Team DailyPedia
Disclaimer: This post is not intended to target religious groups or other beliefs.
A video of Joel Osteen, one of the most popular American preacher, televangelist, author, and Senior Pastor of the largest Protestant church in the United States, garnered a lot of attention from across the world and every religious community.
The sermon admonishes about NOT eating unclean meat including pork, ham, bacon, pepperoni, or anything that comes from a pig, hog, or swine. He later on mentioned words in the bible to support his teaching. According to him, back in the Bible days, the pig is considered unclean. It was never considered a source of food. Because this animal will eat anything-waste, garbage, other sick and infected animals, even its own dead child! (gross!) Added to that is its poor digestive system causing the toxins to get stored in its fat.
I believe this is the bible verse he was referring to:
“The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.” – Deuteronomy 14:8, New International Version
This preaching gained different opinions and responses – both good and bad – from the public:
“The guy doesn’t even know Scripture well enough to distinguish between the Old Covenant and the New. And he doesn’t know the facts about hogs.”
“As long as you prepare it correctly, there is absolutely no chance of contracting a disease or sickness from eating pork. I’ve been eating and cooking pork all my life and never become ill.”
“I didn’t watch the clip all the way through. All that talk about pork was just making me salivate”
Okay, enough of the sermon. Let’s try to go deeper and see what every spiritual group has to say about not eating pork.
Religious Beliefs:
- Judaism/Jewish – The Jewish dietary law, or Kashrut allows their food to be divided into 2 parts: The Kosher which is pure for consumption, or it should not be eaten at all. Their supporting bible verse can be found in Leviticus 11:7-8, “And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcase you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.”
- Islam – Their dietary law is also separated into Halal, clean and good for consumption or haram which is forbidden. According to Quran, 2:173, “He has made unlawful for you that which dies of itself, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked. But he who is driven by necessity, being neither disobedient nor exceeding the limit, then surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.”
- Rastafarian – Many followers of this tradition refuse meat consumption completely, but pork is considered particularly vile
- Seventh-day Adventists – [to quote] “It is true we refrain from eating certain animals, as indicated in the query, but not because the law of Moses has any binding claims upon us. Far from it. We stand fast in the liberty with which God has set us free. It must be remembered that God recognized “clean” and “unclean” animals at the time of the Flood, long before there was a law of Moses. We reason that if God saw fit at that time to counsel His people against certain articles of diet, these things were not best for human consumption; and since we are physically constituted in the same way as are the Jews and all other peoples, we believe such things are not the best for us to use today.” (emphasis added)
Now, let’s go and find out the reasons of the other percentage of the crowd why they do not eat pig’s meat.
Health / Medical Cause
- Pork cholesterol increases your waistline and thigh
- Eating bacons, hams, sausages boosts your chances of developing deadly diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, asthma, and impotence
- You might get trichinosis – a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or under-cooked pork
Personal Conviction
- Some people just have that special part in their hearts for animals.
- Huge slaughterhouses does not give humane, painless death to pigs in row. According to PETA, the Department of Agriculture in the U.S. recorded 14 humane slaughter violations at one processing plant. The inspectors found hogs who “were walking and squealing after being stunned [with a stun gun] as many as four times.” The inappropriate stunning methods and extremely fast line speeds makes it impossible to target many pigs, thus most of it are still alive when they are unloaded into blistering-hot hair-removal tanks. It breaks my heart to say that they die because of drowning–and drowning in a burning hot water!
All done! Still awake? Now tell me, will you still eat pork after this?
References:
- Deuteronomy 14:8, New International Version; http://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/14-8.htm
- Holly Spangler “What Joel Osteen Needs to Learn About Scripture and Pork”; http://farmprogress.com/blogs-what-joel-osteen-needs-to-learn-about-scripture-and-pork-1000
- Joel Osteen, “Why Muslims Do Not Eat Pork”; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2mtLy3OFfg
- Why christians eat Pork, if the Bible prohibits the consumption of pork;https://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060903040748AAwoaRg
- Religious Beliefs of Eating Pork;http://people.opposingviews.com/religious-beliefs-eating-pork-6568.html
- Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_restrictions_on_the_consumption_of_pork
- Peter’s vision of a sheet with animals;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%27s_vision_of_a_sheet_with_animals
- Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Pigs;http://www.peta.org/living/food/top-10-reasons-eat-pigs/
- Seventh Day Adventists Questions on Doctrine;http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/qod/index.htm
Just to correct the article about the belief of Seventh-Day Adventist on not eating pork. We do not base our belief on Acts 10. Please, don’t be mistaken. Instead, we base our understandings about the topic on Lev. 11 and Isaiah 66. Whatever it is, just open up your bibles and read it.
