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Meat (not vegetarianism) Is a Gift from God To Be Enjoyed

Meat (not vegetarianism) Is a Gift From God to Be Enjoyed

All food is a gift from God to be enjoyed, and we are instructed in the New Testament to not reject any food that He has created. Unfortunately, there is a host of foods that some modern day “diets” seek to vilify. One such food is the flesh of animals.

In The Evolution of Food in the Bible, we noted that God gave meat to mankind to eat after the great flood that watered the entire earth. This flood changed earth’s environment in ways that we may not fully understand. These changes made it necessary for God to add animal flesh as food. If it wasn’t necessary, God would not have given it as food. And since God did give meat as food, it should NOT be rejected. There are some examples in the Bible of limited vegetarianism which we will discuss in an upcoming post. Today we are going to look at some important examples of meat eating in the Bible. In many of these situations, God directly provides the meat for consumption. At times He commands that meat be eaten. And in more than one occasion, God Himself through Jesus Christ partakes of the meat.

Here are nine examples of meat eating in the Bible: Continue reading “Meat (not vegetarianism) Is a Gift from God To Be Enjoyed” →

12 Practical Ways to Avoid Eating Blood

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

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. Continue reading “12 Practical Ways to Avoid Eating Blood” →

The Evolution of Food in the Bible

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

God, the Provider.

We have begun Principle #6 of Living Under God’s Design: Healthy Blood Through Real Food. Our last post, Eat Food That Has Been Created to Be Enjoyed, introduced the idea that God has decreed what food is to be eaten by His creatures. God’s very first command was a “food law.” He forbade Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God has the right to tell His creatures what they can and cannot eat. He is the creator and owner of everything. Even more, God loves His creatures very much — especially the humans that He created in His own image. Food was never an afterthought of God: it was a loving provision from a loving God and Father who desires His creatures to flourish in the world He created for them so they could subdue the earth and multiply upon it.

And as part of God’s provision for man to flourish in His world, over time, He has ordained changes in the food chain, a sort of evolution of food.

We have already seen that God gave fruits and vegetables as man’s first sustenance. The first couple were allowed to eat of any of the plants God created, even the Tree of Life. The only food they were forbidden to eat was that produced by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Let’s take a closer look. Continue reading “The Evolution of Food in the Bible” →

Should Christians Today Abstain From Eating Blood?

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

According to Dr. Rex Russell, “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.”

Eat Food That Has Been Created to Be Enjoyed

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

There is no food that can add to our salvation or make us holy. There is no food that can save or condemn. This includes those things which might not be considered pure food.

None-the-less God has ordained a diet for the human race. There are foods that “God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.” And this diet does not consist of rocks, rubber, wood, poison, or any other non-food substance.

The Truth About What Makes Meat Kosher

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

Why Kosher?

Kosher animal slaughter is an important issue for practicing Jews. They attribute direct revelation from God for their methods of killing animals for food. However, they maintain that the killing has no “ritual” value. According to chabad.com, “There is no ritual involved…It is a cardinal tenet of the Jewish faith …divinely given to Moses at Mount Sinai.” These laws, they say are based on Genesis 9:3, which reads “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.”[1] But it is verse four in the Christian Bible which gives the details, “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

We have demonstrated in the last several posts on this topic, that the prohibition in Genesis 9:4 predates the giving of the law at Sinai. We have made the case that the verse is still applicable today. And practicing Jews agree: it is “as binding and valued today as ever.” Continue reading “The Truth About What Makes Meat Kosher” →

Conclusion: Healthy Blood through Moderate Eating

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

The Life of The Flesh.

There is a precious substance that flows through the veins of all human beings. This same substance secured eternal life to all who would believe.

Not only does this substance secure eternal life for believers, it is also what gives life to the flesh of our mortal bodies, according to the Scriptures.

