What Orthodox Christians cannot eat. Can a Christian eat kosher and halal food? What Scripture Says
Please tell me, is it possible to eat foods with kosher marks?
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:
Kasher Jews have food, clothing and objects of worship that are ritually suitable for consumption from the point of view of halakha (the normative part of Judaism). Regulations on kashrut (permissibility) of food apply to products of animal origin, methods of their preparation and rules of consumption. Only “clean” (tahor) animals, birds and fish are allowed (see: Lev. 11: 2–47). All “unclean” (lo tahor) animals, birds and fish and everything obtained from them (milk, eggs) are prohibited for consumption. Next, the halakha defines the method of ritual slaughter (shechita). After slaughter, the carcass of the animal from which it was extracted sciatic nerve, internal fat and blood released, goes into the kosher category. Modern Jews are not united regarding kashrut. Representatives of Conservative Judaism consider its observance necessary. And supporters of reformism in Judaism do not consider kashrut obligatory.
As we see, the regulations regarding kosher food are nothing more than the fulfillment of ritual rules based on Old Testament rituals. New Testament canceled all food regulations. This was confirmed by the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (see: Acts 15: 6–29). It was only forbidden to eat blood and strangled meat. The prohibition for Christians to eat blood was confirmed by the 67th rule of the VI Ecumenical Council (680–681). Strangled - the body of an animal that died in a snare or was strangled in some other way. You can't eat it because there is blood left in it. The basis of this prohibition is the understanding of blood as the seat of the soul (see: Lev. 17: 11).
Since the preparation of kosher food does not go beyond the Old Testament rituals, for us Christians, the question of whether this or that food is kosher or not has absolutely no meaning. We can eat it prayerfully, like any other food.
“Can Orthodox Christians wear shorts?”, “And read The Master and Margarita?”, “And eat sushi?”, “And sunbathe at the sea?” — this type of question is often sent to Orthodox websites. What can you take with you from your “past” life, and what should you leave behind? It seems that Christians are very fearful people who first of all want to understand the list of “religious prohibitions.” Why are such prohibitions needed at all and how not to reduce your life in the Church to them, answers Archpriest Arkady SHATOV, rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Tsarevich Demetrius at the First City Hospital in Moscow.
— A person comes to Church and discovers that many things here are completely different from what he is used to. There are many “no” things, and he begins to be afraid of doing something wrong. Is there really danger at every turn for a Christian?
- Usually this attitude - nothing is impossible and everything is scary - occurs among neophytes, among those who have just accepted Christianity. When a person comes to Church, his whole life changes. When approaching God, everything is transformed and takes on a different meaning. Many beginners ask a lot of questions - and rightly so, because they really need to rethink everything. Then the person “grows up” and stops asking so much. For someone who already has some experience of Christian life, of course, it is easier; he already feels and understands what is possible and what is not.
Christianity is not a religion of prohibitions, Christianity is a religion of Easter joy, the fullness of being. But in order to preserve this fullness, this joy, you have to be very careful, avoid those temptations, temptations that are so many in the world. The Apostle Peter tells Christians: “Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). So, of course, we must live with the fear of God and be afraid of temptations. Caution and fear should accompany the life of a Christian.
- But what good is fear?
- says that a person has three levels of serving God. The first is the slave stage, when a person is afraid of punishment. The second is the mercenary stage, when a person works for a reward. And the third is the stage of the son, when a person does everything out of love for God. Abba Dorotheus says that you can only move from stage to stage, you cannot immediately jump onto the stage of filial love. We must go through these preliminary steps. And if these feelings - fear of punishment or desire for reward - exist in a person’s soul, this is not so bad. This means a good start has been made.
The Church often talks about fear. For example, one must enter a temple with the fear of God. Fear of God does not destroy love.
But it is wrong to fear the devil more than God. , for example, he disdainfully called the devil a wretched man, he said: “We have two enemies: a yashka (that is, pride, conceit) and a wretched woman” - such a disparaging name for the one whom Christ defeated. Of course, you need to be afraid of temptations and be careful, but everything should be done to a reasonable extent.
— How to understand where the fear is justified and where it is far-fetched? Doesn’t it happen that fear simply paralyzes a person, and instead of doing something, he does nothing, afraid of doing “wrong”?
— The devil extends two hands to a man. In one there is the opportunity to be unlimitedly loose, untied, to act arbitrarily. In the second - to be complex, to shy away from every bush. We must choose the middle, royal path. It is difficult to classify fears. Each case is individual.
“It seems to me that a person’s authority should be the opinion of his confessor.” Each person should choose such an older comrade, or better yet, a father, and try to obey him. Christianity is not just a system of correct conclusions. Our fallen mind may say that we are doing everything right, while we are doing things that are contrary to the will of God. Therefore, a person needs a mentor.
- But don’t ask your confessor about all sorts of little things!
- You can ask about anything that is in doubt. If the question is caused by genuine trust in the confessor, a genuine desire to act according to the will of God, then any question is possible. How a child comes to his mother and sometimes asks the most stupid questions, and his mother answers. It is impossible to create a list of questions that can and cannot be asked.
If the confessor believes that he is being asked about something insignificant, he can say: “You know, this is not important, pay attention to more significant things.” This also happens.
I would also like to add that “questions about trifles” confuse people who look from the outside, not knowing what is inside the questioner. So they get confused - how can it be, all the time it’s possible or impossible, it’s possible or impossible. How does a person live? He, of course, does not live by these questions. These questions are external, protective.
- What about independence? Today we often hear calls for Christians to be more self-reliant.
— In the Gospel, the Lord says: “... without Me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). So we are not independent people. If a person has a connection with God, then, of course, he can do without the help of mentors. But usually, the higher the degree of spiritual perfection of a person, the more humility he acquires and listens to advice. We know how the holy fathers tested the intention of the Monk Simeon the Stylite to labor on the pillar. They sent to him to say: “Come down from the pillar.” As soon as Simeon heard this command, he began to descend. And the messengers were taught to do this: if Simeon does not obey, force him to come down from the pillar; if he listens, then leave him standing. Is he independent or not? I saw holy people. They were independent, but surprisingly humble.
— How do you still understand what is possible and what is not?
— One Western Orthodox saint said: “Love God and do as you want.” If a person loves God, then he can no longer do anything bad, he does not want to do bad things. When a person loves God and all his feelings, thoughts, desires are turned to God, bad things have no power over him.
