Why is pork considered by so many religions to be "unclean"?

Question

I believe Muslims also do not eat pork not just religions based on Judaism.

And catfish are bottom feeders so why aren't they also forbiden?

Answer 1

For the same reason both Moses & Jesus refused to eat it. God commanded Muslims not to eat Swine meet. God also commanded Moses not to eat or even touch the Swine meat as in the following verses in the Bible: LEVITICUS 11:7-8 "and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. "



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. ." If you eat filth you have the effect of filth.

--------
The original, unchanged revelations given to Abraham and other prophets(like Moses and Jesus ) reaching back to Adam all came from the One True God(The Creator). This common origin explains their similarities in many beliefs and values


However, over time the teachings of the various religions, due to a variety of reasons, have become distorted and mixed with made-man ideas.


The last Prophet and Messenger of God, Muhammad , who is a direct descendant of Abraham through his first born son, Ishmael, was sent with the Last Guidance, Revelation and Testament, the Holy Qur'an(koran) to amend and correct the changes and corruption made to the the "Torah" which was sent to Moses and theTrue Gospel of Jesus.To say the truth ,God preserved all the other Holy Books plainly by preserving His Last Book the Holy Qur'an(koran)which contains the right and the truth of all that was changed in those other Books.


This is why this last Revelation which was sent 1423 years ago has remained unchanged, not even a word or a letter has been altered.


There is not even one word of difference between two Arabic Qur'ans, anywhere in the world. There has been no disagreements in history among Muslims as to what should and should not be in the Qur'an. However, in the case of the Bible, even the most ancient manuscripts conflict with one another so that no two are identical. Footnotes in all modern versions of the Bible prove this fact.


These revisions serve as concrete proofs that all the Biblical books are not at all divinely inspired. This is because it is beyond man's ability to correct the work of his Creator, who alone is Almighty and perfect



It was only natural for Almighty God to preserve the scripture revealed to Prophet Muhammad, because he was the last Prophet and Final Messenger of God.


Islam teaches us that we must pray directly to God without an intermediary and no soul can bear the burden of another and that the nature of humanity is good, and we did not inherit sin from Adam. Each soul comes into being free of sin.in Islam there are no priests or clergy -- each worshipper, man or woman, has a direct relationship with their Merciful Creator -- Almighty God. Since God is the Owner and Sustainer of everything, as well as the only one who can provide true and complete forgiveness, it is completely futile to try to approach Him through anyone else.


The oneness and universality of God's message requires that people accept all the messengers of God. Rejecting one of them amounts to rejecting them all. The Jews reject Jesus's mission and Muhammad's mission; the Christians reject Muhammad's mission; whereas the Muslims accept them all, but reject incorrect historical interpretations and human elements in these missions.


As the Qur'an is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final prophet, humanity is obligated to accept it: "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost all spiritual good" (3:86).


The Final Prophet Muhammad said: "Whoever believes there is no god but God, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is messenger of God, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into Heaven."


you can do that now as you are reading these lines is to pronounce the two confirmations and attestations of faith, here it is




I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD WORTHY OF WORSHIP EXCEPT ALLAH ( ARABIC WORD MEANS ONE GOD-THE CREATOR). AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS SERVANT AND MESSENGER. I BEAR WITNESS THAT JESUS IS HIS SERVANT AND MESSENGER.



The right picture of lslam is conveyed in the Qur'an, which is exemplified by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The reality is that it is not fair to judge a religion by the actions of its followers alone because there are good and bad followers in every religion. The correct thing to do is to judge a religion by its documented revelation from God and the prophet who brought that revelation.

I encourage Christians and other religions to learn about Islam from Muslim sources and The Basis Of The Muslim Belief and not rely on second hand information which in many cases is distorted or contains a deep seated anti Muslim agenda. This is indeed a more scholarly approach


For more info


http://www.islamdoor.com

http://www.thetruereligion.org


BestWishes

Your brother in humanity

Answer 2

The only religions that I can think of that ban pork are Judaism and Islam. I'm not familiar enough with Islam to comment, but have read the OT rather extensively.

