Listen to yourselves Firstly, I would plead with any Christians or anyone from a Christian background or upbringing not to let yourself, family and most importantly your faith down by ridiculing or teasing anyone of any faith. Almighty God showed grace and mercy when you got saved from your ways. As we are taught to become Christ like who is the embodiment of God we should adopt the same way of thinking. Jesus spoke in parables. When asked why he spoke like this he replied. If God does not think you are ready to receive enlightenment you will not understand the message and therefore remain unknown in your ways until such a time when you become humble and willing to receive such a wondrous gift of love. The word Humble appears more in the bible that any other emotions after love and fear! I confess I do not read the scriptures anywhere near as much as I should and there are others even those who are not Christians some even on this thread who seam to know the word of God well which is admirable. This is a verse worth taking heed of 2 timothy 3 vs. 12-17 Be humble in everything you do. In relation to the original thread question: A shepherd had a large flock, it was good and strong. Their numbers grew in health and prosperity so He found himself some dogs to help with strays and keep the herd. The wise shepherd new ordinary dogs would not be sufficient so he found skilled dogs with certain abilities for this special kind of work. The good shepherd gave the dog rules to obey and trained them well. The sheep dogs worked with enthusiasm and listened to their master’s voice but grew in confidence and became arrogant. Strays were becoming lost in their ways and lame & maggoted sheep were not isolated from the healthy. The heard began to suffer because of this to a point where the sheep scattered and flock was ill. The good shepherd seen that his rules and teaching were not being obeyed so he had to do something because he treasured his heard. The good shepherd sent a shepherd boy who would have to remain with the heard as it needed constant watch. The shepherd boy loved the dogs and treasured the sheep. He disciplined the dogs in his own way and healed the lost sheep. The good shepherd seen that the boy taught the dogs well and the herd restored its health so the shepherd boy returned. Jeremiah 31:31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 2 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The High Priest of a New Covenant Hebrews 8:1The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, Hebrews 8:8 But God found fault with the people and said[a]: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Hebrew 8:13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. There are Christians who feel they must refrain from doing certain things, that can only be applauded because of their dedication and honesty. Our faith however in Christ Jesus must be paramount. Not our actions and rituals and sacrifices. Only faith in Christ Jesus Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) can deliver even the most sinful of people. The Christian faith is unlike any other faith in the world (big spake I know!) To be a Christian you must have complete faith in Jesus only he is the way to God. All other faiths are based on actions and standards. No man can enter the kingdom of god by his own actions. This must seem to easy a free ticket! But try and do it with sincerity in your heart and give up the old sinful ways. When you get saved and the spirit enters you heart you become a servant of God willing to do his commands therefore just like the other religions you too carry out the commandments an teachings of Christ but with a difference! Committing your life to the Lord honestly and sincerely is harder and more difficult that any ritual or sacrifice. Therefore it only when the dear Christ enters in that you see the simplicity of it all. We are born into sin a child doesn’t need taught to be cheeky, steel, lie or be selfish therefore you must be born again. God Bless.
He was very clearly (and helpfully, I might add) pointing out scriptures that, in his interpretation, outline why Christians eat pork - as was specifically asked in the thread.
There have been references in this thread to pigs being unclean. I wish it placed on record that pigs are very clean animals. Any statements to the contrary are libellous. You have been warned.
Alas your warning has been ignored in another thread Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The answer is that Jesus was more revolutionary than most Christians like to admit. His teaching was phrased in the language of the time, but it far transcended it. Some early Christians tried to make it seem like Jesus was the messiah prophesized in the Old Testament, and made up things to support that, like the virgin birth. I do think Christians are hypocritical for eating pork if they worship the OT. They are also hypocritical if they don't get circumsized, or stone adulterers to death, or let any man with damaged testicles in a church, or any number of obscure OT rules.
I wonder what christians think of vegetarians/vegans? such actions (or non-action perhaps) is based entirely in compassion. But it is not a lifestyle choice that Jesus adhered to himself. With that in mind where do chrisitians stand on the issue? it it a case of 'just do as jesus does and dont ask questions?' or can you follow the word of Jesus while expanding/modifiying your own definitions of what it means to be 'virtuous' Prehaps vegetarianism would be seen as an attack on Jesus's own principles and discounted for that reason alone?
Vegetarianism would hardly be seen as an attack on the standards of jesus's teachings - there are quite a few christians who take a stand on vegetarianism http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/
My point was as a christian (not you of course, speaking generally) if you accept vegetarianism as a genuine moral stance, then its fair to say Jesus has not met one of your moral criteria. This would seem to highlight a gaping hole in Jesus's vaule system. And going by the same logic Jesus cannot be a 'perfect being' and as such has no claim to be the direct son of God. Its very hard for me to see how a vegan/vegetarian christian would ever rationalise the full implications of this.
This thanksgiving my uncle announced he no longer ate pork, because it is unclean. I hunted down my very religious aunt and asked her about the pork situation and got the two of them debating. Ultimately, they agreed that the pig was a filthy animal but that it wasn't a sin to eat it due to the dream Peter had referenced earlier in the thread:
When all is said and done, the truth is that Jesus absolutely loved lamb kebabs, especially with some hoummous and a couple of chillies.
Jesus gave all his Disciples greek names to signify that his message of salvation was not for the Jews but for the Gentiles. Peter was his first disciple and Jesus named him Petros (Rock) and told him that he would be the cornerstone of this new church he was about to establish. Peter was to deny knowing Jesus 3 times and was forgiven, this was meant to demonstrate the grace and forgiveness inherent in the Jesus faith and also that nobody should consider themselves pious and holy because man is always fallible.
He didn't. What he should have said was his message was not just for the Jews, but for everyone, including Indians!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
if christians.... use and look at the old testiment as the word of god, then they are hypocrites.... since they ignore the fundamentals, just because it was written in the Torah. they say.... christ, brought a new covenant.. and so, they dont have to follow any jew laws.... and that may be true... but eating pork... and the limits on food... happen to noah. noah... came long before anyone was a jew. noah... was not jewish... neither are modern christians. the rules against pork... is for all mankind.... NOT JUST JEWS. -MT
