1. Eating in the Orient
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
The news media reported that in China there is a saying that, "Anything
with four legs, other than a table, is good to eat." Actually, Chinese
people also eat things without legs, such as snakes; and things with more
than four legs, such as octopuses. In 2003 there was an outbreak of
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS in China's
Guangdong province. A World Health Organization (WHO) team noticed that
5 percent of those infected in the south China province happened to be
food handlers, such as chefs working with exotic menu items such as snake
or monkey brains. As well, a shrimp salesman who was infected was one of
the area's known "super spreaders," who passed on the disease to 90 health
workers in three hospitals. The SARS virus is believed to have been out
there in some animal until it mutated and somehow got into humans. Some
scientists now believe that it likely jumped to humans from civet cats,
which are considered to be a delicacy by many people in southern China.
Should civet cats be considered a delicacy by anyone? Many oriental people
do eat cats and dogs. But, should they? In the Bible it is recorded that
God told the Israelites, "Of all the animals that
walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you"
(Leviticus 11:27, NIV). With this law God told His own chosen people not
to eat cats and dogs.
SARS quickly spread to over two dozen nations around the world, with over
8,300 known cases of infection and over 770 known deaths. Most people seem
to think that they can eat anything and that their eating will not even harm
themselves, much less harm anyone else. The
individuals in China probably never imagined that what they eat could have
such serious worldwide consequences. This could give new
meaning to the instruction, "Do not by your
eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died" (Romans 14:15, NIV).
Avian Influenza or Bird Flu
A more recent concern in Asia is something called Avian Influenza or
Bird Flu. The H5N1 strain of this virus has killed more than 70% of
the people that it is known to have infected. The longer the virus circulates,
and the more poultry and people it infects, the greater the chance it will mix
with a human influenza strain and trigger a global flu pandemic. This could
potentially kill many millions of people all around the world. One case of
bird flu in early 2005 involved an 81-year-old man from the Thai Binh district
in northern Vietnam who drank raw duck blood, a traditional Vietnamese dish,
during their Lunar New Year celebrations. Shortly after, in February 2005,
a couple of his grandchildren, age 21 and 14, also developed symptoms and were
hospitalized in critical condition.
Is drinking blood a good tradition for anyone to have, or is it a custom best
left to female mosquitoes? God's own law in the Bible says, "And
wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal"
(Leviticus 7:26, NIV). Those who fear and obey the LORD will not drink blood.
A team of Japanese researchers reported a form of the H5N1 virus was found in
duck meat exported from China's Shangdong province into Japan in 2003. Health
officials said this was another reminder of how easily the disease can cross
borders and how hard it is to kill. However, the World Health Organization
said processed poultry meat poses no risk to consumers as long as precautions
are taken during preparation, such as frequently washing hands and countertops
and making sure all meat is thoroughly cooked and no blood remains.
One author mentioned that, "Most flu viruses that we encounter in the United
States come from the lungs of pigs that create an incubator for the combination
of bird, human, and porcine viruses. The Center for Disease Control has stated
that as many as 200 of these combined viruses make their way from Southern China
to the United States each year through pigs." This problem could be solved
if people would simply obey God. The Bible actually quotes God as saying,
"The pig is also unclean; although it has a split
hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their
carcasses" (Deuteronomy 14:8, NIV).
2. Eating in Africa
Ebola
The news media has also reported on a very scary and deadly disease in
Africa. Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever that kills most of its victims
within a few days. Depending on the strain, Ebola kills between 50 and 90
percent of patients. The Ebola virus has killed large numbers of chimpanzees
and gorillas in west-central Africa, and researchers say sick animals
harvested as meat may be the source of some recent outbreaks of the disease
in humans. Many people in Africa depend on apes and monkeys, called bush
meat, for food. A doctor from the Wildlife Conservation Society said a study
of outbreaks of Ebola disease in west-central Africa showed that the virus
is introduced into the human population most often by hunters who handle
meat from infected animals. His team noticed that human outbreaks were
almost always preceded by Ebola-related deaths of animals.
The medical profession cannot always be counted on to help. Too often, it
actually harms. The health-care system in poor countries sometimes contributes
to the spread of Ebola by re-using hypodermic needles.
One investor and author spent a few years travelling around the world and
visiting over one hundred countries. In an interview he said that he ate
whatever animals the people in those countries ate. However, he said that
he "drew the line at monkeys" because he thought they were "too close to
home." The guy believed in evolution and didn't want to eat what he thought
was such a close relative. While he was mistaken about being related to
monkeys, he was right not to eat them.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
In May 2006, a newspaper article said, "Twenty-five years after the first AIDS
cases emerged, scientists have confirmed that HIV, the virus plaguing humans,
really did originate in wild chimpanzees, in a corner of Cameroon." The article
went on to say that, "Presumably, someone in rural Cameroon was bitten by a
chimp or was cut while butchering one and became infected with the ape virus.
That person passed it to someone else."
So, a deadly plague like AIDS came from chimpanzees in Africa, and possibly
originated with people eating chimpanzees--an animal that, according to the Bible,
people should not eat. God instructed His servants Moses and Aaron to tell the
Israelites, "Of all the animals that live on land, these
are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely
divided and that chews the cud" (Leviticus 11:1-3, NIV). Chimpanzees
don't make the cut, and neither should you cut them up for supper.
"Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided
or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of
any of them will be unclean" (Leviticus 11:26, NIV).