But, probably, none of us can say that he loves God so much that he has already received perfect freedom. And since we love Him with imperfect love, and at some moments, one might say, we completely betray Him, we love something else, we need rules. They help us avoid temptations and recognize the evil that seeks to enslave us. The Old Testament commandments began with negation: do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness. Much of what is now considered normal in the unbelieving world is actually not allowed to be done - fornication, watching obscene films, living for oneself and not for others, spending time idle...
But, of course, those people who are concerned only with the question of what cannot be done are wrong. Such “restrictive” Orthodoxy loses its meaning. Life should be based on positive doing. And this is love for God, love for neighbor, the desire to do good. You cannot focus your life only on not doing evil. By giving up something bad, you need to fill your life with something positive. There cannot and should not be an empty space in the soul.
Of course, the external influences the internal. But another thing is that now is not the time for someone to change their clothing style; first you need to stop cheating on your husband. It is important for a drug addict to stop using drugs, and he will probably be able to quit smoking later. It is impossible to create a clear system of any external regulations, because when people come to the Church, they should be guided not by these external prohibitions, but by correct internal positive action.
Interviewed by Irina REDKO
Article taken from this source:
A big obstacle for Christians is the belief that Jesus ate meat, and the many places in the New Testament where meat is mentioned. But a detailed study of the original Greek manuscripts makes it clear that the vast majority of the words translated as “meat” (trophe, bromene and other words) simply mean “food” or “food” in in a broad sense this word. If Christ was a vegetarian, then the true meaning of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” is clear. But then the hidden deceit of those Orthodox who say in words - Christ our God! But in reality they choose which commandments they want or “can” follow, and which they cannot...
Let's look at both answers to this question:
1. Christ did not eat meat and there is no mention of the fact that he ate meat in the Bible.
God, through Moses, gave the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” Probably, if Christ himself was a vegetarian, then the true meaning of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” is clear.
But then the hidden deceit of those Orthodox who say in words - Christ our God! But in reality they choose which commandments they want, or “can” follow, and which they cannot... If Christ was a vegetarian, then the supported “theory” of fasting, or “today you can kill, but tomorrow you can’t,” is, to put it mildly, erroneous... To me It’s even scary to think that this theory is supported by the highest Orthodox clergy.
In this case, it turns out that Christ is not an example for the Orthodox Church in everything. He was wrong about some things. And the Church corrected him and is correcting him, declaring that sometimes you can eat the meat of slaughtered animals, citing as an example the statements of other Respected saints, but NEVER, without citing the words of Christ himself that he allowed the killing of animals for food .
So what is more important for the Church - the words of God, the words of the son of God, or the words of other Saints? Are they saints if they did not fully fulfill Christ’s commandment “Thou shalt not kill”?
But other questions can be raised. For example, if the Orthodox, not following the path of Christ, i.e. By killing other animals, can they sincerely fulfill the commandment “Love your neighbor”?
So today we killed a cow in the morning, wiped away the blood and went to love our neighbor? Please note, I am not talking about the falsity of the path of Christianity... I am talking about the DEPTH of understanding of this path.
By the way, you can simply go to any Orthodox monastery and find vegetarian monks there. Or watch the movie “The Island”. This is if it’s a break to go. And if you are going to choose your Spiritual Father, and sooner or later any Christian comes to this, then you probably need to choose him by asking this question. “Did Christ eat meat?” And listen to the answer. With my heart.
And most importantly, you need to decide for yourself - am I a Christian like everyone else around me, or am I just a Christian trying to collect dust from the road along which Christ walked, accepting him ALL, without reservations. And in this case, how should we relate to the scientific developments of the Orthodox, who recommend something to other people, including the choice of the spiritual path, if in their ministry they go, to put it mildly, in the wrong way... Probably for us sinners, it’s just good filter First, it will be clarified whether this high rank of any rank fully accepts Christ, or whether something is preventing him... Choice Spiritual father extremely important for the soul. A very terrible price to pay for a mistake...
In this case, everything is in order... You just need to quote the words of Christ on this issue. And that's basically it.
There is something else. In principle, all 10 commandments are present in one form or another in all religions. This means, in principle, the main thing in all religions is the recognition of the Supreme Lord and the realization that we are His eternal servants. In assessing a society's ability to follow spiritual principles, prophets and messiahs conveyed spiritual science in a specific way.
We can understand that Prophet Muhammad had to convey the message of the Quran to a completely degraded people. Sura 16 of the Koran, for example, says: “Do not have sex with your mother and sister.”
If Muhammad had spoken about the same thing to civilized people, this instruction would have been superfluous. Muhammad, a God-realized soul chosen to be a prophet, preached to the perverted tribes of nomads for whom such relationships were common.
The Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” But who needs to be taught not to kill? Only the killer. Jesus preached for only three years before He was crucified. What can we say about the common people if one of His best students sold him for 30 silver coins, and another denied that he knew Him at all!
Perhaps now a little more food for the answer to the question “Was Christ a meat eater?” In any case, every soul is endowed with the right to choose. And the soul will also be responsible for its choice.
It’s just that the commandments were not given with literal casuists in mind, otherwise the commandment would have sounded “do not kill a person.”
In this case, it must be admitted that Christ could not have foreseen then that such literal casuists would appear and misunderstand the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”?
If this is so, it means that Christ did not have the gift of foresight, otherwise he would have given the commandment exactly as you voiced it - “do not kill a person.”
I foresaw that simply literal casuists would then still begin to deny the possibility of defending the fatherland, self-defense, the admissibility of treatment, which sometimes leads to disastrous results, etc.
We are probably confusing the concepts of necessary killing and prohibited killing. If we consider the killing of animals necessary for, for example, the defense of the fatherland, self-defense, the admissibility of treatment, then this is our choice and we are responsible for it. In other words, if we believe that we cannot live without sometimes killing animals for our own gratification of the tongue - oh well. We have the right to think so.
But did Christ think so? If, due to living conditions, there is no other food (for example, in the far north), then a person can eat meat, because human life is more dear to the Lord because only in the human body is it possible to realize God. Of course, if an animal attacks a person, it is possible to defend oneself and even kill him, but this in no way implies raising poor animals in bestial conditions and then killing them in slaughterhouses for one’s own satisfaction. What do you think Christ would say if he visited a slaughterhouse?
So you still didn’t fully foresee it? If this is not so, then what prevented him from deciphering this commandment and not giving us even a chance to misunderstand it? If we nevertheless recognize the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, and is endowed with a divine mind and the gift of foresight, which is indisputable for me, then perhaps his commandment should be understood to the extent of one’s personal purity?
For example, a person who has not gone very far from the concept of an animal can understand this commandment as follows: do not kill a person, but you can always kill animals.
