Why do many Christians eat pork when God says it's unclean?

[Fhaoipteh]

I understand that we are saved because of Jesus, and that it doesn't matter what type of food we put in our mouths, we are still saved... However, God says in the old testament that the pig is unclean and that we shouldn't eat it.

1 "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11​

16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord. – Isaiah 66
​

Not only that, but even the World Health Organization has now said that pork is a carcinogen... and there is plenty of information online about how pork is commonly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (here's a good article) ...

So.... why do many Christians eat pork when God said it is unclean?

Update: after reading some wonderful and informative responses, I think my question really has to do with what "unclean" means. I was thinking it meant "not clean" and bad for health, and that God wanted his people to be healthy by not eating pigs and other animals that were bad for a persons health. This understanding of the word "unclean" may be incorrect. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

We need to update our thinking in line with modern knowledge and technology eg refrigeration. God is pure Love. He wants us to be happy. The health services advise us on health. The Bible teaches us how to live in a loving manner, showing love and respect for one another. We perhaps get too bogged down in religious rules, which Jesus taught us could be summed up in Love God and love one another.

 

[Fhaoipteh]

That is true, GOD said it, HE said to Peter, regarding the pork, which Peter thought was 'unclean' - "Rise Peter, kill and eat" THUS, if God Himself told Peter to eat it, it IS okay to eat.

Do you not think that such rules were intended for the times before we had refrigeration. Pork now comes from different breeds of pig, reared in different ways and slaughtered by more humane methods. We cannot really follow rules that applied to an bygone era. The modern pig is very different to the pig of Biblical times. There used to be a more recent folk law that pork should only be eaten when there is an R in the month. Not applicable in Autralia, I would imagine.

The Bible is an historical text book and needs to be studied with it's historical context in mind.

 

[JoeP222w]

The dietary laws were repealed by God.

Acts 10:9-15 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. (10) And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance (11) and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. (12) In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. (13) And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." (14) But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." (15) And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common."

 

[Daniel9v9]

I haven't read all the posts, so apologies if it's already been said, but early Christian writings suggest that the Law against eating pork isn't truly about food, but actually has to do with faith; for believers not to be yoked with unfruitful people. You can see what Barnabas wrote:

"Yea and further He saith unto them in Deuteronomy; And I will lay as a covenant upon this people My ordinances. So then it is not a commandment of God that they should not bite with their teeth, but Moses spake it in spirit. Accordingly he mentioned the swine with this intent. Thou shalt not cleave, saith he, to such men who are like unto swine; that is, when they are in luxury they forget the Lord, but when they are in want they recognize the Lord, just as the swine when it eateth knoweth not his lord, but when it is hungry it crieth out, and when it has received food again it is silent."

 

[dqhall]

Romans 14 (WEB) Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.

A study of Seventh Day Adventists showed vegetarians are healthier and live longer. They may need to supplement their diets with B-12 and omega 3. Vegetarians are less likely to get some types of cancer. This does not mean eating small quantities of fish or meat is deadly, in fact it may be necessary at times. People who try to eat only meat are at risk of weakness and death. Other studies showed heart attack patients who went on plant based diets were more likely to recover from heart disease.

 

[Adstar]

I understand that we are saved because of Jesus, and that it doesn't matter what type of food we put in our mouths, we are still saved... However, God says in the old testament that the pig is unclean and that we shouldn't eat it.

1 "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11​

16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord. – Isaiah 66
​

Not only that, but even the World Health Organization has now said that pork is a carcinogen... and there is plenty of information online about how pork is commonly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (here's a good article) ...

So.... why do many Christians eat pork when God said it is unclean?

Update: after reading some wonderful and informative responses, I think my question really has to do with what "unclean" means. I was thinking it meant "not clean" and bad for health, and that God wanted his people to be healthy by not eating pigs and other animals that were bad for a persons health. This understanding of the word "unclean" may be incorrect. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Because what is unclean is not immoral.. Salvation was never to be had by healthy eating.. Unfotunatly a lot of Jews and Muslims of today believe in the perposterous thinking that one can pay for eternal life with God in paradise by simply eating the riht foods..

