Expert: Richard Aberdeen - 2/23/2005

Question
Some one told me that in the Bible it said that pork is an unclean meat, along with shell fish, and alcohal. Is this true? I know better than to not drink alcohal, but i didn't know about pork and shell fish. And because of that I used to eat it. Is this bad? I used to love ham but now i never eat it (the same with shrimp). But what if you accidently eat it? Like if you didn't know that it was in something. Would that be a sin? If so what should I do about it? I hope that you can answer my questions, I'm kind of confused on this issue.

Answer
The Old Testament is filled with hundreds of dietary and other laws, some of them specific to the culture of the times and some of them obviously sound in any culture.  It is unclear to myself personally if the prohibition against pork has to do with the specific product or as might be the case, has to do with the methods of the time used for cooking and storage of it.  We sometimes forget that most cultures developed specific prohibitions based on the reality of their pre-industrial culture, which did not include refridgeration and many modern food perservatives.  Obviously, any modern doctor will tell you pork is very bad for someone if it is not eaten right away or if is stored without refrigeration and proper modern methods of food preservation.  The prohibition found in the Old Testament is not against pork specifically but rather, against all animals having hoofs and other parts of a certain type.  There are also prohibitions against eating rodents, insects and certain types of birds and fish.  Many of these prohibitions are sound by modern standards while others are questionable in the sense, that some "experts" today question whether or not they have value--there is no particular proof that they don't have value.  A good example of this is circumcision, which was once believed to have medical value, in the later part of the 20th century, was digressed by "experts" to not have much if any value and lately in the 21st century, many of the same "experts" are now again claiming that circumcision may indeed have health value.  So you see, we don't know a lot more than we did back when the Old Testament was written about what really is correct or not regarding both diet and many other human practices.

    That said, many modern nutritionists consider pork and many other foods prohibited by Old Testament "law" not the best foods to eat and most certainly, not good for someone if eaten in excess.  Most nutritionists believe that too much of any meat and in particular, meat other than fish and chicken, is harmful if eaten too often.  

    The New Testament specifically says that if we have asked forgiveness from God using the name Jesus, then "we are not under the law, but under grace" and that "nothing is to be refused" (in reference to food and drink) if taken with thanksgiving.  Eating pork, which apparently Paul and others of the New Testament engaged in from time to time, was probably viewed by them as a liberating experience against their own strick Jewish culture and heritage.

    The bottom-line seems to be according to both Paul and Jesus is that eating or refraining from eating certain types of food and drink is of minimal importance when compared with things that do matter, such as practicing Human Rights by loving our fellow human beings and searching for the truth.  There is no religious or moral rationale in my opinion, for modern religious prohibitions against achohol, tobacco and certain other things that many modern Christians practice, often extremely hypocritically, by chowing down on hot dogs, pan cakes and cokes while avoiding table wine and cigars.  There may be some health rationale for avoiding alcohol, tobacco and even pork, but again, minimal when compared against what does matter.  Whether or not one chooses to smoke, drink or eat pork should in my opinion, be a personal health choice and should not be restricted by either the government or for religious reasons (other than for minors in the case of achohol and tobacco and for public safety, in the case of driving while intoxicated, for example).