It seems so many people I know who say they are Christians have no problem eating pork, catfish, shellfish and such that the bible says they shouldn't eat. Some say Jesus changed that but I've done a bit of research and only find articles that say Jesus never said it was okay to eat "unclean" food. So do you eat any of these things or not? If you do, why?
Yes, I do eat pork. And your "some say" statement is right. Jesus did do that. Mark 7:14-19 makes it clear that He said it's what's in our heart that defiles us, not what we eat. That's a clear statement, but I realize that detractors will always dispute, whether or not something is clear... and that's fine. They certainly don't need to eat pork. Or eagles and vultures. Just kidding... my tummy would prohibit that even if Jesus didn't! Also, Paul said the same in 1 Corinthians 10:25-27 when he said to eat whatever's sold in the market without having an attack of conscience about it. Now Jewish people of course won't eat pork and will follow the "old" laws. Which of course is fine for them because it's their belief. Hope this helped, @Sheldon Scott ... I'm lousy at explaining things like this, but when I happen to know the scripture verses, it's easier for me. Again, I do know that I could say the grass is green and those wanting to pick apart facts will dispute it, so I usually let my answers stand without a year's worth of back and forth nit pick bickering.
It's called "cherry picking" , Christians quote the scripture they believe and then ignore others and say that that's not what God really meant or it's from the Old Testament which for some reason is less believable than the new. I always assumed the old would be closer to the words of God but the newer religions don't agree. Bottom line answer is you have to have faith. People always say the Quran is full of violence, etc but the Bible also has a lot of stoning, etc in it. I'm not going to argue either point just stating the facts. Read the comments at bottom also, argues both sides. https://valerietarico.com/2014/05/30/eleven-kinds-of-bible-verses-christians-love-to-ignore/ Also forgot to add how women were portrayed in the bible.....not so great. Thankfully things change And that's one reason why it's difficult to use a book that is so old to base religion on. If you believe in God, it's because of faith.
Back in biblical days, they may not have known the proper ways to prepare some foods. Such as to thoroughly cook pork, or when to harvest seafood etc.
Man has free will according to the bible, so "learning" is part of that is how I see it. So learning to hunt for example, or learning to sew. Yes, the God of my understanding knows all that, but it's for us to learn, believe as we will, choose etc. To address the OP, I don't know what happened, but within the last year, I've been finding it harder and harder to eat meat, even fish. It's this guilty conscience thing about living things/creatures. I know, you are all saying I'm going to start feeling bad about "murdering" a plant, or a fruit;( I'm so depressed, lol. Well, I am kind of, not about the plants though, or fruit. I just killed a peach this a.m. and didn't feel any remorse
Yes, pick and choose. The bible is the word of God, is there somewhere in it that says believe the parts that you like? Not too much in the bible is believable, and that is why religions that I know state you have to have Faith.
But isn't choosing to ignore the words of Jesus (quoted above) doing exactly that same picking and choosing? Hmmm... I do believe it is. I absolutely agree that people pick and choose. On both sides. And non-believers have the exact same script when choosing the topics to pick on to start controversy. It gets old, eh?
Yes, we have free will. What I'm saying is if you believe the Bible, shouldn't you believe all of it otherwise what's the point.
I think people that don't believe in the bible can be just as judgemental about it. I am glad people are not forced to believe things, we all have our own souls/minds and no one can force us to believe what we don't want to. It helps me to believe in God, and the only one that ever made any sense to me, was the God of the bible. I'm not saying I understand it all because I sure don't, but I think people believe whatever brings them the most hope about life, and even what comes next, if anything. Back to the food thing though, I think the bible is pretty clear as I think it was Mari that stated about the verse that says it's what comes out of us, I mean to way we act towards other etc., that defiles us, or harms us and others. At the same time, if someone is a believer in not eating certain foods, I am not going to eat something in front of them that grosses them out, makes them feel awful. By the way, trying to be a vegetarian and get enough protein is really hard. I've tried it.
Believing the Bible involves believing the words of Jesus, too... therein lies the problem with me understanding this. Yes, the Jewish people were told to not eat pork way back in the Old Testament. We all know and understand that. There are a number of theories why they were instructed to nix the piggy meat. So enter the New Testament... Jesus did indeed say that all was clean again... the Jewish people, since they do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, do not take His words to heart and believe... and still don't eat pork. Christian people who do believe the New Testament know what Jesus said about it. So which part don't I understand? I guess just that if someone knows enough Bible to believe the Old Testament, why would those same eyes be closed to the words of Jesus? (Again, unless practicing the Jewish faith, which is perfectly fine for them.) My biggest issue with all this is that when non-believers want to stir something up, it's always the same few things. Just between you and I, @Chrissy Page , (no one else is listening, right?) I get a kick out of it and try to predict which line of the script will come next... what someone will say next. I high-five myself when I'm right, and it's really not as hard as it sounds to predict the script. It's not just because I'm a writer, either! If I'd have to guess, I'd say that our Chrissy is the same way with guessing scripts, yes? Well hey, it's cheap entertainment and I suspect you're very good at it!
Good points, @Denise Happyfeet . If I ever become a vegetarian, it will be due to a soft spot for critters, not because I decide it's "unclean." But I can't really see that happening... I'm a burger girl, and substituting a portabella cap for a juicy hamburger just ain't gonna work for Mari!
For me personally, no one else I'm talking to or about here, I tend to stick to things I like in the bible, and it is not so easy to take the things I don't like. I do believe though, there is a purpose for all of the bible. I also think that it's a spiritual text, not just a man-made book. I am a terrible doubter to some christians, I'm sure, but there are times I truly believe it all, other times, I choose to wonder & doubt. The bible says that the "natural" man finds the bible foolish. It says that only by God's Holy Spirit can the bible be interpreted because the bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. Believe it, or not. Here's the verses I'm talking about: 1 Corinthians 2:14New King James Version (NKJV) 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
I hear you Mari, burgers are the only red-meat I eat now because I never was much of a steak girl I got sick after not eating anything but beans and vegies for like a month I think it was. I don't want to go there again