Jesus also stated clearly that what comes out of a mans mouth is what defiles Him.. Not what goes into a man.. like foods..

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I understand that we are saved because of Jesus, and that it doesn't matter what type of food we put in our mouths, we are still saved... However, God says in the old testament that the pig is unclean and that we shouldn't eat it.

1 "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11​

16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord. – Isaiah 66
​

Not only that, but even the World Health Organization has now said that pork is a carcinogen... and there is plenty of information online about how pork is commonly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (here's a good article) ...

So.... why do many Christians eat pork when God said it is unclean?

Update: after reading some wonderful and informative responses, I think my question really has to do with what "unclean" means. I was thinking it meant "not clean" and bad for health, and that God wanted his people to be healthy by not eating pigs and other animals that were bad for a persons health. This understanding of the word "unclean" may be incorrect. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

I understand that we are saved because of Jesus, and that it doesn't matter what type of food we put in our mouths, we are still saved... However, God says in the old testament that the pig is unclean and that we shouldn't eat it.

1 "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11​

16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord. – Isaiah 66
​

Not only that, but even the World Health Organization has now said that pork is a carcinogen... and there is plenty of information online about how pork is commonly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (here's a good article) ...

So.... why do many Christians eat pork when God said it is unclean?

Update: after reading some wonderful and informative responses, I think my question really has to do with what "unclean" means. I was thinking it meant "not clean" and bad for health, and that God wanted his people to be healthy by not eating pigs and other animals that were bad for a persons health. This understanding of the word "unclean" may be incorrect. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Read the China Study. Pork kills.

 

[Soyeong]

That is true, GOD said it, HE said to Peter, regarding the pork, which Peter thought was 'unclean' - "Rise Peter, kill and eat" THUS, if God Himself told Peter to eat it, it IS okay to eat.

Please see post #84

Why do many Christians eat pork when God says it's unclean?

The short of it is that God was telling Peter to kill and eat one of the clean animals and said nothing about eating pork. However, if Peter had claimed that God said that we could now eat pork, we can look at Deuteronomy 13:4-5 and see that God said that anyone who teaches them against obeying any of His commands is a false prophet who is not speaking for Him, and that we should therefore regard Peter as a false messenger of God and regard his claim of what God told him to be false. They were to regard someone as a false prophet even if they performed signs and wonders, so God simply did now allow any condition under which we should accept someone with the message that He has done do away with anything that He has commanded. In Leviticus 11:44-45, God was giving instructions for how to have holy conduct because He is holy, so refraining from eating unclean animals is about getting the delight and divine privilege of acting according to the holiness of our God, and to say that God did away with these Laws is to say that God did away with His eternal holiness.

 

[Lazarus Short]

If we read the law that God gave to Moses, in particular the food laws, and if we read them "between the lines," then we see that there is consistent bias AGAINST eating animals such as carnivores, omnivores and scavengers. We know by now that toxins concentrate as they so up the food chain form plant to herbivore to carnivore to scavenger. To people of that time and place, meat was meat. Sadly, many people still see meat in those terms, but God was the designer and knew far better than we did (and do) how biology works. Trust the Creator on this - blessed or not, pork is bad for you.

 

[Jack Isaacks]

I understand that we are saved because of Jesus, and that it doesn't matter what type of food we put in our mouths, we are still saved... However, God says in the old testament that the pig is unclean and that we shouldn't eat it.

1 "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11​

16 For by fire will the Lord enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord. – Isaiah 66
​

Not only that, but even the World Health Organization has now said that pork is a carcinogen... and there is plenty of information online about how pork is commonly contaminated with pathogenic bacteria (here's a good article) ...

So.... why do many Christians eat pork when God said it is unclean?

Update: after reading some wonderful and informative responses, I think my question really has to do with what "unclean" means. I was thinking it meant "not clean" and bad for health, and that God wanted his people to be healthy by not eating pigs and other animals that were bad for a persons health. This understanding of the word "unclean" may be incorrect. I'd appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Do you go to the Mikveh after an [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]?

Would you make your wife do likewise on a monthly basis, and also sleep separately from you for a week afterwards?

Do avoid wearing blended fabrics?