A person who has advanced a little on the spiritual path can understand this commandment this way: you cannot kill a person, but you can kill animals at certain times when the church allows it. Further, as you spiritual development a person begins to understand the VALUE of ANY LIFE and the true understanding of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.”
Thou shalt not kill means not only not to kill, but also to do so in order to help a living being live, and live with dignity, and a person to live a human life. Indeed, for a true believer - people who have not yet come to God - are certainly on the verge of death, they are close to death like no one else and spiritual person understands what “Thou shalt not kill” means.
This means - TO SAVE EVERYONE AND EVERYONE WHO IS NOT WITH GOD, for otherwise I will be guilty of his (man's) murder.
Again, I want to say that this is the level of understanding of this commandment at which I personally am now. I'm sure the depth of this commandment is much steeper.
In other words, with this wording of the commandment, CHRIST gave everyone a chance to come to him. But everyone chooses the degree of closeness to God for themselves.
With such a love for legalism, the direct road to Judaism is where the virtuosos of the letter are, capable of bringing any commandment to the point of absurdity.
All that remains is to find out who is taking the commandment to the point of absurdity?
Somehow I don’t want to turn the conversation to us sinners and to choosing the path to God. Let's leave it at that. The question was very specific - Did Christ eat meat?
Continuing the theme... God is love! It's hard to argue with that. His love is peculiar if he allows some loved ones to kill other loved ones, so that the first can quench the thirst of their tongue. Or he doesn’t allow it, but we do it ourselves... Or maybe it’s because of fear...
After all, when an animal is killed, it is afraid. DEADLY HORROR! He's not going anywhere. We absorb it with food. Fear, fear, fear. We are all increasing it. We begin to fear our neighbor, the neighboring country. Wars, tears, fear... It's not difficult to see this chain. It's hard to accept her.
Perhaps we then understand this postulate differently (I mean that God is love). Or God’s love is selective, special. In short, I have questions...
On the other hand, I in no way spoke about the arithmetical unambiguous understanding of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” Perhaps I was not precise enough in my definitions. Sorry. On the contrary, I said that every person is free to understand it to the extent of his readiness to understand it. Thank you for trying to show me a more acceptable spiritual path for me, but I have already decided on this, with God’s help.
What do these, for example, words of the Lord mean:
Where is the room in which I could eat the Passover with My disciples? (Mark 14:14)
Perhaps you want to emphasize what is meant by Easter? Yes, Passover at that time was a slaughtered sacrificial lamb. But the question “where do I eat Easter” seems to speak only about the choice of the place where Easter is eaten, and not about the fact that Christ ate Easter. Just feel the difference...
Perhaps this means that you cannot eat Easter in every place. This is spiritual food and the place where it must be eaten must also be purified. Something else is possible. It is not possible to eat Easter in every home. Perhaps it is not recommended for believers to eat in the houses of atheists, because... this will have an unfavorable effect on their spiritual path.
In any case, I understand the Holy Scriptures to the extent that I myself am ready to perceive it and as much as my dirty consciousness allows.
The fact that there are no direct references does not mean anything. Let's start with the fact that the Jews (and He was a Jew in the flesh) were not vegetarians, since they sacrificed animals and birds.
They also made a sacrifice for His Nativity: “And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord, as it is prescribed in the law of the Lord, that every male child who opens the womb should be dedicated to the Lord, and to bring the sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, is two turtle doves or two chicks of pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24)
Christ himself did not reject the sacrifices made according to the Law of Moses: “Leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:24) or “And Jesus said to him, See that you do not tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matt. 8:4).
The disciple of Christ - the Apostle Paul, like the Lord, not only does not deny meat-eating, but also talks about how to properly treat meat sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians chapter 8)
And if sacrifices were already made, then what is the point of not eating meat? And what's the difference?
After all, it is said: Rom.14:17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
And again: 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
And also: “Food does not bring us closer to God: for whether we eat, we gain nothing; If we don’t eat, we don’t lose anything.” (1 Cor. 8:8,9)
The fact that there are no direct references personally to Christ’s meat-eating means a lot to me. In order to understand why no, you just need to imagine the time in which Christ preached. A complete collapse of morals. Sacrifice and eating meat are naturally encouraged by priests. What do you think, if Christ had said that one should not eat meat, because it brings suffering, would he have been able to preach even for 3 years? Probably at that historical moment no one would have understood him at all, given the widespread killing of animals.
There probably wouldn’t have been a REAL SERMON. Christ simply was and is PRUDIOUS! This means that he understood what could be said at a given historical moment in time, and what should be kept silent about so as not to cause harm. Whoever needs it will get it himself.
And believe me, if Christ ate meat, we would know about it. There would be a direct indication of this in the Bible.
The question is very important. An honest answer is even more important. In reality, fasting and legalized meat consumption were invented by people. And they hide behind Christ. This is unfair.
At least, if it is impossible to find direct evidence that Christ was a meat-eater, which means it becomes impossible to PROVE PERSONALLY FOR MYSELF THAT I AM DOING RIGHTLY IN KILLING ANIMALS FOR FOOD.
But I want to eat that meat. Therefore, we are looking for support from other Fathers of the Church, since we have not found it in Christ. We also say that the Old Testament has already been fulfilled, namely: 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed; - this will be food for you;
This means it is irrelevant. But this is a commandment of GOD! And he didn’t cancel it. People canceled. Think about it.
Maybe the most painless way out is simply not to kill? The logic is simple! This certainly won’t harm our spiritual path. In any case, if we accept meat-eating, then we recognize the fact that it has a beneficial effect on our spiritual progress. After all, true Christians do only what helps spiritual progress and sincerely avoid what harms.
Regarding quotes about the unimportance of what you eat... This is, in principle, everyone’s business. You can, for example, switch to excrement. Well, about being born into a Jewish family... At a time when everyone around was meat-eaters... Or maybe he was born precisely for this purpose at such a time and in such a place, to show THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO LIVE DIFFERENTLY. Without killing anyone and living for others and most importantly, for God? As a personal example...
In general, it is very strange that the Bible simply misses the disclosure of this issue. A very important survey. After all, the answers to the questions of how to love your neighbor, God is love, do no harm, etc., depend on the answer to it.
Is it serious to think that no one asked Jesus this question during the 3 years of his preaching? Is it serious to consider the Jews more stupid than us? I'm sure they asked. I'm sure was the answer. I don't know why it's not in the Bible. Although there is. In the commandment “Thou shalt not kill.” Everyone can understand and apply it.
