Deuteronomy 14:8; Leviticus 11:7 / Pork Forbidden?

A MEMBER, Islam S Religion, posted in my FACEBOOK GROUP (SAGOT SA MUSLIM). It is called "FAQs - Most Common Questions asked by Non Muslims" about their NOT EATING PORK.

Let us READ HIS POST and GIVE OUR RESPONSE.

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Question:

Why is the eating of pork forbidden in Islam?

Answer:

The fact that consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam is well-known. The following points explain various aspects of this prohibition:

1. Pork prohibited in the Qur’an
The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than four different places. It is prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah.”

[Al Qur’an 5:3]

The above verses of the Glorious Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.

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Their basis is the QURAN, which NO MUSLIM COULD PROVE was SPOKEN by GOD to THEM.

The QURAN was GIVEN to MUSLIMS by THEIR PROPHET MUHAMMAD, NOT by GOD.

So, it can be said that the PROHIBITION of EATING PORK is FROM MUHAMMAD and NOT FROM GOD.

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2. Pork prohibited in the Bible
The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures. The Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the Book of Leviticus:

“And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.”

“Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you.”

[Book of Leviticus 11:7-8]

Pork is also prohibited in the Bible in the Book of Deuteronomy:

“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 carcase.”

[Book of Deuteronomy 14:8]

A similar prohibition is repeated in the Bible in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 65 Verses 2-5.

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The PROHIBITION of PORK in the BIBLE was given to ISRAELITES. So, the use of Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8 is OUT OF CONTEXT and DISTORTED.

Besides, the LORD GOD HIMSELF has REMOVED the PROHIBITION on "UNCLEAN FOOD" stated in the OLD TESTAMENT VERSES.

MARK 7:14-15, 18-19
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."

He said to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
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In ACTS 10:11-16, GOD MADE it CLEARER that HE WAS REMOVING the PROHIBITION on FOOD through a VISION HE GAVE to PETER, the FIRST of the APOSTLES and the FIRST POPE.

ACTS 10:11-16
He [PETER] saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

In it were ALL KINDS of FOUR-FOOTED CREATURES and reptiles and birds of the air.

Then he heard a voice saying, "Get up, Peter; KILL and EAT."

But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean."

The voice said to him again, a second time, "WHAT GOD HAS MADE CLEAN, YOU MUST NOT CALL PROFANE."

http://sagot-sa-balik-islam.blogspot.com/2013/05/leviticus-117-deuteronomy-148-pigs.html

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3. Consumption of pork causes several diseases
The other non-Muslims and atheists will agree only if convinced through reason, logic and science. Eating of pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person can have various helminths like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which is in lay man’s terminology called tapeworm. It harbours in the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss. If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack, if it enters the eye it can cause blindness, if it enters the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all the organs of the body.

Another dangerous helminthes is Trichuris trichiura. A common misconception about pork is that if it is cooked well, these ova die. In a research project undertaken in America, it was found that out of twenty-four people suffering from Trichuris trichiura, twenty-two had cooked the pork very well. This indicates that the ova present in the pork do not die under normal cooking temperature.

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Even COWS, GOATS and SHEEP have DISEASES that can be FATAL to HUMANS, like HOOF and MOUTH DISEASE.

For COWS, there is MAD COW DISEASE.

And then there are ZOONOSES.

So, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? We SHOULD STOP EATING LIVESTOCK because THEY have the POTENTIAL to SPREAD DISEASES to HUMANS?

THINK AGAIN.


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4. Pork has fat building material
Pork has very little muscle building material and contains excess of fat. This fat gets deposited in the vessels and can cause hypertension and heart attack. It is not surprising that over 50 million Americans suffer from hypertension.

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SO, DO A LOT of OTHER FOODS.


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5. Pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth
The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives and thrives on muck, faeces and dirt. It is the best scavenger that I know that God has produced. In the villages they don’t have modern toilets and the villagers excrete in the open air. Very often excreta is cleared by pigs.

Some may argue that in advanced countries like Australia, pigs are bred in very clean and hygienic conditions. Even in these hygienic conditions the pigs are kept together in sties. No matter how hard you try to keep them clean they are filthy by nature. They eat and enjoy their own as well as their neighbour’s excreta.

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COWS, SHEEPS and GOATS also DO THAT.

And here's the thing: PIGS are considered by some as PETS kept in their HOMES. I have yet to SEE a GOAT or a COW or a SHEEP KEPT as A PET.


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6. Pig is the most shameless animal
The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after dance parties, they have swapping of wives; i.e. many say “you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your wife”. If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs. We Indians look upon America to be very advanced and sophisticated. Whatever they do, we follow after a few years. According to an article in Island magazine, this practice of swapping wives has become common in the affluent circles of Mumbai.

