Food and the Bible

[tffy2004]

When it comes to the things we eat and the bible, do The Dietary Laws of Leviticus11 still apply today?

http://www.pointsoftruth.com/foodlaw.html

I feel that they do, but I was wondering how many people know that this is in the bible and actually take heed to the information given.

[AngelicRose07]

i am a seventh day adventist and diet is very important in my church. no pork, camel (and othe rthings that i wouldnt think of eating nyway), and no seafood that does not have fins AND scales. so no catfish, shrimp, crab, lobster :(

the only exception i think is possible would be if the person had no other choice in food and in order to self sustain, they had to eat an unclean food. it goes with the story of Peter where God said "rise Peter, kill and eat" about the pig

[tffy2004]

Weaveitup, love your avatar, you are gorgeous!!

My husband and I are starting to take better care of our bodies as far as the foods we consume and decided to turn to the bible for instructions and guidance.

[tffy2004]

http://www.bible.com/bibleanswers_result.php?id=164

(1.) EAT GOD'S APPROVED FOODS LISTED IN THE BIBLE:

A good guideline would be to eat "living foods." The natural, living foods are fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and dairy products. The "dead foods" are those that are highly refined. They not only are expensive, but also in most instances do little to nourish. Many people are tired, run down and sick because a large part of their diets are made up of dead junk foods. We want to include at least an outline of some of God's approved foods to help people get started on the road to proper eating. Although this list is not complete, it does give the basic foods that the Bible lists as good to eat:

Barley---Ruth 2:23
Bread---Luke 22:19
Butter---Isaiah 7:22
Corn---Ruth 2:14; I Samuel 17:17
Cheese---I Samuel 17:18
Dates---Genesis 3:2
Eggs---Job 6:6
Figs---Numbers 13:23; I Samuel 25:18
Fruits(All)---Genesis 1:29
Herbs (Leafy Plants) and Vegetables---Genesis 1:29
Honey---Deuteronomy 8:8
Meats---(Beef, Fish,Lamb,Poultry,Venison) Deuteronomy 14; Leviticus 11
Milk---Isaiah 7:21-22
Nuts---Genesis 43:11
Olives and Olive Oil---Leviticus 2:4; Deuteronomy 8:8
Salt---Leviticus 2:13
Wheat (Bread, Cereal, Pasta)---Psalm 81:16

(2.) EAT IN MODERATION:
Ask the Lord to help you eat the proper amount of food. Eat only until full. He will help you. He loves you and cares about you. Philippians 4:5: "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand."

(3.) GET REGULAR MILD EXERCISE: Walking is an excellent form of exercise.

(4.) FAST PERIODICALLY: Fasting helps cleanse the body of toxins that can lead to sickness.

As we seek the Lord in regard to our diets, He will gladly lead us in the right path. We must not get out of balance in this area and let menus and cooking absorb an exorbitant amount of time since this would be just as bad as ignoring diet altogether and eating anything we want. Here is a good verse to claim as we set our heart to overcome gluttony and the tendency to allow the enemy to tempt us little by little to fall into the trap of overeating.

Psalm 141:3-4: "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties"

[AngelicRose07]

aww! thank you! good luck with your quest for health! i think it may work best for you if you started little by little. if you try to make too many drastic changes at once, it may be hard for you to stick to it.

for breakfast foods, turkey bacon and morning start patties are two great alternatives to pork. the morning start patties taste pretty similar to seasoned meat and are pretty well priced too!

[candiel]

I think that these laws still apply today. I'm Seventh-day Adventist also so, I don't eat any of the foods listed as unclean.

[Enchantmt]

It's not considered a sin to eat these foods, but for various health reasons, along with their purpose in the earth/along the food chain, they arent the best choices. Also keep in mind, there wasnt any refrigeration or anything at that time, so it was practically a guarantee of disease to eat most of it. That said, you can have my bacon and shirmp when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. :lol:

[dicapr]

i am a seventh day adventist and diet is very important in my church. no pork, camel (and othe rthings that i wouldnt think of eating nyway), and no seafood that does not have fins AND scales. so no catfish, shrimp, crab, lobster :(

the only exception i think is possible would be if the person had no other choice in food and in order to self sustain, they had to eat an unclean food. it goes with the story of Peter where God said "rise Peter, kill and eat" about the pig

Just saying hey. I'm a SDA also.

[alexstin]

I don't believe those laws apply today. Those laws came forth under the levitical preisthood(tribe of Levi). Jesus came through the tribe of Judah.

Hebrews 7:11-12 states "Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood(for on the basis of it the people received the law), what further need was there for another priest to arise acording to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order off Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.


Paul called out Peter for trying to put the Gentile believers under the law according to Galatians 2:14 "But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you being a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews?"

Lastly, I think if we understand the purpose of law it makes things alot easier. Here's an excerpt from Kingdom Principles


"First of all, written law is necessary only when natural law is absent. If we as human beings were all law-abiding by nature, there would be no need for written law. Our rebellion against God destroyed the natural law in our lives and made written law( as well as human government) necessary to protect and restrain evil.

