Debunking the Taboos of Eating Pork [Part 2]

 Disliking Pork on the grounds of Christian Doctrines

We Christians quote God’s command in the Bible as the reason for not eating pork. Emphatically, the book of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:7-8 are often quoted as the reference points for our stand against having anything to do with pig. We highlight on the fact that God considered the pig unclean and instructed the people at that time to refrain from eating it. Biblically, Deuteronomy 14:7-8 and Leviticus 11: 4-8 issue the same warning: “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”. From these texts, we can deduce that the instruction was centered on the CUD. Why was the CUD used as a factor and element for classifying pig an unclean animal? To answer this, we first need to understand what a CUD is, and its effects on animals.

A CUD is a partly digested food returned from the first stomach of ruminants to the mouth for further chewing. Basically, it is just a portion of food that returns from a ruminant’s stomach to the mouth to be chewed for a second time. This is specifically done to enable proper digestion of the food. Cud chewing is important because the foods animals eat could be difficult to digest and takes extra effort to absorb all nutrients from the food.

Literally, ruminants like cows, goats, and sheep will not chew the cud if we break their food into the simplest form before feeding them. For example, if we grind grass to a powder form and feed it to ruminants, their rumen muscle will not send any part of the food back to the mouth for rechewing because the food has already been broken down.

According to history, ancient farmers allowed animals to feed for themselves, under their supervision. The farmers will take the animals out in search of food and water.  So, the need for a structural law to guide people on what meat to consume was because the farmers were not regulating or controlling the foods of the animals. Hence, the need to make the law from the perspective of the animals’ feeding system, to keep people [consumers] healthy and safe from diseases.

The second part of the law, in reference to the “divided hoof”, was based on the biological nature of the animals. The chemicals that coordinate the biological make-up of the physical body of one animal could be a poison in another animal, when consumed. The pig made the cut and is exempted from this aspect of the law because it has a divided hoof. This literally means that a pig that feeds solely on simplest broken-down organic food is equally a clean animal.

In comparison, this is just like us, Christians. Per the Old Testament of the Bible, God specifically warned, instructed, and commanded the Jews not to have anything doing with the gentiles. This is because all nations, in exception of the Jews, were regarded as evil and filthy before the Almighty God. Then Jesus Christ came to wash away our sins, renewed us, and taught us the ways that please God. Practically, a reference to this account is recorded in Acts 10 when God taught Apostle Peter not to refer to any gentile as an unclean being again.

So, to all my fellow Christians who quote the Bible as a reference point for disliking pig, I will strongly advice that you reconsider your stand from a common-sense perspective so you don’t make a mess of yourself among rational people.