God and meat, an age old argument.

well, today i was writing hubby a letter and i came across the question, "what kind of meats should we refrain from eating, what kind are acceptable in a healthy diet that follows Biblical principles?"

i grew up always thinking that you shouldn't eat pork, any domestic animals, or anything that crawls on the ground and scavenges (i.e. crabs, lobster, shrimp), as eating these animals was against "the commandments of God". let's just say these thoughts stuck with me throughout the years and i always held steadfast to my beliefs that bacon was of the devil, beef stayed in the intestines for years, and seafood was out of the question if it wasn't fish because all sea creatures that were not fish were the wastebaskets of the ocean. now hubby and i often have Bible studies via letter, and one of my favorite websites to answer questions of the world Bible style is http://www.gotquestions.org/. so i went there and typed in, "meat and the Bible" and voila...this is one of the question and answer sessions that i got:

"Question: "Was Jesus a vegetarian? Should a Christian be a vegetarian?"

Answer: First, no, Jesus was not a vegetarian. The Bible records Jesus eating fish (Luke 24:42-43) and lamb (Luke 22:8-15). Jesus miraculously fed the crowds fish and bread, a strange thing for Him to do if He was a vegetarian (Matthew 14:17-21). In a vision to the Apostle Peter Jesus declared all foods to be clean, including animals (Acts 10:10-15). After the Flood in Noah's time, God gave humanity permission to eat meat (Genesis 9:2-3). God has never taken this permission back.With all that said, there is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian. The Bible does not command us to eat meat. There is nothing wrong with eating meat. There is nothing wrong with abstaining from eating meat. What the Bible tells us is that we should not force our convictions on this issue onto other people. Romans 14:2-3 tells us, "One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him."Again, God gave humanity permission to eat meat after the Flood (Genesis 9:3). In the Old Testament law, the nation of Israel was commanded to not eat certain foods (Leviticus 11:1-47), but never commanded against eating meat. Jesus declared all foods, including all kinds of meat, to be clean (Mark 7:19). As with anything, each and every Christian should pray for guidance as to what God would have them eat. Whatever a person decides to eat is acceptable to God as long as we thank Him for providing (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 1 Corinthians 10:31 declares, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." ~gotquestions.org

i am happy with this answer. i do not have to banish pork, seafood, or any other animal from our diets to be healthy and following along in the Word of God (i think we'll keep away from domestic animals though). i think moderation is key. so...we will try to limit, instead of eliminate, the amount of meat that we eat in our diets. i am also thinking of limiting certain meats to no more than say 4 times per month, such as beef and pork.

i am learning how to cook fish. i am not a domestic goddess in the kitchen, and thank God my hubby is...or we would starve when he comes home. i am barely getting by cooking 1,2,3 minute meals as it is! but i am practicing cooking fish, and so far i do really well with whiting. other fish is way too expensive for me to ruin trying to cook. but i did buy an entire uhm...karp, carp, (sp) to try to and cook next week. it's in the freezer just waiting to be experimented on. the girls seem to like the whiting i make, and my hubby never fails to coo, "aw baby, i'm gonna eat your fish even if it's as black as the bottom of my SHOE!" into the phone reciever in a well recieved attempt to make me beam from ear to ear (it never fails), despite the fire alarm blaring in the background, as i am trying NOT to burn the thin and fragile fillets to a crisp.

well, now i can back off the fish since it's ok to eat ALL other types of meat. thank God i can keep my crabs, lobster, and pork chops LOL. hubby will be happy to know that when he comes home, he can continue on with his quest to be the world's greatest chef, and not be limited to WHAT he should cook.

*deep inhale and exhale* ah yes, the beauty of moving from a world of ignorance to one of knowledge, one step at a time.