As a Jehovah's Witness are you able to eat Animal Fat ?

Question

Leviticus 7:26 and 27 are often used to declare God’s law against Blood Transfusions
However in many a Witnesses home I have partaken of Rare beef, and Fat

as forbid in the very same section:

Leviticus 7:26 -27
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 "Say to the Israelites: 'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. 24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. 25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be [b] made to the LORD must be cut off from his people. 26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. 27 If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.' "

Does that mean only half of Gods laws apply ?

That was ment to read Leviticus 7 22 -27 sorry typo

So Flat out the WT&TS says that ACTS is Gods law and Leviticus is not .. Is that correct YES or NO

So Clearly according to the answers here: that when Jesus speaks in Mathew 5: 17 -19

17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Moses does not count as a Prophet .. ok then

lillie: show me specifcily in the Bible .. the exact verse that states that Jesus is the end of the law.

As for the covenent of Gentiles .. this is Acts .. with Paul and 'the other guy" i cant ever remember his name.. the law is specificly the EATING of blood.. puting it into your mouth.

There is nothing as to the use of blood in medical use.. and Just to really drive home a point .. the WT&TS does allow organ donations .. IF you think for one moment that there is not blood in the organs as they are moved from one body to another .. then you are extreamly nieve..

the WT&TS own active policies are in contradiction ... ..Not to mention Belgian and the Rest of the world..

achtung_heiss: i would give you best you are the one jw that even came close to answering the question.. I do appreciate your attention to detail and you are the only one that even came close to what ACTs was teaching.. But If I took your answer as correct teaching , then the convenent MUST cover Organ Transplants .. which the WT&TS is NOW ( yes I know they were ) not opposed.

Answer 1

Very valid argument. May the skirting of the issue begin!

BTW, the Mosaic Law was only an extension of the Noahide Laws. If we are not bound by the Mosaic Law, by virtue of living under the dispensation of Grace, then neither are we bound by the Noahide Laws--unless, of course, you are a Noahide. lol

Answer 2

The first five books of the Bible are often referred to as the Law.The Law Covenant was made between Jehovah God and the ancient nation of Israel.Under the Law,the Israelites could have become "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"(Ex.19:5,6).The Law's demands of exclusive devotion to Jehovah,its absolute prohibition of any form of interfaith,and its regulations concerning religious cleanness and diet constituted a "wall" to keep the nation outstandingly seperate from other nations.(Eph.2:14).Additional effects,which could be considered incidental to the religious seperation that the Law covenant accomplished were the health benefits and the protection from diseases common to the nations around the Israelites.The laws of moral cleanness,physical sanitation,and diet undoubtedly had a salutary effect when they were obeyed.
But the real purpose of the Law was,as stated by the apostle Paul,"to make transgressions manifest,until the seed should arrive"It was a "tutor leading to Christ"It pointed to Christ as the objective aimed at ("Christ is the end of the Law").
The Law also served as a "shadow of the good things to come",and the things connected with it were "typical representations",causing Jesus and the apostles to call upon it often to explain heavenly things and matters concerning Christian doctrine and conduct.
Jesus said that the whole Law hung upon the two commandments,to love God and to love one's neighbour(Mt.22:35-40).
Jehovah foretold that,in time,he would replace the Law covenant with a "new covenant" that would allow for sin to be forgiven completely,which was not possible under the Law(Jer.31:31-34)
Like Moses,the mediator of the Law Covenant, Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant.Moses wrote the Law in code form,but Jesus did not personally put down a law in writing.He talked and put his law into the hearts and minds of his disciples.Neither did his disciples set down laws in the form of code for Christians,classifying the laws into categories and subheadings.Nonetheless,the Christian Greek Scriptures are full of laws, commands,and decrees that the Christian is bound to observe,such as the sanctity of blood.Whether a Christian chooses to eat animal fat is up to their taste.You are missing the whole point is you are only going to focus on the petty and irrelevant.

Answer 3

The Bible is clear on this point ,,that it is blood that has special meaning to God., and should not be used.

Acts 15:20 and 29 are two examples of where this was reinforced.

The apostles well knew Gods requirement on such matters , but it seems that ,many now days think that they know better than these brothers that were anointed by Holy spirit from almighty God.

Answer 4

To answer quite plainly Jehovah's Witnesses can eat most any food we so desire as long as if we are eating meat that it is bled properly, and of course we try not to over eat and drink. Both gluttony and intoxification are sins so we want to stay away from that.Other than this we consume pretty much of all types of food in moderation.We stick to all God's laws in all matters of our lives no matter how strict it may seem.

Christian Viewpoint. Christians are not under the restriction of the Law as to clean and unclean foods. They are required to abstain from blood and things that are strangled, that is, things from which the blood has not properly been drained. (Ac 15:19, 20, 28, 29) But aside from this Bible injunction, they are not to make the eating or the abstaining from certain kinds of food an issue or try to govern another person’s conscience by their own conscience as regards the eating of food.

They are warned, however, against eating food as an offering to idols and against stumbling another person by insisting on exercising their Christian freedom in the matter of eating food. (1Co 8; 10:23-33) Christians should not put the matter of food or its handling ahead of the Kingdom and its spiritual interests.—Ro 14:17; Heb 13:9.

Answer 5

If you notice in the Greek Scriptures (New testament) that the prohibition against eating fat is not repeated, which is different than the prohibition against blood.

