Pagan Roots of Eating Blood.
The practice of eating blood has its roots in ancient pagan societies and cultures. Barnes notes, “The use of blood was common among the Gentiles. They drank it often at their sacrifices, and in making covenants or compacts.” And according to Ellicott, dishes prepared with blood “were common in the cuisine both of Greeks and Romans” at the time of the writing of the New Testament.
Yet, God expressly forbade the eating of blood from early history.
Forbidden by God.
Genesis 9:4 set the stage for God’s prohibition for eating blood — because it contained the life of the flesh. This prohibition is further defined at Mount Sinai and reiterated by the Apostles and the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. As a result, the early church faithfully refrained from eating blood. Gill says the law “was attended to with much strictness by the primitive Christians, who seemed to have observed this advice in the form of a law, and thought it criminal to eat blood.”
Accordingly, Gill writes that the strict adherence to the law by the early church “would have involved a frequent withdrawal from social life, or a conspicuous singularity.”
Despite the abstention of the early Christians, the modern church has largely abandoned the prohibition against eating blood, wrongly filing it as “ceremonial.” Gill writes of this law, “in process of time it was neglected; and in Austin’s time abstinence from blood was derided, as a ridiculous notion.” Yet we have repeatedly shown that this law is not ceremonial and should be adhered to today. Barnes agrees, noting the law predates ceremony.
This reason existed before any ceremonial law; it is founded in the nature of things; it has no particular reference to any custom of the Jews; and it is as forcible in any other circumstances as in theirs. It was proper, therefore, to forbid it to the early Christian converts; and for the same reason, its use should be abstained from everywhere. It adds to the force of these remarks when we remember that the same principle was settled before the laws of Moses were given, and that God regarded the fact that the life was in the blood as of so much importance as to make the shedding of it worthy of death, Genesis 9:4-6. It is supposed, therefore, that this law is still obligatory. Perhaps, also, there is no food more unwholesome than blood; and it is a further circumstance of some moment that all people naturally revolt from it as an article of food.
And Dr. Rex Russel adds compelling evidence why blood should be avoided.
Blood carries both infections and toxins that might circulate in the animal’s body. Therefore, by eating an animal’s blood, one exposes himself needlessly to potential toxins and infections. The harmful effects of eating blood can be illustrated by tribes in Africa who consume large amounts of blood in their pagan culture. These people have developed the chronic diseases seen in our elderly while still teenagers. Their life span is approximately 30 years. [1]
With such compelling evidence, it is alarming to note that the eating of blood is commonly practiced by Christians in dishes like blood sausages and blood puddings. Equally alarming is the rise in the popularity of blood consumption in our ever increasing pagan society.
Increasing Popularity of Eating Blood.
Bon Appetit calls the red ingredient “a culinary darling.”
From Austin to Boston to Portland, some of the nations’ best-known chefs are embracing an oft-maligned ingredient: blood. What has become, in recent times, the final frontier of all things offal is now a culinary darling. [2]
DarkBanquet.com lists a plethora of blood recipes from around the world, naming some of them the “haughtiest of haute cuisine.” These recipes include
- Blood sausages
- Blood puddings
- Blood pancakes
- Blood breads
- Soups and stews
- Canard au sang (pressed duck)
- and more
And these animal blood recipes are only a drop in the bucket. BBC reports that there are 1000’s of people in the United States who are drinking human blood from willing donors. “There are thousands of people doing this in just the US alone, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence, and I don’t think it’s a fad.” [4]
There are also reports through history of drinking blood to help cure disease. “Across history, we can find cases where human blood was considered a bona-fide medical cure. At the end of the 15th Century, for instance, Pope Innocent VIII’s physician allegedly bled three young men to death and fed their blood (still warm) to his dying master, with the hope that it might pass on their youthful vitality.” [5]
Drinking blood is also a right of passage for some hunters, as demonstrated in the classic 1980’s movie Red Dawn.
With this popular rise in the eating of blood in modern culture, what is the Christian to do?
The Christian Response.
When we recently discussed the eating of foods strangled, we came to the conclusion that we could buy anything in the meat market without asking questions for conscience sake. The Old Covenant penalty for this offense (based on the remedy for eating meat that died on its own) was merely ceremonial uncleanness. The admonition and ensuing punishment for those who ate blood, however, was much stronger. In the Old Covenant, those who broke this law were “cut off” from the congregation, ex-communicated. This adds a heavy weight to the importance of this matter to God. If it is important to God, it should be important to those who follow Him.
In response, here are twelve practical ways in our society that we can honor the law to abstain from eating blood.
- Try to only buy meat that has been properly slaughtered and drained of its blood.
- Avoid any recipe that contains blood (puddings, breads, sausages, stews, and the like).
- If you are served a dish of food that you know contains blood, like blood pudding, refuse to eat it.
- Do not participate in hunting rituals that include drinking the blood of the animals slaughtered.
- Do not participate in pagan rituals that include eating or drinking blood.
- Do not be tempted to try health cures that involve the eating or drinking of blood.
- Take careful consideration prior to receiving blood through transfusion. You will be taking in the toxins of your donor as well as the life giving substances in the blood.
- Do not buy into any fads that involve drinking human or animal blood for any reason.
- Do not eat your own blood when you have an injury.
- Do not have intercourse during your (or your spouses) menstrual cycle as kisses and caresses may mingle with blood.
- Don’t worry about eating your steak rare. This does not seem to have any connection to this dietary law. The only concern would be to see that the meat is properly slaughtered and bled. This applies to all meat whether it is rare or well done. But you may want to avoid eating or drinking the red liquid that comes out of your meat when cut.
- Share with others about the dangers and biblical prohibition against eating blood (one way is to share this post).
The area of blood eating must be taken back to the obedience of Christ. God has ordained that blood should not be consumed. And He has reasons that we may not understand. But this we know: He has forbidden the eating of blood because it contains the life of the flesh. He has the right to tell His creatures what they can and cannot eat. And we must obey Him.
If you are reading this post, but have not read the previous posts which lay the foundation for the abstention from blood, the first article can be accessed here: Three Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. The remaining posts should be accessible from there in order of publication.
This series of posts was written in response to a readers question. Do you have a question about health and the Bible that you’d like to see discussed at Reformed Health? Let me know in the comments.
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[1] Rex D. Russel, M.D. p. 229, “Proceedings of the 1992 Twin-Cities Creation Conference”.
[2]http://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/restaurants-chefs-blood
[3] http://www.darkbanquet.com/info.php?page=Blood%20Recipes
[4] http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151021-the-people-who-drink-human-blood
[5] Ibid
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Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.
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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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