Just how unclean do things get? Well, one common way that AIDS is spread today
is by men having sex with multiple other men--another thing that, according to the
Bible, people should not do. God's laws about sexual relations say,
"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that
is detestable" (Leviticus 18:22, NIV). The way many people behave
today is enough to make one wonder if AIDS originated with someone having sex
with a chimpanzee (or trying to have sex with a chimp and getting bitten)--yet
another thing that, according to the Bible, people should not do. God said,
"Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile
yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual
relations with it; that is a perversion." (Leviticus 18:23, NIV).
3. Eating in Europe
People in Europe tend to be influenced by the religion of their churches.
This leaves them in a similar situation as the people in Asia and Africa,
since most churches today that profess to be Christian actively reject
what God said about clean and unclean meats in Leviticus 11:1-47 of the
Bible. The Roman Catholic church and its Protestant daughter
churches that came out of it in the Protestant Reformation like to teach
that God's laws regarding which animals one can and cannot eat are "done
away." It is noteworthy that the Catholic church and almost all Protestant
churches also teach that people should observe Sunday (the first day of
the week) and trample on the biblical Sabbath (the seventh day of the week).
Most religious leaders today are just like the bad priests in the time
of Ezekiel. God said, "Her priests do violence
to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the
holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the
unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths,
so that I am profaned among them" (Ezekiel 22:26, NIV). People
in Europe, and throughout the whole world, would do well to obey what God
said in the Bible and to reject the detestable things, and the pagan-based
nonsense, that most churches would like to feed them. The
biggest drawback that people would find about obeying God's laws might be the
opposition, and even violent persecution, that they could suffer at the hands
of the large churches that hate God's laws.
Many people think that lobsters, oysters, and even snails are something
great to eat. But, notice what God said in the Bible about how to
distinguish between good clean creatures that may be eaten and detestable
creatures that should not be eaten: "Of all the
creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any
that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that
do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among
all the other living creatures in the water--you are to detest. And since
you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their
carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales
is to be detestable to you" (Leviticus 11:9-12, NIV).
You can be sure that there were good reasons for God's laws. Fish that
have fins and scales (like Salmon, Cod, Tuna, Trout, and others) do not absorb
the toxins in the water. Other water creatures that have fins but no scales,
such as catfish, are generally bottom feeders, scavengers, and have digestive
systems that do absorb the toxins from the water. Sea creatures such as
clams, shrimp, mussels, squid, lobster, and crab have neither fins nor scales
and are highly toxic. They absorb all the poisons from the water. They
serve a useful purpose in filtering and cleaning the water. Their purpose
in the scheme of things does not include being eaten by people.
Some people carelessly assume that snotty chefs know what is high-class.
But, even fancy schmancy chefs, who like to pass themselves off as culinary
experts, do not know what is good food and what is not. In many cases,
what they consider to be rich food really just shows poor taste. Often,
they try to charge a small fortune for disgusting things that should have
been thrown in the slop pail and never put on a plate. When one of
those low-class French chefs with the poor taste of the godless tries to pass
off his escargots (snails) as a high-class dish, just remember that Jesus once
said, "What is highly valued among men is detestable
in God's sight" (Luke 16:15, NIV). It would be better to eat
"freedom fries" than to taste their detestable dishes.
4. How religions that profess to be Christian deceive people
In the Old Testament of the Bible, the king was anointed, and so was known
as haMashiach (the Messiah in Hebrew, or the Anointed One
in English). The messianic hope was that a future king would come and establish
God's kingdom on earth. After His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared over a
period of forty days to the apostles He had chosen and spoke about the kingdom of
God. So, they asked Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time
going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6, NIV). Jesus
answered that, "It is not for you to know the times
or dates the Father has set by his own authority" (Acts 1:7, NIV).
In general, Jews have rejected Jesus as being the prophesied Messiah
(in Hebrew), or Christ (in Greek), or Anointed One (in English),
or King (in plain English) who was prophesied to come. As a result,
most Jews reject the New Testament of the Bible and just have what Christians
call the Old Testament of the Bible. The Jewish Bible consists of what is
commonly called the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, but with the books
arranged in a different order. Like the Protestant Bible, it does not have
any of the Apocryphal books that are found in the Catholic Bible. Jews call
their scripture the Tanakh, which is derived from T, N,
and K, the first letters of the Hebrew words Torah (law, or
guidance and instruction), Nevi'im (prophets), and Kethuvim
(writings). The Law, Prophets, and Writings are the three sections into which
the books of the Jewish Tanakh are divided. The Law is made up of five books,
including the book of Leviticus which in chapter 11 tells which animals may
and may not be eaten. God concluded by saying, "You
must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures
that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten" (Leviticus 11:47, NIV).
As mentioned above, the Jews divide the books of what Christians call the Old
Testament of the Bible into three sections: Law, Prophets, and
Writings. In the New Testament, Jesus said, "Do
not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17, NIV). This
illustrates that things just cannot be stated clearly enough or emphasized
strongly enough. Today, most people who think of themselves as Christians like
to argue that Jesus fulfilled the law, and that by doing so He abolished it.
Even though Jesus clearly said not to think that He came to abolish the Law,
people like to think that by keeping the Law Jesus somehow did away with it.
