The Bible Undressed

            For Christmas I received as a gift an assortment of meat jerky made from some exotic animals, including wild boar, ostrich, alligator and camel. Did I sin by eating this jerky? (Other than the venison, which is kosher.)

            I am sure you know many religions have regulations about food, about what you can and cannot eat. Supposedly these regulations come from the Supreme Being Himself. Jews and Muslims are known for having various food laws, but we shall see that Christians do, too.

            If you think about it, the first story of humans in the Bible involves a food restriction. God plants a garden for the humans including two special fruit trees, and tells them not to eat from one of those trees (Genesis 2).  Theologians interpret this as some sort of spiritual test, but isn’t it interesting that the test involves a forbidden food? This is just the start of God’s preoccupation with food.

The Temptation of Adam and Eve
Jacob Jordaens, 1640

            In the Law of Moses there are very specific laws about food. But there is a curious thing: in the story of Noah, long before the Law was given, there is something about food. If you refer to my post about the flood story (see Bible post #2) you will see that there are two versions of the story that have been merged together. The odd thing is that in one version, in which God is called by His Jewish name Yahweh, it says Noah didn’t just take two of every animal on board the ark, but he also took seven pairs of “clean” animals. Then after the flood “Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.” This explains why he needed seven pairs of these: he needed some spares for burnt offerings. But at this point in time, how would Noah know what animals were considered “clean?” This is long before the food laws were defined. I think it is clear that when Jewish scribes incorporated this story into the text they didn’t think about this anachronism: they just assumed everyone understood which animals were “clean” in God’s eyes.

            So, what are “clean” animals in Jewish law?  “Kosher,” that is. You see them defined mainly in Leviticus 11 (and repeated in Deuteronomy 14). For land animals:

These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. Likewise, the shaphan  [rock badger?], for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;  the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. (Lev. 11:2-8)

So, the types of hooves (hoofs) and chewing the cud is what determines if God allows you to eat it? Really? Well, at least it spares the cute little rabbits. Note that the camel is specifically mentioned: we’ll be coming back to that.

And for sea creatures:

These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you. (Lev. 11:9-12)

Well, there goes that good southern fried catfish (no scales). And shrimp. And lobster! Lord! What were you thinking?!

            There is also a list of birds that are forbidden, mainly scavengers, but also some predatory birds. And the ostrich is banned, which are now raised for food in some areas, as in the jerky I ate.

            Most insects are excluded – no surprise there! Who wants to eat them?! But some are allowed: locusts, grasshoppers and crickets. These are still eaten in various parts of the world and you can now buy cricket powder as a healthy alternative to wheat flour. Eating locusts makes sense: they contain protein and prebiotics but are also a threat to crops, so eating them helps keep their population down.

            Other “swarming” things are excluded, like mice and also lizards. Including big lizards like the crocodile. So my alligator jerky was not kosher it seems. Now here’s an interesting fact: creepy-crawlies like beetles are forbidden. Did you know that some dyes are made from extracts from beetles and other bugs? Those dyes are often used in cosmetics and food products. The lipstick you are wearing may not be kosher! And some seemingly kosher foods may contain these bug-derived dyes. It is really hard to stay truly kosher in today’s world.

Grilled alligator. Now that’s good eating! (but not kosher)
The Frontier restaurant in Chicago offers a whole alligator meal
(must order 7 days in advance)

            Animals that die, as opposed to being killed, are also “unclean,” This makes sense, as ancient people probably found that eating such animals could lead to illness. And scavengers eat dead animals, so you don’t want to eat them, obviously. Mice can carry diseases like The Plague (actually it’s their fleas), so you want to avoid them. But most food laws seem arbitrary.

            Some people argue that these laws are a gift from God because they reflect good health advice. For example, pigs should be avoided because they can carry trichinosis. But that’s actually more of a problem in northern climates, not so much in warmer Israel. And properly tended and cooked pigs make for good eating (think barbecue, bacon and ham!). Ostrich, too. Alligator meat is popular in Florida restaurants. And note that God (or those speaking for Him) never explain it in terms of health: the laws are given without explanation. If God was concerned about health you’d think a little explanation for why certain animals are a health concern would be in order. I think it’s funny that some of these animal are considered “unclean” but an unhealthy diet of frequent hamburgers and fries would be entirely acceptable under the Law. (Cheeseburgers are forbidden though. because for some reason you’re not supposed to mix milk products with beef.)

            What about camel? Well, the Qur’an also has food restrictions, and they are mostly in line with the Jewish ones. Muhammad also specifies making sure the animal is slaughtered in the name of Allah and not an idol (we’ll come back to that). Alcohol and other intoxicants are also frowned upon, while the Bible accepts the consumption of wine. But the camel: unlike Leviticus Muhammad specifically says that one can eat camel meat and drink camel milk; it is not an unclean animal. He omits camel from his food restrictions in Sura 5 and specifically authorizes eating camel in Sura 22:36. This makes sense since the camel was a common food source among the Arabs. I get the impression this is one of the problems Muhammad had with the Jews, even though he says they worship the same God. Seems silly to me to separate from your blood relations based on whether you can eat camel meat or not.