Only if you perform these observances and some 600 others are you in a position to tell GENTILE CHRISTIANS not to eat pork.

Christ is risen!

 

[Beaker]

Please see post #84

Why do many Christians eat pork when God says it's unclean?

The short of it is that God was telling Peter to kill and eat one of the clean animals and said nothing about eating pork. However, if Peter had claimed that God said that we could now eat pork, we can look at Deuteronomy 13:4-5 and see that God said that anyone who teaches them against obeying any of His commands is a false prophet who is not speaking for Him, and that we should therefore regard Peter as a false messenger of God and regard his claim of what God told him to be false. They were to regard someone as a false prophet even if they performed signs and wonders, so God simply did now allow any condition under which we should accept someone with the message that He has done do away with anything that He has commanded. In Leviticus 11:44-45, God was giving instructions for how to have holy conduct because He is holy, so refraining from eating unclean animals is about getting the delight and divine privilege of acting according to the holiness of our God, and to say that God did away with these Laws is to say that God did away with His eternal holiness.

QUESTION, WHERE does the meat PORK come from???????
ANSWER - That would be a pig, SO, if Peter saw a pig on the blanket and told God that nothing unclean had ever passed his lips, but God told him to rise up, kill and eat, then God was declaring pigs - thus PORK, clean enough to eat.
Just WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND???????

 

[Beaker]

This thread is making me hungry!

want some bacon & eggs?

 

[Dkh587]

QUESTION, WHERE does the meat PORK come from???????
ANSWER - That would be a pig, SO, if Peter saw a pig on the blanket and told God that nothing unclean had ever passed his lips, but God told him to rise up, kill and eat, then God was declaring pigs - thus PORK, clean enough to eat.
Just WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND???????

The vision wasn't about food at all according to Peter in Acts 10:28

 

[Beaker]

Back to topic, I stopped eating anything unclean for the longest time, and while I feel we still need to obey the commandments best we can as part of getting to heaven, I just didn't feel guilty picking it back up again.

For now I'm assuming that was a manifestation of the law "written on my heart", at least until I'm convinced otherwise.

As to NT changing the rules, and making it OK, not sure what verses do that.

Keeping the commandments is not what will get you into Heaven, Believing on the life, death and resurrection of God's Son, - Jesus Christ, is the ONLY way to get into Heaven.

 

[Sketcher]

Because I'm a Gentile, and the command to not eat pork was only given to Jews.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Keeping the commandments is not what will get you into Heaven, Believing on the life, death and resurrection of God's Son, - Jesus Christ, is the ONLY way to get into Heaven.

Jesus was clear when he said to keep the commandments.

Faith and works, or faith without works is dead. And as I've said before, Show up at judgement with a hand full of dead faith, and see what it gets ya'. Talk is cheap, walk proves the talk.

Beyond that, I won't hash this out here.

 

[AvgJoe]

I understand that there are no rules against what to eat, as far as salvation goes, I was more wondering why Christians eat animals God called "unclean". The word unclean makes me think the animal is not clean and that it may be bad for our health to eat it...

The Hebrew word translated “unclean” in Leviticus is used nearly one hundred times in this one book, clearly emphasizing “clean” status versus “unclean.” Animals, objects, food, clothing, and even people could be considered “unclean.”

Generally, the Mosaic Law spoke of something as “unclean” if it was unfit to use in worship to God. Being “clean” or “unclean” was a ceremonial designation governing the ritual of corporate worship. For example, there were certain animals, like pigs, considered unclean and therefore not to be used in sacrifices (Leviticus 5:2); and there were certain actions, like touching a dead body, that made a living person unclean and temporarily unable to participate in the worship ceremony (Leviticus 5:3).

Leviticus 10:10 taught, “You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (ESV). The parallel between “holy” and “clean” (and “common” and “unclean”) reveals that the command was related to one’s spiritual condition, though physical actions were often involved.

Certain foods were unclean for Jews and forbidden for them to eat, such as pork, certain fish, and certain birds. A skin infection could make a person unclean or unfit for presence at the tabernacle or even in the community (Leviticus 13:3). A house with certain kinds of mold was unclean. A woman was unclean for a period of time following childbirth. On holy days couples were restricted from engaging in sexual activity as the release of sperm made them unclean until evening (Leviticus 15:18).