Mark 7:1-23 tells of some Pharisees and teachers of the law complaining that
Jesus' disciples ate without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing
according to the tradition of the elders. Notice that they were not
caught eating ham sandwiches or breaking any of God's other laws. Mark 7:4
mentions that the Pharisees observed many other such traditions as well. Jesus
did not seem to think very highly of these man-made traditions when He said,
"They worship me in vain; their teachings are but
rules taught by men." (Mark 7:7, NIV). Jesus explained that,
"You have let go of the commands of God and are
holding on to the traditions of men" (Mark 7:8, NIV). Jesus went
on to say, "You have a fine way of setting aside the
commands of God in order to observe your own traditions"
(Mark 7:9, NIV). Then, He gave an example of how by their tradition they
nullified one of the Ten Commandments that says to honor your father and your
mother. He added, "And you do many things like
that" (Mark 7:13, NIV).
Today, the ham-eating, Sunday-keeping crowds that want to pass themselves off
as Christians continue in the same habit of rejecting the commands of God in
order to keep their own unbiblical, pagan-based, man-made traditions. For
example, in another one of the Ten Commandments, God had said,
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the LORD your God" (Exodus 20:8-10, NIV). Yet, today, most churches
trample all over the biblical Sabbath that was given by God Himself in order to
keep their tradition of observing Sunday. Furthermore, God had said,
"The pig is also unclean; although it has a split
hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their
carcasses" (Deuteronomy 14:8, NIV). But, even though God commanded
people not to eat pigs, people have a tradition of eating them. Like the
Pharisees of old, religious people today have let go of the commands of
God and are holding on to the traditions of men. Like the Pharisees, people
today do many such things. And, just like in the past, these traditions of men
contradict and nullify the commands of God.
The original Greek New Testament of the Bible nowhere says that it is all right
to eat unclean animals. So, those who wanted to eat them took matters into
their own hands. In one Greek manuscript, unscrupulous and dishonest people
influenced by their religious denomination actually added words to the New
Testament that were not in the original Greek manuscripts. Today, the
translators of the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible grasped at this
fraud to include this explanation in parentheses: "(In
saying this, Jesus declared all foods 'clean.')" (Mark 7:19, NIV).
Adding some such "explanation" to English translations of the Bible is a common
tradition of men today. The entire explanatory, parenthetical sentence is
included in some English translations to make it appear that Jesus approved of
people eating unclean animals, even though such an explanation clearly
contradicts what Jesus had just finished saying. It
is one of the truly outrageous twistings of scripture that people take the very
verses where Jesus warned against rejecting the commands of God and say that by
these very verses Jesus did away with the commands of God.
If you really think that all unclean animals have now been made clean and are
fit to eat, just go read a good book about rats (an unclean animal) and the
diseases they spread, and see if you still think that way. It will start to
become clear that the teachings of the churches that reject God's laws are
based on ignorance. They have rejected the laws that God gave for man's own
good and have chosen instead to have filth and disease.
5. Twisted scriptures
Mark 7:1-23 is the story of Jesus pointing out how religious people can
end up rejecting the commands of God in order to keep
the traditions of men. Many people have been so mixed up by
their churches that they think that the Ten Commandments (especially the
Sabbath commandment) and the other laws (such as the law against eating pigs)
that were given by God Himself in the Bible itself are actually the traditions
of men. Then, they go do some unbiblical, pagan-based things (such as observing
Sunday and eating pigs), and think that they are keeping the commandments of
God.
What kind of people could be so mixed up and hostile to the laws of God?
In the New Testament of the Bible, the apostle Paul explained that,
"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to
God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8, NIV).
Paul said many things in his writings, such as: "Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires"
(Romans 6:12, NIV). "What then? Shall we sin because we
are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15, NIV).
"When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the
control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things
you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" (Romans 6:20-21, NIV).
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters
nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the
greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of
God" (1 Corinthians 6:6-10, NIV). Incredibly, many religious people
today who imagine that they are Christians like to think that the apostle Paul
taught against the laws of God, and that sinning is now OK. This is not a new
error.
Even in New Testament times, the apostle Peter wrote that ignorant and
unstable people were already distorting the writings of Paul. To counter
this error of lawless men, Peter wrote, "Bear
in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother
Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same
way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters
contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable
people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so
that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from
your secure position" (2 Peter 3:15-17, NIV).
6. More verses that people like to twist
At the pain of having to write more, something needs to be said about the
story in Acts chapters 10-11 of Peter's vision. When told in a vision to kill
and eat, he replied the way good guys do. "'Surely
not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or
unclean'" (Acts 10:14, NIV). This is an interesting response,
considering that many people like to say that Jesus had previously taught in
the Mark 7 incident that all animals were now clean. Acts chapters 10-11 contains
Peter's explanation of the meaning of the vision: "But
God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean"
(Acts 10:28, NIV). This does not mean that cannibalism is allowed now. And
Peter did not say that God had shown him that unclean animals were now clean.
7. How Muslims do the twist
While Muslims don't eat pork, they do eat other creatures that the Bible lists
as unclean, such as shrimp. Just as Catholics, and most Protestants, around the
world reject the biblical Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) that was given
by God Himelf, so do Muslims. But, while Catholics around the world like to
observe Sunday (the first day of the week), Muslims around the world like to
imagine that Friday (the sixth day of the week) is something special. They go
to the mosque (which means "place of prostration") to bow down in prayer,
especially on Friday, their Day of Assembly. Most people hate the laws of God
revealed in the Bible, and refer to them contemptuously as "Jewish customs."