And I advise people who feel sorry for animals to remember how many poor, defenseless tomatoes they deprived of their lives by chopping them into salads.
About killing tomatoes
Genesis Chapter 1.29: And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed; it shall be for you to eat;
And we don’t kill tomatoes. We tear them down.
By the way, if Jesus, the son of God, ate meat, it means he violated the will of the Father - which directly indicates what can be eaten at the beginning of the Bible.
Famous vegetarians
Buddha
Jesus Christ
Confucius
Zarathustra
Prophet Mohammed
Pythagoras
Origen
St. Francis
Plato
Socrates
Aristotle
Plutarch
Clement of Alexandria
Empedocles
Epicurus
Hippocrates
John Chrysostom
Sergius of Radonezh
Horace
Ovid
Seneca
Leonardo da Vinci
Isaac Newton
Bacon
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Voltaire
Montaigne
Byron
Schiller
Schopenhauer
Richard Wagner
Mahatma Gandhi
Rabindranath Tagore
Thomas Alva Edison
Franz Kafka
George Bernard Shaw
Saint Germain
Dalai Lama
Helena Blavatsky
Nicholas Roerich
Helena Roerich
Yuri Roerich
Svyatoslav Roerich
Lev Tolstoy
Ilya Repin
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
Wales
Charles Darwin
Adam Smith
Albert Schweitzer
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Lamartine
Norbert Wiener
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Alexander Pope
Candace Byrne
Horace Greeley
Dick Gregory
John Wesley
John Milton
General William Bush
Paul Newman
Dr. J.H. Kellogg
Clint Walker
Upton Sinclair
James Coburn
Ivan Poddubny
Vegetarians - actors, athletes:
Carre Otis
Kim Basinger
Richard Gere
Arnold Schwarzenegger
David Duchovny
Alex Baldwin
Dustin Hoffman
Brad Pitt
Alicia Silverstone
Tom Cruise
Nicole Kidman
Brigitte Bardot
Katie Lloyd
Drew Barrymore
bodybuilder Bill Pearl
Roy Halligen and Andreas Kalling
Martina Navratilova (tennis player)
Pamela Anderson
Cindy Crawford
Claudia Schiffer
Uma Thurman
Liv Tyler Christie Brinkley
Gwyneth Paltrow
Natalie Portman
Vegetarian musicians:
Jared Leto
Sting
Madonna
Bryan Adams
The Beatles - John and Yoko Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Star
"Seal"
Leni Kravitz
Sinead-o-Conor
Ozzy Osbourne
Prince
Tina Turner
"Blur"
Montserat Caballe
Billy Idol
comedian Yankovic "Weird" Al
Brian Molko (leader of Placebo)
Darren Hayes (ex-Savage Garden)
Shania Twain Alanis Morisette
Justin Timberlake
Chrissie Hynde (“Pretenders”)
Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones)
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Melanie C (Spice Girls)
"Depeche Mode" - Martin Gore and Alan Wilder
Duran Duran - all vegetarians
"Moby"
Bob Dylan
B.B. king
Russian vegetarians:
Faina Ranevskaya
Boris Grebenshchikov
Nikolai Drozdov
Mikhail Zadornov
Georgy Vitsin
Lyudmila Gurchenko
Yulia Bordovskikh
Oksana Pushkina
Evgeniy Osin
Alexey Martynov
Shura (“Bi-2”)
A big obstacle for Christians is the belief that Jesus ate meat, and the many places in the New Testament where meat is mentioned.
But a detailed study of the original Greek manuscripts makes it clear that the vast majority of the words translated as “meat” (trophe, brome and other words) simply mean “food” or “food” in the broad sense of the word.
For example, in the Gospel (Luke 8:55) we read that “Jesus raised a woman from the dead and “ordered meat to be given to her.” The Greek word translated “meat” here is “phago,” which simply means “to eat.”
So Jesus actually said, “Feed her.” The Greek word for meat, kreas (flesh), was never used in connection with Christ.
In Luke (21:41-43) we read that the disciples offered him fish and honeycomb, and he took it ("it" in singular, we can only guess what).
Nowhere in the New Testament is there any direct mention of Jesus eating meat.
“So the Lord himself gives you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call his name Immanuel. He will eat milk and honey until he understands the difference between good and bad.”
This corresponds to the famous prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7.14.15) which itself suggests that meat-eating destroys a person's ability to distinguish between good and bad.
It is very characteristic that in the Gospel of Matthew (1.23) the second part of the prophecy is omitted. He, Jesus, rebuked the Pharisees with the words: “If you knew what it means, “I want mercy, not sacrifice,” you would not have condemned the innocent.” (Matthew 12:6).
This clearly condemns the killing of animals, as does Hosea 6:6: “For I desire mercy rather than sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (note: the words of the second part of the sentence are omitted from Matthew 12:6.)
He rebelled against the Temple's animal sacrifices, forcibly expelling those who sold calves, sheep, and doves, as well as money changers, from the Temple. (John 2:13-15)
His words: “Do not make My Father’s house a house of trade” (which in earlier editions was always translated as “a den of murderers”).
We also learn from Matthew 3:4 that John the Baptist did not eat meat. (“...and his food was locusts (wild beans) and wild honey”).
There is also amazing evidence that Jesus was a vegetarian: no less than 7 of Jesus' 12 disciples did not eat meat (we don't know about the rest).
This naturally reflects the teaching of Jesus: “...a servant is not greater than his master.” (John 13:16).
The seven were:
1. Peter: “...whose food was bread, olives and herbs”;
2. James: Church Father Eusebius, quoting Hegesippus (c. 160): “James, the brother of the Lord, was holy from birth. He did not drink wine or eat animal flesh.
3. Thomas: According to early Christian documents, he “... wore only one dress in any weather, what he had, he gave to others and also abstained from eating flesh and drinking wine..”. (James Vernon Bartlett. M.A. “The Apocryphal Gospels from the History of Christianity in the Light of Modern Knowledge.
4. Matthew: “He lived on seeds and nuts, fruits and vegetables, without eating meat (Clement of Alexandria - “Clement the Mentor”)
5. Matthew, who took the place of Judas “Acts 1.21.26”. According to the Church Father Clement of Alexandria, he ate the same way as Matthew
6. Andrey
7. Judas (Andrew Peter's brother in the flesh and faith) and Judas of Bethsaida, the original follower of John the Baptist, following him in his ascetic diet.
Paul also wrote: “For the sake of food, do not destroy the work of God... It is better not to eat meat, drink wine, or do anything [such] that causes your brother to stumble, or to be offended, or to faint.” (Romans 14:20,21), although his teachings seem less categorical.