Yes that’s what I know among Adventists, it’s all in Leviticus where you can see what we can eat.
Hi Dale and Edward. Thanks for this very helpful information. We are now updating our article. ^_^ – Sarj
Pigs do not have the same system for eliminating toxins that humans have. Toxins consumed are stored in their flesh. Consuming pigs almost inevitably ensures you will be consuming parasites. This article very effectively describes the problems with eating pork.
http://realtruth.org/articles/263-apt.html
definitely! our Body is the temple of God: so if it is, shall not we preserve the Temple?
Nature proves that the bible is trustworthy, even this are to be tested it still stands.
Human’s body is not designed to consume any creature but it was originally designed as plant and fruit based diet. it can be proven to the structure of our teeth also.
Our teeth are perfectly fine for eating flesh. That’s why we can… eat flesh without problems.
Never go full potato.
retard
You people realise that all the religious books and scriptures were written by mere humans? not by a divine pen, but people like us? You eat what you want and don’t what you don’t want, but don’t base it on a paragraph, written by someone 100s of years ago, that had no understanding of science, biology and nutrition. Wake up, all those books are guides and stories to try to convey a message (all have the same exact message, no matter which), not an instruction manual that need to be followed line by line. There lies the problems with all religions!
Since you claim those books have no concept of science biology of nutrition, then why is it that when you look at the clean animals vs unclean animals, it is all based on the scientific and biological principle of biomagnification? Animals that feed closest to the original source of food are generally clean while those feed higher up the food chain are unclean. It is not a coincidence at all. Those animals that are deemed unclean in the bibles, do not have bodies that are very efficient at getting rid of waste as a cow and goat has. Biomagnification was not an existing term in the days of Moses, or even hundreds of years ago, so whoever instructed these directions, must have been someone who know about science and biology.
We do not hunt for the pork like long time before … so its not clean. Now we are having them in proper care and feedings from farms
but still its a pig, right?
Yeah, did you ever studied about how the animals in general do eliminate their toxins? Actually, great part of the toxins are eliminated, in general by the sweating process of our body, eliminating salts, sugar and every other toxin in great quantity, as well as defecating and urinating. But while you keep all the animals at the same place and time, they will basically keep living near their dejects, resulting into a contraction of illness bigger than if they did lived into the wild.
And the veterinary care in farms of food production are very doubtful, since they have very low space to move and that they do receive great quantity of hormones to grow up and get fat faster, it is not healthier than many years ago, and while they were still leaving in the wild, at last, they could move and and eliminate those toxins in many places and time, avoiding them to become ill so easly, while today they can’t… You still do consider the actuall conditions in farm proper?
And I didn’t even said about all the hormones that we eat from those animals that are saved since their grown process to the moment they do die.
May be a little elaboration on health and medical causes would be more helpful as your post mostly consists of religious instructions and only 3 lines of health causes , just saying.
This article is really annoying. Here you didn’t say anything what cannot happen if you eat the meat of other animals. Almost all the diseases written there are came from fatty meat consuming and if the people don’t get their ass out from their chair or their car all day.
Parasitic disease? Yes, from cattle, deer and from lot of other animal too.
Eating garbage?! The chicken too… Eat its dead piglet? If they have good food why they would do that?! And in factorial farming there is. For surviving all of the animal eat what can find. Even human eat his dead friends just to survive. (…)
How they die in the slaughter houses…. Do you really think other animal have nicer death there?!
The religious part is everyone’s own business… But the other things are just shame… Just check where you get the meat. And cook it well. That’s all…
Cant agree more 🙂
Anyway no sentence in the bible about being sent to hell for eating pork, goat, lamb, chicken, etc. Just saying.
Isaiah 66:16-17New American Standard Bible (NASB)
16 For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
[a]Following one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.
I don’t ask you to believe.. Well.. you were looking for it.. I do hope so this will help..
