Christians are committing wrong by eating halal meat

[chrisfaith100]

Unfortunately UK shops and supermarkets have decided to put aside Christian concerns and sell halal meat as non halal meat. The definition of halal meat is meat which
has been blessed by a muslim and then slaughtered according to the Islamic faith,
thus making it a food offering of the Islamic faith.

Whilst British supermarkets and the government have shown consideration to other faiths
and clearly labelled Halal meat, so those of Islamic faith know the food that they
are eating, unfortunately, the supermarkets and government have shown no consideration
to Christians and have decided that halal food can be both labelled and unlabelled in the
meat section (or any section of a shop), thus Christians who do not wish to buy halal
meat, would in a lot of circumstances, actually be buying and eating it.

If you are a Christian, as halal food has been blessed according to a faith
which a Christian does not believe in, it makes the food a blessing to an idol.
The bible clearly states it is a sin to eat food offered to idols.

Acts 15. 28-29. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon
you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols.”

Thus, what this actually means, is the supermarkets and the government are turning Christians away from their faith. For every time a person sins, they themselves further away from God.

This is why I believe shops and supermarkets should clearly label all halal meat and should not let Christians eat halal food without giving them the opportunity to know what they are eating.

I feel it is a great shame those who people look up to in the Christian and Catholic community have not voiced their concern, or at least spoken a little louder, if they have actually done so.

People have raised their voice about animal welfare and rightly so, but I have not heard
the Christian argument that should have been made, and that of committing sin.
For either they have loosened their faith or are too afraid to speak.

Regards,
Christopher

 

[Ad_Orientem]

I’m not convinced that a Muslim blessing is the same thing as offering it to an idol, but even if it were, St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 8 that a Christian may indeed eat meat offered to idols, provided it is not in front of someone with a weak conscience who will be scandalized by it. So the Acts 15 passage must be understood in light of this.

 

[underacloud]

Firstly, halal meat is not sacrificial or a food offering. It is merely blessed.

Secondly, Paul says clearly that we may eat food sacrificed to idols anyway.

Thirdly, it is blessed by our Muslim borthers who believe in the one true God. That is to say, it is blessed by the same God we believe in.

Here is a good outlining of the issues at hand:

catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=59&articleID=7828&subclass=Question%20Time

The one exception to this may be that if eating halal food causes our borther to stumble, we should avoid doing so. But if we first explain to our borther that it’s OK, then there should be no such concern. Moreover, if the halal meat is not even labelled as halal, this concern is irrelevant. So feel free to eat those supermarket meats all you like.

Frankly, I’m more concerned with animal welfare issues.

 

[Rau]

Unfortunately UK shops and supermarkets have decided to put aside Christian concerns and sell halal meat as non halal meat. The definition of halal meat is meat which
has been blessed by a muslim and then slaughtered according to the Islamic faith,
thus making it a food offering of the Islamic faith.

Whilst British supermarkets and the government have shown consideration to other faiths
and clearly labelled Halal meat, so those of Islamic faith know the food that they
are eating, unfortunately, the supermarkets and government have shown no consideration
to Christians and have decided that halal food can be both labelled and unlabelled in the
meat section (or any section of a shop), thus Christians who do not wish to buy halal
meat, would in a lot of circumstances, actually be buying and eating it.

If you are a Christian, as halal food has been blessed according to a faith
which a Christian does not believe in, it makes the food a blessing to an idol.
The bible clearly states it is a sin to eat food offered to idols.

Acts 15. 28-29. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon
you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols.”

Thus, what this actually means, is the supermarkets and the government are turning Christians away from their faith. For every time a person sins, they themselves further away from God.

This is why I believe shops and supermarkets should clearly label all halal meat and should not let Christians eat halal food without giving them the opportunity to know what they are eating.

I feel it is a great shame those who people look up to in the Christian and Catholic community have not voiced their concern, or at least spoken a little louder, if they have actually done so.

