To eat, or not to eat?

Where should Christians draw the line regarding meat eating?

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

“There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.” Leviticus 11:1-8

In Leviticus chapter 11, the Bible presents guidelines as to what creatures persons should and should not eat from the ground, air and sea.

But many would beg to differ, citing every meat as clean once it is cooked properly and blessed.

According to Seventh Day Adventist first elder, Andrew Moore, man was never made to consume flesh.

“God gave man no instructions to eat animal flesh until after the flood. When God created man, it wasn’t His plan to have us eat the flesh from animals, but after the flood nothing was available.”

Moore stated in a recent sermon to residents in South Manchester, “It is important that we plant more. We’re buying too many things than we need not buy. Vegetables, fruits and nuts should compose our diets. Our stomachs were not made to digest meat.”

He said while it is not going against the guidelines of the Bible to eat flesh of particular animals, those who are longing for Heaven will need to get use a diet without meat.

“We must make sacrifices. When we eat meat, we endanger our whole lives: the physical, mental and even socially. Many times when meat is eaten, it decays in the stomach and causes cancers, tumours and pulmonary diseases. Sometimes we wonder why we are sick and we don’t know it’s our diet that needs to be changed.”

The elder added that foods that are healthy and sustaining are available so people won’t need to eat meat, especially because of its immediate and delayed effects.

“Sometimes our minds are not open; sometimes we are so weak and these feelings can be caused by meat eating. Much of what we experience is as a result of eating dead flesh.”

“The Word of God is true, and even if we don’t like it, we have to abide by it. The tissues of the swine are swarmed with parasites. If you eat pork, you will do yourself far more harm than if you eat a piece of chicken, or cow or goat.”

“The swine clean the earth; they are God’s sanitary inspectors. God never designed that the swine be eaten any at all. Beneath the swine’s flesh, there is a substance there that heat cannot kill, cannot be penetrated, and that is where bacteria lie. That is how deadly the pork is.”

He added that people are to be mindful of eating out, as byproducts of the swine are used in meals.