for that purpose as do I - but just saying, "I'm on your side," and I know that you were posting in a right spirit and desirous to admonish and reprove your brothers and sister only as Christ would.

Please notice also that when Paul speaks of these things he makes very clear distinctions, having been himself trained in the law . He sometimes talks about those who eat herbs only vs. those who eat meat(s). At those times I am certain that if pressed he would not admit anything but what he actually wrote under the unction of the Holy Spirit. Still, throughout the entire biblical discussion nothing is mentioned about flaunting liberty (which indeed we do have) at the sake of one's brothers conscience except to say, "don't flaunt" or something to that very effect.

Certainly even today it could be sin for even Messianic Jewish believers who consider in their heart that they continue to please God by not touching the unclean thing or eating unclean foods. Further, the law of clean and unclean doesn't stop at food. It specifically refers to rituals for "purging" and mentions touching dead things but even that is not all. Typically, if a person became unclean by touching, the prohibition would be to not go to temple until the evening. There are certain types of defilement that could result in staying outside the camp for a period of three days. I could refresh my mind of the whole law of clean vs. unclean but it isn't necessary (for me). My conscience is clear before God in this. Paul addressed more than just "meats" but also cleansing and purging law (which Jesus mentioned).

Brother Cornelius, please consider this example from our culture of today. My telling you that you can vote (as a citizen of the US) and even my telling you that you "should" vote is NOT the same as somebody saying or implying, "Because I may vote you must." I know that is NOT what you said and I don't bear witness otherwise but If you had restrictions placed on you and they were also placed on everybody in your entire city, and later those in the West Side had the restrictions lifted... would that mean that you had the restrictions lifted?

Do you live on the West Side?

After having admonished you I now want to do something to be certain that all is well between us. Maybe I could eat a bug? I don't mind and will if you'd like. It's no problem for me and I will be sure to thank the Lord for this before I do. I'm pretty serious about it (just hoping you won't take me up on it). You could take my word or I could take pics, your call.

godspeed to you Cornelius,
~Sparrowhawke