In light of Leviticus 11:10-12, do any Christians out there eat clams, oysters, shrimp, crab, lobsters, etc?

Question

It looks to me like the Bible says that it is an abomination to do this? Is there another place where it says it is OK? Or is this something that you just don't pay attention to? As I look more at the Bible, it seems as though people just pick and choose what parts of the Bible that they follow?

Answer 1

Im a christian and I eat all these things.

The dietary laws of Leviticus were given to the nation of ISRAEL to symbolize their distinctness from other nations. They are NOT APPLICABLE to we who are today in the age of GRACE, and not under the law of Moses.

We are told that NOT all of the Bible was written TO us or ABOUT us, but that we can LEARN from all of it. We are not obligated or called upon to act on the instructions God gave to Israel at all!

We are given a new set of instructions that have to do with GRACE and NOT the law of Moses. One is JUDAISM, and the other is Christianity.

There ARE two programs in Gods Word. One for the Nation of Israel, and One for the church the Body of Christ. They are NOT the same thing. Thats why you see the differences.

Answer 2

This is a copy and paste from a question I posted the other day but it answers your question.

I see this brought up a lot in here so I feel the need to clarify. Many times nonbelievers bring up the old testament law about stoning and such. They call Christians hypocritical for not following everything. However as Christians we are no longer under the old testament law. This is made clear in Romans. When you become a Christian Because of what Christ did we are no longer under the law. This means we no longer need to follow the old testament law and dietary commands.

Just to make this a question I will ask do you understand this? Can you now understand why we no longer follow the law? I know many of you feel the Bible is fictional but I want you to understand the Christian viewpoint.

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.


Curtis: It was Peter who had that vision not Paul.

Answer 3

I eat them all. But I am tired of lobster.
In Acts 10, Peter is told that all food is now clean, and later this is modified to no blood (life force) and nothing sacrificed to idols, although the idols thing is a personal conviction issue.
I heard a sermon once where the preacher said the worst invention ever, it caused more arguments, lost people, and wars, was the highlighter. Huh? That of taking one Bible verse, and either taking it out of context so you don't know what it meant by the other verses around it, or by saying one particular verse was more important than another. One of satan's best weapons is the behavior of Christians themselves.

Answer 4

Google 'indentured servitude'. Slavery, as described in Scripture, was not kidnapping someone and forcing them to work as a slave. It was what we now call indentured servitude, where people voluntarily sold themselves to pay off a debt, take care of their family, or own land (aka serfs, in this usage). It has been common throughout history, and is not the same as what we call slavery today. Kidnapping someone was punishable by death, whether you'd sold them or they escaped in some fashion; see Exodus 21:16. Christians don't have to justify Scripture; we have to read and learn it. It would serve you well to do likewise.

Answer 5

Lev. is Old Testament, therefore, it was meant for Israel. In the New Testament we don't go by the law but by grace. Christ died on the cross to set us free.

With that being said, it also says in the N.T. not to do something that would make someone else fall (or offend) so if I were hanging out with someone who did not believe in eating these things I would refrain for their sake!

Answer 6

Those laws were external laws that were pointing to the inward holiness that God desires to be in humanity. When Jesus came He gave us this greater understanding of how God was working his plan of redemption out over the centuries.

Mark 7:14 And having summoned all the crowd, He said to them, "Hear Me, all of you and understand: 15 There is nothing from outside a man, that entering into him, can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples were asking Him about the parable.

18 So He said to them, "Are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything entering a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter into his heart but into the stomach, and passes into the latrine, thus purifying all foods?"

20 And He said, "That which comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, come forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, arrogance, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

Answer 7

Some do. However, I do not! I do not think those that do are condemned. I choose not to because God said not to. They really are not clean enough to eat. They are the ocean "cockroaches"! They absorb toxins and clean the water so the fish can have clean water. Nope, I will not eat the stuff! Have not done it for years!

Just because we are not condemned for eating it does not mean these foods were considered suddenly healthful! This was a provision made to allow the gentiles who ate these things to come into Christianity! This did not mean it was suddenly the best thing to put in ones body!
Great question!

Answer 8

I don't understand why I should be expected to follow Jewish dietary laws in the Old Testament.
That was an agreement between the Jews and God. It has nothing do do with me.

Answer 9

I don't want to eat anything anything that eats dead stuff or serves as as a filtration system for waste. Thats just seems like common sense, not to mention Original knowledge/wisdom, which obviously finds much expression throughout scripture.

But come to think of it, locusts don't sound too appealing, either.

Answer 10

Well I eat fish.I don`t eat the others you mentioned .I don`t like them.Laws changed as time went by and I`m not sure but I believe in the New Testament it says that its not what goes into a man that defiles him but what cometh out.