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What is MORE SHAMELESS than people who TERRORIZE and KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE?

And yet, THESE TERRORISTS CLAIM that THEY DO NOT EAT PORK.

Leviticus 11:7, Deuteronomy 14:8 (Pigs Unclean as Food?)

MUSLIMS say that the BIBLE PROHIBITS PIGS as FOOD.

They base their claims on the following verses:

LEVITICUS 11:7
The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

DEUTERONOMY 14:8
And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses.

Do these prove that PIGS or PORK should NOT BE EATEN?

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A. QUICK RESPONSE:

The PROHIBITION on eating PIGS was GIVEN SPECIFICALLY to the ISRAELITES. NOT to ALL MEN.

Both LEVITICUS 11:7 and DEUTERONOMY 14:8 are DIRECTED at the ISRAELITES. NOT the WORLD, especially NOT TO MUSLIMS or CHRISTIANS. (LEV 11:1-2; DEUT 10:12)

When GOD BECAME MAN in the PERSON of the LORD JESUS, HE REMOVED the PROHIBITIONS about FOOD. (MARK 7:18-19; ACTS 10:11-16)

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B. EXTENDED ANSWER:

The FACT that PIGS were PROHIBITED to ISRAELITES ONLY is clearly seen in LEVITICUS 11:1-2

"The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them:

"Speak to the PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, saying: From among all the land animals, these are the creatures that you may eat.
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The same is CLEAR from DEUT 10:12:

"So now, O ISRAEL, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,"
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a. Why did GOD FORBID ISRAELITES from EATING PIGS (and MANY OTHER ANIMALS LEVITICUS 11)?

HE WANTED to SEPARATE THEM from PAGANS. And FOOD is ONE THING that CAN BRING THEM NEAR the NON-BELIEVERS.

LEVITICUS 20:23-26
You shall NOT FOLLOW the PRACTICES [SEXUAL IMMORALITY ETC] of the NATION that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.

But I have said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God; I HAVE SEPARATED YOU from the peoples.

You shall therefore make a distinction between the CLEAN ANIMAL and the UNCLEAN, and between the UNCLEAN BIRD and the CLEAN; you shall not bring abomination on yourselves by animal or by bird or by anything with which the ground teems, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.

You shall be holy to me; for I the LORD am holy, and I HAVE SEPARATED YOU from the OTHER PEOPLES be mine.

The GOAL of GOD in the BEGINNING was to SEPARATE HIS PEOPLE, the ISRAELITES, from the OTHER PEOPLES or NATIONS to PREPARE THEM for a SPECIAL MISSION: To be the PEOPLE THROUGH WHOM HE WOULD BECOME MAN.
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b. AFTER GOD BECAME MAN and FULFILLED ALL the LAW and the PROPHETS (MATTHEW 5:17-18) HE CHANGED the MISSION of ISRAEL. From being SEPARATED, THEY were to BRING HIS COMMANDMENTS and TEACHINGS to ALL NATIONS.

MATTHEW 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

That meant, GOD was REMOVING ALL the PROHIBITIONS that SEPARATED to ISRAELITES from OTHER PEOPLE so that THEY COULD BE WITH THEM and TEACH THEM HIS SAVING GOSPEL.

That is WHY GOD REMOVED the PROHIBITION on FOOD, including the PROHIBITION against PIGS. HE has MADE ALL FOODS CLEAN.

MARK 7:14-15, 18-19
Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."

He said to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
.
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In ACTS 10:11-16, GOD MADE it CLEARER that HE WAS REMOVING the PROHIBITION on FOOD through a VISION HE GAVE to PETER, the FIRST of the APOSTLES and the FIRST POPE.

ACTS 10:11-16
He [PETER] saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

In it were ALL KINDS of FOUR-FOOTED CREATURES and reptiles and birds of the air.

Then he heard a voice saying, "Get up, Peter; KILL and EAT."

But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean."

The voice said to him again, a second time, "WHAT GOD HAS MADE CLEAN, YOU MUST NOT CALL PROFANE."

This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

LATER, GOD REVEALED to PETER that EATING the FOOD ONCE PROHIBITED to ISRAELITES was to ACCEPT the NON-ISRAELITES from whom GOD INITIALLY SEPARATED THEM FROM.

The PURPOSE was to GIVE the NON-ISRAELITES the SAME SAVING MESSAGE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

ACTS 11:12, 17-18
"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them [GENTILES] and us [ISRAELITES].

If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"

When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

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So, THAT is WHY PIGS are NO LONGER PROHIBITED.

MUSLIMS have the WRONG IDEA (and STILL PROHIBIT PIG MEAT) because THEY NEVER ACCEPTED the WHOLE MESSAGE of GOD. THEY NEVER KNEW the REAL MESSAGE that GOD HIMSELF GAVE to MEN.