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What Does the Bible Teach About Clean and Unclean Meats?
WORLDWIDE MAILING ADDRESSES
©2001, 2002 United Church of God,
an International Association
All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.Scriptures in this booklet are quoted from the New King James Version(©1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers) unless otherwise noted.
Author:
David Treybig
Contributing writer:
Scott Ashley
Editorial reviewers:
John Bald, Robert Dick, Roger Foster, Bruce Gore, Roy Holladay,John Jewell, Paul Kieffer, Graemme Marshall, Burk McNair, John Ross Schroeder,Mario Seiglie, Richard Thompson, Leon Walker, Donald Ward, Lyle Welty, Dean WilsonCover: Photo illustration by Shaun Venish/Corel Professional Photos
THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT TO BE SOLD.
It is a free educational service in thepublic interest, published by the United Church of God,
an International Association.
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od gave all of His laws forgood reasons. They teachus His standards—howto distinguish right fromwrong,good from evil,beneficial from harmful. They teach us todistinguish the holy—that which God setsapart—from the common and ordinary.They define the way we,too,are to beholy,set apart for God’s purposes.As we apply the biblical laws in ourlives,they encourage us to think differ-ently,to think more like God. They alterour perceptions. For example,keepingGod’s Sabbaths changes the way we think about and use our time. His laws of tithingalter our perception and use of our physicalresources. In the same way,God’s lawsconcerning meats that are appropriate orinappropriate for human consumption—referred to as “clean”and “unclean”in theScriptures—change our perspectiveregarding many things we eat.God expects spiritual leaders to teachHis people to distinguish between bibli-cally right and wrong behavior. He says,through the prophet Ezekiel:“... Theyshall teach My people the differencebetween the
holy
and the
unholy,
andcause them to discern between the
unclean
and the
clean”
(Ezekiel 44:23,emphasis added throughout).Even though some of God’s laws mayappear unusual on the surface,and we maynot immediately grasp their full purpose,they help us to avoid physical troubles and,more important,moral and spiritual infec-tion. The Word of God provides a patternfor physically,spiritually and morallyhealthy living. God gives His principles of health and cleanliness for our lasting good,in this life as well as the one to come(1 Timothy 4:8).One reason for our existence is to learnto base our lives on the words of God(Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4; Deuteronomy8:3). God’s Word—the Bible—encom-passes all aspects of our lives,includingwhat we eat. Often people don’t realizethat God made distinctions that revealwhich meats are appropriate for humanbeings to eat. Some believe these distinc-tions no longer apply. But,rather than rely-ing on human opinion,let’s consider thesematters in the light of the Bible.
Popular ideas about distinctions
Since many people enjoy eating pork (ham,bacon,sausage,etc.) and experienceno immediate adverse effects,some havelooked for scientific reasons that God mayhave had in mind when He told the ancientIsraelites not to eat pork. One theory is thatGod forbade the eating of pork becausethe Israelites might catch diseases,suchas trichinosis,that pigs can carry. After all,the Israelites did not own refrigerators,andresearchers had not yet warned people tothoroughly cook pork to kill any potentialdisease-carrying organisms.Since modern research has apparentlysolved these problems,and we rarely hearof parasites passing to people throughundercooked meat,many people assumeeating pork is now acceptable to God(see “A Matter of Proper Cooking?,”page14). Since many people eat pork all theirlives and live to a ripe old age,the averageperson—if he thinks about it at all—assumes eating pork has little or no effecton health or longevity.Research has convinced some doctorsand nutritionists,however,to recommendthat some of their patients avoid pork and shellfish (another category of bibli-cally unclean food) in their diets; theyunderstand that some people do not prop-erly digest these meats. So some willacknowledge that avoidance of certainmeats makes sense for people with par-ticular health problems,but not as a rulefor everyone.Most religious teachers have adopted aperspective that parallels this scientific rea-soning. Theologians have assumed that thelaws of clean and unclean meats originatedunder the Old Covenant with ancient Israeland came to an end with the establishmentof the New Covenant. Thus they believemany laws from the Old Testament are nolonger applicable to Christians.Many think Paul confirmed thisapproach when he said,“I know and amconvinced by the Lord Jesus that there isnothing unclean of itself; but to him whoconsiders anything to be unclean,to him itis unclean”(Romans 14:14). (See “Under-standing ‘Unclean’in Romans 14,”page 6.)This reasoning places God in the roleof master physician in the Old Testamentand Jesus Christ in the role of liberatorfrom God’s law in the New Testament.If we assume that God was simply look-ing out for the health of the ancientIsraelites,the Bible’s lists of clean andunclean animals become only primitivehealth issues for which modern,enlight-ened,liberated mankind no longer hasneed. The popular reasoning is that Christunderstood this and gave His followers thefreedom to decide for themselves in suchmatters. Some believe God will honor anydecision we make for ourselves regardingsuch things.This popular view is taught by mostchurches. But the crucial question remains:Does it accurately reflect biblical teaching?
God’s view is different
God made mankind in His own image(Genesis 1:26-27). In doing so God gavemen and women the ability to reason.Though a wonderful gift,our thinkingability is not infallible. When ancientIsrael’s reasoning went awry,God said,“Come now,and let us reason together”(Isaiah 1:18).But Scripture also records God tellingus:“‘... My thoughts are not yourthoughts,nor are your ways My ways,’says the L
ORD
. ‘For as the heavens are
Clean and Unclean Meats: What Does the Bible Teach?
3
Clean and Unclean Meats:What Does the Bible Teach?
Many people have misconceptions about the biblical teaching on cleanand unclean meats. What does Scripture really reveal on this subject?
G
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