Second, the purpose for written law is to restore natural law to our conscience. Because of our rebellion against God, we lost our instinctive knowledge and our understanding of natural law. Our consciences became corrupt and our likeness to our Maker became tarnished and distorted. Things that were natural in the beginning now become "unnatural".

Third, natural law is sometimes referred to as the "spirit of the law". This reflects God's desire for His laws, the standards of His kingdom, to become the norms of society.

There is a difference between the law and the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law refers to original intent---the purpose that was in the mind of the lawmaker in the beginning. Therefore, the spirit of the law is the inherent essence of the original purpose and intent of the law. As such, the spirit of the law is always higher and broader than the letter of the law. For this reason the greatest form of law is unwritten law. Unwritten law is a product of the spirit of the law. When law has to be written, it is because people are disobedient. Written law is a sign that people have lost sight of the spirit of the law--the original intent. So where the spirit of the law is, there is no need for written law.



God never intended to write down any of His laws for us. He did not want us to have to read in order to live. There was no written law in the garden of Eden, no written law for Abraham, no written law at all for God's covenant people until the day of Moses. The King of Heaven's intention was to write His laws on our hearts and in our minds so that no one would have to teach us. It was humanity's rebelllion and separation from God that made written law necessary.

The King's goal has never changed. Depsite mankind's rebellion, His original purpose still stands":

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it in their hearts, I will be their God, and they will be My People" Jeremiah (31:33)



Personally I believe we are healthier without meat and meat products but I don't believe we have to abstain from certain meats.

[RabiaElaine]

I'm SDA as well :wave:

I believe that God's original intention for our diet still applies today. Not that eating unclean foods is a sin, but in order to have the best health, these principles still work. Ask any doctor out there, God's original diet for us is best. A lot of people claim that you need meats to get enough protein, there is plenty of protein in vegetables so eating unclean meats is unnecessary.

I'm glad I saw this thread. I would like to get my diet in order. I grew up pretty much vegetarian, but started eating meats (chicken, turkey, beef, never pork or seafood) as I grew older. I would like to go back to not eating meat except for scaled fish because it is the best thing for my health and our body uses sooooo much energy trying to digest meats they also take a much longer time to leave our body than vegetables.

And as most vegetarians and SDA's know there are plenty of choices when it comes to vegetarian meats. Morning star, Worthington, Boca burgers are all great brands for vegetarian meat.

[BabeinChrist]

That said, you can have my bacon and shirmp when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. :lol:


Oh my, too funny! :lol:

[tffy2004]

I am glad that we found this information and thank you Weaveitup for suggesting that we ease into it, my husband wants to go "Cold Turkey" We just went grocery shopping the day before we found this list of clean foods and we planned on having a roast Sunday and burgers on friday and stuffed bell peppers tonight. I will go ahead with the scheduled menu for the week but will be cutting back on certain things.

I am just ready to get rid of my acne problem which I know is mainly caused by the fact that I don't watch what I eat AT ALL!

Big Thank You to all the ladies who responded!!

[ritzbitz78]

I also am SDA (Seventh Day Adventist)

SDA basically means: Seventh Day- We believe the fourth commandment was never done away with or changed anywhere in the Bible, so it is used as an identifier that is different from other Sunday worshipping Christians

Adventist - advent means arrival, we are expecting Jesus to return soon (expecting his advent)

Following God's law is not about getting the benefits from it (though health benefits are great and God definately wants that for us) it is about trusting and loving God enough to obey Him in whatever he says to do. It is a selfless act.

[Enchantmt]

Following God's law is not about getting the benefits from it (though health benefits are great and God definately wants that for us) it is about trusting and loving God enough to obey Him in whatever he says to do. It is a selfless act.

I agree our obedience honors God. However it is important to note that under the new covenant we are not required to keep the law of Moses. The book of Galatians addresses this issue. Disobedience to just one part of it means that those who are under it are condemned. So if you want to keep a covenant law because you feel it honors God, thats fine, but its not required. My concern is that someone will come under condemnation for not keeping it or judge others for not adhering to those laws. If we are going to keep the law of Moses, we must attempt to keep all of it. That means you must observe the sacrifices and rules of conduct in addition to the dietary laws. As women if you are on your cycle you are unclean and required to keep yourself away from others during this time. Anything you sit on would be considered unclean. Lev 15:19-23 After givng birth to a son a woman is unclean for 7 days, Lev 12:1-14. To a daughter 14 days. Lev 12:4-7.



Galatians 3:1-14

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

[AngelicRose07]

i think that when God gave us regulations on what we should and shouldnt eat, it stuck till present day. along with the commandment that states that your body is a temple... i find it important to take as much care of your temple as possible. and eating foods that are known to be unhealthy/unclean is kind of the adverse to that, therefore... it can be seen as a sin int hat regard.

but to each her own, i am not one to judge. these are simply my beliefs. seventh day adventists have been discovered to have the longest life spans (natinal geographic researched this) and im pretty sure its for a reason

[Isis]

Pork, as one example of the forbidden foods in the Bible, continues to be unclean and related to health problems. There may be other reasons why pork was forbidden (of all of the animals, it is most compatible to human skin and flesh).