People have raised their voice about animal welfare and rightly so, but I have not heard
the Christian argument that should have been made, and that of committing sin.
For either they have loosened their faith or are too afraid to speak.

Regards,
Christopher

Christians go to the supermarket to buy food to eat, not to pay homage to an idol, or a God. Your primary concern with the food you buy in the supermarket should be that it is safe to eat, quality and price. You may also take an interest in the integrity/ethics of the supply chain. That the item may have been blessed by a Muslim cleric is of no relevance to your shopping endeavours, nor to your Christian Faith.

 

[fastenatingguy]

Halal?

Kosher?

Just don’t call me late for dinner

 

[Allegra]

In addition to what others have said, a person cannot commit a sin unknowingly, so even if it was a sin to eat halal meat, if a Christian doesn’t know it is halal when he buys it, then he isn’t sinning.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Is a blessing said when livestock is slaughtered consistent with Kosher requirements? Clearly it is not sinful to eat Kosher food.

 

[meltzerboy]

Unfortunately UK shops and supermarkets have decided to put aside Christian concerns and sell halal meat as non halal meat. The definition of halal meat is meat which
has been blessed by a muslim and then slaughtered according to the Islamic faith,
thus making it a food offering of the Islamic faith.

Whilst British supermarkets and the government have shown consideration to other faiths
and clearly labelled Halal meat, so those of Islamic faith know the food that they
are eating, unfortunately, the supermarkets and government have shown no consideration
to Christians and have decided that halal food can be both labelled and unlabelled in the
meat section (or any section of a shop), thus Christians who do not wish to buy halal
meat, would in a lot of circumstances, actually be buying and eating it.

If you are a Christian, as halal food has been blessed according to a faith
which a Christian does not believe in, it makes the food a blessing to an idol.
The bible clearly states it is a sin to eat food offered to idols.

Acts 15. 28-29. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon
you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols.”

Thus, what this actually means, is the supermarkets and the government are turning Christians away from their faith. For every time a person sins, they themselves further away from God.

This is why I believe shops and supermarkets should clearly label all halal meat and should not let Christians eat halal food without giving them the opportunity to know what they are eating.

I feel it is a great shame those who people look up to in the Christian and Catholic community have not voiced their concern, or at least spoken a little louder, if they have actually done so.

People have raised their voice about animal welfare and rightly so, but I have not heard
the Christian argument that should have been made, and that of committing sin.
For either they have loosened their faith or are too afraid to speak.

Regards,
Christopher

The question of whether Jews are permitted to eat halal meat is more interesting (to me). Halal meat usually comes from a “kosher” animal and the animal is slaughtered in the most humane way using a knife with no nicks or uneven edges, as is done with kosher meat. Further, the blood of the animal is drained. So far, so good. However, a pious Jew does not do the slaughtering and here the controversy begins. And the meat does not carry the kosher Hecksher or certification. Still, halal meat is better than non-halal, non-kosher meat, for sure, to most Orthodox Jews although perhaps not the ideal. Muslims, I believe, are permitted to eat kosher meat in most circumstances. I would also say, with regard to your concern about the blessing said by the Muslim, that if the blessing is in the name of G-d (Allah), I don’t think that should pose much of a problem, even though Islam is a non-trinitarian religion, since Allah is the Arabic name for G-d. If the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the blessing, then the situation might be different. Is there a blessing in the name of Jesus or the Trinity in slaughtering non-halal meat?