LIFE IS ONLY A MATTER OF CHANCES AND CHOICES… IF YOU DON’T EAT PIG, IS IT A GUARANTEE OF A LONG LIFE, OR NOT GETTING SICK? OR A GUARANTEE OF SALVATION… SICKNESS, DISEASES OR ANY HEALTH CONDITIONS CERTAINLY WERE NOT OUR CHOICES….. WHAT WE GET IS A RESULT OF OUR CHOICES, AND WHAT WE HAVE IS JUST BECAUSE OF CHANCES…. WE HAVE TO EAT EVERYTHING JUST TO SURVIVE…. THE BEST POLICY IS” DO NOT DO TO OTHERS IF YOU DO NOT WANT OTHERS WILL DO IT TO YOU.”
Why did God created pig? What are they then if they are not meant for food consumption.
Pigs are scavengers. Pigs would eat anything, dead or alive. That’s their purpose.
Ha, who told you that? Pigs are now raised in clean environment. It is you who looks more of a scavenger!
Seriously? God? Where on heavens is this god at? Have you seen god? Just stop making a non-existing GOD an excuse for your unsatisfied taste-buds.
Mark Chapter 7:19-20 it says….For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’
That’s a corrupted version of the bible you are quoting from.
“Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
Purging all meats is the correct rendering of the passage. That bracketed part is man’s interpretation. Jesus simply said that the meat meaning food is eliminated (purged) from the body. It is not a declaration that all of a sudden all foods are not clean.
FUCK RELIGION! 90% of wars are caused by religion and beliefs. Now, if you’re going to be one of them, then you are a one close-minded person. DONT shove religion into everyone’s business just because you believe in it. Yeah freedom, you have that, but you’re abusing it through your writing and by guilt-tripping and making people believe that it is now or never for them if they eat this pork.
i would appreciate more if the article was based on medical research. But oh…
Guns and Nukes are products of science. I don’t see any religion creating that.
When I read this I thought. …….Because this animal will eat anything-waste, garbage, other sick and infected animals, even its own dead child! (gross!) …….you were talking about chicken, or have you never been around them? Because they do the same thing as do many other animals.
Do we just pick and choose which old testament laws we like or dislike?
What does keeping those chosen laws get one?
Maybe reading Romans 14 is in order.
I’m more interested to see what God has to say verses another’s opinion because an opinion is not the only thing we all have.
Yes chicken copies pig diet (almost) .. but i think there is a difference in their digesting systems .. since 4 hours are not enough to prevent germs or whatever it called in pigs .. maybe the chicken have different immunity system or something .. we are all eating chicken with no problems .. I think I should have a read out b4 posting here .. but im just sayin
peace
God only asks us to believe Him so that we can live with Him eternally, He doesn’t forces us to accept something we do not like. All He wanted is to guide us so that we won’t forget.. True, the bible is written by men but guided by the spirit..
2 Timothy 3:16-17New King James Version (NKJV)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
New King James Version (NKJV)
If you choose not to believe it, It is fine with me.. Anyway.. We all settle our scores with God individually when He returns to judge us..
With regards to unclean and clean food,, It could be read as well in the bible.. It is found in Leviticus 11.. You can choose not to accept it as well. but if you would, I would greatly appreciate it..
Each of us is given the free will to choose.. God even allow angels to choose where their loyalty will be.. Us human as well are given the same opportunity of freewill..
I know you are a good man.. It just that we are standing at different views.. I can only plant the seed.. I have no power what so ever to make it grow.. the same with this message.. the author only plants the seed, only God can make it grow in our hearts..
We should not force people to believe that things we choose to believe.. to love the things we love.. God is not like that.. why are we acting differently from our God.. let us not fight about religion.. or beliefs or whatsoever.. we are in no point to judge others.. Right? If that person accepts our belief, then that is his choice..
In the end it is not actually about me and you or you and them.. It is more between you and your God and me and my God.. why do people have to insist then his own belief to somebody..?
Their may be things we can’t accept from someone else.. but why fight.. why argue with him?
God is about peace not war…
Well, Joel nailed this one. I agree.
Absolutely nailed it. The pig is a scavenger. It is a garbage machine. It will eat anything and if you eat it, it becomes part of you. Gross.
My experience with pork, I’m Hispanic raise in a family were pork was part of our diet. My grandma used to raise pigs, kill them and use the lard to cook, divided the meat for different delicious dishes. My grandma never used vegetable oil to fried or cook any of her delicious food. She had nine children, they all had long life. She died at the age of 93 years old, full of life, never used pills for nothing, she live by herself without any assistance or disability, she used to walk to the store or other places, she celebrate her 90’birthday riding motorcycle with her older grandson. She gave thanks to God everyday for everything. None of her children or grandchildren died because the pig. :/ Give thanks to God for what you have to eat everyday.