In the apocryphal Acts of Thomas, which were popular among early Christians, this disciple of Jesus is described as an ascetic: “... He constantly fasted and prayed, wore the same dress in any weather, did not accept anything from anyone, but everything, what he had, he gave to others and abstained from meat and wine.”
The unnatural eating of flesh is as defiling as the pagan worship of demons with its sacrifices and unclean feasts, in which a person feasts with the devil himself.” - (2nd century BC. Clementius Gomilias).
“...It is much better to be happy than to allow the devil to dwell in us, and happiness can only be found by adhering to virtue. Therefore, the Apostle Matthew ate grains, nuts and vegetables and did not eat flesh. Isn’t this comprehensive variety of edibles enough with moderate simplicity: vegetables, roots, olives, herbs, milk, cheese, fruits?” Church Father Clementius of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens 150-200 A.D.)
“...We Christian leaders abstain from animal meat in the name of self-control. Unnatural meat-eating has demonic origins.” Also about the early Christians: “They did not shed streams of blood, there is no gourmet cuisine, there is no heaviness in the head. The terrible smell of meat does not emanate from them and unbearable smoke does not swirl in their kitchens..” (St. Christosomos (347-404 AD).)
“...Since Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Messiah who restored everything to its place, it is no longer allowed to divorce or eat meat... So I tell you: if you want to be perfect, then you should not drink wine or eat meat ..”. (St. Jerome (340-420 AD), who gave the world the Vulgate, the authorized Latin Bible that is still used today.
“The steam emanating from meat darkens the light of the spirit... One can hardly find virtue by enjoying meat dishes and feasts..” (St. Basil (320-379 AD))
Beyond this: Many pagan observers reported that early Christians abstained from meat. Pilinius, the governor of Bithnia (where Peter preached), described contemporary Christians in a letter to Emperor Trojan as “infected with the superstition of abstaining from meat food...”
Seneca (BC 65 AD), a Stoic philosopher and advisor to Nero, described Christians as: “...A foreign sect that abstains from meat food..”.
Josephus said about the early Christians: “...They gather before sunrise and do not utter a single worldly word - only special prayers... They sit down together to a common dish, on which there is only one type of innocent food...”
In an ancient Aramaic scripture discovered and translated by I.M. Sichelli, Jesus says: “He who kills kills his brother... And the flesh of the slain beasts in his body will become his own grave. Therefore truly I say to you: whoever kills kills himself, and whoever eats the flesh of slain animals eats the body of death... Do not kill people, nor animals, nor the food that comes into your mouth. Life comes from life, death always comes from death. He who kills in order to feed also kills his own body. Your bodies will become what you eat, and your spirit will become the same as your thoughts.”
(E.M. Szekely “The Gospel of Peace”) Albert Schweitzer said: “Ethics applies not only to humanity, but also to the animal world. There is evidence of this in the writings of St. Francis. So we come to the conclusion that ethics applies to all manifestations of life. This ethic of universal love, this ethic of Jesus is now recognized as a necessity of thought. Only universal ethics, embracing every living being, will lead us to power in the universe...”
Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) said: “Cruelty to animals means a lack of love for God... They have not harmed us and they have no way of defending themselves... it is something disgusting, satanic, to kill those who have never harmed us. harm to us, who cannot protect himself, who is completely in our power..”.
Tolstoy believed that eating meat was contrary to the principles of Christianity.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of ISKCON (Krishna Consciousness Movement) concludes: “...there are many rascals who trample on their own religious principles. Even though the Judeo-Christian scriptures clearly state “thou shalt not kill,” they offer various justifications for it. Even religious leaders condone the killing of animals while at the same time trying to appear as saintly persons. This mockery and hypocrisy that reigns in human society has brought countless disasters.”
Based on materials: babyblog.ru, krishna-kavkaz.ru
Can Christians have a pig?
Peace be with you friends, God bless you. I hope that it was not idle interest that brought you to this site and that you are really concerned about not upsetting God by not observing any commandment. But first think about the fact that the whole law was given so that it would be good, first of all, for man, and not for God. Everything in the world flows and changes, and just because there is one less pig or one more cow, nothing will change globally. God is more concerned not about what a person will eat, but about what is in a person’s soul and whether he believes. Whether he offends his neighbor or does him good. And it seems to me that if you save a hungry person from death by starvation, then God doesn’t care if you feed him kebab or chicken legs. But people are like that, prone to all kinds of taboos and prohibitions. And for them people, it is very important not to delve into the deep meaning of actions and consequences, but simply to know that they are doing the right thing. People are prone to rules, traditions, prohibitions and do not understand that what is not allowed is sometimes necessary, and what is allowed is sometimes not allowed.
The issue of pork arose for a reason. From the very beginning of scripture we see that animals were divided into pure and impure. And take seven of every clean animal, male and female, and two of the unclean cattle, male and female;
Genesis 7:2
From the very beginning of the world, animals that were suitable for food and sacrifice and those that were not were known to mankind. And Noah knew this system of distinctions, which Moses later wrote down in the Law. But did Noah’s descendants retain knowledge of this? Far, far from all. Blessed be the God of Shem, may he dwell in the wide tents of Japheth, and may Canaan be cursed. This is how Noah’s blessing sounds in a nutshell, in which we see the future of the whole world and our present. The Simites (I write this on purpose) Jews followed God, Japheth (European peoples) also joined the faith through Christ, and the Canaanites are all bad there (Africa).
We have already understood that Jews (Jews who do not believe in Christ) cannot eat pork, can those who believe in Christ eat it? Is it possible for Jews who believe in Christ to eat pork? What does the Bible say about this?
And although Jesus did not eat pork, and even destroyed a herd of pigs, as if hinting through the centuries, Jesus said that many people would come to the Kingdom of God not from the Jews, because the Jews would reject Him.
Gospel of Matthew 8:11. I'm talking same to you, What many will come With east And
westAndwill lie downWithAbraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven;
And what happens when this happens? When do the apostles preach to the pagans and they turn to God?
A story happens among believing pagans that ends up on the pages of Holy Scripture. And let's read everything.
1 Some, Those who came from Judea taught the brothers: unless you are circumcised according to the rite of Moses, you cannot be saved.
2 When there arose a disagreement and considerable contention between Paul and Barnabas and them, they decided that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go to the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem regarding this matter.
3 So, having been accompanied by the church, they passed through Phenicia and Samaria, telling about converting the pagans, and brought forth great joy in all brothers.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles and elders, and they announced everything that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.
