Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork
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Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork exist in both Muslim dietary laws (Halal), Jewish dietary laws (Kashrut)and in Old Testament of Christian BIBLE
Among Christians, Seventh-day Adventists consider pork taboo, along with other foods forbidden by Jewish law. Many Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox groups also discourage pork consumption, although, with the exception of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the proscription is rarely enforced.
==Possible reasons for prohibition in Jewish & Christian Bible (Old Testament)
11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you.
11:8Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you.
14:8 and the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it [is] unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead caracass.
65:3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
65:4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable [things is in] their vessels;
66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one [tree] in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
Gospel of Jesus
5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
[[Acts]]
10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
10:14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood.
15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
A similar prohibition is repeated in the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5.
According to Jewish law, pork is one of a number of foods forbidden from consumption by Jews. These foods are known as "non-kosher" foods. In order for a meat to be kosher, it must first come from a kosher animal. A kosher animal must be a ruminant and have split hooves - therefore cows, sheep, goats and deer are all kosher, whereas camels and pigs (having each only one sign of kashrut) are not kosher. [1]
The pig is the only animal that has split hooves but which is not a ruminant - its external aspect makes it appear kosher, while it is not.
During the persecutions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greeks forced the Jews to slaughter pigs in the Jerusalem temple, which did not improve the image of pork. Moreover, the Roman legion X Fretensis, that undertook to destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 68, had a boar for an emblem, sealing its fate as a symbol of everything contrary to Judaism.[citation needed]
Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher and legal codifier, who was also court physician to the Muslim sultan Saladin in the twelfth century, understands the dietary laws chiefly as a means of keeping the body healthy. He argued that the meat of the forbidden animals, birds, and fish is unwholesome and indigestible. According to Maimonides, at first glance, this does not apply to pork, which does not appear to be harmful Yet, Maimonides observes, the pig is a filthy animal and if swine were used for food, marketplaces and even houses would be dirtier than latrines. [2]
The cultural materialistic anthropologist Marvin Harris thinks that the main reason for prohibiting consumption of pork was ecological-economical. Pigs require water and shady woods with seeds, but those conditions are scarce in Israel and the Middle East. They cannot forage grass like ruminants. Instead, they compete with humans for expensive grain. Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse. This was deemed unclean, hence a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs would destroy their ecosystem. Harris points out how, while the Hebrews are also forbidden to eat camels and fish without scales, Arab nomads couldn't afford to starve in the desert while having camels around.[citation needed]
Some food psychologists[who?] point out the similarity between the Mosaic food laws as laid out in Leviticus and the natural 'disgust' reaction that all people generally show to unfamiliar meats (see the work of Paul Rozin). That suggests that the food taboos were a codification of existing practice rather than the imposition of a new rule, an attempt to give a religious explanation for an existing state of affairs in which the early Israelites did not eat pork etc. while other groups they knew did.[citation needed]
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[edit] Prohibition of pork consumption in Islamic law
One example of verses from the Qur'an on pig consumption:
Qur'an 16:115.
- He has only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and any (food) over which the name of other than Allah has been invoked. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Qur'an 2:173.
- He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful.
[edit] Archaeological significance of Islamic prohibition of pork consumption
The relevance of the pork taboo for archaeologists is that the teeth of cooked pigs are highly resistant to biodegradation. This facilitates the pinpointing of the moment at which Islam took hold, for example, at points along the Indonesian archipelago. Plentiful pig's teeth are found in digs of pre-Islamic settlements. Pigs' teeth disappear from the traces as soon as Islam is adopted.[citation needed] See Maluku for an example.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.kashrut.com/articles/soul_food/
- ^ Maimonides, A Guide for the Perplexed III:48)
