The question of why do Christians eat pork when the Bible forbids it has been debated for a long time. There have been many arguments on the subject with no clear answer. Many people support the eating of pork, while many people still think it is sinful as God has forbidden believers from eating pork.
Even after 2000 years, there is still a lot of confusion on food taboos. Other Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Islam) strictly forbid their believers from eating pork. In Iran, it is even punishable conduct to eat pork. Anyone smuggling pork into the country can be punished with a three-month jail sentence. The Torah has also ordered believers to avoid pork. However, pork consumption is a controversial topic in Christianity. Many people believe that the Bible has granted them permission to eat pork, and evidence can be found in the Bible itself. So, is eating pork forbidden according to Bible? Or does it allow Christians to eat pork? Let’s discuss both viewpoints.
Are Christians Allowed To Eat Pork?
According to some believers, God no longer forbids people from eating pork since Christ said in the Gospel of Mark that any food considered impure could now be regarded as clean.
“Do you not see that anything that enters a person from the outside cannot corrupt him since it enters his stomach rather than his heart and is expelled?” [Mark 7:18–19]
In the Jewish context, the foods considered impure are now deemed safe and pure. Here the believers can see that Jesus emphasized that it’s not about what enters from the outside (which dictates whether an individual is clean). Rather it’s about what comes from inside out.
Argument 1: Christians Are Forbidden To Eat Pork
Many still believe that Christians are forbidden to eat pork. Many references in the Bible forbid eating pork, while several references can also be found in the Old Testament. Some may consider that the Old Testament’s regulations against the consumption of impure foods are still in effect today. Or they might be Jewish, in which case pork is banned according to several Jewish rules.
“And, despite having a divided hoof, the swine does not chew the cud, making it unclean for you.” [Leviticus 11:7–8]
According to some other verses, the Torah forbids its believers from consuming pork. According to Torah, the believers can eat the meat of animals that chew their cud and have cloven hooves.
Many other believers refuse to consume pork since they are vegetarians or vegans who feel that torturing and killing animals for food is inhumane, and God doesn’t approve of it. Some also believe that God created humans to eat fruits and vegetables in the Garden of Eden and not meat, while others avoid pork due to health reasons.
Argument 2: Christians Can Eat Pork
An explanation to why many Christians choose to consume pork is that most Christians recognize that they follow God’s moral precepts, not the Old Testament rule for the Jews. Christians may feel that they no longer have to observe this requirement in the Old Testament because it appears that Jesus pronounced all foods pure in the New Testament, as mentioned above.
The restrictions against eating pork that God gave were part of the Old Covenant’s ritual regulations. In a nutshell, ritual laws were established to cleanse and purify God’s people metaphorically. They guided people to Jesus Christ, who has now purged and purified the Christians according to the New Testament.
Although science has proven that pig and other unclean meals that God forbade are harmful, they are no longer banned foods. The New Testament has multiple verses that indicate this.
“For one believes he can eat anything, while another, who is weak, eats herbs. Let not him who eats hate him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who does eat, because God has welcomed him.” [Romans 14:2–3]
Christians no longer employ Old Testament offerings for sin atonement since they believe that Christ came as God’s holy Child, without sin, and sacrificed himself for those who confess and obey.
“God’s sacrifice system came to an end with Jesus. By embracing God via the spilled blood of Christ, we are now complying with God’s need for atonement.” [Hebrews 10:1–8]
Several Christians think that avoiding eating pork is a component of the ancient law, which was accomplished by Jesus, rather than the moral rule of God’s commands. The moral code has been about a heart set apart to cheerfully and unquestioningly obey God.
These are some proofs from the Bible that indicate that all the food is pure and clean, and people can eat whatever they want. The foods mentioned in the Old Testament as unclean were for Israelites, and when Jesus came, he atoned for all the believers. As mentioned in the Holy Bible more than once, the restrictions were lifted by God. This is why Christians eat pork when the Bible forbids it and even when the Jews and Muslims also avoid it.
Our Final Thoughts
There has always been confusion about why Christians eat pork when the Bible forbids it and whether Christians should eat pork or not. As we have mentioned, many different verses from the Bible indicate that Christians can eat pork even though initially God forbade them from eating it as it was considered unclean. But many people are still of the idea that the believers should not consume pork and that it is an unclean animal and should be avoided.
