If god is really benevolent, why does he/she/it ask us to do things that are damaging to our bodies?

Question

Such as fast, or not eat meat on certain days or times or not mix milk and meat?

Things that have been proven to be nutritious and provide vital nutrients that a human bieng needs are said to be denied in the old testament, new testament and koran.

If god really understood our bodies and thier workings (as he must if he actually created a human) then why would he do what would be the equivalent of putting mineral oil in a gas tank and expecting the car to run?

doesn't it seem more logical that whoever wrote those laws, rules, guidelines had no knowledge of the workings of the human body at that time?

So either:

1- god is evil and not benevolent OR

2- the religious background, traditions and bible was written by men.

Correction:

3rd paragraph should be "why would he want us to do" in the car example.

Actually linda, it would seem that the bible has clouded your mind to proper nutritional information as well.

YES it does harm you to skip a meal as your body metabolism slows and it begins to cannibalize your muscles for protien (your muscles are made of protien).

AND it has been proven that alcohol in small quantities (one or two glasses a day) is actually healthy for you.

Guess its like religion in that respect.

actually "food fasting" is different from "liquid" fasting.

Fasting as reccomended in legitimate studies to "clean out" your system is not supposed to have you forego vitamins and minerals you need- but take them in liquid forms.

Actually eating meat is healthy for you. ESPECIALLY if you are an active individual. At the time the supposed dietary requests were made, people were highly active. that can be compared to today's athletes and active people for whom studies show that the intake of meat and high levels of protien is actually optimal. The fact that most people are lardos today who sit and watch tv means that they require less protien, less meat. Also milk (cow's milk) is proven to be one of the best sources of calcium (skim milk) that can be absorbed by the body. While some foods like spinach may contain calcium the small amounts of calcium which can be used by the body from that food source are far less than that gained from cow's milk. of course spinach has other benefi

Answer 1

You have a good point there. It is so funny how logical people such as Atheists run all over religion and point out it flaws lmao!!!

Answer 2

Actually, some of them were very wise choices at the time. Remember the Abrahamic religions are desert religions. Eating pork or shellfish for example -- it goes bad easily in hot weather and are prone to parasites. I don't know the reason for not mixing milk and meat but perhaps there was a similar reason. Maybe bad meat would spoil the milk or vice versa. Circumcism, too, I bet getting gritty sand under the foreskin is not something you'd want. Plus even now Medical Science have shown that women who have sex with uncircumsized men are more prone to certain infections. As for fasting, many belief systems advovate fasting for various reasons, fasting for short period of time won't hurt you, and may help the body de-tox. So these Biblical laws may indeed have been written by men, maybe divinely inspired men, but the resultss behind some of the dietary rules and such may have had beneficial results. As for not eating meat on Friday, that was a spiritual sacrifice practiced in the Catholic religion, and it isn't harmful to the body to go without meat for one day a week, it's probably healthier....but that's been retracted anyway by some Pope along the way.

Answer 3

1-no eating meet on certain day was a roman Cath. tradition not biblical.
2- Some say an occasional fast is good for you. Some say it's cleansing.
3-God had many food laws in the bible that saved the Jews. Laws on cooking, cleanings, certain foods that may be ridden with parasites etc.
You are in error.
†

Answer 4

God is Love, only Satan is evil.

There are the Torah/Old Testament laws of being Kosher. These today are kept as tradition. If you study the history behind why he asked that of the people then, you would see the logic behind the dietary laws. Mainly because of the unsanitary conditions, one should always try to handle food as cleanly as possible, if they did not follow the law, many would have been sick and ill. They would not have survived the desert.
Fasting is not for the body, but mainly for the Spirit. To cleanse one of impurities. If your body is cleansed of impurities, then you can think more clear, and tap into the Spirit better. Try it you will see. There are many types of fasts you can do to purify body, mind, and spirit.
We are made in the image of the Father. We were made perfect. It is our humanity that makes us different then animals, and it is our humanity and free will that gets us into trouble.
You are free to not believe, or follow the laws of scripture.
You are Free to do as you choose.
You are free to chose Life or Death.
He asks that we choose Life.
In following the Laws, it helps us to live a better more spiritual life.
It is your choice.

Answer 5

Damaging??? How so? The human aliminary system works BETTER when it gets an opportunity to rest occasionally. Perhaps your understanding of the human body isn't quite up to His??? Just because something is 'nutritious' doesn't mean it's better than the alternative. Ever hear of 'too much of a good thing'? Especially in a nation so full of FAT PEOPLE???

Answer 6

Fasting for a short period of time is not damaging to the body.
You do not need to eat meat every day- in fact, it is unhealthy to eat meat every day.
You do not eat to eat meat and milk at the same time to remain healthy- in fact there are an increasing number of doctors advising against drinking cows milk. On top of that- you can gain the same benefit by eating them apart- there is no health advantage to eating them at the same time (though there are claims that it is deleterious to the digestive system to do so)

So what was your point?

Answer 7

Certain types of fasting have been proven to cleanse the body and have physically beneficial results so I don't really think you know what you are talking about and none of the things you mentioned are damaging to the body. Your logic leaves alot to be desired :-D

Answer 8

Its all about sacrifice, really showing God just how far you are willing to serve him. (Read Rom. 12:1) And it is better to be obedient (Read Deut. 4:30, 1 Sam. 15:22)

Answer 9

fasting is bad...hahahahahahha.. r u kidding me...

read some experts' saying about fasting... it is GOOD for the body....

oh man... seeing people try to make apoint because they think what they learned in grade 8 is all they need to know..

thanks for the laugh...hahahahahaha

Answer 10

i'm agnostic, and I would never do any of those things, but I suppose it's more about God making sure you're willing to make sacrifices for him.