The Muslim religion, called Islam, was founded by a false prophet named
Mohammed. He claimed that while meditating on Mount Hira just outside
Mecca (in what is now Saudi Arabia) in 622 C.E., he began to receive
revelations from God, brought by the angel Gabriel. These revelations
were later collected into the Koran, the Islamic Holy book. Notice that
this new "revelation" came well over five hundred years after the New
Testament of the Bible was written. Notice also that it contradicts
what the Bible teaches. Yet, Muslims think that the Koran contains the
original truth of God. After the death of Mohammed in 632 C.E., the
Muslim community split into two branches: the Sunni Muslims and the
Shia Muslims. Altogether, there are now about a billion Muslims.
8. Eating in Britain and North America
The United States and Britain have done more than any other nations on earth
to translate the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament and the Greek
language of the New Testament into other languages, and to distribute the
Bible around the world. Of course, they also translated the Bible into their
own English language. A translation of the Bible into English in 1611, called
the King James Version (KJV), is famous. The New International
Version (NIV) of the Bible is a recent popular translation of the Bible
into modern English. Some people might, therefore, carelessly assume that
these great nations would know about God's ways by now, and that they could
be an example of them to the rest of the world. However, it is a truly amazing
fact that these great nations that translated the Bible into all sorts of
languages, and spread the Bible all around the world, do not really obey what
is actually taught in the Bible. Rather, they are actually opposed to what it
teaches!
In a book called The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions
by Bruce M. Metzger, a revealing little story is told about the Reader's
Digest Bible of 1982. The final result was that the Old Testament was
cut by about 50% and the New Testament by about 25 percent. Bruce Metzger
was invited to serve as the general editor. His responsibilities were to
advise which block cuts could be made in a given biblical book. He said that,
"Other passages, such as the genealogies in Genesis, I Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, as well as many of the dietary laws in Leviticus were judged to be
of reduced relevance in a condensed edition of the Scriptures." Actually,
he should have seen the importance of keeping the dietary laws in a condensed
version. If someone thinks that he does not have time to read the whole book,
and just has time to touch on the high points, he needs to know about these
laws so that he can follow them in his daily life. The way it was done,
readers may not even know that these laws exist.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow Disease
Unfortunately, the churches in the United States and Britain that profess
to be Christian have actually kept these nations ignorant of God's ways.
This ignorance has led to such disgusting practices as the feeding of the
unwanted parts of dead cows to other cows. When it is feared that this
practice might be causing mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
or BSE), dead cows are fed to pigs while dead pigs are fed to cows!
Cows just aren't left alone anymore to chew on the grass like they were
designed to do. Cows were designed by God to be herbivorous (grass-eating)
animals, not carnivorous (flesh-eating) animals. Yet, some cattle abusers
seem determined to try to turn their cows into pigs. Pigs, unlike cows, were
designed to eat all sorts of garbage, and then God told man not to eat any
pigs. In its greed for more profits, the cattle industry has resorted to
forcing cows to eat the ground-up brains, spinal cords, etc. of other cows,
sheep, and even pigs. Instead of drinking milk like God designed them to,
calves get fed the blood from other slaughtered cattle. This sort of disgusting
and greedy behavior is passed off as being thrifty and as "not wasting" any
parts of the animals. A more sensible view is that anyone who makes his herd
of cattle eat such things should not be allowed to own any cattle. Clearly,
these are not righteous people behind such actions. As the Bible said long ago,
"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal,
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10, NIV).
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)
A man who wants to enjoy a fine steak should not have to worry that he
might get the human form of mad cow disease (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease or vCJD), which emerged in Britain in the 1990s. People
who eat ground up beef products do have something to worry about. When
the beef industry grinds up all sorts of parts of all kinds of animals
to feed to cows, consumers are right to be concerned about what the beef
industry might try to grind up and feed to people in the form of sausages,
hot dogs, and even hamburgers. When the practices in the cattle industry
make consumers afraid of beef products, the cattle industry goes crying
for government help and handouts. Any cattle producers who have no concern
for either what their animals are forced to eat or what the final consumer
ends up eating need to realize that they deserve to go broke for this kind
of attitude and behavior.
Scientists are not certain where mad cow disease came from. One theory
suggested that it was caused when cattle were fed the remains of sheep
infected with the brain-wasting disease known as scrapie. Now, a report
published in a medical journal called The Lancet suggests that
human cadavers from India that ended up in animal feed in Britain and
other countries may have been the original source of mad cow disease.
Human and animal corpses are disposed of in India in accordance with Hindu
custom. An estimated 40,000 funeral ceremonies a year take place at two
main sites on the banks of the Ganges river. After floating down river,
bone collectors gather the remains that wash ashore and take them to processing
mills, which have for decades exported bone and tissue for use in the production
of animal feed and fertilizer. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of bones
and other tissue, made from mainly animal but also human remains, have
been exported from India and used for the production of animal feed.
While this might seem disgusting to any sensible people, it might not bother
the Roman Catholic church or its Protestant daughter churches that came out
of it in the Protestant Reformation. They like to teach that God's laws
regarding which animals one can and cannot eat are "done away." Maybe they
will twist what Peter said in Acts 10:28 to mean that feeding people
to cows, and even cannibalism, is acceptable now. The grass that God caused
to grow does not seem to be considered good enough for animal feed.
9. Not eating in India
In India, there are many cows walking through the streets of the towns and
cities because people there tend to think it would be wrong to eat them.
Notice that this idea that it is wrong to eat cows did not come from God.
In the Bible, it is recorded that God said, "Of
all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You
may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews
the cud" (Leviticus 11:2-3, NIV). The Bible also says,
"These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the
sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex,
the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a split
hoof divided in two and that chews the cud" (Deuteronomy 14:4-6, NIV).
