Christians: Should we be eating kosher meat?

Question

In the last couple of days in my Bible reading, I've noticed that when the apostles 'set the gentile church free' in terms of letting them know that they don't have to follow the Levitical laws, it did have a few caveats.

One was don't eat meat sacrificed to idols. (Check).

Another was abstain from sexual immorality. (Check).

But the other troubled me --- it said not to eat blood or anything strangled --- essentially, don't eat meat that's not kosher.

I've never heard a single Christian even address this issue from the pulpit nor heard any Christian discussion on it. Am I missing something? Is this something that we need to be doing? If not, WHY not? Thanks!

Acts : 15 “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers [3] who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you [4] with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

I should have said: Meat that's prepared in a kosher way. Clearly, Peter's vision shows us that we can eat bacon, for example. And good thing! I love me some bacon!

Answer 1

I don't think your question is a simple one for Christians. I also think most of us don't know that.

At the moment, I'm studying the real meaning of the Torah in the writings of Hebrew-speaking Jewish scholars, who are also followers of Yeshua. We must constantly bear in mind that (a) the authors of these books were Jewish, (b) it is impossible to understand their words without understanding the idiom and culture of the time. I have not made a final decision yet about the food issue for myself.

But the vision of Peter's is (a) not about food and (b) always quoted out of context. Basically, Peter himself did not understand the dream at first, though he did state repeatedly that he had never eaten unclean food. His own final interpretation of his vision is, "But God has shown me that I should not call any MAN common or unclean."

So basing a decision about what to eat on that vision is a mistake. It should be based on an informed understanding of what "Torah" means, and it does not translate "law."

There's a short and easy to understand explanation in "Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel: A Message for Christians," by David L. Stern, a Jewish scholar. It's a very short paperback that I think you'd really like to read.

Peace

[Edit: Re Suzanne <<< hey, sis >>> I agree completely that following the Torah as a means to salvation is a dead end. Most of the Messianic Jews I've heard or read agree that following the Torah is a choice, that the Torah was given "that it may be well with us," not that we are unsaved if we do not. They usually choose to be Torah observant. It's a choice to be made personally and wisely, and may be a different one for each Christian. It should not, however, be dismissed as dead "law."

Answer 2

Funny, the only one I am sure of is the last one.

As has already been pointed out, in the US all meat animals are slaughtered in a blood removing way (though technically not Kosher unless the right rituals are upheld). In fact activists have been fighting for a more humane slaughter for decades (thus the compromise of them being stunned first).

Several passages support the the idea that the Apostles observed Kosher rules and the Sabbath, but remember most of them were Jewish.
According to the Torah, Gentiles (non-Jews) who wish to follow the Jewish god are not subject to the Kosher laws; they need only follow the Noahide laws. Though some Kosher laws are approved of for non Jews, some are considered an insult if a non-Jew does them!

ADD: The new hotbed issue is whether slaughter houses should start making their meats Halal (the Muslim version of Kosher) in order to keep a hold on the meat market. Just as the current method of slaughter in the US is a compromise to keep the Christian market (and the lax Jewish market) some slaughterhouses are considering hiring butchers that can properly give a Muslim blessing while working.

Answer 3

Leviticus chapter 11 lists the dietary restrictions God gave to the nation of Israel. The dietary rules were never intended to apply to anyone other than Israel. Jesus later declares all foods clean (Mark 7:19). God gave the apostle Peter a vision in which He declares concerning formerly unclean animals, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15). When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:15). This includes the laws regarding clean and unclean foods.

Romans 14:1-23 teaches us that not everyone is mature enough in their faith to accept the fact that all foods are clean. As a result, if you are with someone who would be offended by you eating “unclean” food – you should give up your right to do so as to not offend the other person. We have the right to eat whatever we want, but we do not have the right to offend other people, even if they are wrong. For the Christian in this age though, we have freedom to eat whatever we wish as long as it does not cause someone else to stumble.

