Jews can't have pork, why can Christians?

[Abeyta85]

Good evening,

I was reading that Jews do not eat pork and some other foods according to scripture in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8. My question is why we as christians eat these foods as God said not too?

I was just curious, Thank you all, and God Bless!

 

[Abeyta85]

Good evening,

I was reading that Jews do not eat pork and some other foods according to scripture in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8. My question is why we as christians eat these foods as God said not too?

I was just curious, Thank you all, and God Bless!

 

[NotWorthy]

In Acts 15, Peter and James declare that the Jewish purification and ritual laws are not binding on the Christian Gentiles (that would be you and me!).

Hence, Christians are not subject to Circumcision and numerous other Mosaic Laws. Fortunately, that means that you and I can enjoy bacon!!!

 

[Abeyta85]

In Acts 15, Peter and James declare that the Jewish purification and ritual laws are not binding on the Christian Gentiles (that would be you and me!).

Hence, Christians are not subject to Circumcision and numerous other Mosaic Laws. Fortunately, that means that you and I can enjoy bacon!!!

Awesome, Thank you very much for the answer. Me and my wife were discussing this and reading scripture, but couldn’t find an answer.

I appreciate your answer, and will be glady having bacon tomorrow morning!

 

[bnbkaine]

The Mosaic Laws regarding food and other things are part of the Ole Testament and when Jesus came He fulfilled the old covenant and created a new covenant. This is shown pretty clearly during the Transfiguration when Jesus appears with Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) and God says, “Listen to Him,” and Moses and Elijah disappear and Jesus is the only one present.

Plus, “Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.”

 

[Holly3278]

The Mosaic Laws regarding food and other things are part of the Ole Testament and when Jesus came He fulfilled the old covenant and created a new covenant. This is shown pretty clearly during the Transfiguration when Jesus appears with Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) and God says, “Listen to Him,” and Moses and Elijah disappear and Jesus is the only one present.

Plus, “Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.”

I can testify to the fact that pork chops taste good! Had some at my sister’s apartment earlier!

 

[GEddie]

The Mosaic Laws regarding food and other things are part of the Ole Testament and when Jesus came He fulfilled the old covenant and created a new covenant. This is shown pretty clearly during the Transfiguration when Jesus appears with Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets) and God says, “Listen to Him,” and Moses and Elijah disappear and Jesus is the only one present.

Plus, “Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.”

Indeed

And also, in Acts 10:9ff S. Peter is told (in a vision) to eat from a number of nonkosher critters. When he objects that he has never eaten anything unclean, he is told “Do not call unclean” what God has made clean. In essence, what was good for S. Peter is also good for the Church that he was once the head of.

ICXC NIKA!

 

[Monte_RCMS]

If pork isn’t cooked properly, you can get trichinosis, which is a very debilitating disease.

We didn’t know that back 4000 years ago that there was a specific disease. So to avoid getting sick, you avoided pork.

Enjoy the pork, just make sure it is properly cooked.

Shell fish and shrimp eat … ummmm… fecal matter. [Got it?]

Can be a problem especially with intensive cultivation where there is a lot of “fecal matter” in the water.

 

[Salvatore123]

This actually caused the first big “fight” amongst Church leaders, namely St. Peter and other apostles.

The question was one dealing with evangelization: Did Gentiles who had converted to Christianity have to follow the laws of the Jewish converts to Christianity. Ultimately, it was decided that Gentiles did NOT have to follow Jewish laws regarding intake of food.

Although the Catholic Church does not speak to the preparation and consumption of food (except when abstaining during Lent and when preparing the communion wafer recipe), I suspect that Jewish converts TODAY probably still follow their ancient “food laws” simply as a matter of “connection” with their heritage.

 

[Todd_Easton]

In Mark 7:14-22, Jesus Christ declared all foods clean.

 

[Salvatore123]

Todd,

I know.

But most of the Jews did not listen too much back then to Jesus . . .

 

[CWBetts]

The dietary laws were lifted, not in Acts 15, which is actually about bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were lifted much earlier by Jesus in Mark 7:19.

 

[Epistemes]

Good evening,

I was reading that Jews do not eat pork and some other foods according to scripture in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8. My question is why we as christians eat these foods as God said not too?

I was just curious, Thank you all, and God Bless!

Because the Church has superimposed its pork and shell-fisheating mannerisms onto the teachings of Jesus, James, Peter Paul, et. al., who were Torah-abiding Jews.

 

[CWBetts]

Because the Church has superimposed its pork and shell-fisheating mannerisms onto the teachings of Jesus, James, Peter Paul, et. al., who were Torah-abiding Jews.

I have yet to see one of your statements that has anything resembling fact conveyed.

 

[Epistemes]

I have yet to see one of your statements that has anything resembling fact conveyed.

Likewise.

 

[CWBetts]

Likewise.

Whatever. I cited scriptures, form the earliest Gospel written (which was during the lives of those Jews you mention). The council at Jerusalem also forbade forcing Christians to “be Jewish”. All you offer is your own opinion. Have anything to back your view up? Something reliable?

 

[promethius]

The dietary laws were lifted, not in Acts 15, which is actually about bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were lifted much earlier by Jesus in Mark 7:19.

Let’s not forget that the same conversation is recorded in Matthew 15:11, that what goes into the mouth of a man is not what defiles him, but rather what comes out.