 

[alphastorm]

The question of whether Jews are permitted to eat halal meat is more interesting (to me). Halal meat usually comes from a “kosher” animal and the animal is slaughtered in the most humane way using a knife with no nicks or uneven edges, as is done with kosher meat. Further, the blood of the animal is drained. So far, so good. However, a pious Jew does not do the slaughtering and here the controversy begins. And the meat does not carry the kosher Hecksher or certification. Still, halal meat is better than non-halal, non-kosher meat, for sure, to most Orthodox Jews although perhaps not the ideal. Muslims, I believe, are permitted to eat kosher meat in most circumstances. I would also say, with regard to your concern about the blessing said by the Muslim, that if the blessing is in the name of G-d (Allah), I don’t think that should pose much of a problem, even though Islam is a non-trinitarian religion, since Allah is the Arabic name for G-d. If the name of Muhammad is mentioned in the blessing, then the situation might be different. Is there a blessing in the name of Jesus or the Trinity in slaughtering non-halal meat?

the only thing said while slaughtering the animal in a halal way is “Bismallah” which means in the name of God.

 

[Celtic_Maiden]

Unfortunately UK shops and supermarkets have decided to put aside Christian concerns and sell halal meat as non halal meat. The definition of halal meat is meat which
has been blessed by a muslim and then slaughtered according to the Islamic faith,
thus making it a food offering of the Islamic faith.

Whilst British supermarkets and the government have shown consideration to other faiths
and clearly labelled Halal meat, so those of Islamic faith know the food that they
are eating, unfortunately, the supermarkets and government have shown no consideration
to Christians and have decided that halal food can be both labelled and unlabelled in the
meat section (or any section of a shop), thus Christians who do not wish to buy halal
meat, would in a lot of circumstances, actually be buying and eating it.

If you are a Christian, as halal food has been blessed according to a faith
which a Christian does not believe in, it makes the food a blessing to an idol.
The bible clearly states it is a sin to eat food offered to idols.

Acts 15. 28-29. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon
you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols.”

Thus, what this actually means, is the supermarkets and the government are turning Christians away from their faith. For every time a person sins, they themselves further away from God.

This is why I believe shops and supermarkets should clearly label all halal meat and should not let Christians eat halal food without giving them the opportunity to know what they are eating.

I feel it is a great shame those who people look up to in the Christian and Catholic community have not voiced their concern, or at least spoken a little louder, if they have actually done so.

People have raised their voice about animal welfare and rightly so, but I have not heard
the Christian argument that should have been made, and that of committing sin.
For either they have loosened their faith or are too afraid to speak.

Regards,
Christopher

Best thing to buy in the Supermarkets is Pork chops, all else in a proper Butchers, if they cannot respect other customers , then customers cannot buy the meat sold, trust is everything. The only way it hurts and gets the message across is in the money tills.

 

[Rau]

Best thing to buy in the Supermarkets is Pork chops, all else in a proper Butchers, if they cannot respect other customers , then customers cannot buy the meat sold, trust is everything. The only way it hurts and gets the message across is in the money tills.

What exactly is the respect that you seek?

 

[alphastorm]

What exactly is the respect that you seek?

lol yah really…Jews and Muslims can’t eat pork.

 

[chrisfaith100]

So many times I have heard people make a point about scripture, and then being counteracted by another part in scripture. So unfortunately, in the end, everyone thinks they are right. Nobody can agree on anything. So I will only give advice… Just my thoughts which I hope some may take as guidance…

Many have referred to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 8, verse 9 to 13. If I could give my thoughts on how I would see this passage of scripture.

First, I will speak of the secondary message in these verses, which I believe to be this:
I believe this passage is saying that a good man who possesses knowledge and who believes in God, should show responsibility and wisdom in front of others. This is because there are many who may look up to such a person for advice and help. They are many believers in God, all who possess talents of their own, but not everyone’s talents lie in knowledge, but in other areas… Therefore, there will be those who seek guidance on what is right in the sight of God from those people who possess knowledge and who believe in God. By following what those with knowledge do, they believe they what they do is right in the sight of God.

Ad Orientem, in your reply, you say:
Even if it were, St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 8 that a Christian may indeed eat meat offered to idols, provided it is not in front of someone with a weak conscience who will be scandalized by it.

