Why can't we eat pork?

Question

All the monotheism religions forbid the eating of pig. Why's that?

I want to eat pork chops for dinner but I'm scared because Jewish people don't eat pork chops and I want to become Jewish...

My faith outweighs my dinner by a ton. I used to be a Christian and my family ate pork, so when I left Christianity and I'm now thinking of getting into Judaism. I just wanted to know why before I eat my pork dinner lol.

Answer 1

Judaism is about moderation and self-restraint. God allows us to eat some meat, but not all meat. If you try to understand why you can't eat pork, you will eventually try to make allowances and decide that God didn't really mean what He said. Judaism is a way of life and all the traditions, prayers, and rituals are to help you develop more self-restraint and wisdom. Our dietary laws are a way of making everything you do holy. God told us that we are to be His holy people -- separate/apart. His commandments teach us how to do that.

BTW, very few Reform Jews keep Kosher.
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Answer 2

1) Christians, generally speaking, do eat pork if they so choose, but it's true that observant Jews and muslims do not.

2) You say you want to become Jewish. Why? If it's because you believe it's worth believing in, then who cares about your dinner? If, on the scales of life, your tastes for dinner outweigh your desire to live by what you see as truth...you'd better start taking a deep look at what you think faith is. Is it a label? A game? One you can quit when it inconveniences your own desires? Welcome to the world of the 21st century, everyone.

Answer 3

According to the bible, people are not supposed to eat pork. People have said, "but Jesus came to the market and told his followers that everything in the market was allowable to them." Of course this would bring up the question, why on earth were Jews selling pork?

In general pig meat is more inclined to carry disease, can be deadly if not cooked long enough, and also a pig's diet tends to consist of some pretty gross things (their own feces, basically anything a person lays down in front of them).

For sanitary reasons, among others, the pig is a pretty dirty meat.

Answer 4

In the books of Moses, which are accepted as holy scriptures by Muslims, Christians and Jews, the eating of pig is forbidden, together with some other kinds of animals, whilst others are permitted to be eaten (Leveticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:1-21).
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lev11;&version=47;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dt14:1-21&version=47;

There are also prohibitions on eating blood or animal fat, both in the Jewish Bible, and the Christian New testament (Leveticus 7:26; 17:12-14; Acts 15:20.29; 21:25).

Some say these and other prohibitions are for reasons of health and hygene-- the unclean animals are thought to pose a greater health risk than clean ones. Pig physiology is very similar to human physiology, so much so that pig parts (skin, geart valves, etc) have been used for human transplants. Because of this similarity, many diseases can jump the species barrier from pigs to humans including deadly strains of flu. Other diseases that have come from eating unclean animals include HIV (from people eating monkeys), SARS (thought to come from people eating civets). On the other hand, deadly diseases also come from clean animals - H5N1 bird flu, and BSE/CJD.

Others say that the food laws were to make the people different from other nations and impress upon them their need to be holy. The distinction between "clean" and "unclean" animals was known from before Noah's flood, before God gave people permission to eat animals, so it probably has some kind of symbolic significance.

Answer 5

Muslims and Jews don't eat pork because pigs are on the same level on the food chain that humans are. The Middle East had few resources for food, so the population relied on animals that could survive on foods people can't make use of, such as rough forage; goats, sheep and camels.

Answer 6

Christianity does not fobid pork. I would guess that the ban originated when somebody got sick from eating some contaminated meat. Refigeration is a relatively new invention.

Answer 7

Because Pigs are considered a dirty animal, and that the meat isn't clean as well, but that's one part, another is that back in the Biblical days, people who are pork didn't clean it well enough and got sick.

Answer 8

That's just about the only thing I have kept in my atheist life, to not eat pork. As it's extremely unhealthy for you.

Answer 9

You can't go to hell for eating pork!! It is only in people's heads and beliefs that you can't eat it. Pork chops is geart with cream of muchroom soup on it baked in the oven. Yummy! If your not going to eat it can you send it my way?

Answer 10

Not all, but many do. They are considered unclean animals. There are other unclean animals, but they are not consumed in mass like beef, chicken, pork, etc. So, pork is just the one you hear of most.