5 Then some of the Pharisees rebelled heresies believed and said that should trim pagans and command to keep the law of Moses.
6 Apostles and elders gathered to consider this matter.
7 After much discussion, Peter stood up and said to them, “Men and brethren! you know that from the first days God chose from us me, so that from my mouth the Gentiles may hear the word of the Gospel and believe;
8 And God, who knows the heart, gave them testimony, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he gave us;
9 and made no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 What are you doing now? you tempt God wanting to place on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we could bear?
11 But we believe that By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we will be saved, just as they were.
12 Then the whole congregation fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul telling what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13 After they were silent, Jacob began speaking and said: Men and brethren! listen to me.
14 Simon explained how God originally looked upon the pagans to form of them people in His name.
15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
16 “Then I will turn and rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David, and what is broken in it I will rebuild and repair it,
17 so that other people may seek the Lord and all nations among whom My name will be proclaimed, says the Lord who does all these things.”
18 Known to God from eternity are all His works.
19 Therefore I do not intend to make it difficult for those who are among the Gentiles to turn to God,
20 and write to them so that they abstained from being defiled by idols, from fornication, strangulation and blood, and so that they do not do to others what they do not want for themselves.
21 For law Moses from ancient generations has preachers in all cities and is read in synagogues every Saturday.
22 Then the apostles and elders with the whole church decided, choosing men from among themselves, to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, exactly: Judas, called Barsaba, and Silas, men who were rulers among the brethren,
23 having written and given them the following: “Apostles and elders and brethren, to the Gentile brethren who are in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: rejoice.
24 For we have heard that some who went out from us troubled you their speeches and shook your souls, saying what should circumcise and comply law what are we they were not assigned,
25 Then we were assembled and unanimously decided to choose men to send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 people who gave up their souls for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 So we have sent Judas and Silas, who will explain the same things to you verbally.
28 For it pleases the Holy Spirit and us not to place any more burden on you than these things that are necessary:
29 to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and blood, and things strangled, and fornication, and not to do to others what you do not want to do to yourself. By observing this, you will do well. Be healthy."
30 So those sent came to Antioch and, having gathered people, handed over the letter.
31 When they read it, they rejoiced at this instruction.
Acts of the Apostles Chapter 15
This is the story, friends. Look what the Apostles say! The salvation of the soul does not come from food! Salvation by faith in God! God cleanses the hearts of the pagans through faith in Christ! And the Apostles, looking at the root, realizing that eating pork or not eating pork does not play any role in the salvation of their souls, send a letter to them, which says that you cannot drink blood, eat something strangled, and sin fornication and not do to others what you do not want to yourself.
With these words, not to do to others what you do not wish for yourself, they replace the law, and moreover, they avoid blind, stupid following of the commandments without reflection. After all, with this approach, you will need to delve into yourself and think about whether I want to be stolen from me, do I want to be beaten, do I want to be saved from death by taking away a dangerous thing from me?
The point is that they were allowed to eat pork. What else does the Bible say about this?
Did God say to eat unclean animals, which includes the daily pig?
9 The next day, as they walked and approached the city, Peter, about the sixth hour, went up to the top of the house to pray.
10 And he felt hungry and wanted to eat. While they were preparing, he went into a frenzy.
11 and he saw the heavens open and a certain vessel descending towards it, like a large sheet, tied at the four corners and lowered to the ground;
12 were in it all four-legged creatures of the earth, animals, reptiles and birds of the air.
13 And a voice came to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat.
14 But Peter said, “No, Lord, I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
15 Then another timethere was a voice to him:
What God has purified, you do not consider unclean.
16 This happened three times; and the vessel rose again to heaven.
What God has cleansed, you do not consider unclean, it is written in the Bible.
And it is also written:
1 Now the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, listening to seducing spirits and teachings of demons,
2 through the hypocrisy of false talkers, seared in their consciences,
3 prohibiting marriage And eat what God created so that those who believe and know the truth may eat with thanksgiving.
4 For every creation of God is good, and nothing is to be condemned if it is received with thanksgiving,
5 because sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy chapter 4
We see that the prohibition to eat what God created does not come from God, but from evil spirits and demons.
And at the very beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis there is permission for all nations
everything that moves and lives will be food for you; I give you everything like green herbs;
Genesis 9:3
You can eat everything. The main thing is faith in the Savior and the Lord God Jesus Christ, who died and suffered for our sins and rose from the dead.
And finally, from the letters of the apostles, which says that you can eat anything, but so that with our freedom in food we do not lead another person into sin.
“For the sake of food, do not destroy the work of God. Everything is pure, but it is bad for the man who eats because he is tempted.” Rom.14:20
“To the pure all things are pure.” Titus 1:15
“Do not get carried away by different and alien teachings; because it's good grace to strengthen hearts, and not food from which those who eat them did not benefit.” Hebrews 13:9
“Having destroyed the handwriting that was against us, which was against us, and He took it out of the way and nailed it to the cross; having taken away the strength of the principalities and powers, he imperiously subjected them to shame, having triumphed over them with Himself. So Let no one judge you for your food or drink". Col.2:14-16
“For some are confident that they can eat everything, but the weak eat vegetables. He who eats, do not disparage the one who does not eat; and whoever does not eat, do not judge the one who eats, because God has accepted him... He who eats eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat does not eat for the Lord, and gives thanks to God.” Rom.14:2-3,6
Here we are talking about freedom of conscience, and whoever is free, let him eat, but if someone thinks that this is a sin and is not free, then there is no need to condemn him or force him, everyone should move away from blind obedience to laws to reasonable service on their own.
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« Food should strengthen the body
not cause illness»
Saint Basil the Great
It is undeniable that for a baby the mother’s voice is more important than even the most sonorous voice of a beautiful rattle. So we, in search of answers to our questions, bypassing shallow half-truths, will lean with our infant hearts to the most dear and close to us parental voice of God.
The Triune Lord established the Church on earth and, having sanctified Her with his personal presence, preserves and guides Her with His boundless love.
Orthodoxy is a mountain path ascending over the abyss to Heavenly Jerusalem. You can follow this path only with a firm step, on two legs - with two commandments: love for God and love for neighbor. The steps from which these feet start are the Holy Tradition and the Holy Scripture, where a lot of attention is paid to what we eat.
When we talk about meat, it can mean the following:
- meat- This muscle mass killed animal for food;
- meat also called the dish itself, prepared from such muscle mass;
- To meat This also includes the muscle part of the fish;
- meat may be called muscle tissue itself;
- and it may also be the pulp of the fruit surrounding the seed.
