by Elsewhere 23 Replies latest jw friends
There are several religions that teach that pork is an "unclean" meat and therefore should be avoided.
What, exactly, does "unclean" mean? When I think of "unclean" I think of something contaminated by dirt or dangerous bacteria. Is there some other "spiritual" substance in pigs that cannot be detected?
Hm I was pondering that and I think it's like sex: It aint good unless it's nasty
Pork as we know it today, at least in western culture, is not dangerous. Before modern inspection methods were in place, there was a disease, trichonosis, caused by a parasite found in pork. I understand it can be deadly (?).
It is thought that prohibition of pork may be for this reason .. it was dangerous to eat, and therefore was made into an 'unclean' meat. Same goes for shellfish (red tide bacteria found at certain times of the year is deadly).
talesin
*mmmmm, pork & shellfish* class
I have considered that but what leaves me wondering is the fact that these health issues have been resolved are no longer a problem. With that fact in place, why do these religions still enforce the "unclean meat" rule?
Elsewhere....I just had the conversation yesterday with someone. LOL
Talesin...remember back "in the day" sanitation for human waste was also a bit suspect. Hence shellfish posed an even greater risk than it does today. Not just red tide, but E coli and other very common bacterial contamination if human / animal waste gets into the local water.
Why does any religion pick and choose? Wearing a shirt made of two threads....that's ok. Shellfish is ok. Pork.....bad? Homosexuality? Bad? Leviticus was a book of clean rules.
Can you imagine asking all women who are in their "time of the month" to walk around the city yelling out "Unclean.....unclean" like the bible commanded? LOL
i've also noticed something about pork, that may have influenced those old ancient crazies.
you know when you drive behind a truck with a load of pigs in it? you know that smell? it's disgusting, and you can practically taste it.
well, i have never nticed this with bacon or pork chops, but i have with pork roast. it seems that unless i really really marinate the roast all to hell, it retains some of that disgusting taste.
i have had several roasts that i could not finish eating because of this phenomenon, lol.
so maybe the combination of some bad roasts, and like tale said, people getting sicker than he-ell, was what did it for those dudes.
What, exactly, does "unclean" mean?
"unclean" literally translated from the original Hebrew, means "good with BBQ sauce".
Oh PORK, how I do love your ways.
TS: You need some Southern HAwg!!
I thought it was pretty easy to get ringworm from pork - even today. I could be wrong.
It doesnt stop me troughing bacon.
The reasoning not only due to the former trichinosis part is because pigs do not sweat. They have to lay in mud to bring their body temputures down. Hence...they lay in their own excrement along with the mud. Filthy as a pig...it's a pig sty in here...the only saying that does not work is I'm sweating like a pig. Now...sweating like a horse makes sense.
An animal that is in it's own excrement is considered unclean to the muslim faith.
From a farm girl who also hung out with a muslim girl at times. :)
I have considered that but what leaves me wondering is the fact that these health issues have been resolved are no longer a problem. With that fact in place, why do these religions still enforce the "unclean meat" rule?
Maybe back then they noticed that people who didn't eat pork and shellfish at all didn't catch certain illnesses. They obviously didn't know that the reason was bacterial contamination and not because the meat was superstitiously "unclean". Today, religion just has not caught up with science, so they still enforce the "unclean meat" rule due to superstition and an ignorance of the original meaning of the ban.
For example, during 1665 outbreak of the Plague, many contemporary "experts" thought that the disease was carried by cats and dogs. If the religious leaders had their way back then, maybe the word would have gone out that ALL cats and dogs were "unclean" and that it is now against the law to own one. Obviously, little did they know that the disease was actually carried by a species of flea which lives in the fur of the black rat. If that hypothetical religion was still in existance today, it would probably still forbit the ownership of cats and dogs on the basis that they are "unclean" but without really knowing why, but nonetheless postulating various inadequate theories.