One of the types of bread I enjoy is called, Ezekiel 4:9 and is 100% flourless, no fat, made according to the recipe described in this scripture, creating a complete protein containing all 9 essential amino acids.

"Take also unto thee wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it."

[AngelicRose07]

that bread sounds really good. do you make it yourself or do u buy it? i think i may check out some jewish shops

[star]

Thanks your for posting this. I love you been trying to tell people to ask God this is wisdom from His word and with so many drugs in our foods we must eat in moderation and fast/pray to get the stuff out of our body. During holidays if we eat little more it not so bad so we were not doing this all year long. I think this is why God gave us the holidays to splurg a little bit but the key is not loose your way and when holidays/birthdays are over back in the moderation regime we should go. I do know we all need help from GOd to help control our appetite. For me fasting and praying as a lifestyle has help me tremedously control my appetite and not to mention it has strengthen spiritually.

http://www.bible.com/bibleanswers_result.php?id=164

(1.) EAT GOD'S APPROVED FOODS LISTED IN THE BIBLE:

A good guideline would be to eat "living foods." The natural, living foods are fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and dairy products. The "dead foods" are those that are highly refined. They not only are expensive, but also in most instances do little to nourish. Many people are tired, run down and sick because a large part of their diets are made up of dead junk foods. We want to include at least an outline of some of God's approved foods to help people get started on the road to proper eating. Although this list is not complete, it does give the basic foods that the Bible lists as good to eat:

Barley---Ruth 2:23
Bread---Luke 22:19
Butter---Isaiah 7:22
Corn---Ruth 2:14; I Samuel 17:17
Cheese---I Samuel 17:18
Dates---Genesis 3:2
Eggs---Job 6:6
Figs---Numbers 13:23; I Samuel 25:18
Fruits(All)---Genesis 1:29
Herbs (Leafy Plants) and Vegetables---Genesis 1:29
Honey---Deuteronomy 8:8
Meats---(Beef, Fish,Lamb,Poultry,Venison) Deuteronomy 14; Leviticus 11
Milk---Isaiah 7:21-22
Nuts---Genesis 43:11
Olives and Olive Oil---Leviticus 2:4; Deuteronomy 8:8
Salt---Leviticus 2:13
Wheat (Bread, Cereal, Pasta)---Psalm 81:16

(2.) EAT IN MODERATION:
Ask the Lord to help you eat the proper amount of food. Eat only until full. He will help you. He loves you and cares about you. Philippians 4:5: "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand."

(3.) GET REGULAR MILD EXERCISE: Walking is an excellent form of exercise.

(4.) FAST PERIODICALLY: Fasting helps cleanse the body of toxins that can lead to sickness.

As we seek the Lord in regard to our diets, He will gladly lead us in the right path. We must not get out of balance in this area and let menus and cooking absorb an exorbitant amount of time since this would be just as bad as ignoring diet altogether and eating anything we want. Here is a good verse to claim as we set our heart to overcome gluttony and the tendency to allow the enemy to tempt us little by little to fall into the trap of overeating.

Psalm 141:3-4: "Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties"

[Enchantmt]

My comments arent meant to discourage anyone from this way of eating. I have no doubt anyone embarking on this will benefit and be the better for it. We have to do all things and moderation and I do realize that tho all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial. My only concern is that some folx may have the tendency to tie these guidelines to their salvation and therefore come under condemation to the extent they are unable to adhere to them, thereby putting them in bondage to a law that under the new covenant they are no longer required to observe. We have freedom in Christ, not bondage. Happy Eating!!!

[blazingthru]

I believe that we are not to eat those things because of health reasons. If you do any research on those animals their bodies were design for a certian purpose and whatever they eat we eat. i.e. deadbodies, filth and so on. I believe that God has a certain purpose for those animals and no matter what every one says we are still not to eat it. I do not eat pork or shrimp. Pork is a hard one because they make so many products with pork in it and you don't even know it. Like Mayo, candy-- stupid stuff you wouldn't think they would add pork to. like Jello. Anyway i read the makersdiet and I referred to some scriptures and I gave up all seafood and bacon forever, well about 8 months ago. I was starving and in the hospital and they gave me bacon and so I ate one piece. I was in the bathroom back and forth for many hours. I was so sore when it was all said and done. Never again. Now that I stopped eating those things for almost 2 years now I can no longer eat it. As soon as I do say its hidden in a food I immediately get sick. What I mean to say is you can try to justify your eating those things but you were not intended to, those animals bodies did not change and neither did yours. I don't believe its a choice, I believe that you will do whatever it takes to obey God including giving up certain foods that you love because you understand the purpose of those animals and its not for your purpose. Ultimately your purpose is to please God and in doing so you save your ownself. For instance all these new diseases that have come about over the years are due to eating foods that are dangerous to you. We have began to develope all kinds of cancers and stomach problems and truthfully they always point back to poor diet. I am living proof of that.