My second point in this passage, and which is the primary message, is that in St Paul letter, it speaks of a man with ‘so-called knowledge.’
What this actually means, is that such a man who thinks he posses knowledge actually posses none i.e they have little true knowledge because if they had, they would not have been eating food in a temple of an idol.

For this man who is ‘eating in the temple of an idol’ with ‘so-called knowledge’ has actually committed wrong whether he eats the food in front of another person or in private. Sin is against God, not against man, therefore eating food offered to idols in public or in private does not change the morality of the act…

Is it not true most crimes are committed in private and not in public…? For if a person committed a crime in public, everyone would know they were guilty and there would be little need for a trial. Remember, God sees everything, whether in public or in private, but people do not. Most people commit sin in private, with only God knowing, so eating food offered to idols in public or in private does not change the fact it is a sin (or if you don’t believe it is wrong, tell me, what wise man would stand before God on his day of judgement and say i thought it was OK to eat food that was offered to idols because other people said it was OK, and they translated scripture to make it sound as if it was OK to eat… For it even says in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 11,
‘your brother for whom Christ died, will perish because of your knowledge!’

Why would a Christian take the risk on their day of judgement. A wise man wouldn’t.

To underacloud, in your reply, you say:
“Secondly, Paul says clearly that we may eat food sacrificed to idols anyway.”

Please refer to my paragraphs concerning St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

Undercloud, don’t you believe Christians should have the right to know if they are eating halal meat or not?
Please tell me if you believe Christians should have the right to know this?
If you believe they should, then the food should be clearly labelled… If you do not believe Christians should have the right to know, that is unfortunate.

Undercloud, you also say:
‘Frankly, I’m more concerned with animal welfare issues.’
Your reply states you are more concerned for the welfare of animals than any possbile offence to God.

To Allegra, in your reply, you say:
“a person cannot commit a sin unknowingly, so even if it was a sin to eat halal meat,
if a Christian doesn’t know it is halal when he buys it, then he isn’t sinning.”

Allegra, if you may read about my paragraphs concerning St. Paul’s letter
to the Corinthians. Also, I’ll again speak of the passage of scripture (verse 11), where it states,
“And so this weak person, your brother for whom Christ died, will perish because of your knowledge.”
So, yes, a person can commit a sin unknowingly. In this part of the scripture,
the weak person, is the person who did not possess knowledge and followed what the
person with ‘so-called knowledge’ did (who actually had no knowledge at all)…
So what this passage means is that those who commit a sin unknowingly, are still sinning.
Indeed not only are they sinning, but by continuing to sin unknowingly, they will also perish, because they have done a great wrong in the sight of God…

To Tapeian Rock, my answer to your reply are my words below:

In Christianity, God is also known as the ‘God of Israel,’ which is the same God that Jewish people worship, and Kosher food is of Jewish law. So, no, it is not sinful to eat Kosher food.
For the Christain bible has both the old and new testaments, and the the first five books
of the old testament is known as the Torah in Judaism, which is central to the Jewish faith.

To everyone, all I want is for Halal meat to be clearly labelled, so I can make the choice, as a Christian, for myself… I am surprised, that this board, which is meant to be a catholic forum, would deny a Catholic or Christian the right to have this choice…

 

[Rau]

…don’t you believe Christians should have the right to know if they are eating halal meat or not?

To everyone, all I want is for Halal meat to be clearly labelled, so I can make the choice, as a Christian, for myself… I am surprised, that this board, which is meant to be a catholic forum, would deny a Catholic or Christian the right to have this choice…

You are purchasing meat to meet your bodily needs, and the supermarket supplies it to you with that purpose in mind too. Neither is making an offering to an idol or to God. You do not need to know irrelevant facts about whether the beast was blessed by a cleric, or whether it was transported to slaughter by road or rail. Nothing in your faith requires you to know these things or to decline a purchase in light of them.

If this truly does matter to you, shop elsewhere. But your claim that you have a right to know is without basis.

 

[Beryllos]

The first two replies say what I was going to say. It is no offering to a false gods or idols. Muslims believe in one God, the God of Abraham, the same God you and I worship.

Are you concerned about any other issue/problem with buying or eating halal meat?

P.S. If you search these Forums for threads with the word “halal” in the title, you get several old threads that go over the same ground we’ve covered today. Here is the most recent:
Catholic Answers Forums - Is it ok for me to eat “halal” meat for dinner?
To paraphrase another member, the appropriate Christian approach would be to say Grace and dig in.

 

[TigerKitty]

I can’t remember the exact chapter and verse, but isn’t there a bit in the New Testament that says something to the effect that “a man isn’t judged by what he puts into his mouth, but rather by what comes out of it”?

 

[pnewton]

Chrisfaith100,

Where has the Catholic Church ever said eating halal meat is a sin. I know St. Paul said it is not. I do not need to bandy scriptures back an forth when I know this well. So, if you wish to make a point, can you find where the Church has spoken?

FYI - That which the Council of Jerusalem imposed on the Church there and the Gentiles that were coming into the Church are not relevant for all eternity. Even if it were halal meat is not offered to idols. The Catholic Church does clearly state the Muslims worship the same God we do. From section 841 of the Catechism:

841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”

 

[underacloud]

To underacloud, in your reply, you say:
“Secondly, Paul says clearly that we may eat food sacrificed to idols anyway.”

Please refer to my paragraphs concerning St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

Firstly, I don’t agree with your analysis. And I have no idea of your credentials (shall we say). Wheras I offer an article written by a respected Catholic pirest discussing all these issues.

Secondly, as I noted, halal is not a offering to an idol or another god anyway, so your arguments here are quite irrelevant.

Undercloud, don’t you believe Christians should have the right to know if they are eating halal meat or not?
Please tell me if you believe Christians should have the right to know this?
If you believe they should, then the food should be clearly labelled… If you do not believe Christians should have the right to know, that is unfortunate.

Since I don’t think there is any concern whatsoever with Christians eating halal meat, I see no reason to label it. Equally, I would be unconcerned if they did label it, for clarity sake.

Undercloud, you also say:
‘Frankly, I’m more concerned with animal welfare issues.’
Your reply states you are more concerned for the welfare of animals than any possbile offence to God.

No. What I am saying is there is no offense to God. Animal welfare, however, is a legitimate concern.

 

[JorduSpeaks]

The first two replies say what I was going to say. It is no offering to a false gods or idols. Muslims believe in one God, the God of Abraham, the same God you and I worship.

Muslims may believe in one God, but their understanding of the One God is clearly nothing like the God that Jews and Christians believe in.

To begin with, let’s look at how Jews and Christians view God. The word, Israel,.literally means, “he that struggles with God and wins.” In that spirit, the people of Israel have constantly sought to understand God by struggling against God when he appears to be unjust and holding Him accountable when He appears to have violated His covenant. For example, in the Old Testament, Abraham can be seen “bargaining” with God for the lives of the people in Sodom and Gamorah. This is always done with great respect and out of love, having faith that God loves them enough to listen to their grievances, and ultimately it helps them to understand the God they love. Similarly, Christians view suffering as a way to understand God and demonstrate our love for Him, knowing He did the same for us.

The God of Islam, on the other hand, is very different. Theirs is not a God of love, but of will. Terrible, callous, and often cruel, the God of Islam does not demand love or understanding, only obedience and submission. He creates people for the sole purpose of damning them to Hell, and he demands of his followers murder, rape, torture, mutilation, theft, denigration, and every other dark excess of human nature. He is not to be questioned, and he is not to be understood. He neither requires, nor requests our love for him or each other, and in fact shows no love for his creations. In many ways, the God of Islam is the very antithesis of the Judeo-Christian understanding of God.

 

[The_Bucket]

Romans has already been cited but I’ll just go straight to the Man Himself…

Matthew 15:

[Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” … Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.

And… scene!