Lev 17:10 states “‘As for any man of the house of Israel or some alien resident who is residing as an alien in YOUR midst who eats any sort of blood”

Notice ANY SORT OF BLOOD, so no faithful follower of God, eats blood of any sorts, animal or human. That’s why humans cannot drink or eat animal or human blood.

The prohibition for blood is repeated in Acts 15:28-29 but instead of just saying do not EAT blood, Acts 15 changed it to ABSTAIN FROM BLOOD, which is a general term to encompass not only eating, drinking of any sort of blood but the future use of blood in the body, which includes transfusion.

Notice too that the Bible doesn’t say abstain from nuclear bombs nor abstain from cannibalism, but the underlying principles found in the Bible can help us determine that we have to abstain from those things.

If you are allergic to nuts, the doctor will only say, “abstain from nuts”, that covers everything, that is, nothing to be taken orally and to be transfused.


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quote from Question from readers

Of course, even the meat from properly bled animals may appear to be very red or may have red fluid on the surface. This is because bleeding does not remove every trace of blood from the animal. But God’s law does not require that every single drop of blood be removed. It simply states that the animal should be bled.
Then, too, there is extravascular fluid in the meat. This fluid may mix with traces of blood and take on a red color. The extravascular fluid filling the spaces between the cells is known as interstitial fluid and resembles blood plasma. But it is not blood and therefore does not come under the prohibition respecting blood. Hence the presence of a reddish fluid does not in itself make meat unsuitable for food. As long as an animal has been properly bled, its meat may Scripturally be used for food.


EDITED

Jesus fulfilled the law but we are not under the Mosaic Law but under Christ's law and under Christ's law, some things are repeated from the Mosaic law including the prohibition against the use of blood in the body.

And yes, Leviticus is part of the Mosaic Law.

Answer 6

When God first allowed Noah to eat animals for food, there was not restrictions as far as the type of animals they could eat, they were just told not to eat the blood. Gen. 9: 3 & 4 "Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. .....Only flesh with its soul - it's blood - you must not eat."

Under the Mosaic Law Covenant with the Israelites, they were given restriction as to what animals were consider clean and what animals were consider unclean. Lev. 11:3 "Every creature that splits the hoof and forms a cleft in the hoofs and chews the cud amonth the beasts, that is what you may eat." Deu.14: 3-6 "You must eat no detestable thing of any sort. This is the sort of beast that you may eat: the bull, the sheep and the goat, the stag and gazelle and roebuck and wild goat and antelope and wild sheep and chamois; and every beast that splits the hoof and forms a cleft into two hoofs, chewing the cud among the beasts."

This dietary limitations applied only to those under the Mosaic Law, for the statement of Lev. 11: 8 "They are unclean for you." for the Israelites.

Since the Law Covenant was abolished with the sacrifical death of Jesus, the prohibitions were canceled, and once more humans are under the same broad provision given to Noah. (Col. 2: 13-17) As stated earlier, the only restriction given to Noah was not to eat the blood.

So there were many changes to make in the lives of Christ followers, who were no longer under this Law Covenant.
That is why three and half years after Jesus death, Peter still would not eat any animals that had once been considered unclean. Acts 10: 10-15 ".....And a voice came to him: "Rise, Peter, slaughter and eat!" But Peter said: "Not at all, Lord, because never have I eaten anything defiled and unclean." And the voice spoke again to him, the second time: "You stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed."

So we Christians today are not under the law regarding the eating of fat, but we are still under the law regarding eating of blood. An even broad law was later given to the Christians at Acts 15: 20 & 29 "to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you."

edit: Your missing the point, we are no longer under the Law Covenant given to the nation of Israel. If you read Col. 2:13-17 you will see that the law was nailed to Jesus torture stake. 2 Cor. 3: 7-11 speaks of the "code...engraved in letters in stone... was to be done away with.." Ro. 7:6 & 7 says "...Now we have been discharged from the Law.." We are still under the Law given to Noah regarding eating of animals and the Law given to the 1st Century Christians.

That is what the bible says.

to Pedi C...taking a blood tranfusion is not a conscience matter, but disobedence to God's Law regarding "abstaining from blood" Acts 15:20 & 29

Answer 7

why is everyone talking about blood? Isn't this question about animal fat?

besides, isn't the blood issue a "conscience matter?" if it's not wrong, then it has to be right, else it'd be wrong. I don't see how you people keep up with your own everchanging stances. There's no place for ambiguity when you're talking about someone's life hanging in the balance of your decision.

Lamb, I don't believe the families whose loved ones died from needing a transplant during the "transplants are cannibalism" stage ever received acknowledgement one way or the other. Did you hear otherwise? In fact, I bet their families were probably told they'd "been too zealous," just as was said about those who readied themselves for 1975 to be the end of the System of Things. 32 years later..... aint heard no apologies on that one, either.

Answer 8

Given time the WTBS (JW organization) will change the rules and force the sheep to obey.

Answer 9

The false blood doctrine of the JW's has caused more unnecessary deaths than all the cult mass suicides combined, and then some......

You can tell by the society hedging, that they are about to change their doctrine on the blood issue...I wonder of the witnesses that have unnecessarily lost loved ones will get an apology? Remember, not too long ago, it was Cannibalism to receive an organ donation. It was also against Witness rules to have vaccinations.

Too sad, that when they change the Blood rule, Most witnesses will Blindly and unquestioningly accept this as "New Light" and go along with the dogma.

Answer 10

They only enforce the first part of the scripture, pork fat rules. If you read Colossians 2:9-18 you will see that it says , So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink...