Social Media
This morning, before leaving for church, I was perusing social media (I know my big mistake), and I came across a post suggesting that the leaders in Louisiana should post, along with the Ten Commandments, Leviticus 11:7-8 in classrooms also.
Here are verses 1-8:
“And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.”- Leviticus 11:1-8
This irritated me on many levels (mainly because pork includes bacon and sausage and ham and I love them). First, the Ten Commandments are considered to be one of the foundations of our legal system along with other influences like the Magna Carta. Since I am not a lawyer, a citizen of Louisiana, nor have I read the law, I will defer to the legal process to determine whether the new law in the state is constitutional and I certainly wouldn’t want to guess at what the legislative intent was in passing it.
Second, as a Christian, I understand that the rules given in the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments), were given to Moses by God. Most of the laws (or rules) given to the nomadic Jewish people, as they were wandering the desert for 40 years, were a combination of theology and how to live as a wandering society. For example, if I remember correctly, there were rules about how far from camp and how they were to dispose of poo. This is important when you are a wandering nation and don’t have permanent structures of society.
Growing up in an extended farming family, I heard often that Pork had to be thoroughly cooked to avoid trichinosis. I saw one of those educational shows a few years ago that suggested that Pork used to be susceptible to trichinosis until modern animal raising practices came into being about 100 years ago. Modern pork, raw, is no more dangerous than raw beef and I like my steaks medium rare. It is only historical generational education that has taught us that pork should always be cooked well done but beef doesn’t have to be. From this perspective, maybe it was safer to prohibit a wandering society that wouldn’t have access to a lot of cooking fuel or consistent cooking temperatures from an animal that would be susceptible to diseases that other animals may not be susceptible to.
Third, we Christians, are under the new covenant and are not prohibited from eating pork under the old covenant. Making the posters comparison, is comparing apples and oranges, as I used to say.
“And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)” - Mark 7:18-19
“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” - Romans 14:20-23
This morning when I saw the post, I commented on social media that I thought the post was petty since the Ten Commandments are considered to be one of the foundations of our current legal system as well as the Magna Carta. I fully expected, and didn’t look forward, to getting tons of responses suggesting that I was a zealot or naive or a right winger. The end to my story is that, at least near the end of today, my post was ignored by all.