Camel’s hump! Yummy!

            Now, most Christians think Jesus did away with the Jewish food restrictions. In Mark 7 Jesus tells the people, “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.” He later explains this to his disciples: “Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him?” And he goes on to explain that the evil that proceeds out of man is what makes him unclean. But the gospel writer adds this comment: “Thus He declared all foods clean.” (Mark 7:19)  But did Jesus really mean that? Or was he just making the point that the evil that comes out of our hearts is what makes us truly ‘unclean’ before God? We have no examples of Jesus himself violating any of the Jewish food laws, or specifically telling his disciples to ignore those laws. Keep in mind that the Gospels were written by Gentiles in a time when the church was becoming dominated by Gentiles, so they had some reason to interpret Jesus as declaring their favorite foods clean!

            However, the apostle Paul seemed quite adamant that Gentile converts were not to be held to the Jewish ritual laws including the food laws. He argued with Peter about this (Galatians 2:11-21). In the Acts 15 version of this incident the leaders in Jerusalem decide to place only minimal food restriction on the Gentiles: “abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled,,,” (Muhammad says virtually the same thing in his food laws.) But this was not the end of that story.

            Paul finds it necessary to devote time to it in 1st Corinthians 8 and mentions it in Romans 14:2 and 3. It must have been an ongoing issue of contention in the early church. Some people dismissed the existence of idols and so had no problem eating meat from an animal someone else had sacrificed to an idol. Others thought that eating such meat was acknowledging those idols and were offended by it. Paul had to be rather diplomatic trying to sort that out. In Revelation, one of the last books written in the New Testament, it was still a bone of contention (pun intended).  In the letter to the church in Pergamum it chides them for “eating things sacrificed to idols.” (Rev. 2:14)  Apparently they didn’t get the memo from Paul.

            Eventually Christians mostly got over their issues with food, but not entirely. Some sects, like the Seventh Day Adventists, still hold to the food laws of the Old Testament. Other sects, like the Roman Catholic Church, restrict eating meat on Fridays and certain days in Lent. Some sects encourage fasting at various times, or abstaining from some types of food during Lent.

            Then there’s the Lord’s Supper (Communion, or the Eucharist). This is said to be based on Jesus’ words to his disciples at the Last Supper, where he blessed and shared the bread and the wine, which came to symbolize his body and blood. But Christians divide over this: is it literally his body and blood (Catholic), or just symbolic (Protestant)? And they even divide over lesser issues: Must the bread be unleavened? Must wine be used or is grape juice acceptable, or even preferred? Must one cup be used and one loaf of bread, or is it okay to divide the wine into many cups and use many pieces of bread? (see 1^st Corinthians 10:16, 17)  Seriously, churches divide over such issues.

            You probably know that Hindus consider cows sacred and so won’t eat them, although they use their milk. Many Buddhists are vegetarians because they consider all animal life sacred. Also, these religions tend to believe in reincarnation. You wouldn’t want to chow down on a nice piece of meat and have to think, “Gee, is this Grandpa I’m eating?” So we see that most of the religions in the world have some issues with food and drink.

            So, did God really give us all these regulations about food? Or did religious people create these laws and attribute them to God? Just another area of life for religious leaders to rule and regulate? Why make food a matter of spiritual purity? Why would the Supreme Being be concerned about the types of hoofs on the animals we eat, or whether they chew their cud? In a world (particularly the ancient world but still true today) in which many people lack adequate protein sources why create such restrictions? You mean, with all the problems in the world today God is concerned about you eating some bacon? Or in my case, some camel jerky?

            I have spent most of my life in the American South, and on any Sunday you can follow Christian church-goers to a restaurant after the morning service and see them feasting on fried catfish, and pork barbecue, and shrimp. (Not so much camel or ostrich.)  So, they better hope the Gospel of Mark was right in saying Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’ Personally, I favor this interpretation. It doesn’t make sense to me that the food you eat would make you ‘unclean’ before God, even though so many religious people in the world still hold to this idea in various forms. I agree with Jesus that it is the evil that comes out of our hearts that makes us ‘unclean.’ That is what religion needs to deal with, not our diets.

(Be sure to make comments or ask questions below.)

Thinking exercises:

1. Do you hold to any dietary restrictions for religious reasons? Why?

2. Why would God create certain specific dietary restrictions without providing some explanations or reasons? Is He testing our blind obedience?

3. Some schools or other institutions avoid pork products so as not to offend Jews and Muslims. Do you agree with such a policy? How would you handle it? What about vegetarians/vegans who object to any animal products being served?