Since this red liquid is so valuable, we must treasure and treat it with great care. This red liquid, of course, is blood. And the health of our blood, determines the vitality of our bodies. This is why we are continually examining and exploring ways to keep our blood as healthy as possible.

Where We’ve Been.

So far in our exploration of healthy blood, we have discussed the following principles:

And now we are concluding Principle 5: Healthy Blood Through Moderate Eating.

In this series, we first examined the role that food plays in the world around us. Food was not an after thought of God. He did not just create man and leave him alone to figure out how to find food. Rather God planted a beautiful garden with all kinds of food that was pleasing to the eyes and healthy to the body. He placed man in the garden to tend and keep it — and to eat of its wonderful bounty. Continue reading “Conclusion: Healthy Blood through Moderate Eating” →

Progress Report on Weight Loss and Health for November

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

November Progress Report I ordinarily share my weight loss journal the first of each new month, but I’m doing things a little different for November. And I am a little late in checking in.

Due to some health issues (which I have written about), I have stopped trying to lose weight. All my effort for counting calories left my body deficient in some important nutrients. I am still tracking my weight and calories, but it is NOT my focus. My focus is NUTRITION.

If you thought counting calories was daunting, try tracking nutrition. It is like a full time job. But I am having some great wins.

As you may remember, we recently moved to a new apartment due to extremely high electromagnetic fields (EMFs). I discovered the high EMFs after developing a lump in my breast and suffering a relentless case of insomnia. Evidence shows that EMFs can cause or exacerbate both conditions.

Our new apartment has much lower, safe readings. I expected that immediately upon moving I would see a significant reversal in my symptoms. Unfortunately that was not the case. Continue reading “Progress Report on Weight Loss and Health for November” →

Eat Only What is Necessary: Conclusion

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

Eat Only What is Necessary The last several posts in this series have been looking at the topic of moderation in the Bible.

Introduction!

In the Introduction we noted that our high calling in Christ is to bring our bodies under subjection to Christ in every area — this includes food and drink. The Apostle Paul set a great example for us when he taught that he made his body a slave for the sake of the gospel. According to I Corinthians 9:27, Paul was active in the process of subduing his flesh, moment by moment. And we saw that it wasn’t only his “hope” to discipline his flesh — it was his practice through the Holy Spirit so he would not be disqualified from the race. And his discussion of this topic is presented in the midst of a discourse on food.

We, like the Apostle Paul, must master our bodies, rather than letting food (or anything) master us.

Is Eating Too Much A Sin?

Next we looked at the topic of overeating. There we presented and expounded on 7 Bible verses that deal with self-control and food. Continue reading “Eat Only What is Necessary: Conclusion” →

What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?

Posted on by Mischelle Sandowich

What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?

We have been looking closer at 3 Overlooked Dietary Laws in the New Testament. The last installment discussed why the admonition to abstain from strangled meat was not merely meant to placate the Jews.

We mentioned that commentators struggle with Acts 15:20, 29; and 21:25 because the prohibition against eating strangled meat (a seemingly ceremonial law) is side by side an obviously moral law (abstaining from sexual immorality).

In Was The Early Church Trying to Placate the Jews with This Dietary Law? we noted that many commentators assert this law was intended to avoid offense to the Jews. In addition, they maintain that the law was ceremonial and is therefore not binding today.

Yet, when we study the law more closely, we see several important truths:

The law was given by “the Holy Spirit” in the New Testament era.
It was practiced faithfully by the early church.
The teaching was an “essential” part of the Christian practice.
The law did not have its origin in the ceremonial law, but rather an older law.
If the law was meant to placate, why not have the early Christians circumcised?

Focusing in on Strangled Meat.

Now we are going to look closer at what is actually meant by “food that is strangled.” Before we begin, it is important to note that “food that is strangled” has a very close tie with the 3rd overlooked dietary law — to abstain from eating blood. Continue reading “What Exactly Is This Forbidden Strangled Meat?” →