While a wide variety of circumstances could make a person, animal, or item unclean, the majority of the laws concerned activities disqualifying a person or animal in connection with the tabernacle offerings. An animal offered for sacrifice had to be without defect. The person who offered the sacrifice also had to be “clean” before the Law; i.e., the worshiper had to comply with the Law and approach God with reverence.

In the New Testament, Jesus used the idea of being “clean” to speak of being holy. In Luke 11:39–41 He says to the Pharisees, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you–be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”

“Clean” and “unclean” were concepts very familiar to those under the Old Testament Law. God called His people to separate themselves from the impurities of the world. The principle of being clean crosses into the New Testament as well, with the idea of living spiritually pure (2 Corinthians 6:17) and seeking to be holy, living a life worthy of our calling (Colossians 1:10).

www.gotquestions.org/Bible-unclean.html

 

[Beaker]

Jesus was clear when he said to keep the commandments.

Faith and works, or faith without works is dead. And as I've said before, Show up at judgement with a hand full of dead faith, and see what it gets ya'. Talk is cheap, walk proves the talk.

Beyond that, I won't hash this out here.

Except a man be born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God John 3 4-6 Jesus and Nicodemus
…4“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” 5Jesus answered “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.…

 

[disciple1]

Concepts of what things count as food vary from culture to culture, so in order to correctly understand what was being said we need to use the concept of what the people speaking considered to be food and not to insert our own. For example, a cannibal who thought Jesus was saying that it was ok to eat human flesh would be taking his words out of context. Jesus was a Jew speaking to other Jews about food, so the only things coming to their minds were the things that God said were food in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Jews did not even raise pigs, so eating pork would never have even crossed their minds. So at most this verse should be understood as declaring all kosher animals to be clean. Furthermore, the word used for "clean" is only used in the context of ritual purity and never in regard to clean and unclean animals, so at most it is saying that all kosher animals are ritually clean. Not coincidentally, Jesus was having a conversation in Mark 7 about whether kosher food could become ritually unclean if it were eaten with unwashed hands, so he was simply sticking to the topic of conversation and not hypocritically making void the Word of God. In Matthew 15:20, it also confirms at the end of the conversation that Jesus was still speaking about not becoming defiled by eating with unwashed hands.

Jews did not even raise pigs, so eating pork would never have even crossed their minds. So at most this verse should be understood as declaring all kosher animals to be clean. Furthermore, the word used for "clean" is only used in the context of ritual purity and never in regard to clean and unclean animals, so at most it is saying that all kosher animals are ritually clean.

Acts chapter 10 verse 15
The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
This is talking about reptiles and all sorts of things that were unclean to eat before.

 

[disciple1]

Concepts of what things count as food vary from culture to culture, so in order to correctly understand what was being said we need to use the concept of what the people speaking considered to be food and not to insert our own. For example, a cannibal who thought Jesus was saying that it was ok to eat human flesh would be taking his words out of context. Jesus was a Jew speaking to other Jews about food, so the only things coming to their minds were the things that God said were food in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Jews did not even raise pigs, so eating pork would never have even crossed their minds. So at most this verse should be understood as declaring all kosher animals to be clean. Furthermore, the word used for "clean" is only used in the context of ritual purity and never in regard to clean and unclean animals, so at most it is saying that all kosher animals are ritually clean. Not coincidentally, Jesus was having a conversation in Mark 7 about whether kosher food could become ritually unclean if it were eaten with unwashed hands, so he was simply sticking to the topic of conversation and not hypocritically making void the Word of God. In Matthew 15:20, it also confirms at the end of the conversation that Jesus was still speaking about not becoming defiled by eating with unwashed hands.

Jews did not even raise pigs, so eating pork would never have even crossed their minds. So at most this verse should be understood as declaring all kosher animals to be clean. Furthermore, the word used for "clean" is only used in the context of ritual purity and never in regard to clean and unclean animals, so at most it is saying that all kosher animals are ritually clean.

Matthew chapter 8 verse 31
The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
Whose pigs could these be but Jews.