It is clear that we will discuss the attitude of Orthodoxy towards animal meat. Such meat is usually divided into beef, pork, lamb, horse meat, chicken, etc.
Is it a sin to kill animals for food?
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to turn to the Holy Scriptures, above which the Holy Church never exalts itself.
In the book of Genesis () it is written that the Lord gives us “ every herb yielding seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed”, and says that we “ this will be for food" Here, for the first people, it is clearly stated that only plant foods are intended for humans.
However, after the global flood, when eight people emerged from the ark onto the bare earth, there is no doubt that such barren soil could not feed them for a long time. Then the Lord allowed them to eat meat. That is, the Almighty Himself, the Creator of the entire universe, blesses the eating of meat food according to the prevailing circumstances. But even here He does not say: “I give you permission for a while.” He simply blessed.
The Lord is Love and everything He does is good care for all living things in our earthly life and, importantly, beyond it. Consequently, neither the killing of all people on the planet during the flood, nor the death of animals by God’s blessing does not contradict His good providence for all of us, no matter how terribly it may impress us.
« The one who thinks is wrong
that fasting only means abstaining from food.
True fasting is removal from evil...»
St. Basil the Great.
Reader question: Will vegetarianism save the world?
Some people mistakenly believe that complete abstinence from meat foods will lead humanity to the highest moral point of its development and, as a consequence of this, the world will be saved. However, the pages of Holy Scripture say that such a law does not work. The Lord destroyed the entire vegetarian population of the earth with a flood. Yes, yes, before Noah, all of humanity ate only plant foods and, despite this, complete corruption of morals still reigned on earth, corruption of such baseness that the Lord had to take such a decisive extreme step.
« Beware of measuring fasting in simple terms.
abstaining from food.
Those who abstain from food
but behaves inappropriately,
are like the devil
who doesn't eat anything,
however, he does not stop sinning b".
Saint Basil the Great.
Is the Lord blessed any meat for consumption?
There is one important reservation that the Lord made when blessing meat foods. He divided all animals into clean and unclean (Old Testament).
- CLEAN animal has only two signs - it must be:
- artiodactyls And
- ruminant.
- UNCLEAN food- these are animals that lack at least one of these characteristics. This means that such meat is not suitable for consumption.
Also unclean food includes meat sacrificed to idols, that is, the carcass left over from an animal after it was sacrificed to an idol.
Reader question:« Help resolve the dispute within our family! Our aunt says that an Orthodox person should have many prohibitions regarding food, and these prohibitions should not be limited only to fasting. She says that an Orthodox person should cook meat food only on holidays, and we are not allowed to eat food from other nations, Uzbek, Japanese, Korean, Tatar. And my mother tells her that after praying, you can eat any food. Who is right?!»
What’s interesting about this dispute is that, under certain conditions, both women can be right. It all depends on where the spiritual gaze of each of them is directed. " Seek not the food that perishes, but the food that endures to eternal life"says the Apostle John. And if these women look at that food in this way, as reinforcement of strength for mastering spiritual food, then this is simply a conversation between two angels calling each other to embark on the joy of their path.
For the first, apparently, abstinence is necessary for fear of losing the most precious feeling of God that was once given to her. Trying to save it, she clumsily, perhaps worries about all her loved ones who, in her opinion, do not protect this feeling.
And for the second, it is quite possible that at the spiritual height of her heart, food is needed only in order to contemplate at least one more day the illuminated face of our Lord Jesus Christ. So once the Lord Himself, out of hungry human necessity, blesses the apostle to eat unclean food during his prayer work ().
For the peace of their conscience, the first type of people needs to decide what, according to the Old Testament laws, a Christian is allowed to consume and what not. This is also useful for people who accidentally stray from the God-saved path to worship their belly or the food itself, about which, as the Apostle Paul says, “ It is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.”(), or rather, Lopukhin corrects “ dance”, that is, to commit fornication.
« Take control of your belly
until your womb gets the better of you».
St. Basil the Great.
So “... food of other peoples... we can’t”?!
In continuation of the question from our reader, let's briefly define the differences in the dietary restrictions of an Orthodox person and representatives of other religions, close and not close to us in relation to the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. To do this, it is necessary to briefly mention our general prohibitive concepts in the field of nutrition.
Islamic food – conditionally permitted
« Halal“is the concept of what is permissible and permissible in Islam. The opposite concept is “ haram". Typically, these words denote acceptable and unacceptable food.
The following are considered haram by Muslims:
- pork and its derivatives,
- Consumption of meat with unbleeded blood and carrion is prohibited,
- as well as meat with blood released, but cooked without pronouncing the name of Allah.
*Muslims are allowed to eat meat that
was prepared only by the “People of the Book.”
These include Christians, Jews and Muslims themselves.
Jewish food is allowed
« Kashrut» is a set of Jewish laws on prohibitions in the area of food consumed. According to these laws, food can be kosher And non-kosher or fit and not fit for consumption.
*"D human ear sensitivity
consuming non-kosher foods
goes down, his heart “closes”
for the perception of spiritual ideas».
Jewish wisdom.
You can't eat:
- animal, unless it has a cloven hoof and does not chew the cud. These are, for example, animals such as horse meat, bear meat, wolf meat, dog meat, pork, hare meat, fox meat, etc.
- birds: " eagle, vulture and sea eagle, kite and falcon with its kind, every raven with its kind, ostrich, owl, gull and hawk with its kind..."and others. Of the birds you can eat only those with “ there are shins higher than the feet to jump on the ground with”, that is, these are chickens, turkeys, geese and other poultry.
- an animal if it died a natural death (carrion) or was strangled or electrocuted, that is, the animal’s blood remained unreleased (blood cannot be released from a dead animal, since all movement through the vessels stops with cardiac arrest).
- fish and all inhabitants of rivers, seas and oceans that do not have fins or scales. That is, this includes crabs, moray eels, sharks, whales, mollusks, crustaceans, crayfish and lobsters and much more.
- fried blood, including blood sausage, rare steaks and hematogen (see explanation below).
The distinction between clean and unclean animals and the prohibition in the Old Testament from eating unclean animals for food had a special and temporary meaning: to teach Jews purity of life and heart, and was an external means of distinguishing and separating Jews from other nations. With the coming of the Messiah, such separation became unnecessary: all nations who accepted the Gospel were sanctified and cleansed by the blood of Christ; Therefore, in the kingdom of grace there is Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, but Christ is all things and in all ().
