Why do Christians eat pork when it is forbidden in the Bible?

Question

In the book of Leviticus, chapter II, v. 7, it is recorded that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers. Then, in verse 8, God says: "You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you". This command is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:7-8. Then, in Isaiah 65:2-4, and 66:17, God issues a stern warning against those who eat pork.
Some people are aware of this prohibition from God, but they say that they can eat pork because St. Paul said that all food is clean in his letter to the Romans 14:20. St. Paul said this because he believed (as he wrote in his letter to the Ephesians 2:14-15) that Jesus had abolished the Law with all its commandments and regulations. He seems, however, to have misunderstood what he heard about Jesus. In the Gospel According to Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus is reported to have said quite the contrary, as follows: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law ....." Jesus then went on in that passage (in verse 19)) to denounce anyone who would break the smallest commandment and teach others likewise. He also praised his true followers who will practice and teach eventhe smallest commandment. One of the commandments, as we have seen, is to stay away from pork.
This is why the true followers of Jesus, holding on to his teachings, did not let unclean food such as pork enter their mouths, so that Peter, the chief disciple, can say, "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean" (Acts of the Apostles, ch. 10, v. 14)
Five chapters later in the Acts of the Apostles, 15:29, we find that the original disciples still differentiate between clean and unclean foods, and this time Paul is in agreement with them. Six chapters later, in ch. 21, v. 25, their decision to impose food regulations on believers is mentioned without regret, and this time Paul is challenged to prove that he is in agreement with them; and he demonstrated his full agreement with them.
What remains, then, is that Jesus, on whom be peace, upheld the prohibition against pork. His disciples also upheld it, and so must all his followers. Those who fail to uphold it need to be informed and reminded of this rule from God. This is one reason why God sent His final messenger, on whom be peace. God says:
"O people of the Scripture ! Now has Our Messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which you used to hide in the Scripture, and forgiving much. Now has come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture." (The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an 5:15).

Answer 1

The bible was man written. Where did it come from? Some caves that a couple of men who were eating some wild shrooms sat down one day and said, hey lets give people something to believe in as far as how we got here. So they did. The bible talks about things before man kind was even on earth. How did we know about all of that and put it in a book. Come on please!
And I am not saying that I do not belive in GOD. I do believe in a higher power and if you want to call it GOD then that is on you, but I am not going to believe in some book that was man written that starts out talking about things that happened before man was even on this earth. That is ludicris and that is what makes religion a business these days. If everyone followed what the bible says and walked in the foot prints of Jesus then we would all be Jewish as that is what he supposedly was...........

Answer 2

Yes, the Old Testament says that a person who follows God's law doesn't eat pork. However:
Mark 7:14-15
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "

Christians follow Christ's law, not the old laws.
In your question, you quote Acts 10:14. You neglect to follow it up with Acts 10:15:
(14)"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

(15)The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

Acts 15:29 says nothing about eating pork. It says only to NOT eat food that was sacrificed to idols, and to abstain from eating meat with blood.
Acts 21:25 says the same thing.

How are you going to go and bring the Koran into this when you KNOW that Christians don't follow it?

Answer 3

“One man has faith to eat everything, but the man who is weak eats vegetables.” Why was that? Well, under the Mosaic Law, pork was not an acceptable food. (Romans 14:2; Leviticus 11:7) However, that Law was no longer binding after Jesus died. (Ephesians 2:15) Then, three and a half years after Jesus’ death, an angel told the apostle Peter that from God’s standpoint no food should be viewed as defiled. (Acts 11:7-12) With these factors in mind, some Jewish Christians may have felt that they could eat pork—or enjoy some other food that had been prohibited under the Law.

However, the very thought of eating those formerly unclean foods would likely have been repulsive to other Jewish Christians. Such sensitive ones might have felt instinctively offended at seeing their Jewish brothers in Christ eating such food. Moreover, certain Gentile Christians, whose religious background likely never included dietary prohibitions, may have been puzzled that anyone would make an issue over food. Of course, it was not wrong for someone to abstain from certain foods, as long as he did not insist that such abstinence was necessary to gain salvation. Still, the different viewpoints could easily have fueled controversy in the congregation. The Christians in Rome would need to be careful that such differences did not prevent them from glorifying God “with one mouth.”

Answer 4

Restriction concerning unclean foods was taken out of the way with the rest of the Law, God-fearing men see in animals part of God’s generous provision for human welfare.

Acts 10:10-15 But he became very hungry and wanted to eat. While they were preparing, he fell into a trance 11 and beheld heaven opened and some sort of vessel descending like a great linen sheet being let down by its four extremities upon the earth; 12 and in it there were all sorts of four-footed creatures and creeping things of the earth and birds of heaven. 13 And a voice came to him: “Rise, Peter, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said: “Not at all, Lord, because never have I eaten anything defiled and unclean.” 15 And the voice [spoke] again to him, the second time: “You stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed.”

Answer 5

Hello, I do not have a clear reason for you why so-called Christians still eat pork. What I know to be true is the Jesus' sermons on love and forgiveness have people doing, eating, and living any kind of way:
1. Women and Gay people are leading churches.
2. As you have mentioned Christians are still eating pork, probably because of the hogs that Jesus drove the demons out of.
3. The Church leaders are not holding it's members responsible for how they live: Shacking-up, Same sex lovers, Gay marriages, ministers and priests abusing women and children, all in the name of God.
Therefore, I don't have a biblical explanation as to why, but the whole world seems to be saying "why not". Although I don't agree with it, it is going on all across the U.S. A.
I hope I have been some kind of help.

Answer 6

You mention the verse from Acts where Peter says "i have never eaten anything common or unclean" but you're taking the verse out of context in the verse before that the Lord offers Peter all types of food and the verse after that it says "what God has cleansed you must not call common" and Acts 15:29 doesn't say anything about eating unclean food it says "keep yourselves away from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality" none of those actually says keep away from pork and when i sin the Holy Spirit reminds me of mmy sin and I am called to repentance but i eat pork all the time and i happen to think it is quite good the Holy Spirit has never once told me that it is wrong or that I should repent of it

Answer 7

Because we're no longer under the law but grace. Also the forbidding of eating pork was for a health reason since the ways of purifying and processing were primitive at that time. We are still warned to cook pork carefully but it is also processed differently. Also our medical knowledge has increased and many diseases of old have been conquered. Many of the Old Testament laws were given because of the stage of development people were in at the time.

Answer 8

"What God has made clean, you are not to call profane." (An angel from Heaven, speaking to St. Peter, Acts 11:9)


He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (Mark 7:18-19)

Jesus was focused on a person's conduct - not on a person's diet. That's why Christians are called to spend more time on how they behave then on how they eat.

Answer 9

God appeared to Peter in a dream and told him that all the forbidden foods are now allowed to be eaten. The New Covenant did away with the old, antiquated dietary laws of the OT; made possible by Christ.

Answer 10

This is why I come to YA. I'm not Christian or anything, but it's always neat to learn something new, and this is something I've never even heard of before. thank you so much for the information, it was quite a good read. And to those who answered it, nice to see so many different points of view, even within the same beliefs! My little input:
The Pork worm, also known as Trichinosis, is the only type of intestinal worm that can withstand temperatures of up to 130 degrees F, and still live within the meat, so be careful what you eat!