Pork is not the only animal considered "unclean" by Jewish dietary law. There are many others: birds of prey, anything living in the water that doesn't have fins and scales, animals that don't both chew the cud and have split hooves are all considered unclean.

If you think about it, whales, porpoises, dolphins and manatees are "unclean" foods. So are horses, camels, rabbits, lizards, rats, dogs, and cats. Buzzards, hawks, kites, and eagles are "off" the edible list. Then, of course, there are pigs.

Are you noticing a trend? Most of the animals on the ban are meat-eaters, or omnivores.

Prohibitions of all kinds, both dietary and moral, were handed down to the Jews by God through Moses. This included the ban on pork, as well as the above animals, for slaughter (meat). Part one of your answer is "because God said so"; an answer that I know will not be popular, but it exists.

Why would God ban His people from pork?

1. As a metaphor. Pigs are notoriously filthy animals. They have no sweat glands, so must wallow in mud and lie in the shade to stay cool. They are also omnivores, eating meat as well as plants, and have been known to cannibalize their own herd, especially the sick, on occasion. The old saying "you are what you eat" comes to mind. Perhaps God didn't want His people identifying with such a beast.

2. Health reasons. See the above! Pigs are known carriers of Trichinosis and tapeworms, among other things. Eating an infected animal, which they are known to do, is a GREAT way to spread an infection. They could then pass that infection on to any humans that ate its (improperly prepared) flesh. Pork is also high in fat, especially in the "better" cuts of meat. That is why it is so tender.

Hope this helps as a start.

Answer 3

Is shrimp or pork bad to eat?
(to your question: catfish is unclean too; they are scavengers )

First of all they are scavengers. If you go back in the Old Testament; God distinguished what foods we should eat and which one's we shouldn't. Now if you decide too; that's your choice, but some groups don't because it's an abomination to eat anything unclean. Isn't our body the temple of God as stated in 1Cor.3:18-19? We supposed to take care of our body and be in good health (3John 1:2).
Shrimp are made to eat the garbage under the sea floor; they carry diseases too. The pig is a scavenger too; it eats the slop on the earth and if you looked under a microscope of cooked ham; you will find worms in it. You really want tricinosis and diseases and things in your body?

** TEXTS THAT INVOLVE THE CLEAN AND UNCLEAN MEATS:
GEN.18:7-8; LEV.11; 20:25; DEUT.14; ISAIAH 66:17; EZEK.22:26; DAN.1:8; MATT.3:4; LUKE 24:41-43; ACTS 10:10-14; 1COR.3:16-17; 9:27; 2COR.6:17; AND REV.21:8.
----IF THE CLEAN AND UNCLEAN MEATS WEREN'T VALID FOR TODAY; THEN WHY OH WHY WOULD THE LORD PLEAD WITH FLESH NOT TO EAT UNCLEAN MEAT--(ISAIAH 66:15-17). ALSO NOTICE DEUT.14:4 "SHALT NOT EAT ANY ABOMINABLE THING" AND REV.21:8 "...THE ABOMINABLE SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WHICH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE: WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH."

If you want to know other reasons why people shouldn't eat shrimp, pork or any other scavengers; take a look at these sites:
http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/
http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/CU/matterofhealth.htm
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/sixuncln.html
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geusTNsYRFvzcBbwpXNyoA?p=shrimp+is+abomination+to+the+lord&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=slv8-&x=wrt
http://www.mercola.com/2003/oct/18/worst_foods.htm
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-&p=shrimp%20carry%20diseases
http://www.noorhidayatnoordin.com/2006/08/16/why-do-i-not-eat-pork/
http://sites.mercola.com/2001/apr/11/pork.htm

Bible Health Laws (Are they relevant today?)
http://www.lcg.org/search/search.php?query=health+laws&%24results_per_page=10&search=1

Answer 4

Pigs eat anything and everything. That is why you do not have to put much sale on pork. It is already a lot of bs in them. What ever the animal eats is what you are eating when you eat it.

