Why do Christians eat pork?

[Andalus]

Why do most Christians eat pork even though, according to Bible, they should not?

I've heard some people say that it's forbidden according to Old Testament, which the jews use, and that they rely on New Testament. But in fact the New Testament says also not to eat pork.

In the book of Leviticus, chapter 11, v. 7, it is says that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers.
Then, in verse 8, God says: “You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you”.

This is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:7-8 and then, in Isaiah 65:2-4, and 66:17.

[Ftoma]

Assalamu Alikum

Christians eat pork because -simply said- Paul aka Saul of Tarsus said to go ahead and abolish all kosher laws (including circumcision). One could ask oneself if Christians are following the teachings of Paul instead of Jesus/Isa?

Christians will answer though that by the blood of their God Jesus (subhan'Allah) there is no need for any dietary laws as long as Jesus is accepted in the heart. Or something like that I am sure Thejja can explain (and advocate lol) much better!

F.

[Andalus]

Sallam,

I was aware that St. Paul said that all food is clean in his letter to the Romans.

But that raises more questions in my head.

Why does St Paul make legal what the Bible (old and new) says explicitly is illegal? And what power did he have to do this?

I understood that St Paul said this because he believed that Jesus (pbuh) had abolished the Law with all its commandments and regulations. But Jesus (pbuh) did says according to Matthew 5:17-20, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law ". His law was to be a addition to the Law, it did not abolish it.

Jesus (pbuh) then went on in that passage verse 19 to denounce anyone who breaks the commandments. He also praised his followers who will practice and teach even the commandments. One of the commandments is to stay away from pork.

That is why the followers of Jesus, did not let unclean food such as pork enter their mouths, so that Peter, the chief disciple, that is why he says, “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” (ch. 10, v. 14)

And really isn’t Jesus (pbuh) the example for people to follow? He did not eat pork then why do others? I don’t really understand why people follow what St.Paul said; who lived long after Jesus (pbuh) and never met him, but not what Jesus (pbuh) himself did or said?

[mulood]

salam peeps,

Sorry to divert the topic slightly, but I was wondering if there is any mention on whether alcohol is permissible or forbidden to christians?

[mulood]

salam

Historical Quotes Concerning Paul and his doctrines from Historians, Philosophers and Theologians:


Carl Sagan (Scientist; Author)

"My long-time view about Christianity is that it represents an amalgam of two seemingly immiscible parts--the religion of Jesus and the religion of Paul. Thomas Jefferson attempted to excise the Pauline parts of the New Testament. There wasn't much left when he was done, but it was an inspiring document." (Letter to Ken Schei [author of Christianity Betrayed])


Thomas Jefferson

"Paul was the first corrupter of the doctrines of Jesus." (All references not listed here, can be found in Christianity Betrayed)


Albert Schweitzer

"Where possible Paul avoids quoting the teaching of Jesus, in fact even mentioning it. If we had to rely on Paul, we should not know that Jesus taught in parables, had delivered the sermon on the mount, and had taught His disciples the 'Our Father.' Even where they are specially
relevant, Paul passes over the words of the Lord."


Wil Durant (Philosopher)

"Paul created a theology of which none but the vaguest warrants can be found in the words of Christ." "Fundamentalism is the triumph of Paul over Christ."


Walter Kaufmann (Professor of Philosophy, Princeton)

"Paul substituted faith in Christ for the Christlike life."


George Bernard Shaw

"No sooner had Jesus knocked over the dragon of superstition than Paul boldly set it on its legs again in the name of Jesus."


Thomas Hardy
"The new testament was less a Christiad than a Pauliad."

Hyam Maccoby (Talmudic Scholar)

"As we have seen, the purposes of the book of Acts is to minimize the conflict between Paul and the leaders of the Jerusalem Church, James and Peter. Peter and Paul, in later Christian tradition, became twin saints, brothers in faith, and the idea that they were historically bitter opponents standing for irreconcilable religious standpoints would have been repudiated with horror. The work of the author of Acts was well done; he rescued Christianity from the imputation of being the individual creation of Paul, and instead gave it a respectable pedigree, as a doctrine with the authority of the so-called Jerusalem Church, conceived as continuous in spirit with the Pauline Gentile Church of Rome. Yet, for all his efforts, the truth of the matter is not hard to recover, if we examine the New Testament evidence with an eye to tell-tale inconsistencies and confusions, rather than with the determination to gloss over and harmonize all difficulties in the interests of an orthodox interpretation." (The Mythmaker, p. 139,Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1986)


Jeremy Bentham (English Philosopher)

"If Christianity needed an Anti-Christ, they needed look no farther than Paul." (Paraphrased. Looking for a copy of "Not Paul, but Jesus" in order to retrieve the exact quote.)

Carl Jung (Psychologist)

"Paul hardly ever allows the real Jesus of Nazareth to get a word in." (U.S. News and World Report, April 22, 1991, p. 55)


Bishop John S. Spong (Episcopal Bishop of Newark)

"Paul's words are not the Words of God. They are the words of Paul- a vast difference." (Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, p. 104, Harper San Francisco, 1991).

[thejja]

Excuse me, Paul did not legalise the eating of Pork. All the early Christians were Jews. Then Gentiles begin to accept Christianity. The Jewish Christians knew that the Gentiles eat pork.

Christianity is not Judaisation. Therefore the Jewish Christians, to avoid confusion, in a council decided that Gentiles should follow Christ without trying to become like Jews. Read Acts 15:22-29.

Now don't say Paul was responsible for releasing the Gentiles from Kosher regulations-- he only explained it. If interested, please go to June archive and see "Jesus on Kosher" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Isaiah55

[Andalus]

thejja,

Thanks for the link. You say a council clarified things, is this the council of nicea? So you say that despite the verses in both old and new testaments, the clarification of the council based on other verses, and Peter's vision that on balance Pork is clean.

What I don't understand is that if pork is forbideen by God for the Jews, then why is it allowed for christians?

Is gods law different for different people? Or the same?

And why is a council necessary to clarify things? As in how do people know that there clarification is correct? Jesus is a prophet at the very least, how is the council divine or God inspired?


A lot of questions, i know, but you seemed to know what you where talking about in the other threads so i'm interested in hearing what you have to say.


Regards