« You can only eat meat that has been slaughtered,
rather than electrocuted or strangled.
This can be determined by color:
light meat - with blood released;
dark meat - from unreleased meat (carrion);
blue – strangled».
Father Daniil Sysoev
The stumbling block is the widespread principle of meat procurement among the Thais and some other related peoples. Before killing an animal, it is beaten for a long time in order to soak the living meat in blood.
*« Christians would be better off creating
their slaughterhouses and shops,
where it was known to be sold
ritually pure meat....».
Priest Oleg Stenyaev
Why can’t you eat blood, including fried blood, blood sausage, rare steaks and hematogen?
In the book of Genesis we read God’s instruction: “ only the flesh with its soul, with its blood, do not eat" (). The Almighty gives these instructions to Noah and his family after the flood. That is, he blesses the flesh to eat, but forbids the soul to eat. According to the word of God, blood is connected to the soul of the one it nourishes: “ The life of the body is in the blood, and I have appointed it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for this blood makes atonement for the soul." (). The word “soul” in this case means life. Here the Lord says that all blood should be used either as a sacrifice to Him or spilled on the ground. Hence the ancient tradition among the “People of the Book,” that is, Jews, Muslims and Christians, of bleeding an animal before consuming its meat for food.
And further, in the book of Leviticus we find the result of a deviation from this commandment: “ I will set my face against that soul<..>and I will destroy her from among her people"(), says the Lord. The people of the Old Testament zealously followed ritual rules. The Council of the Apostles, which took place around the year 50 in Jerusalem, approved a provision according to which unbearable Jewish rules were not imposed on pagan Christians. At the same time, the need to abstain from strangulation and blood was indicated (). More details in the section.
*« Hematogen, although it is
derivative of cattle blood,
however, taking it for medicinal purposes
can't resist».
Father Oleg Stenyaev
Blood cannot be eaten, but how can it cleanse the soul?
In the indications that " This blood cleanses the soul,” it speaks of sprinkling God’s altar as a deposit for the sin committed (details in the book of Leviticus).
This bloody act, with a superficial look at the history of Holy Scripture, seems senseless and cruel. However, everything remains difficult to explain until the Lord Jesus Christ appears. The Savior Himself became a “calf” for the altar and sprinkled His Blood on the Altar-Cross in order to once and for all cleanse our souls from the abyss of alienation from God. This divine instruction is a prototype of the Great future Sacrifice for our sins. " Christ<..>with His Blood, once entered into the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption"()," says the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Jews.
This is how the God-Man reconciled man through His Blood with God the Father. So we too, through partaking of the Blood and Flesh of God, stepping across an insurmountable abyss, become involved in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Why are there food bans?
The Apostolic Canons contain special instructions on the attitude of Christians to the Old and New Testaments. It says: " The books that should be read, the Old and New Testaments, are". That's why Orthodox Church anathematized, that is, excommunicated from Herself, all those who doubted the holiness and inspiration of the books of the Old and New Testaments.
Saint Ambrose of Milan called both Testaments “cups of wisdom” in our hands, because, he said, from “ both of you drink Christ».
God's contract with people
The word "covenant" means agreement. The “Old Testament” means an agreement with the ancient righteous patriarchs, that is, the fathers and representatives of the peoples of the earth - Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They can be imagined as precious seeds that fell into the hand of a sower during a period of worldwide drought. The Lord’s goal is to protect the life in these seeds from disease and death, that is, to preserve the purity of faith and the race in which Christ, the Savior of the world, should be born. Therefore He makes strict demands on faith, devotion and obedience. In return, He gives His blessing and promises to grant salvation to the people of God.
The Almighty's care for His people consisted in His commandments, some of which were the commandments to be attentive to food. However, it is necessary to understand that now that Christ has already been born, lived among us, was crucified, resurrected and sits at the right hand of God the Father, this Old Testament agreement, strict for obvious reasons, has been carried out. And now the time of the New Testament is stretching out for us, an agreement between all people without distinctions or distinctions, an agreement of “repentance-forgiveness”, the main criterion of which is our personal conscience.
The criterion for abstaining from food is our conscience?
It is difficult to say where the Lord proceeded when establishing such divisions. Perhaps some sanitary considerations are reflected here, but most likely this is something that only God knows about, and we can only guess. One thing is clear: if a commandment is a path, then breaking a commandment is a swamp on the side of it - you can get stuck and never get out. Thus, the invisible boundaries of this saving path - God’s “agreement”, which has now come to fruition - inertly, like a spinning bicycle wheel, continue to our time. So, for example, the Apostle Luke recommends “ to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and blood, and strangulation, and fornication,” but he immediately places on this rough pedestal the commandment of a new height, the New Testament, the commandment of judgment of one’s own conscience: “don’t do to others what you don’t want to do to yourself” ().
And the Apostle Paul, confirming Christ’s abolition of the need for the Old Testament law, says that this law cannot “ make perfect in conscience" fulfilling it, for it reaches only “to the flesh” . These commandments were established, he says, “only until the time of correction.” Only Christ, writes the Apostle Paul, “Who through the Holy Spirit offered Himself blameless to God, will cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living and true God!” ().
The Apostle Peter also speaks about the blessing of breaking this commandment out of necessity. He had a vision in which an open sky came down to him during a time of hunger and prayer." some vessel, like a large canvas, tied at the four corners and lowered to the ground.” This canvas contained “all four-footed creatures of the earth, wild animals, reptiles and birds of the air.” The Lord called Peter to eat, but Peter, being frightened, replied that he “I never ate anything bad or unclean.” And the Lord answered him: “What God has purified, do not consider unclean” ().
Thus, at the “Apostolic” Council it was decided to limit this commandment by decreeing to abstain from blood, strangled And sacrificed to idols meat (), that is, brought to worship idols. But still, at the height of his God-loving heart, the Apostle Paul allows the eating of everything, “what is sold at the auction,<..>without any research, for peace of conscience" Christian heart. At the same time, he is already at such a height that his personality dissolves in the feat of endless love. “To the weak I was weak in order to gain the weak, to everyone I became everything in order to save whoever I could” (), says the Christ-like Apostle Paul.
For the love with which the Apostle Paul loved, there is no limitation, nothing pure or unclean, no law, for he has become above the law. So for us, this law is needed only for the purpose of acquiring such boundless and sacrificial love for the Lord and our neighbor. To us who still confuse the passionate desires of our womb with the vital truth.
Deacon Vladimir Rozhdestvensky,
physiotherapist of the Scientific Research Institute for Children's Orthopedics named after. G.I. Turner
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