Even though cattle are biblically clean animals that God gave permission to
eat, many people in India do not eat them. The religion in India plays
a major role in this decision. Remember, though, that the religion of India
is not the religion of the Bible. In fact, the Bible suggests that the idea
that it is wrong to eat biblically clean animals--such as cows--is something
taught by demons (see 1 Timothy 4:1-3, NIV). Holy cow? No! A great steak is
something to be savored, not worshiped.
One author from that part of the world wrote that he could not recommend
eating beef. He said that the reason he could not recommend it was that the
fat burning on a barbecue could cause cancer. But, it seemed like he was
just trying to find health-related reasons to support the non-cow diet that
he already believed in for some other reason. The Bible had this concern
of his about fat causing cancer already covered. The answer is that people
should not eat the fat of animals. In the Bible, God said,
"Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.
The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any
other purpose, but you must not eat it. Anyone who eats the fat of an animal
from which an offering by fire may be made to the LORD must be cut off from
his people" (Leviticus 7:23-25, NIV).
10. Seventh Day Adventist ideas
Even some people who profess to be Christians suggest that it is wrong
to kill any "innocent animal" to satisfy one's taste buds. A Seventh Day
Adventist (SDA) magazine tried to use the mad cow scare to push its
vegetarian agenda. An article in the magazine mentioned the names of famous
and supposedly great people who were vegetarians, like Mahatma Gandhi of
India, for example. The author of the article seemed to forget that Jesus
was an even greater and more famous person, and that He ate clean fish even
after being resurrected (see Luke 24:40-43). Naturally, the article didn't
bring up the names of any infamous vegetarians, like Adolf Hitler. The SDA's
own prophetess, Ellen G. White, went from being a great pork eater to
being a vegetarian. She tried to spread the idea that eating flesh foods
pointed to the darkness and superstition of Egypt. It is no wonder that
many SDAs conveniently forget that the sacrifice of clean animals in Old
Testament times was God's idea.
While the SDA church is aware of the biblical laws about clean and unclean
animals, the official SDA position is to push vegetarianism. In the beginning,
God had given people, and animals, a vegetarian diet. God had told Adam and Eve,
"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be
yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the
air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the
breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food."
(Genesis 1:29-30, NIV). The thinking of many SDA writers is that they are
doing things the way they were done in the garden of Eden and for the first
approximately 1656 years of human history, until the flood in Noah's time.
God had Noah bring the animals into the ark in different numbers depending on
whether they were clean or unclean. After the flood, Noah built an altar and
sacrificed some of all the clean animals and clean birds on it. Then, God told
Noah and his three sons, "The fear and dread of you
will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon
every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea;
they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food
for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But
you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it" (Genesis
9:2-4, NIV). Even though the clean and unclean designations clearly existed at
this point, some people like to read this verse to say that God allowed all
animals to be eaten, including unclean ones. But, just as God did not give
people poisonous mushrooms (fungi) for food, just all good green plants, neither
did He give unclean animals for food, just good clean ones.
Eating clean meats has not become wrong, even though it might be a good idea to
try to avoid some of the clean animals that have been polluted by wicked people.
The clean meats were created by God to be received with thanksgiving,
as explained in the New Testament of the Bible: "The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through
hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods,
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and
who know the truth" (1 Timothy 4:1-3, NIV). Of course, the unclean
animals were not created to be received with thanksgiving.
There is always money to be made. Some SDA's have vegetarian food companies
that produce imitation meats from such things as soybeans. Interestingly,
these meat substitutes are often designed to resemble various unclean meats,
such as pork, scallops, etc. SDAs don't seem to have heard about avoiding
even the appearance of evil. Fake unclean meats made from genetically modified
soybeans are not the answer to good health.
Seventh Day Adventists, as their name suggests, observe the Sabbath commandment
by remembering the correct day of the week. This part is right and good. They
like to talk about keeping "all ten" of the Ten Commandments. This part of their
story is not correct. It is very important to realize that the SDA church
absolutely insists on ignoring and disobeying the commandment against idolatry.
Many SDA books, magazines, calendars, church bulletins, etc. are full of freaky
hippy pictures that they try to
pass off as representations of Jesus. The SDAs today seem to be trying to outdo
the Roman Catholic church at spreading idolatry with these detestable idols and
vile images. Most SDAs have been so thoroughly steeped in this sin all their
lives that they cannot even see anything wrong with doing such evil things.
11. Jewish teachings
Even many religious Jews who believe in the Tanakh (what
Christians call the Old Testament of the Bible) tend to think that the
original intent of the dietary laws in the Tanakh was "religious and ethical,
not medical." A book called The Kosher Companion by Trudy
Garfunkel mentioned what she called some of the "unintended" and "unexpected"
health benefits that following the Biblical laws "might" have:
"The ban against eating pork might also have led to a lower incidence of
trichinosis. Undercooked pork and pork products are a major source of this
serious disease caused by eating foods infected by a parasitic roundworm."
"The prohibition of shellfish, which sometimes grow and feed in polluted
bottom waters, might also have had health benefits. Raw shellfish can
contain naturally occurring toxins such as paralytic shellfish toxin; they
can also cause illness from viruses, salmonella, or other bacterial infections.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, 'no other commercially available
food poses a greater health risk.' Raw shellfish, including oysters, mussels,
and clams, account for 66 percent of the cases of food poisoning in the United
States each year."