Answer 4

This is a HOT topic among Messianic Believers. Those from the "Torah Observant" group argue that the kosher laws still apply - even in light of Peter's vision (the argument is long and complicated - I can point you in the direction of some decent resources if you're interested).
The other position is that "it's all good" as long as you thank God for it, based. again, on Peter's vision and the words of Yeshua in Mark 7:19 ("in saying this, He declared all foods clean" - again the argument is more detailed and sophisticated than this, but thats a decent synopsis for this purpose).
In this regard, I'm actually a "Mixed Messianic" (not to be confused with a "Mixed-Up Messianic) - I believe the kosher laws do still stand - but what is now "clean" and "unclean" is different. That might not seem like much of a difference from the second position - but there really is.
First, the second position doesn't uphold the continued value and relevance of the Law for Believers. Second, its based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of the kosher laws in the first place. While there were (and are - I kosher all my meat, even the pork chops!) some health benefits to eating koshered foods - it wasn't about physical health. There were certain things declared to be unclean so that that could one day be declared clean - in other words, to show us that it is God Who determines the rightness or wrongness - the "cleanness or uncleanness" of a thing. He is Sovereign - "it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy."

Answer 5

Actually, Kosher is from Rabbinical tradition, extrapolated from a verse commanding that a young goat shouldn't be boiled in its mother's milk. Kosher is as much about what foods can be eaten together as what can and cannot be eaten.

The Levitical laws about clean and unclean meats gave instructions about what animals were suitable for food (cows ok, horses not ok), and how the preparation of the animal should be done, including a prohibition on eating blood.

The question of clean and unclean meats should be centered around Peter's vision of a great sheet being dropped down from heaven with all sorts of unclean beasts in it. God told Peter to kill them and eat. Peter's refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean and wasn't about to do so now. God said that He had declared them clean, and it wasn't for Peter to judge.

Peter's vision was to teach him that the gospel of Christ wasn't just for the Jews, but was good news for the whole world. But was it also an ok to eat meats that had previously been forbidden for the Jews to eat?

I for one can't imagine why God would use an untrue metaphor to teach Peter.

Now, there's nothing wrong with choosing not to eat pork or rabbit. That would be a personal decision. But we must be careful not to judge others based on what they are eating.

Answer 6

Many Christians do follow the kosher or vegetarian life style as the Bible indicates; you will also notice that these Christians are also the ones who observe the Sabbath. Some where down the line some christians got the idea that sun day and eating of unclean was an ok thing to do because such and such did not apply to them but was only for Israel or the Jews, etc. they are saved by grace, the speaking in tongues, left behind, 700 club , TBN, prosperity thinking joel oilsheen /barbie christians, in their sun day praise-a-thons with the slain in the spirit chorus,etc. etc. (If God could vomit that would do it) I am not being legalistic or under the law, I go by the word of God in The Bible.

Answer 7

cows, pigs and chickens are NOT strangled in slaughterhouses, they are stunned with electrical current and when unconscious bled to death by cutting of the neck artery. Animals whose flesh is considered kosher are killed by cutting the neck artery and the wind pipe at once, with a single stroke of a special knife. Also, some parts of the cow are not kosher, no matter how slaughtered.
Some parts, like liver, can be *made* kosher by grilling over very hot fire.
I do not know of scriptural instructions as detailed as the ones for Jews which describe proscribed types of food. I am not expert enough to voice opinions on that matter, but hope it helped answer your question.

Answer 8

I believe we should but that is from my own personal study. I wouldn't force that on anyone else. Many site Peter's vision in Acts chapter 10 as God declaring all meats clean, however if you continue reading you will find the vision had nothing to do with what we are allowed to eat.

Acts 10:28 (NIV)
He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

Answer 9

I eat Kosher meat because I am a Christian and I am not a legalist in bondage to rituals. What a person eat or does not eat is not going to get them closer to God. Now if certain foods affect your health then that's different. God will even let you know if there are certain foods that affect you physically but thinking that if you don't eat pork or some other food is going to get you to God is a part of many false religions and their rituals.

Answer 10

I don't intentionally eat blood (I hate rare meat). And I have no idea whether the meat I eat has been killed by strangling.

I think when start talking about shoulds and shouldn'ts we need to look at our own motivations. My second biggest fear, besides the fear of disobeying God, is the fear of being a stumbling block to one of my brothers or sisters.

Kosher meat probably would be healthier than regular meat. I don't know where I'd find it where I live though.