Let’s add too, that there were Jewish MORAL laws and Jewish ceremonial laws. The Ceremonial laws were tantamount to part of the reparation for sin: they were offerings to God. But Christ has made the perfect offering, and so we are freed from Jewish ceremonial laws and only held bound to the moral law that God gave us.

 

[Epistemes]

Whatever. I cited scriptures, form the earliest Gospel written (which was during the lives of those Jews you mention). The council at Jerusalem also forbade forcing Christians to “be Jewish”. All you offer is your own opinion. Have anything to back your view up? Something reliable?

I take no issue with the Council of Jerusalem, and so I should retract my inflammatory comment that the Gentile Church superimposed its mannerisms onto a Jewish Church. It is evident that James, as head of the church, did not, as you say, force the Gentiles to be Jewish, even though, what is missing from most discussions concerning the Council, there are elements of the Torah which are still universally applicable, even to Gentiles. Regardless, it is when the Gentile Church superimposes its Gentile mannerisms on our Torah-abiding Lord that things become testy.

You, for instance, quote the incident in Mark 7, and I’m sure you read in Mark 7:18-19 something alone the lines of, *And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) * (RSV-CE)

However,

1. The issue in Mark 7 is not the dietary law from Leviticus 11, but the issue of ritual handwashing before eating.
2. In ritual handwashing, the concern is secondary defilement (e.g., I might touch someone who has touched something unclean and then touch my food and ingest something unclean).
3. This type of defilement is not directly taught in Torah, but is derived through one interpretation of Torah.
4. Jesus did not agree with requiring handwashing and his some of his disciples did not practice it (though Jesus apparently did).
5. Jesus in a few instances disagreed with the traditions of the elders, even on some issues that became fixed *halakhah *at a later point.
6. Mark 7:19 **DOES NOT **say as the NIV translates, “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’” It does not even say, as the NASB translates, “Thus He declared all foods clean.”

What does Mark 7:19 say? **“…because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated, cleansing all foods.” ** Thus the NJB correctly renders the Greek.

Jesus’s logic is simple. You don’t need to worry about secondary defilement from touching food because you eat the food and pass out the indigestible parts. Any uncleanness would pass out of you. This is not an argument for eliminating God’s commandments concerning which meats Israel can eat since even touching unclean meats defiles. Read Leviticus 11 if you don’t believe me.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Under Jewish law, if you ate unclean foods, then you became unclean. And that was because both that the Mosaic law forbade eating the “unclean food” and because you might pick up a disease.

Under Christian law, what you put IN your mouth doesn’t make you unclean … it is the words that COME OUT of your mouth that make you unclean.

In other words, as a Christian you do not sin by the food you eat; as a Christian you sin by the words you speak.

[The whole issue of eating or not eating pork or shell fish or shrimp, etc, sort of goes away for Christians. Jesus, being God, and knowing everything, figured out that people would figure out how to cook pork properly and how to watch out when buying shellfish or shrimp which eat “fecal matter” and you don’t want to get that nasty stuff inside you.]

[Jesus figured that you would figure that out .]

[The “biology” of nutritional values and cleanliness of food supplies is something that He figured we would eventually work out, which is why His Father gave us the brains to think through the science.]

 

[CWBetts]

I take no issue with the Council of Jerusalem, and so I should retract my inflammatory comment that the Gentile Church superimposed its mannerisms onto a Jewish Church. It is evident that James, as head of the church, did not, as you say, force the Gentiles to be Jewish, even though, what is missing from most discussions concerning the Council, there are elements of the Torah which are still universally applicable, even to Gentiles. Regardless, it is when the Gentile Church superimposes its Gentile mannerisms on our Torah-abiding Lord that things become testy.

You, for instance, quote the incident in Mark 7, and I’m sure you read in Mark 7:18-19 something alone the lines of, *And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) * (RSV-CE)

However,

1. The issue in Mark 7 is not the dietary law from Leviticus 11, but the issue of ritual handwashing before eating.
2. In ritual handwashing, the concern is secondary defilement (e.g., I might touch someone who has touched something unclean and then touch my food and ingest something unclean).
3. This type of defilement is not directly taught in Torah, but is derived through one interpretation of Torah.
4. Jesus did not agree with requiring handwashing and his some of his disciples did not practice it (though Jesus apparently did).
5. Jesus in a few instances disagreed with the traditions of the elders, even on some issues that became fixed *halakhah *at a later point.
6. Mark 7:19 **DOES NOT **say as the NIV translates, “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’” It does not even say, as the NASB translates, “Thus He declared all foods clean.”

What does Mark 7:19 say? **“…because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated, cleansing all foods.” ** Thus the NJB correctly renders the Greek.

Jesus’s logic is simple. You don’t need to worry about secondary defilement from touching food because you eat the food and pass out the indigestible parts. Any uncleanness would pass out of you. This is not an argument for eliminating God’s commandments concerning which meats Israel can eat since even touching unclean meats defiles. Read Leviticus 11 if you don’t believe me.

The meaning is the same. If you interpret the Scriptures narrowly, as you have, it is easy to see your position. But Jesus did say that was that you cannot be defiled by what you eat. We are not bound by ceremonial law (which is what the dietary restrictions are). This is clear throughout the New Testament.