Now, this is very interesting. God said, "Of all
the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat
any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that
do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among
all the other living creatures in the water--you are to detest. And since
you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their
carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales
is to be detestable to you" (Leviticus 11:9-12, NIV). But, people
either don't even know about God's laws, or else do know about them but choose
to ignore them. The result is that: "Raw shellfish,
including oysters, mussels, and clams, account for 66 percent of the cases of
food poisoning in the United States each year."
Actually, it is probably silly to think that any health benefits that "might"
come from obeying the laws of God were "unintended." Everybody should have
expected that God knew what He was doing and that His laws--including His
laws about clean and unclean meats--were health related when He told the
Israelites, "'If you listen carefully to the voice
of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention
to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of
the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals
you'" (Exodus 15:26, NIV). The Israelites were also told,
"'Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will
be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and
none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life
span'" (Exodus 23:25-26, NIV). The Israelites were told to obey
God's laws so that things would go well with them and their children:
"Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the
ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. But be sure you do not eat the
blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the
meat. You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. Do
not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you,
because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD
(Deuteronomy 12:22-25, NIV). All the details of why God gave His laws about
clean and unclean animals, and other laws, are probably just far too numerous
to list.
Commands, warnings, and explanations from God have been ignored from the
beginning. In the garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, or else they would die. DIE!!! This sort
of made it a matter of health. They ate of it anyway in spite of God's command
and warning, and they did eventually die even though Satan had said that they
would not surely die. Can you imagine getting evicted
from the garden of Eden, and later actually dying, for eating something that
God had said not to eat? Well, to this day, Satan is still trying to get
people to eat the things that God told them not to eat! Many people
who imagine themselves to be Christians have wondered how Adam and Eve could have
made such a colossal blunder. They have wished that these two had not eaten of
the forbidden fruit (which was not an apple, in spite of how it is often
pictured in artwork). Yet, these same people who wonder why Adam and Eve disobeyed
God will themselves unthinkingly continue to disobey God and eat all sorts of
things that God said not to eat, including things that are nowhere near as
tempting as the forbidden fruit was. It was "good for
food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom"
(Genesis 3:6, NIV). People today will disobey God to eat things that are not
good for food, that are repulsive to the eye, and that are undesirable for mental
health.
Some Jews have a tendency to add all sorts of extra rules to what God clearly
said in the Old Testament of the Bible in an attempt to cover every human
situation. Even in the first century Jesus disagreed with many of these ideas,
and told them, "'You have let go of the commands
of God and are holding on to the traditions of men'" (Mark 7:8, NIV).
By about 500 A.D. this tendency to interpret the law and add extra rules resulted
in something called the Talmud. Though probably well intentioned, these
extra rules that some Jews came up with have a tendency to contradict the laws
of God, and can be safely ignored. The rules that God gave in the Tanakh
(the Old Testament of the Bible) cannot be safely ignored.
12. Worldwide Church of God teachings
In the fall of 1926, Loma Armstrong, the wife of Herbert W. Armstrong
(HWA), had begun to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. Loma and Herbert ended up
learning many things from a small group called the Church of God (COG), which
maintained a small publishing house headquarters at Stanberry, Missouri. HWA later
wrote in his autobiography that, "I had been astounded to learn that the BIBLE
teaches truths diametrically opposite to the teachings of the large and popular
churches and denominations today."
Herbert Armstrong eventually left the COG and started his own church, which he at
first called the Radio Church of God. Later, he moved his church headquarters
to Pasadena, California and changed the name to the Worldwide Church of God
(WCG). While HWA ruled over the WCG, it taught about God's laws regarding which
animals one can and cannot eat. Not content with the simple teachings of the COG,
HWA added some additional teachings that he had picked up from various other sources.
Unfortunately, HWA spent the rest of his life coming up with wrong guesses about
when the end of the world (age) might be. Since the end always seemed to be so
near, HWA spent five decades leaning heavily on his followers for more money so he
could warn the world. Television audiences would hear him talk on his World
Tomorrow television program about how they would never hear him begging for
money from them on the air. However, those who became his followers soon found out
that he certainly did want lots of money from them, especially during the time
of his building program. This is just the way things are. Unfortunately, Herbert
Armstrong never saw any need to warn either the world or his followers in the WCG that
his son, Garner Ted Armstrong (GTA), was a sex pervert.
Herbert W. Armstrong wrote an article called Is All Animal Flesh Good Food?,
which was available free of charge from his Worldwide Church of God. At the start
of his article about clean and unclean meats, HWA wrote that, "This subject is important
to your health and well-being!" He taught people to obey God's food laws in the Bible.
HWA's article, called Is All
Animal Flesh Good Food?, can now be read online at various Web sites, such as
Pabco's Home Page.
After Herbert Armstrong's death in January 1986, Joseph Tkach, Sr. took over
the Worldwide Church of God and changed virtually all of its teachings, including
its teachings about clean and unclean meats. While the WCG has now rejected
HWA's teachings and withdrawn all of his literature from print, HWA's writings
can still be found at various Web sites on the Internet. Joseph Tkach, Sr.'s son,
Joseph Tkach, Jr., is the current head of the WCG. He has followed in his
father's footsteps and adopted the traditional Protestant notion that it does not
matter what one eats. The Protestants inherited this idea from the Catholic church
that they came out of. And the Catholics appear to have inherited most of their
teachings from paganism. Now, many current and former members of the WCG have
forgotten what HWA had taught about God's laws being given for their own good.