Btw, none of us including her were fat.
yes im still eating pork as long as it was cooked…all foods are still dangerous to your health when it was abused and not consuming it properly…what i remember is that only poisonous foods are only foods that we dont need to eat right?
Our teeth were designed by God to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, not to eat meat or any food with blood. 🙂 Compare the design of your teeth to a carnivorous animal and to a herbivorous animal, then you’ll see.
Ro 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Ro 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Ro 14:20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
I like pork end of story.
sorry, i will eat pork until i die..lol so far i’m still clean inside and out…and spriritaly
Pork!!! Yum yum yum!
Fuck you because pig a is your main sourse Fuck u Bictch
1. Pork-prohibited in Qur’an
The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. Its prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.
Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked a name other than that of Allah. [Al-Qur’an 5:3] The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.
2. Pork prohibited in the Bible
The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures. The Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the book of Leviticus and the swine, as he divideth the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you. Leviticus chapter 11 verse 7 and 8:
Pork is also prohibited in the book of Deuteronomy
And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 8:
A similar prohibition is repeated in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5.
3. Consumption of pork causes several diseases
The other non-Muslims and atheists will agree only if convinced through reason, logic and science. Eating of pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person can have various Helminthes, like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which in a layman’s terminology is called tapeworm. It harbours in the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss. If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack and if it enters the eye it can cause blindness. If it enters the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all the organs of the body.
Another dangerous helminthes is Taenia Tichurasis. A common misconception about pork is that if it is cooked well, these ova die. In a research project undertaken in America, it was found that out of twenty-four people suffering from
Taenia tichurasis, twenty two had cooked the pork very well. This indicates that the ovas present in the pork do not die under normal cooking temperature.
4. Pork has fat building material
Pork has very little muscle building material and contains excess of fat. This fat gets deposited in the vessels and can cause hypertension and heart attack. It is not surprising that over 50% of Americans suffer from hypertension.
5. Pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth
The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives and thrives on muck, faeces and dirt. It is the best scavenger that I know that God has produced. In the villages they don’t have modern toilets and the villagers excrete in the open air. Very often excreta is cleared by pigs.
Some may argue that in advanced countries like Australia, pigs are bred in very clean and hygienic conditions. Even in these hygienic conditions the pigs are kept together in sties. No matter how hard you try to keep them clean they are filthy by nature. They eat and enjoy their own as well as their neighbour’s excreta.
6. Pig is the most shameless animal
The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. It feels no jealousy. And among people who consume pork, the practice of wife swapping and other forms of promiscuous behaviour is common.
(The auther is the president of Islamic Research Foundation, Mumbai. Email: [email protected], http://www.irf.net)
This is one of the stupidest articles I’ve ever read, why are you using bible scriptures as “scientific fact” to prove that pigs are “unclean”? What you are doing is picking and choosing passages from the bible, well the bible also says if you eat shellfish or wear clothes with different colors you should be stoned, why dont you mention that?
The bible may be divine inspired but at the end of the day it still written by human hands, and so they tried to fit the divine message and distorted it with absurd rules which are mixed with the actual learnings of the bible. God gave you brain, try using it sometime. Will you really go to hell and suffer torment for all eternity just for eating pork? Really???????
Acts 10:10-15 if you really understand The Scriptures you also understands what is written on it.
Are you trying to point out pig or you mean understanding as knowing that no person, no human being should be considered unclean just because he was not born a Jew?
I was thought that for us to understand this topic in Acts 10:10-15 is to read the preceding verses that build up the story that was happening for Peter had the vision and to continue reading it so that the whole picture can be understood properly.
May God bless our journey of finding the truth…
so sad to hear about the cruelty of man against this helpless animals… they didn’t do anything to harm us humans but why they’re killing them in the most cruel ways??? it really breaks my heart to know about the sufferings of this innocent animals… they’re not suppose to be eaten. God made them to function as scavengers… Not for food. not only pork, but any other animals that was slaughtered without mercy….
GEN.9:3,4
Pork is pork and chicken is chicken and they are boat meat why only pork is dirty two of them is dirty haha:)
nope. still bacon-ing later.