Thou Shalt not eat Pork

The health message should be taken very seriously. The Bible says that if we intentionally destroy our body temples that the Lord will destroy us. We are taught from the Bible that we don't own our bodies that they were bought with a great price by the creator of all things.

Coming from outside of the faith I can say that the health message is one of the greatest things the Adventists have going for them. The greatest of course is how close they align with scripture. The health message just makes good ole common sense if you think about it. Statistics have proven the benefit of observing it and the Adventists have received national acclaim for greater longevity and good over all health because of it.

God Bless
Jim Larmore

Most people eat things because they like them. But should what we eat be thought about at all - or is taste the only criteria? If you were to check what goes into the food and see what was added to "enhance flavor" or "preserve" the food or how it was prepare you may not want to eat it. Eating often represents good times, friends, relaxed times, getting out of the house, family get-togethers, etc. Giving your friends and family food that may damage their health or be high in sugar or salt or be contaminated with Mad Cow diesease or other new bacteria may not be what they expected. But in this fast food culture, our diet has been changed from what God intended to a uncontrolled orgy.

The fact of the matter is, eating intelligently DOES matter. What we eat affects us a lot. Our lifestyle and diet contribute to sickness and disease, and also affect our mood, our ability to handle stress, and our general well-being. And taste is not always a good indicator of a healthy food.

The meaning of diet goes beyond eating the ideal foods. Indulgence of appetite and gluttony appear to be prevalent throughout the entire world now. At one time, people ate their own (native) simple foods, or their own complex diet, depending upon where they lived in the world.

In some countries, people who never suffered from certain diseases and health problems are not getting it as meat from McDonalds and other western type foods are introduce. The farther away we get from the 'natural' foods God intended for us at the Garden of Eden, the more health problems seem to crop up.

Here in America, we now have a whole generation that has been brought up on junk-food meals consisting of hamburgers, colas, candy bars, fried foods, etc. This diet has not only formed bad nutritional habits, but it has taken away the liking for natural foods, which are so essential to growth and healthy organs.

Consequently, we have a whole generation which is experiencing new diseases that are even prevalent among and start with the very young and destroys their health for the rest of their lives. So what you eat is vey important and the more we eat as God intended the better our health will be.

Jimlarmore said:

The health message should be taken very seriously. The Bible says that if we intentionally destroy our body temples that the Lord will destroy us. We are taught from the Bible that we don't own our bodies that they were bought with a great price by the creator of all things.

Coming from outside of the faith I can say that the health message is one of the greatest things the Adventists have going for them. The greatest of course is how close they align with scripture. The health message just makes good ole common sense if you think about it. Statistics have proven the benefit of observing it and the Adventists have received national acclaim for greater longevity and good over all health because of it.

God Bless
Jim Larmore

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Just one thing that I would like to clarify: 1 Cor. 3:16-17 refers to the body of believers as the temple. The word for you in Greek here is plural. It isn't talking about our individual bodies or our health but is a warning against destroying the church of God. Here is what it says, for reference (KJV):Now, there is another text in 1 Cor. 6 that does talk about our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit, specifically in relation to sexual immorality, and this principle I think could reasonably be applied to our health as well (NIV):

I read Mark 7 and it seems to say it is not a sin.

I dont eat pork, try to stay away from things which are not good for my health... But its hard sometimes... I think what I benefit the most from is not drinking or smoking. What I do for my health is trying to do regular excersice (which I dont always do)... and eat my veggies But as a good argentinian that I am I do eat some meat. mostly beef. I know it would be better if I didnt.

ttreg said:

I read Mark 7 and it seems to say it is not a sin.

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This is an example in which I think a good literal translation of the Bible is helpful because many versions don't translate this text correctly. My husband brought this to my attention. Here is a screen shot of Mark 7:19 in Greek from the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer:

In this case, the KJV gives a pretty accurate rendering of the text although the language is archaic:And from Gill's commentary, which on this text captures the meaning pretty well:

Mar 7:19 - Because it entereth not into his heart,.... Which is the seat and fountain of all moral pollution; and if that is not defiled, no other part can be; and that that is not defiled by eating and drinking, unless in case of intemperance, is clear; because food and drink do not go into it:

but into the belly; it is taken in at the mouth, goes down the throat, and is received into the stomach, and from thence it passes through the bowels:

and goeth into the draught; בית הכסא, "the private house", as the Jews call it, without going into the heart at all:

purging all meats; that which it leaves behind, is pure and nourishing; and whatever is gross and impure, is carried with it into the draught, so that nothing remains in the man that is defiling.

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In other words, Jesus didn't actually say here that He was declaring all meats clean but only that what people ate didn't defile them.

With that said, though, I don't believe that the levitical clean/unclean food laws apply to Christians. I disagree with the traditional Adventist position on this. If anything, we should observe the instructions to the Gentiles in Acts 15 about not eating blood and the meat of strangled animals. On the other hand, certain foods have been shown to be very unhealthy, including many that we have traditionally considered "unclean." I don't eat any meat for this reason, not because I think it's a sin to eat unclean meat or any other kind of meat (because the Bible doesn't command us to be vegetarians) but because I'm trying to be as healthy as possible. Meat today is much more unhealthy than it was in Jesus' day, with the risks of disease, antibiotics, growth hormones, genetic modification, etc.