They carelessly assume that the food laws in the Bible are arbitrary and
meaningless, or even downright wrong. They talk now about how no reason was given
for them and that the Bible does not say that they were health related. So, they
are ignoring these rules that God gave, even though they cannot find even one
single example anywhere in the entire Bible where any good guy ever ate the meat
of any unclean animal.
The doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God caused many people to leave
it and form many different splinter groups--over three hundred by some counts.
It should always be firmly remembered that God's laws (not just suggestions) about
which animals one can and cannot eat were written in the Bible thousands of years
before the WCG or any of its splinter groups showed up. These laws did not originate
with the WCG and will not change along with it. You can
read for yourself these amazing laws that God gave in your own Bible, and follow
them for your own good, without supporting the endless wrong prophetic guesses
and playboys that come around.
Anyone who is interested in reading more articles on the topic of clean and unclean
meats, written by various different authors, can check out a Web page called
Articles About Unclean Meats
at Bill Bratt's Web site. One of the authors said, "Whoever gave the Israelites
the dietary laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 possessed scientific knowledge that
mankind would not learn for three millennia!"
13. Different approaches to the laws of God
Acting like they have no idea at all why God came up with His laws about
clean and unclean meats is only one approach that people take to the subject.
Another approach that some people take is to think that they know all the
reasons for the laws and that the reasons no longer apply. They'll claim
that the ancient Israelites didn't have modern fridges and stoves, but
that now it is OK to eat pork as long as it is cooked well enough that
one does not get trichinosis. Such people might think that fornication
and adultery are all right too now that condoms have been invented. Some
day it will be discovered that these people did not know anywhere near
as much as they thought they did. The very best approach would be to trust
God to know what is best and to simply obey what He said in the Bible,
but this is usually not considered to be an option. The Bible tells people
to, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and
shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your
bones" (Proverbs 3:5-8, NIV).
The laws of God were first recorded in the Bible thousands of years ago.
They are written in the first five books of the Old Testament of the Bible,
or what the Jews call the Torah (law, or guidance and instruction).
Generations come and generations go, but these words of God endure through
them all. Untold millions of people have been born, lived, and died over
the centuries. They cannot change the word of God. Everyone dies sooner
or later. Many have died early because they did not obey God's
instructions. When the time comes for them to die, most people seem to
wish that they had more time.
One man who did not see the importance of God's laws said that his grandparents
ate pork all their lives and are in their eighties. One could also find examples
of tobacco smokers who lived to relatively old ages in spite of their smoking
habit. Do you think you will be one of the lucky ones? After all, you can
also find many examples of people who died relatively young as a result of
their foolishness in adopting the heathen Indian habit of smoking. Smokers
die an average of 15 years earlier than nonsmokers.
14. The writings of Solomon
King David's son, Solomon, was a king over all Israel. Solomon had been given
great wisdom by God, though he got into trouble at the end of his life for
having too many wicked foreign wives. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon
wrote down his thoughts and observations. Some of his comments about eating
and drinking are quoted below.
"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and
find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for
without him, who can eat or find enjoyment" (Ecclesiastes 2:24, NIV).
"I know that there is nothing better for men than to
be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find
satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God"
(Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, NIV).
"Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man
to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun
during the few days of life God has given him--for this is his lot"
(Ecclesiastes 5:18, NIV).
"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing
is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad"
(Ecclesiastes 8:15, NIV).
"Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine
with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do"
(Ecclesiastes 9:7, NIV).
To be blunt about it, some people are simply foolish and would misread the
previous quotes. They would read nonsense and evil into these biblical verses,
and try to make them say that Solomon was advocating being a glutton, and drunkard,
and sinner. For the sake of any such fools, it needs to be pointed out that
Solomon was NOT advocating anything sinful or bad. Good food and drink can be
enjoyed in moderation. Nobody should eat or drink too much. In the book of
Proverbs, Solomon wrote, "Do not join those who drink
too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become
poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags" (Proverbs 23:20-21, NIV).
At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon summed up everything with these
words: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion
of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of
man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NIV).
15. World yet to learn God's ways
People around the world seem to want to eat either everything that moves
or else nothing that moves. The biblical position that was given by God
Himself gets rejected by almost everyone, including by all sorts of people
who profess to be Christians.
People in Asia, Africa, and other places will eat almost any animal.
They don't know what God said about clean and unclean animals--animals
that may be eaten and animals that must not be eaten. As one of the Psalms
in the Old Testament of the Bible explained, God has not yet revealed His
ways to the whole world: "He has revealed his
word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for
no other nation; they do not
know his laws" (Psalms 147:19-20,
NIV). Even the supposedly Christian nations in Europe and North America
don't really know about God's laws because the Catholic and Protestant
churches in these nations have rejected God's ways and taught against them.
However, this international ignorance of God's ways is prophesied to
change at some point in the future. "'Those
who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the
one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other
abominable things--they will meet their end together,' declares the LORD.
'And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about
to come and gather all nations
and tongues, and they will come and see my glory'"
(Isaiah 66:17-18, NIV). The ham-eating, Sunday-keeping religious leaders of
today, who are currently considered to be so holy in their unholy conduct,
will then be exposed for what they really are. The apostle Paul wrote,
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen,
masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself
masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants
masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions
deserve" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15, NIV). The shrimp-eating,
Friday-observing Muslims will have some things to learn too.
In the future, many nations will want to learn God's ways and walk in them.