Have you ever heard of the saying "never trust a man with a pig farm" ? If you do not feed a pig and put a dead body in with them it will eat and digest your whole body. All you have to do is get rid of the teeth (because that is the only thing that will not digest)and there will be no more evidence.

Edit: Read it again - Catfish are forbidden.

Answer 5

Adorabilly speaks the truth.
Can you Imagine trying to herd pigs across the desert?
Pigs don't do well in hot dry climates, neither do dogs. It is partly because of their lack of sweat glands.
The only place pigs appear in the Bible is the Gaderine Swine and note that they were beside a lake.
It was not because of diseases. Beef carries more diseases than pork does. (Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Encephalitis, etc, etc.) If you read the laws the penalty for handling pork was not even very severe. Basically it was to wash yourself and your clothing and stay away from camp until the piggy smell wore off(1 day).

Answer 6

i imagine it's because of the possibility of contracting pork-tapeworm from eating it poorly cooked. could be because they found the animal's lifestyle distasteful, but the first theory is more in line with the idea that casual sex is unclean. when these religions were being made up, people didn't understand phenomena like disease very well. disease was just another unseen force that had a dramatic impact in their lives.

oh, and they may not have yet invented bacon. bacon is crispy and delicious. if i made a religion, i would include bacon as a sacrament.

Answer 7

My teacher once told me that during the crusades of the Christians in the 10th-11th century, there were a lot of corpses in the battlefield. The bodies attracted the pigs and dogs, which are scavengers. The pigs and dogs eat the fresh of the dead bodies, so they were considered unclean by the Muslims then.

Answer 8

Okay, 'pork' is considered 'unclean' because in 'times past' it was difficult to cook meat as 'thoroughly' as people can nowadays, and 'pork' is known to carry 'trichinosis' ... a germ that can KILL people if they eat meat that has it.
It is both Jewish and Muslims that follow this 'dietary rule' ... but Muslims are a 'later offshoot' of Judaism as Christianity is.
Nowadays, pork is not 'unclean' and you can actually eat your pork if it is cooked 'rare' because people who raise pigs know how 'bad' trichinosis can be, and by feeding their pigs 'good fresh food' instead of 'garbage' the pigs can't get 'trichinosis' to get people 'sick' who eat it.

Answer 9

Because hogs will eat anything dead or alive. Farmers and ranchers years ago (now illegal due to disease) used to dispose of dead animals especially large ones by turning the hogs loose on them. They can fully digest anything except teeth.

Unclean birds are the same..supposedly Ben Franklins (or at least one of them) reason for wanting the turkey for our national bird instead of the eagle is because turkeys feed on grain (also only found in this hemisphere) but an eagle will eat dead animals..basically a scavenger as well as a hunter.

What also was against hogs is that they are predators in the wild...unlike cows sheep goats etc....and the type of hoof the possesed was also of contention.

Answer 10

Do you want the religious mumbo jumbo or the real reason?

the real reason is that pork is exceptionally difficult to raise, slaughter, and clean for human consumption.

If you don't feed the pigs the right foods, and you kill them and eat them you can die.

If you don't clean it right, it can infect other pork or food, and again you can die from eating it.

if you don't cook it right, you can get intestinal cramping, and again die.

Pork also does not store very well.

If you look at early christian, muslim and jewish history, they lived in very WARM climates. Pork does not store very well. and bad pork can kill you.

That is the reaons that shell fish is not allowed in several religions either. It doesnt' store well, goes bad easily and can kill you.

Answer 11

besides the fact its what most call a "bottom feeder" meaning its a garbage disposal.

it does not fit the description in the bible as what is food, animal food is based on hoof.

plus in the Bible demons are cast into pigs at one time.