----- Original Message -----

 

Dear Ms. Nash:

 

Thank you for your email relating to Leviticus 11 which says man should only eat beasts with cloven feet who chew the cud. I appreciate you insightful comments regarding the implications of this passage in relation to the human consumption of horse meat. 

 

As a Christian, I take your comments very seriously and am hoping to address your concerns as best I can.  Below you will find an analysis of both the new and old testament, specifically the implications of Leviticus on modern society, which I think appropriate responses to the issues you addressed.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff should you have any questions regarding the information provided below.  Again thank you for your comments.

 

Sincerely,
Betty Brown

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                                                                                                           

Peter's Vision
ACTS Chapter 10:9-16

 

9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

 

This is the main reason that any such argument about what you can and can't eat is bad logic, Biblically speaking.  The bible says that Jesus didn't come to "abolish" the law, he came to "fulfill" the law, which is another way of saying that we are no longer called to abide by the letter of the law, but rather abide in a relationship with Him. 

 

This was very, very hard for the Jews to grasp at first, especially Peter, who was a devout Jew.  So God had to show him in a vision that he was missing the point of the Gospel, which is FREEDOM from all of these laws.  The laws and customs were in place as rituals to keep everyone focused on God, but once God appeared in human form and took away our sins, we could communicate with God without priests, laws, and rituals.  It is the BASIS of Christianity.

 

It's also true that a lot of these laws were just in place to keep people from getting sick from diseases.  Laws about touching dead animal carcasses, things like that, were for sanitary purposes.  But they were still laws, which meant you were "unclean" for violating them.

 

If you want to enforce this law from the Old Testament (which is the worst one to try and enforce since God goes OUT OF HIS WAY to make sure that even if you don't get it on a lot of other levels you at least understand that the freedom of the Gospel means no more rules for eating stuff) then herer are some other ones that you might want to enforce that Jesus makes no mention of striking in the New Testament:

OTHER INTERESTING POINTS OF LEVITICUS CHAPTER 11

 

- Leviticus chapter 11 goes on to say you can't eat anything from the ocean that doesn't have fins or scales (lobster, crab, shrimp, all not allowed.)

- If an unclean animal (weasels and insects are also unclean) dies on your crop after you have watered the seeds, the crop is unclean (this was actually just a health concern, but it's a Law nonetheless).  So we're not allowed, according to this argument, to eat anything that certain kinds of dead insects have touched. 

 

OTHER FUN FACTS IN LEVITICUS

- Leviticus Chapter 5 says that any time you sin, even if you don't know it, once you become aware of it, you are then guilty, and unclean until you offer a sacrifice.  The Bible CLEARLY states that you must sacrifice a lamb, unless you can't afford a lamb, and then you have to sacrifice two young pigeons. You have to take them to the priest, so the priest can murder them for you.

- Same chapter makes sure that you know that women are "unclean" for 66 days after childbirth, and not able to be made clean until the priest performs the ritual.

- Deuteronomy chapter 22 clearly states that adultery (sleeping with someone else's wife) must be punished by death, for both the man and the woman.

This can go on and on and on.  The bottom line is this:

• The Levitical commandments are for the purpose of keeping the Israelites, who were wandering in the desert, from eating food that was going to spread disease and kill them.

• It was SO important to God that everyone figure out that these Laws aren't what He cares about anymore, that he specifically targeted the one about unclean animals by sending Peter a vision 3 times, and COMMANDING him to not call anything "unclean" anymore, because He has made ALL things clean.