"In the last days the mountain of the LORD's
temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised
above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations
will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the
house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us
his ways, so that we may walk
in his paths.' The law will go
out from Zion, the word of the
LORD from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:1-2, NIV).
The churches that today teach against God's laws will not like this turn of
events, but they won't be able to stop God. Many nations will then be
interested in learning God's ways--not the unbiblical, pagan-based
teachings of Satan's ministers who have wasted their lives opposing what the
Bible clearly teaches.
God will prepare a great feast and show all people how to do things right:
"On this mountain the LORD Almighty will
prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged
wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will
destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers
all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign
LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of
his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken"
(Isaiah 25:6-8, NIV). Today, there are about a billion self-righteous Muslims
who would object to the aged wine being served. Lacking proper self-control,
they don't realize that it is possible to drink in moderation. They will
have to be re-educated by God.
16. YOU can obey God right now
People tend to eat a few times a day, almost every day of their lives. This
works out to about 75,000 times over a 70 year lifespan! It seems entirely
reasonable to suspect that what they eat could have some effect on their health.
If God really exists, and designed and created everything, He ought to know
what is best. When God says not to eat any fat or any blood (Leviticus 3:17, 7:22-27)
or any pigs (Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8), people should pay close
attention. Yet, most religious leaders today who "earn" their money by talking
about God don't seem to think that He even really exists, much less knows anything.
Rather than appreciating God's good food laws that were given for their own
benefit, most people have been taught by their churches to despise God's food
laws, and to consider them to be the least important thing around, if not the
worst thing around. Considering just how much Satan
and his churches hate God's good food laws and try to belittle them at every
opportunity, these food laws are probably far more important than anyone
realizes!
This presents a very interesting opportunity for you. You personally
can read about the laws of God Himself in the Holy Bible itself, and obey them.
These food laws alone that God gave give each individual tens of thousands of
opportunities in a lifetime to do things the way that God Himself said to.
17. What does God say in the Bible?
To give some guidance about which animals are clean and unclean in
God's sight, some text from the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy
in the Old Testament of the Bible is reproduced below. The Bible
discusses these matters in other places too. All people on earth
would be well advised to learn, and to obey, these instructions that
were given by God Himself.
Leviticus 7:22-27, NIV
Eating Fat and Blood Forbidden
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'Do not eat any
of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. The fat of an animal found
dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but
you must not eat it. Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from
which an offering by fire may be made to the LORD must be cut off
from his people. And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood
of any bird or animal. If anyone eats blood, that person must be
cut off from his people.'"
Notice below in the quote from Leviticus 11:4 about the camel that
the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible says that it
is "ceremonially unclean." What
does that mean, "ceremonially unclean"?
Well, it simply means that the sinful, ham-eating, Sunday-keeping
translators of the NIV hated God's laws so much that they were
up to their usual unclean tricks again. The original Hebrew in
Leviticus 11:4 simply says "unclean,"
not "ceremonially unclean."
While on the topic of these characters and their unclean tricks, notice
the heading supplied by the translators of the NIV for the following
section of scripture. They call it Clean and Unclean Food.
This implies, wrongly, that the unclean meats are food too. They are not!
Leviticus 11:1-47, NIV
Clean and Unclean Food
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
"Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these
are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split
hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
"'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof,
but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does
not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The coney,
though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean
for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split
hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof
completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean
for you.
"'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the
streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures
in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales--whether among
all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the
water--you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must
not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. Anything
living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be
detestable to you.
"'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are
detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,the red kite,
any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech
owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the
great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any
kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
"'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to
you. There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours
that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the
ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or
grasshopper. But all other winged creatures that have four legs you
are to detest.
"'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their
carcasses will be unclean till evening. Whoever picks up one of their
carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.
"'Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided or that
does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches any of them
will be unclean. Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those
that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their
carcasses will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up their
carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.
They are unclean for you.
"'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for
you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, the
monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. Of all
those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever
touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. When
one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its
use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or
sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then
it will be clean. If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything
in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. Any food that
could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean, and
any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. Anything that one
of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot
must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as
unclean. A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains
clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean.
If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain
clean. But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on
it, it is unclean for you.
"'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches
the carcass will be unclean till evening. Anyone who eats some of
the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till
evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes, and
he will be unclean till evening.
"'Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is
not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves about
on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours
or on many feet; it is detestable. Do not defile yourselves by any
of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them
or be made unclean by them. I am the LORD your God; consecrate
yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves
unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the
LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be
holy, because I am holy.
"'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living
thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on
the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean,
between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be
eaten.'"
Leviticus 17:10-14, NIV
Eating Blood Forbidden
"'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood--I will
set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from
his people. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given
it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood
that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore I say to the Israelites,
"None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."
"'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird
that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,
because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said
to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the
life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."
Deuteronomy 14:1-21, NIV
Clean and Unclean Food
You are the children of the LORD your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave
the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy to the LORD
your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has
chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Do not eat any detestable thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox,
the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the
ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has
a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. However, of those that
chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the
camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have
a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean;
although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat
their meat or touch their carcasses.
Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and
scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat;
for you it is unclean.
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat: the eagle, the
vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon,
any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of
hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the
osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
All flying insects that swarm are unclean to you; do not eat them. But any
winged creature that is clean you may eat.
Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien
living in any of your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a
foreigner. But you are a people holy to the LORD your God.
Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
